Who should have been- define that. If their illness isn't service related and they are not 20 year retirees they don't get a high priority. congress only gives so much money to run all of VA. Low pay doesn't attract doctors to contract with the VA. Limits on how much can be spent per patient doesn't allow non-service related illnesses to be put before vets with service related illnesses/chronic medical problems.
Draftees who did 2 years in Ft. Lee who drank or smoked their way to bad health don't get to bump men missing limbs out of the way. It would be interesting to know the ENTIRE story of why an extremely elderly vet wasn't seen in time. His health history, priority rating, and just how much effort did he make when medical treatment wasn't a matter of life or death.
There was a vet here who claimed his friend never got a call back from the automatic answering service. he himself never used the VA medical system either. i asked if the vet who wanted medical attention ever actually went to the VA processing center or the clinic. the answer was no, never made anymore of an effort than a single phone call. I heard the VA sucked so for decades I never went- finally i went to the VA office, they got copies of my medical records- submitted the claim, sent me to a third party evaluation and i got 60% disability. they got me my first appointment in the Clinic, I've had several since- one appointment I had to push off a bit because of a vacation. I had a very nice English speaking lady doctor who spend more time in one visit going over healthy lifestyle choices than ALL the private sector doctors combined. I do my best to have a healthy lifestyle, staying active- not smoke.
We need to know a lot more about the vets who died. i told you my story, my comparison between private sector and VA in the same town. I can't help but wonder why civilians who die in ER rooms or waiting for operations in the private sector don't get the same outrage. I mean many claim our extremely high priced health care system is the best in the world.
The discussion needs to be actual cases examined rather than- a friend of mine...
eace