Yep, you heard that correct... The Veterans Affairs takes into account the home address and location when determining if a veteran is placed in the Organ Transplant System (waitlist). Did you think the VA could get any worse? Recently, whistleblower Jamie McBride, Program Manager for Solid Organ Transplants at the San Antonio VA, claimed that the VA has let "thousands" of veterans die because of bureaucratic red-tape and out-dated policy criteria.
A recent study also found that a "Greater distance between a patient’s local VA hospital and a transplant center was associated with a lower likelihood of being placed on a transplant list when liver transplant was indicated. Once waitlisted, longer distances were also associated with a lower likelihood of receiving a transplant and increased mortality. "
In 2014, President Obama signed into law the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-146) (“VACAA”). This program was made available when Obama approved $10 billion to help fund it. Of course this was in response to the Veterans Affairs 2014 scandal where it was brought to light that the VA was keeping veterans on waitlists, some of them secret (many died before receiving treatment). Typical government actions, right?
The VA is an example of a completely socialized healthcare system and it is horrible.
Even after the billions President Obama approved for funding the VA wait times continued to increase while administrative costs rose too.
Only a single year later President Obama sought the authority to reallocate funds from the Choice Program to fund a $2.8 billion VA budget shortfall. More waste from the government.
Personal note (anecdotal)
I have used the Choice Program on two separate occasions when I was told that my next available VA appointment was over 90+ days. On the first occasion I was told to seek outside care locally (closest VA facility is 30+ miles). The individual I spoke to over the phone said I could go to a location they provided me and said I could get care there until my VA appointment. I never received any packet or referral paperwork explaining the program so I did what I was told and got care (started in January 2016). This outside location told me the Choice Program never informed them of what a referral was for or what someone was being sent to them.
A referral for physical therapy was put in from this outside location, but then was denied by the VA explaining that referrals required me to go through the VA and that outside care cannot submit referrals. When I was told that the referral had been denied I had already gone to this outside location several times and that the Choice Program only approved a few visits leaving me with a few hundred dollar medical bill that I am still fighting with the program and outside location.
By mid-April I was finally able to get into see the VA and had a referral put in for physical therapy. Again I was placed into the Choice Program but this time the outside location told me how many sessions I was approved for. This new location was awesome, and I am thankful for going to them, but like the last time during the middle of treatment the Choice Program started to deny my previously approved sessions. I had to stop treatment for three weeks while the outside location worked with the Choice Program to figure everything out. Finally, I was able to able to finish my physical therapy.
The Choice Program is better than VA service which is saying something...
Ron Paul recently wrote an article on the IRS, TSA, and VA.
"The TSA, VA, and IRS are just three examples of how government cannot effectively provide any good or service except authoritarianism. Individuals acting in the free market are more than capable of providing for their own needs, including the need to protect themselves, their families, and their property, if the government gets out of the way."
My name is Jeffrey Hann,
, and I'm an anarchist/voluntarist, Army veteran, business analyst, graphics and website designer, and content creator. I have a passion for truth and being logical, which eventually lead me to anarchism. I strive to live my life through voluntary actions and valuing rights. I co-own Journalistic Revolution (Facebook and YouTube) and JRev Radio (Facebook). We strive to be a factual and honest open sourced news organization.