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Two opposing stories today about the standards of health care in our country, one with a strong glimmer of hope, another that suggests more bullshit business as usual regarding treatment of wounded soldiers (including re-appointing a general who reportedly let a wounded solider sleep in his own urine):
"A majority of Americans say the federal government should guarantee health insurance to every American, especially children, and are willing to pay higher taxes to do it," according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.
Come again??? Well, if you look around, you see growing discussion among Americans and in the media about the unfairness of the severe disparities in health coverage in this country. Years after the failed Clinton experiment with nationalized health care, this issue might have a shot. Now, if the stock market continues to go south, our tunes might change, but I am hoping.
The disparities in treatment are highlighted in recent coverage about poor care of returning troops, especially at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, amid criticism from Democrats over revelations that soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan were housed among mice, cockroaches, mold and rot. The Army is acting, but is it just passing the buck? “The two-star general in charge of Walter Reed Army Medical Center was relieved of command on Thursday.â€
The issue of troop care is becoming a catalyst in illustrating our “two Americas†(thank you, John Edwards). On TV, ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff, who was severely wounded in Iraq, has been contrasting his care with that of soldiers, finding that Veterans Administration regional medical centers provide retired soldiers with good care but that local V.A. hospitals are less skilled at dealing with complex problems like traumatic brain injuries.
The Army said command of Walter Reed would be taken over temporarily by Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, the Army’s top medical officer. But Kiley, who had been previously stationed at Walter Reed, said this at a news conference shortly after the Post's articles on dilapidated housing for wounded soldiers: the problems "weren't serious and there weren't a lot of them." He also said they were not "emblematic of a process of Walter Reed that has abandoned soldiers and their families."
Or, as John Aravosis at AMERICAblog notes: Kiley let soliders sleep in their own urine when he was previously at Walter Reed.
A senior Pentagon official was quoted on NPR this morning stating, they fired the wrong guy and promoted the wrong guy. Dr. Kiley sounds like an apologist, hitting all the wrong notes.
Especially since this issue has become a strong one for 2008 candidates to campaign on, from Obama to McCain. Sen. Hillary Clinton has formally requested an investigation from the Army's inspector general. She said "Not enough has been done to assist these courageous men and women in recovering from the wounds of battle," Clinton said. "We must know what Army leaders knew, when they knew it, and why they failed to take corrective actions."
