Army 9 month review of healthcare, worse

When the Bush Administration closed their eyes to all of this, and congress just played along, it all got worse for the soldiers and their families. Right now the infuriating part is that I keep hearing so many people say they don't want "socialized healthcare" but no one seems to be talking about the kind of healthcare the troops should be getting under tax payer funded healthcare. The VA has its own share of problems as well. The problem is not that these programs don't work, because they do, but the people in charge have to actually be in charge and know what is going on.

When congress had the chance to do something to prepare, they closed their eyes and complained that fully funding the medical end of the DOD and the VA would cost too much at the same time they had no problem finding the funds for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Why? Why were they allowed to get away with any of this?

If you want to blame the Obama Administration, you're way too late since all of this began long before he arrived in office. The question is, can he fix this fast enough? Can congress fix it fast enough? They have a lot to catch up on because for all the time they take to get things fixed, the troops and their families wait for what they should have never had to wait for.

Records: Health needs of soldiers not met

By Gregg Zoroya - USA TODAY
Posted : Thursday Jul 30, 2009 22:11:54 EDT

WASHINGTON — The number of Army medical centers and clinics that provide timely access to routine medical care has hit a five-year low, Army records show, often forcing soldiers and their families to seek treatment off base.

About 16 percent of Army patients, particularly family members, can’t get appointments with their primary physicians and are sent to doctors off the installation, according to the results of a nine-month Army review finished late last year. Some of those patients end up in emergency rooms or urgent care centers, says the study, which the Army provided to USA TODAY.

Army records show that 26 of its medical centers, hospitals and clinics are unable to meet the Pentagon standard requiring that 90 percent of patients get routine care appointments within seven days. Those are the worst results since the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. That’s a 13 percent increase from 2005 in the number of medical facilities unable to meet the standard.
read more here
Health needs of soldiers not met