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Originally Posted by guy44
7. My proposal is to allow ordinary Americans, not merely veterans, to buy into the VHA system. Details on how that may be accomplished vary. The author of the VHA article suggests:
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What if we expanded the veterans health-care system and allowed anyone who is either already a vet or who agrees to perform two years of community service a chance to buy in? Indeed, what if we said to young and middle-aged people, if you serve your community and your country, you can make your parents or other loved ones eligible for care in an expanded VHA system?
We could start with demonstration projects using VHA facilities that are currently under-utilized or slated to close. Last May, the VHA announced it was closing hospitals in Pittsburgh; Gulfport, Miss.; and Brecksville, Ohio. Even after the closures, the VHA will still have more than 4 million square feet of vacant or obsolete real estate. Beyond this, there are empty facilities available from bankrupt HMOs and public hospitals, such as the defunct D.C. General. Let the VHA take over these facilities, and apply its state-of-the-art information systems, safety systems, and protocols of evidence-based medicine.
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Hmmm. Not sure
how I feel about this.
1. As a veteran, I don't really care for the term "merely veterans".
2. I "earned" the right to use the VHA, by serving in the United States Air Force, for eight years.
3. To what extent are we talking "community service", here? Two, full time, continuous years? Or does slopping mashed potatoes on someone's plate, in a homeless shelter, one night per week, constitute community service. If so, that devalues the service that I gave in the United States Armed Forces.
On the other hand, I
do feel that
every American deserves that type of quality healthcare. Quite a conundrum for me.