This morning it was announced that a Fayetteville VA Medical Center pathologist had misdiagnosed multiple patients resulting in at least one death. This is just one more instance in a growing list of substandard and negligent care in the VA health care system nationwide. In this instance the doctor had previously been briefly suspended for being "impaired" but was allowed to return to work. This follows a pattern at the VA where those found to be giving substandard care have been allowed to remain at work. Congress has known about these problems for years but has so far refused to do anything to fix it. Instead they have thrown more and more money at the problem, accomplishing little other than often rewarding those that are causing or covering up the problems. It is past time to hold our Congressmen accountable and pressure them to make meaningful changes that improves the quality of care for our veterans.
As a veteran that has received healthcare from the VA in Fayetteville, all I can do is hope I am not on the list of those misdiagnosed. To those that have already received notification that you were affected, I offer my hopes and prayers for the best possible outcome. To those grieving families that have suffered the worst fate, I offer my sincerest condolences.
Congressman Womack has been in office for more than 7 years now. He and his colleagues have known about these problems at the VA and have done little to fix them. Perhaps if they were to decline their "Cadillac" insurance plans provided at our expense and instead use the same VA care that they have inflicted on other vets, they might be more motivated to propose some meaningful changes. In November the voters will have a chance to replace Womack with someone that will, and is motivated to make things right. This November elect Libertarian Michael J Kalagias to represent and serve you in Congress.PS For those of you that think this doesn't effect or apply to you, I give you this warning: This is what single payer health care looks like. Be careful what you wish for.
