Typical Liberal Answer to All Problems Real or Supposed. Throw More money at it

By Rob Janicki

Self proclaimed socialist, Senator Bernie Sanders, (I-VT), like every liberal, when faced with a problem, announced that additional funding was needed in the face of the VA scandal.  Sanders indicated that more doctors were needed in the VA system and that is what contributed to the horrendous secret backlog waiting list of veterans seeking medical services from the VA.  Had Sanders considered the secret waiting list was created to promote substantial salary bonuses for VA management?  That's the way the early investigation results are pointing.

Here's Sanders putting the cart before the horse or the solution to the VA scandal before the scandal is clearly understood and what all the ramifications are, both legal and functional for a health care providing organization.

 Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday said that theVeterans Affairs controversy proved VA hospitals didn't have enough doctors and staff to meet the medical needs of military members.

“What is very clear to everybody right now is that in many parts of the country, the VA simply did not have the doctors and the staff to make sure the veterans got timely care," he said on CBS' "Face the Nation." “But we need to make sure that that never happens again.”

This may sound good, but it does nothing to address the immediate problem with VA medical services.  Expect to see studies of VA medical services provided by VA doctors compared to private medical providers.  One egregious example has come to light regarding VA cardiologists.

It's reported that the average VA cardiologist sees two heart patients per day compared to the private sector where a cardiologist sees eight heart patients per day.  This fact should be a "red flag" to anyone trying to understand the rising costs associated with the VA and the secret backlog of veterans seeking health services.

The point to be made is that VA medical service providers are not being utilized in an efficient and effective manner.  Maintaining two separate health care delivery systems is fundamentally duplicative and inefficient from an organizational standpoint across the full spectrum of health care services provided by the VA.

Rather than spending more money on VA doctors, who often make more money than do comparable doctors in the private sector, perhaps Congress can consider out sourcing more medical services for veterans to the private sector with a voucher system.  The VA could then concentrate on maintaining and expanding specialized long term services unique to veterans, at a series of regional locations.  This would allow the VA to concentrate their resources for the most expensive and ongoing health care services that might be exorbitantly expensive in the private sector.