DOCTORS’ LOUNGE
(continued from page 25)
long-neglected illnesses. Because of the
ACA, funding is available for research into
health care delivery and education for NPs,
PAs and doctors who will work in medically
underserved areas. Because of it, mental
health care and treatment for addictions are
far more accessible, with parity in copays.
Because of it, lifetime limits on treatment
have been removed. Because of it, irrational
and greedy premium increases have been
greatly curtailed, due to mandatory federal
review and stiff requirements for justification for such increases.
What people seem not to understand is
that preventive health care is expensive, but
is far more humane than the alternative.
Having large cohorts of people die off at 60
saves everybody money but robs the world
of grandparents, political leaders, professors, writers, artists, filmmakers, comics,
basketball coaches and happiness. In the
same vein, sophisticated medical care is
extremely expensive, but the cost is doubled when no one is there to receive the
discharged patient and try not to let them
get that sick again. We don’t have the British
system, where everyone is cared for, or the
French one, where doctors come to your
house to boot; but what we have should
be available to all. President Obamacare
has made that possible. Gov. Bevin should
not dismantle it: it works. IF he can receive
federal permission to remodel it along the
lines of the Indiana plan, in hopes of saving
money and increasing health accountability,
that might work out fine. Dismantling it
totally with no alternative is a ridiculously
expensive, wasteful and inhumane idea. My
advice is, when in doubt, raise the tobacco
tax. Tripling it would not even bring us close
to where we should be and would raise tons
of money, in this, the state where someone
dies of lung cancer about every three hours.
Raise the tax, help the poor, and keep the
young from smoking. What’s not to like?
Dr. Barry practices Internal Medicine with
Norton Community Medical Associates-Barret. She is a clinical associate professor at the
University of Louisville School of Medicine,
Department of Medicine.
DEFENSE OF THE VETERANS
ADMINISTRATION
Capt. Robert E. Arnold, MD, USNRR
Re: Always an Afterthought by Mary Barry, MD, Louisville Medicine, October 2015
I
have been a patient in the Veterans Administration system for 20 years and I
wish to make it perfectly clear that I do
so by choice because I like the care that I
have received. I could obtain care in Tricare,
civilian providers or military hospitals so
there is no financial incentive to remain in
the VA. The providers are excellent and the
care is timely and appropriate. Waiting times
are almost always 15 minutes or less and this
includes lab work, X-Rays, etc. The clerks
and staff go out of their way to be helpful
and one time I asked a man sweeping the
floor where a particular service was and he
put down his broom and walked me through
two long corridors and said “No problem”.
Try that at Baptist or Nortons hospitals.
Incidentally, they don’t know my rank or
that I am a doctor. That being said, there
are some common misconceptions about
VA that I would like to address.
26
LOUISVILLE MEDICINE
At the Separation from Active Duty Orientations, which all service members are
required to attend, the VA has a designated
time when they clearly explain their function so that everyone can understand it.
First of all, VA care is not an entitlement but
is an added benefit with very clear guidelines. The VA was made for the benefit of
severely wounded veterans who would need
almost constant care and it was felt that
having this in one place would be advantageous and this concept was proven correct.
As this patient population died, the excess
VA capacity was opened to all veterans but
in ord \