VA Central Alabama Healthcare System ‘Worst’ In Country
Congresswoman Martha Roby pushed back against Veterans Affairs when she blasted allegations that the VA Central Alabama Healthcare System is the “worst” in the country. Take a minute to watch the linked videos above. Rep. Roby hits hard against VA and the White House for their failures to protect the interests of veterans.
SEE: Rep. Roby On YouTube
In her speech on the House floor hammering failures at the Central Alabama VA Healthcare System, Rep. Roby stated:
A workload report at the end of April showed that more than 6,500 consults over 90 days were still pending, including more than half awaiting approval for non-VA care…
A lot of nice promises were made in terms of the national VA’s commitment to improve Central Alabama. But, once our problems left the front page, there hasn’t been sufficient follow-up…
Mr. Speaker, maybe that’s because we are depending on a broken bureaucracy to fix itself. Maybe it’s because we have been asking for VA leaders to intervene at this troubled system, rather than requiring them to. Maybe it’s time to change that.
Rep. Martha Roby is a Representative from Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District. In the 2nd District, Rep. Roby serves the families of Maxwell Air Force Base and Fort Rucker. Since the wait list scandal became known, she has pushed hard against VA for the flagrant misconduct of its employees in the Central Alabama system.
Before her short stint in Congress, Rep. Roby was an attorney and served as a city councilman in her home town of Montgomery. According to her bio, About Martha Roby page:
Roby obtained a Bachelor of Music degree from New York University in 1998 and her law degree from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in 2001. Martha is married to Riley Roby and they have two children, Margaret and George. The Robys are members of Trinity Presbyterian Church, where they were married, their children baptized and where they are involved in various ministries.
So what do you think? Is Roby the right kind of politician to tackle VA?
Remember when VA Secretary McDonald mentioning wanting to “apply the Disney Model to the VA…”?
Well, just take a read in this article of how Disney just gave pink slips to 250 of their most tech-savvy employees and engineers,(with no forewarning), hiring foreigners with special work visas from INDIA, and making those soon to be without a job actually train the hardly English speaking replacements before the door hit them in the rear!!! If this is the “Disney Model”, the VA can actually get much, MUCH worse….if one can try to imagine that:
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/04/us/last-task-after-layoff-at-disney-train-foreign-replacements.html?mabReward=A6&moduleDetail=recommendations-2&action=click&contentCollection=Media®ion=Footer&module=WhatsNext&version=WhatsNext&contentID=WhatsNext&configSection=article&isLoggedIn=false&src=recg&pgtype=article
I talked with a close friend this morning. He and I both agree, nothing will be done to fix the VA. No matter how many shout or complain, nothing will occur. The VA, has and will continue to operate the same day in and day out.
There have been many movies about this. Two which come to mind are; “Article 99” and “Born on the Fourth of July “. Each show the deplorable conditions, graft and corruption of the VA.
I would also recommend looking up the history of the VA. It wasn’t always under this name. The history of the VA, will show how many times it has been involved in controversy. Each time it has weathered the storm!
Therefore, I would say to all, don’t be surprised if NOTHING happens. This has been going on for longer than everyone here has been alive!
the good thing is that she is not a current or former veteran, why i say that is cause it seems to me the more so called good vets or current troops seem to loose that need to be compassionate like this woman has, they seem to just forget all the sh# they went thru and seen as well as their former vets. I take my hats off to this good compassionate woman/rep whom arent sneaky like that turkey neck bastard Mcconnell….
I really love Roby’s passion and leadership, and she said some well-needed statements.
I only wish there were more with her tenacity and dedication. For instance, I expect MUCH MORE from the likes of Sen. McCain and Lindsey Graham, but I am afraid they are only part of the problem of having that condition called, “Head-us In-the Sand-us”, and it’s appalling because they are both Veterans, with Lindsey Graham just announcing his USAF Reserve Retirement…so he can run for President.
I agree that the VA needs to not be “asked” but “mandated” to make sweeping improvements AND be required to take an oath before ANY appearances before ANY Congressional Committees, to tell the WHOLE TRUTH with the ramifications of up to Prison time for misleading, or plain lying to them, or taking no action at all when ordered to.
We need more Politicians to stand-up to this growing problem that shows absolutely no sight in ending let alone improving. Our President needs to realize the VA OIG is very much part of “the problems”…as well as most of the GS-6’s and above all throughout the VA System.
One huge audit on all these DOD War Profiteers and Gov’t Contractors that constantly squeeze yet more ‘blood money’ from the VA, and by proxy, the USA Taxpayers.
Sec. McDonald seems to be AWOL and I would think ANYONE genuinely wishing to make a name for themselves for finally cleaning-up the VA mess, such as Sec. McDonald, would be having WEEKLY REPORTS IN PERSON showing what is actually being DONE, not just talked about or backtracking to blame the people before them…I truly believe we can FORCE these issues with a dysfunctional VA into EVERY talking point and debate with regards to the 2016 Presidential Election…I think Ben and this Forum/Blog has quite a standing chance of doing just that in keeping it all in the news to counter everyone’s apparent very short attention spans and memories.
Actually McDonald would now be considered a Deserter, remember anything over 31 days?!
You got some great ideas Namnibor, those ideas would work too, if Congress, the Senate and the President would implement them. Only i don’t see that happening any time soon.
I wish the Congresswoman all the best of luck, she’s sure gonna need it!!!
“Deserter” would be quite correct…I was trying to be somewhat optimistic but that pipe dream is fading fast.
What’s even more alarming, is Sen. McCain and Lindsay Graham were the -2- that pushed to sneak-in the line items in VA new budget to start taking BAH/BAQ away from dual service married military members to save just a *few* million dollars…you can read about it on military dot com, as it’s now being contested because of it’s audacity when there’s MUCH larger ways to save money on budget going forward.
What gripes my butt is NONE of these Congressional Reps/Senators have taken ANY KIND OF CUT in all their HUGE superfluous benefits. Plus, they only need to serve -1- term and receive FOR LIFE all those same benefits, whereas a Vet would need to serve at least 20 years and not even receive a small % of what these mostly never served Politicians receive a year just for their clothing or auto allowances alone…the hypocrisy is thick!
Anyone else think it’s high-time for those Politicians to actually feel the effects of “sequestration”?
The unions work for employers. Union Dues are automatically taken out of employee paychecks like FICA deductions. It’s a win win for both employer and union. Where’s the training for these employees. I doubt that there isn’t much because it is the employer who hires and deems trained enough if at all, so the VA AND DOD are responsible for incompetent employees. That’s part of the grand bargaining chip between employer and union. Which leaves a huge gap in health and safety for all. I went further to sue the union and employer. The depositions read the same when I worked for kaiser as the VA.Kaiser being the model of unsafe and unhealthy medicine throughout this country and government but certainly loaded with our money as is the VA,.
While Gov Christie maybe appauled at the VA, he’s of the same type legislator mentality to privatize all government for corporation sake while profiting up the wazoo. That’s what happens when there are no regulations or no one enforcing them. We’re just about lawless in this country when it comes to many things and access to our healthcare is right on top.
So how does one hold this employer accountable as well as legislators who let this happen? I was told today that there is no where to file a complaint against my congressperson. Really?. NO accountability FOR our representatives at all? No wonder everything is so screwed up.The U.S. DOJ CAN go after FIFA, an international soccer operation but no prosecution for our nations VA/DOD criminals?
So what do you think? Is Roby the right kind of politician to tackle VA?
No. For one reason: She dont have a bottomless pit pocketbook…..
…to fight the VA….
Well, with acronyms like DUSHOM (Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Operations and Management) aka “Dush” synynomous with douche. What do you expect. I converted the ICARE to ” I Cant Adjust to Ridiculous Employees” Until the VA understands that you cannot talk to veterans any kind of way it chooses, nothing will change. When these foreign entities run an offensive on this country and operationally the VA will be a mass casualty station , that these VA employees are not equipped to handle. So this VA scandal is a lot deeper, and the government needs to take action , because it is a national security threat to not have these government installations prepared in the name National Defense and interests.
VA DEATHECARE IS A FEDE3RAL RICO CRIME RACKET FROM AFGE UNION HELL
(All) (Fat )(Government)(Employees)
Perhaps what is the worst for me is that since 1989, my first experience with legislative hearings on the rotten kaiser care of patients and employees patient deaths or as I call them now, murder,, that NOT ONE legislator we’ve been to has ever gone after kaiser for any wrong doing. NEVER.AND many of the CA politicians have ex kaiser workers working for them, infiltrators and obstructionists to their constituents. It’s been 26 years and yet.Kaiser was the medical care giver for soldiers and federal employees. Your VA IS ACTUALLY KAISER.Get rid of this greedy evil government contractor that brings in many billions per year of tax payer/premium/employee/ssa/medicare money while doling out deliberate killer care. Maybe then other health care corporations will take a hint and not use patient money for shareholder money too, to give to their doctors like kaiser does. Kaiser making more in profit for less care. .Kaiser taught many corporations and other govt agencies to do the same,.make more money doing less and we’re the victims of this round the clock pillaging and plundering physical and financial abuse. AND WE’RE PAYING FOR IT ALL,THIS includes our legislators who are knowingly complicit in these abuses. We need legislators who are not beholden to govt contractors like kaiser which gives them actual tax payer/premium/employee, ssa/medicare money for campaign donations. Its all a very incestuous relationship and greatly out of hand when our own disabled vets are nothing more than ATM’s for insurance companies like DOD’s AIG (comp) and or Kaiser.& BY THE WAY,HOW much is your medical care coverage worth? and who’s really getting it?.
Sounds like major auditing needs to be done!
Sounds legit. I had Kaiser around 2001-2002 and they were just terrible. From the exorbitant prices they wanted to charge for a copy of my medical records (around a $1 a page) to the medical flub ups they made with my health (I was taken back to the hospital for an infected/open C section after surgery), having them as a health provider was a nightmare. I’ve heard they’ve improved, but I’d still never trust them enough to go back. Maybe they do have a similar business model to VA.
I don’t know. Yet Congresswoman Roby could lead the charge with help from many of others in high positions to ‘get the job done!’ I do like her idea of “requiring” VA higher-ups to do their jobs!
I also feel if many were to lose their jobs, or be held accountable in a court of law, we vets and taxpayers might feel as though something IS actually taking place to fix the broken VA system!!!
I’m not sure anything is going to happen because the VA has been broken for decades. Only with new people in Congress showing their disdain towards the VA, maybe just maybe something mlght happen!!!!
Until it happens, I won’t hold my breath!!!!
A Vietnam Veteran and Proud U. S. Citizen.
Go Congresswoman Roby! AL always being worst or near worst shows how corrupt her fellow politicians are in the State. It stinks, and the VA will be at the front of the line for Fed funds w/o services rendered.
THIS is exactly the kaiser model of health care starting in 1986 with Pres/CEO David Lawrence. kaiser is the engineer in our country’s current medicine, whether private or public or for vets. a book called, The Nazi Doctors, Mr Kaiser goes to Washington. The Rise of Government Entrepreneur. Edgar Kaiser sells Nixon the increase in profit for less care in the early 70’s archives. and this evidenced based medicine is in your VA care .This is about absconding what taxpayers pay for and making kaiser the biggest medical care lie in this country.and you vets and the rest of us are paying for it with our health and our money over and over again.. It’s one huge tax payer freebie for Nazi kaiser care. ALL OF THE COMPLAINTS WE HAD AS PATIENTS AND EMPLOYEES ARE THE VERY EXACT SAME AS OUR VETS, DOWN TO THE WAY THE VA IS RUN.This is deliberate to get you all into kaiser, charge 3 times as much and then you’ll get the same type of care as you are getting now and no where to go again for help.
Dina in Sacramento, .