VIEWPOINTS
Saturday, August 20, 2022
East Oregonian
A5
SALLY C.
PIPES
OTHER VIEWS
VA shows
pitfalls of
government
health care
Some veterans are forced
to wait months for
appointments for treatment
and care at VA facilities
I
n the fall of 2020, a patient in
Augusta, Georgia went to the local
Veterans Aff airs medical center for
a minimally invasive urologic surgery,
according to a new report from the VA’s
Offi ce of Inspector General.
Less than two weeks later, the OIG
reports, he was dead. The Inspector
General concluded that there had been
“multiple defi ciencies” in the patient’s
care. Among them, his doctor allegedly
failed to account for his history of chest
infections and alcoholism.
Sadly, this is just one of countless
examples of the VA’s failure to provide
adequate care. And it shows why propos-
als to nationalize U.S. health care — like
Senator Bernie Sanders’s bill to establish
Medicare for All, which he reintroduced
in May — are bad news.
Every six months, the VA’s Inspector
General submits a report to Congress on
the agency’s performance. And every
six months, the story is the same: gross
incompetence, fraud, long wait times and
substandard care.
The OIG’s most recent report, which
covered October
2021 to March
EVEN
2022, identifi ed
more than $4
PATIENTS
billion in “mone-
tary impact”
NOT IN
— waste, ques-
IMMINENT
tionable spend-
ing, fraud and the
DANGER
like. Investiga-
tions into off end-
FACE THE
ing behavior led
STRESS OF
to more than 100
arrests for crimes
... LONG
that included wire
fraud and brib-
WAITS.
ery. One Louisi-
ana doctor had
received more than $650,000 in kick-
backs from a medical supply company.
But while the waste and criminal-
ity are galling, the patient stories are
worse.
A veteran who sought treatment and
eventually died at a VA center in New
Mexico waited 175 days for a CT scan
for possible lung cancer, according to
the OIG. Then, even though the results
showed signs of cancer, the patient did
not receive a follow-up biopsy. The
patient eventually received a conclusive
cancer diagnosis at a non-VA hospital.
The OIG also reported on a patient
who died 17 days after being discharged
from a VA medical center in Gaines-
ville, Fla., after a 33-day hospital stay.
The Inspector General concluded
that the facility “failed to develop a
discharge plan that adequately ensured
patient safety and continuity of care.”
Even patients not in imminent danger
face the stress of extremely long waits.
At the VA clinic in Anaheim, Cali-
fornia., at the beginning of June, new
patients could expect to wait 29 days for
an appointment. At the three clinics in
Jacksonville, Florida, the average wait in
early June was 52 days. And at one clinic
in Fayetteville, North Carolina, earlier
this month, it was 96 days.
None of this should be especially
surprising. Long waits and sloppy care
characterize single-payer health care all
over the world.
Canadians face a median wait of
more than 25 weeks for treatment from
a specialist following referral by their
general practitioner, according to the
Fraser Institute, a Canadian think tank.
Such delays have serious consequences.
SecondStreet.org, another Canadian
think tank, found that over 11,500
Canadian patients died while waiting
for surgeries, procedures or diagnostic
scans between 2020 and 2021.
Canada and the VA off er a glimpse of
the subpar treatment, needless suff er-
ing and rampant fraud and abuse we can
expect under Medicare for All.
———
Sally C. Pipes is president, CEO and
Thomas W. Smith Fellow in Health Care
Policy at the Pacifi c Research Institute.
EDITOR’S NOTE
Do you have a point you’d like to make
or an issue you feel strongly about?
Submit a letter to the editor or a guest
column.
New look, same mission
for Hermiston schools
TRICIA
MOONEY
OTHER VIEWS
he Hermiston School District has
some very exciting things to cele-
brate this fall, and we have the entire
Hermiston community to thank for it.
In 2019, Hermiston voters approved
a bond to build two new elementary
schools and add classroom space at
the high school. This fall we will offi -
cially welcome students to Loma Vista
Elementary School, the brand-new Rocky
Heights Elementary School. These build-
ings give us not only more classroom
space, but more secure and energy effi -
cient buildings. They continue to create
an equitable learning environment for all
students and add permanent classroom
space without cost-ineffi cient modulars.
Work on the high school annex is under
way and will continue throughout this
school year.
Much of Hermiston’s growth in
the past few decades has been driven
by young families. School districts in
Oregon are funded based on enrollment
to pay for things like teachers, trans-
portation and facility maintenance. But
T
addressing capacity needs by adding new state, and through this partnership with
schools and buildings to keep up with that Amazon and BMCC we will add another
growth requires local fi nancial support.
layer of STEAM education.
I count myself lucky to live and work
The education experience is a time
in a community that understands invest-
when students learn academic material,
ment in our schools and students is the
but also when they explore how they
best way to ensure
want to apply their
a brighter future
interests and skills
THE EDUCATION
for not just them,
in the real world.
EXPERIENCE IS A TIME Programs like these
but for all of us.
doorways
Schools are
WHEN STUDENTS LEARN open
for students to try
such a fundamen-
tal part of life in
ACADEMIC MATERIAL, things they haven’t
tried before and
Hermiston, and
BUT ALSO WHEN THEY learn from experts
we’re committed
in the fi eld.
to making the most
EXPLORE HOW THEY
It’s another
of these facilities.
WANT TO APPLY THEIR step to preparing
They are gath-
for right-
ering places for
INTERESTS AND SKILLS students
fi t jobs, careers or
community events,
post-high school
youth sports and
IN THE REAL WORLD.
education once they
extracurricu-
graduate.
lar activities. I’m
Even though our buildings look diff er-
so grateful that residents are willing to
ent than a generation ago, our mission
support the youth by investing funds in
in the Hermiston School District has
these buildings and time attending these
remained the same — to serve the
events.
needs of all students through rigorous
We’re also excited to launch the
and engaging program choices, mutual
Amazon Web Services Think Big Space
this fall near the Blue Mountain Commu- respect and high expectations.
———
nity College campus in Hermiston.
Tricia Mooney is the superintendent of the
We’ve built our career technical educa-
Hermiston School District.
tion program into one of the best in the
Making the ‘People’s House’ safe
DICK
HUGHES
OTHER VIEWS
he gold man atop the Oregon State
Capitol has gone dark. A cavernous
hole has arisen at the building base-
ment; another is on its way. The governor,
secretary of state and state treasurer have
been ousted from their offi ces. Guided
tours of the Capitol are gone until 2025.
Those development are purpose-
ful. Such is the price — a half-billion
dollars plus a few years of temporary
inconvenience — for finally making the
“People’s House” safe for the people.
The Capitol was in such sad shape
seismically that in 2015, state Senate
President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, told
my colleagues and me: “Given what we
know, we should close the Capitol down
today. At least we should protect kids
from coming in,” referring to school
field trips.
There’s more. The plumbing is so bad
that the drinking fountains are unus-
able. The HVAC system could run hot
in summer, cold in winter, with creaky
ventilation. Parts of the building lacked
fire sprinklers and other safety devices,
including safe exits and sufficient stair-
cases. The building was inhospitable to
anyone using a wheelchair, scooter or
stroller.
The first phases of the renovation and
reconstruction corrected some deficien-
cies, especially in the 1977 legislative
wings. The final, most expensive phase
centers on the largest, oldest portion —
the Capitol completed in 1938. So that
work can be done, that area has been
closed to the public, officeholders and
legislative employees since July 1.
Staff have relocated. If you’re looking
for the governor’s office, go to the nearby
State Library across the Capitol Mall.
History buffs will recall that the
previous capitol burned to the ground on
T
April 25, 1935. A young Mark Hatfield
ing heads to get his way that year. The
was among the Salem residents who
Legislature embraced a much smaller,
came out to witness the inferno. Though
$59.9 million project the next year as
long ago, that experience illustrates the
the first phase of the Capitol Accessi-
relevance of the safety improvements
bility, Maintenance and Safety proj-
underway.
ect. The 2020 Legislature added phase
The construc-
2 at $70.8 million.
tion almost didn’t
With new leader-
BY
THE
WAY,
SOME
happen and was
ship in the Oregon
OREGONIANS LOVE
delayed for years by
House this year and
bipartisan opposi-
Courtney finish-
THE CAPITOL’S DE-
tion. Courtney was
ing his final term
as
Senate president,
the cheerleader for
SIGN. SOME DESPISE
the 2022 Legisla-
what in 2015 was a
IT, COMPLAINING THE ture approved the
$337 million proj-
big phase 3: $375
ect. At crunch time,
TOP LOOKS LIKE A
million.
House Speaker Tina
Lawmakers are
Kotek, D-Portland,
CAKE ORNAMENT OR
used to conducting
and House Majority
A BOWLING TROPHY. meetings and public
Leader Val Hoyle,
hearings virtu-
D-Eugene, said the
WHAT SAY YOU?
ally, so restricted
seismic improve-
access to committee
ments were needed
rooms no longer was an impediment. The
but the time wasn’t right.
construction schedule was reconfigured
Joining them in voting “no,” on a
so the House and Senate could use their
committee vote that effectively stopped
chambers during the legislative sessions.
the project from moving ahead, were
Work should wrap up in late 2025.
Rep. Tobias Read, D-Beaverton; Rep.
The big hole on the north side of the
Greg Smith, R-Heppner; and Sen. Fred
Capitol and one that will emerge farther
Girod, R-Lyons. Siding with Courtney
west are so workers can get under the
were Rep. John Huffman, R-The Dalles,
building, gut the lower level, hook up
and Sen. Richard Devlin, D-Tualatin.
additional water and sewer lines, put in
The price tag, uncertain public
temporary shoring, remove the existing
support and inconvenience bothered
cement columns, and place new columns
some lawmakers. During construction,
the Legislature and other officials would and devices to keep the structure stable
during the quake.
have had to vacate the Capitol and use
As for the Oregon Pioneer atop the
the renovated Public Utility Commission
building — a former Sears store near the Capitol — colloquially known as the
gold man — Capitol Accessibility, Main-
Capitol Mall — as their temporary capi-
tenance and Safety director Jodie Jones
tol.
told me that crews will seek a work-
As a result, initial project staff were
around to again illuminate the statue at
let go; $25 million already had been
night.
spent.
By the way, some Oregonians love
Courtney was not happy: “When
the Capitol’s design. Some despise it,
the magnitude 9 quake hits, the loss of
complaining the top looks like a cake
life and property across our state will
ornament or a bowling trophy. What say
be tremendous. The decision not to
you?
complete this project ensures that those
———
losses will include the Oregon State
Dick Hughes has been covering the
Capitol and the people inside it.”
Oregon political scene since 1976.
He persevered instead of knock-