Should the VA be privatized?

I think a Hybrid would work best. Private care for some of the more 'normal' problems at a minimum as well as some of the more difficult problems. The best Doctors are in private practice, not at the VA.

"The best Doctors are in private practice, not at the VA." I won't personally disparage any group of physicians like that without supporting data. Ultimately, you'd have to verify that assertion with actual comparisons of health outcomes, and the VA does surprisingly well when compared against the private sector. The empirical literature shows that, in aggregate, "quality" of care in the VA is statistically better or statistically no different than care in the private sector. If you want to see a full literature review on the comparison, Google "Comparison of Quality of Care in VA and Non-VA Settings: A Systematic Review." The VA also fares very well when comparing the "cost" of healthcare against the private sector. "Access" to care is where the VA has problems. If veterans can get to the healthcare (access), that care is of favorable quality and at a favorable cost structure (to taxpayers, not to the patients) when compared to the private sector. Lastly, even if those "best doctors" are in the private sector, it's an assumption to think they have capacity to accept veterans as new patients. Our veterans may just step out of one long line and into another long line, and not receive any better care (as evidenced by the empirical studies). I don't think that actually solves any problems.

LTC Kevin B. - Then I'll do it Kevin, The Doctors I've had the immense displeasure of being worked on are as clueless as a first-year med student. Listening to an orthopedic doctor with '30 years' at the VA (because he couldn't hack it in real medicine) attempt to bully me into accepting a diagnosis that I knew for a fact to be completely incorrect and when he arrogantly asked if I'd been to med school I replied no, but my real doctor is someone that is a professor at one of the top 3 medical Universities in the country and a Parent that is a doctor and since I've dealt with my issue for almost 20 years and studied it at the clinical level on my own and could run circles around his piss poor latin at both the anatomical level as well as the neuroscience level only infuriated him more because he got caught being a douchebag. If he were a real physician subject to malpractice insurance I would have had his balls for breakfast. Stop looking at this so call empirical data that has been known to be manipulated to produce results that D.C.. Do you really want to see what's going on or continue to tell the people you work for what they want to hear? If so, get your head out of the paperwork and go talk to patients. I wouldn't see the VA if my life depended on it. Yes, the people at the patient level are not bad at all but the mid to high-level fools should be sent to Adak and retired there as they are nothing but a bunch of yes men and woman worried about their career and not the patients. If the VA is so good, then why don't they let the market decide if they are good or not? Because they would fail in a matter of months. Civilian hospitals and physicians that can't cut the mustard are culled from the world.....and guess where they go? The VA because there is no accountability.

PFC Al Sethre and CAPT Kevin B. your points are well taken and the caution is real. Al I could actually see your slogan as the sound bite just before the news anchor comes on to explain the waste, fraud and abuse that was discovered with the new private company!!

SGT Tim Soyars thanks for sharing your experience! There by the grace of God we go. I am so glad for your survival.