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Comment by sharkmerry | Hacker News Reader

This seems like whataboutism.

is it just veteran care thats broken? Is active duty the same issue?

We spend $843 per capita on just Administrative expenses in the US on healthcare. Its like 7-10% of Healthcare expenses.

Do we really dare let this waste continue using private companies?

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Active duty care is bad as well. A running joke in the military is that "motrin and water" is a miracle cure because it's the only thing you'll get prescribed without a ton of doctor visits. I personally know of two people that were diagnosed with cancer while they were active duty, and both were lucky to survive. One told the doctor he was having severe pain near his abdomen, and instead of doing any sort of examination, they just put him on a 6 month waiting list for hernia surgery. Turns out he had testicular cancer and after the 6 month wait, it had advanced pretty far and he immediately needed to start chemo. They told him he only had a 10% chance of living because the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes during the wait. Another friend kept complaining about headaches and they kept sending him away with motrin, and after a few months they finally did a full exam and they found out he had a brain tumor.

Active duty care varies wildly from post to post. My wife and I experienced spectacular care but I have heard dozens and dozens of horror stories from people who were stationed elsewhere.

What is really amazing is that active duty family care is basically magic. USFHP is virtually free and you can go to virtually any private doctor, practice, or hospital you want. It's the impossible dream of what government sponsored health care could be.

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