Army vet billed $3,000 for war wounds - CNN.com »
Posted By engineer 8 months ago in News
Erik Roberts, an Army sergeant who was wounded in Iraq, underwent his 13th surgery recently to save his right leg from amputation. Imagine his shock when he got a bill for $3,000 for his treatment.
Read Full Story at cnn.com »
1163 Views Share Story 41 Comments Report
Submitted By:
engineer
Hi
My background is Biomedical engineering with an MBA As you know from all my comments where I almost stand politically. I have loads of ...
Who Also Submitted:
RSS Join the Discussion
+ Add CommentShowing 40 of 41 Comments (view all)
-
-
wrfhsgovComment removed: Retracted by user
-
-
sonofreasonComment removed: Hard Banned
-
92%
lvrofwolves8 months ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
If anything, I think the gov should be ashamed of the VA hospitals, our soldiers do not receive the quality of care they deserve. Which is obvious in the article it says the VA hospital told him not to worry about the lump, thankfully he had private insurance to take care of this or he'd probably have lost his leg. The VA hospital should pick up the remaining 3,000.
Reply
Our people deserve same quality of care as the politicians receive, most are same quality of a poor mans clinic. Shameful!-
-
80%
Pecossam8 months ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
ivrofwolves,
Reply
As a former V.A. Hospital employee (Pharmacy Administration) and veteran, I ask you to please not judge all of the V.A.'s many facilities by this unfortunate soldier's shoddy treatment. The V.A. facilities where I had the privilege of serving our veterans (two), gave exemplary care and treatment to our nation's finest. I readily admit that there are those facilities that are anything but worthy of calling themselves Veterans Hospitals, but I believe that can usually be ascribed to their Directors and/or Personnel Directors in the matter of hiring.
I do believe that those V.A. Hospitals which are paired with a "sister" teaching hospital, such as Little Rock's John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital (paired with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences) ) and San Diego's V.A. Healthcare System (paired with the University of California, San Diego Medical Center ),where I am now an out-patient, offer better care due to this association. These facilities are both connected by pedestrian overpasses for easy access to one another. Our veterans receive more attentive care from the medical students (under the supervision of a Certified Medical Professional, of course), and the students receive valuable clinical experience, a win-win situation for all involved.
-
-
70%
fiftynine8 months ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
The bush admin didn't do anything for the VA.Only in the last two years ,due to more dems in congress did we get more funding,and only because they would have raised hell if we didn't,bush couldn't afford that.
Reply
I am confident that with Obamas admin. this will go where it belongs...the toilet.Obama and Biden both have shown support for vets,something that was sorely lacking under bushboy. -
rally-monkeyComment removed: Abusive10 Replies
-
-
-
SandmonsterComment removed: Hard Banned
-
67%
Natureboy8 months ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Putting aside all of the fife-and-drum histrionics for a minute, let me point out that the root cause of Mr. Roberts' woes is that Tricare is managed like an HMO - that is why Roberts got the green weenie.
Reply
Throughout this great land of ours, people get screwed by their HMOs. He is fortunate that his treatment was not withheld because he didn't have the cash. Thousands die in this country, each year, because while they may have "health insurance," their lives rank second to the interests of cost containment in the eyes of their insurers.
Roberts just got a wee taste of Health Care, American Style. -
100%
Natureboy8 months ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
There's an unexamined fallacy within this story - the idea that some people are more or less deserving of a straight deal from their health insurance than others.
Reply
So Erik Roberts shouldn't have gotten shafted - agreed. But who SHOULD get shafted? Firefighters? Police? Nurses? We can keep going down the list.
I have a friend who was an EMT and a first responder when the WTC came down. Because of what she went through as she pulled bodies from the rubble and inhaled the toxic dust, her health is destroyed. She is dying. She lives flat broke because of what she pays out of pocket for health care, medication etc. She gets screwed by the NYC's workers compensation department every time she turns around. Is that right?
Why would you or I ONLY get p!ssed when a veteran gets shafted? We should get angry when ANYBODY gets a raw deal, particularly one that puts their life and health in jeopardy.-
83%
engineer8 months ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Reduce costs by allowing doctors to practice without fear. getting rid of HMOs and put in a single payer, universal health care system, rein in big Pharma, reduce the amount paid in law suits and make the lawyer pay who brings a frivolous law suit
Reply -
-
-
-
100%
fiftynine8 months ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
I use the VA for my health care,in got to go there tomorrow for a sleep study..sleep apnea..yuck...Been going to the on In Iowa City for the Past ten years.In that ten years i can say it is better than nothing,which is exactly what myself and thousands of others would have if it weren't there.I do have to say that the staff,as a whole,are professionals and do their jobs to the best of their abilitys..but any time you overwork work people on this scale mistakes are bound to happen
Reply
I have been misdiagnosed more times than i can remember,had records lost,have waited for weeks(sometimes months) for test,It is so understaffed it is ridiculous..and mine is much better than a lot of them because of the University of Iowa,which has a medical school that uses the VA as a teaching facility. All of this and i have almost a eighty mile round trip to go there..which was tough when gas was four bucks a gallon,and my trip is a lot less than some.
Richardson had the right idea,issue each vet a card and allow us to go where we want,
It's a no brainer folks..criminals in prison and and welfare people get better medical care,and have better access to that care than vets do.
This thing is an under funded dinosaur that either needs to be funded properly or dismantled. But at the same time it shouldn't be privatized like reagon wanted,then it would be another money sucking institution of corruptness. -
100%
fiftynine8 months ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
justiceforall.."Get rid of lawyers and insurance companies with million dollar bonuses and there would be plenty of money to provide healthcare for all."..
Reply
Exactly..want proof of how corrupt insurance companys are..Take a look at AIG. -
-
Neutral
rawleighf8 months ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Hell, certain parties boast how they drill for and furnish fresh water to Africans, etc. We, however, in the USA have to buy potable water in bottles now and they are advertising "fresh Air" paraphenelia. for breatheable air. Do we have the correct standards and duties, and priorities properly delineated?
Reply -
100%
rawleighf8 months ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
I'm not complaining regarding medical help to Vets, and there are some wonderful dedicated well trained Medical and nursing personnel as well as clerks, but they do have some dirt-bags working there, as everywhere, with no appreciation of what these Vets did. A few could possibly be recruits for the "hostile". Combat vets, who faced bombardments, men to men , Tanks, faced food and logistic problems, bedding, weather and saw their buddies crippled or killed week after week are given no recognition and are even, often discourteously handled. Most Vets are very appreciative for what the Government does. however! The Bush Administration gets a good grade in my judgment.
Reply
Add a Comment
Sign In With Your Propeller Account
Please keep your comments relevant to this story.
To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.