‘Extremely disturbing and unethical’: new rules allow VA doctors to refuse to treat Democrats, unmarried veterans

[multivita-man]

VA hospitals remove politics and marital status from guidelines protecting patients from discrimination

Department of Veterans Affairs says the changes come in response to a Trump executive order ‘defending women’

www.theguardian.com

Medical staff are still required to treat veterans regardless of race, color, religion and sex, and all veterans remain entitled to treatment. But individual workers are now free to decline to care for patients based on personal characteristics not explicitly prohibited by federal law.

Language requiring healthcare professionals to care for veterans regardless of their politics and marital status has been explicitly eliminated.

--

The bottom line is that Trump and his supporters do not view their political opponents as equal citizens. They view them as enemies

They don't even regard them as human.

 

[Along Came Jones]

This comment does not refute the claim being made in the article.

VA med tech screening patient: How did you vote in the last election?
Patient: Democrat. Straight party.
VA med tech: Service denied.

Is that how it works?

 

[NuffSaid]

VA med tech screening patient: How did you vote in the last election?
Patient: Democrat. Straight party.
VA med tech: Service denied.

Is that how it works?

Nope, won’t even go that far.

Vet: I have a pain in my chest
Receptionist: can I see your voter registration card. I see, Democrat. Leave before we call the police.

 

[Along Came Jones]

Nope, won’t even go that far.

Vet: I have a pain in my chest
Receptionist: can I see your voter registration card. I see, Democrat. Leave before we call the police.

Darn. Wish I'd reason to use VA medical care just know the actual in check process. I do know from a lifetime (from adolescence to geriatrics) of receiving military health care, not once have I been asked about my religion or politics. And if someone over at the VA does so, there are at minimum appeals.

VA decision reviews and appeals

Within a VA medical facility, I'm pretty sure there is a facility specific complaint and appeal process. This story smells bad.

 

[RaleBulgarian]

VA hospitals remove politics and marital status from guidelines protecting patients from discrimination

Department of Veterans Affairs says the changes come in response to a Trump executive order ‘defending women’

www.theguardian.com

Medical staff are still required to treat veterans regardless of race, color, religion and sex, and all veterans remain entitled to treatment. But individual workers are now free to decline to care for patients based on personal characteristics not explicitly prohibited by federal law.

Language requiring healthcare professionals to care for veterans regardless of their politics and marital status has been explicitly eliminated.

--

The bottom line is that Trump and his supporters do not view their political opponents as equal citizens. They view them as enemies

Another Traitor Trump administration disgrace begging for lawsuits.

 

[W_Heisenberg]

VA med tech screening patient: How did you vote in the last election?
Patient: Democrat. Straight party.
VA med tech: Service denied.

Is that how it works?

I've seen enough. Trump, his supporters, his appointees, the Project 2025 folks, I think they're all crazy. I am no longer operating under the belief that anything that's happening right now is normal or that things will eventually return to normal. I think if we like the way our country is now we have to push back against Trump...now. Trump and his supporters are authoritarians and they're going to keep pushing until people push back.

 

[W_Heisenberg]

This is being greatly misunderstood. What has happened isn't good, but it's not as bad as everyone is making it out to be.

I'm going to have to start with some background. From the 70s on, the United States has passed a number of laws that prevent discrimination on various bases - race, color, sex, national origin, age, and disability.

In 2000, President Bill Clinton issued an Executive Order adding additional bases that the Executive Branch could not discriminate against - those being marital status, and political affiliation. This was obviously less reaching than the others, since they were laws that applied to everyone, rather than rules that applied only to the Government. But those rules did prevent agents of the federal government from discriminating on those bases.

Obama and Biden followed suit, protecting sexual orientation and gender identity by the government as well.

Trump repealed all of those protections.

Now, this in reality will not result in the VA denying service to Democrats. The VA as a whole has to provide service to those deemed eligible by law.

It does mean that individual doctors at the VA could hypothetically refuse to provide service based on political affiliation or martial status. But that would violate a whole bunch of medical ethics rules (which VA doctors have to follow, too) so I don't really think it's actually going to happen.

Yeah, you're right, in theory, but I also remember a bunch of law firms caving to Trump. What were their ethical obligations? Did they violate them by kowtowing to Trump? You're a lawyer, right? Training to be one, I think?

 

[Ahlevah]

No comments about the doublespeak bullshit you cited as a source?

How about the White House’s deputy press secretary tasked with countering media bullshit?



Doesn’t look like she supports your version of events either.

 

[Ahlevah]

Trump's Parade​

"No Kings" protest crowd in Saint Paul, Minnesota:​

I still remember Kamala’s disingenuous pictures taken of a dead arena where a Trump rally was supposedly taking place. Turns out the pictures were taken hours before the event. This reminds me of that. Why are these people sitting around talking instead of watching it? What time was it taken? Why do Democrats hate the Army so much? Don’t they realize that it’s only thanks to the Army that they’re free to be jerks and cheer people flying Mexican flags, throwing rocks, and writing filthy graffiti on office buildings? Will they be protesting “Kings” on July 4th, too? At least that would be more appropriate, wouldn’t it? Fit the occasion better?

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

The issue is the policy that Drs can refuse treatment on these grounds.

AfaIk, no one has said it has happened since YESTERDAY when the policy came into being.

Back in 2003 about two years after my wife was enrolled, she asked her VA gynecologist to tie her tubes, as she was a multiple sclerosis patient with kidney and bladder issues and only one kidney.
The doctor, who I would guess was about 75 years old, refused and scolded her, saying she was still perfectly able to bear children.
It fell to the surgeon who was scheduled to install her new urinary catheter stoma, who quietly assured her he would take care of it while attending to the main procedure, which he did.

Now, if that doctor was still working at the VA, he could complain to higher ups and see to it that Karen would never get the procedure done "on his watch". ("under HIS eye") thus reducing my wife
a handmaid subject to the religious views of one cranky old religious whacko with a white coat and a shingle.

Satisfied now?

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

A Democratic president will never do that. That’s the difference.

I suggest there will be a boycott of doctors that discriminate on that basis. The insurance companies may also kick those doctors out of their network.

What network, this is the VA, not the private sector.

 

[SNOWFLAKE]

Why do Democrats hate the Army so much?

Mocking a Trump parade isn't hating the Army. What a stupid comment to make.
The rest of your commentary sounds like someone yelling at clouds.

 

[W_Heisenberg]

I still remember Kamala’s disingenuous pictures taken of a dead arena where a Trump rally was supposedly taking place. Turns out the pictures were taken hours before the event. This reminds me of that. Why are these people sitting around talking instead of watching it? What time was it taken? Why do Democrats hate the Army so much? Don’t they realize that it’s only thanks to the Army that they’re free to be jerks and cheer people flying Mexican flags, throwing rocks, and writing filthy graffiti on office buildings? Will they be protesting “Kings” on July 4th, too? At least that would be more appropriate, wouldn’t it? Fit the occasion better?

Democrats aren’t trying to weaken the VA. That’s the Republicans.

 

[Top Cat]

A consumer can decide who he wants to buy from. A provider should be able to decide which customers he wants. In the case of the VA, some patient may be so mentally wacked that one fears for their own personal safety.

There's this thing. It's called Hippocratic Oath. Something repugnantcons can't wrap their tiny heads around.

 

[Cope]

According to the VA press secretary, Peter Kasperowicz, who is quoted in the article in the OP, the answer to your question, is that doctors can refuse to treat people for these reasons.

"refused care" seems to imply that the entire VA is refusing treatment.

Whereas in reality, the VA is attempting to dodge the appearance of responsibility by creating a policy which allows individual doctors to choose to create an issue.​

But, the VA Still retains responsibility for the actions of their agents who are acting under the policies the VA enact.​

If something can go wrong, it will go wrong.

A policy which creates situation which will cause an issue to occur is also an issue.​

​

imho.​

​

ymmv​

All policies do that, and yet somehow the cries of chicken little fall on deaf ears until it actually happens. Or happens often enough that it creates a big issue.

See immigration. See social policies. See medicare/caid. See Obamacare. See any and all bills/laws/.

My point was that no policy ever encompasses the full breadth and scope of anything.

Now I am not saying anything Trump did or said was good, but I do get tired of all the chicken little postings. I am certainly not defending any veteran being turned down for treatment at the VA!

 

[snakestretcher]

VA hospitals remove politics and marital status from guidelines protecting patients from discrimination

Department of Veterans Affairs says the changes come in response to a Trump executive order ‘defending women’

www.theguardian.com

Medical staff are still required to treat veterans regardless of race, color, religion and sex, and all veterans remain entitled to treatment. But individual workers are now free to decline to care for patients based on personal characteristics not explicitly prohibited by federal law.

Language requiring healthcare professionals to care for veterans regardless of their politics and marital status has been explicitly eliminated.

--

The bottom line is that Trump and his supporters do not view their political opponents as equal citizens. They view them as enemies

It'll be eugenics next.

 

[snakestretcher]

There's this thing. It's called Hippocratic Oath. Something repugnantcons can't wrap their tiny heads around.

They couldn't even spell it.

 

[Simon W. Moon]

How about the White House’s deputy press secretary tasked with countering media bullshit?

View attachment 67575110

Doesn’t look like she supports your version of events either.

she makes the utterly compelling argument of, "nuh-uh"

 

[Ahlevah]

she makes the utterly compelling argument of, "nuh-uh"

So you admit you were wrong? That the Trump Administration DOES NOT agree with The Guardian’s characterization of the rules?

 

[Ahlevah]

There's this thing. It's called Hippocratic Oath. Something repugnantcons can't wrap their tiny heads around.

The first rule is do no harm. That could mean don’t necessarily indulge someone’s belief that he was born in the wrong body and start cutting off body parts to accommodate it. And don’t require the provider to do that if he doesn’t think is the proper way to treat a patient for his particular manifestation of a mental disorder.