The Obama administration spent billions to fix the Veterans Administration hospital system so that our nation’s former military service personnel could actually receive the good quality healthcare they were promised—and it appears as though the Los Angeles unit used that money to buy shredders.

The embattled Veterans Administration may have another scandal on its hands, after investigators found at least eight benefits claims for veterans at the Los Angeles VA that were shredded instead of being properly processed, according to the Washington Times. The VA’s Office of the Inspector General conducted the internal investigation after receiving an anonymous tip that the staff at the Los Angeles regional office was shredding compensation claims. The 15-page report details what type of documents were allegedly shredded and how the office didn’t have a Records Management Officer, the position created in the wake of similar practices in 2008, for more than a year.

Perhaps the veterans can take some consolation in that fact that the failure of our state’s healthcare exchange, Covered California, has left citizens relying on our version of Obamacare unable to access medical care.

California’s health insurance exchange is still sluggish when it comes to resolving customer service problems, leaving many people unable to access health care or finalize their tax returns, a consumer advocacy group said Thursday. Covered California has been slow to fix enrollment mistakes entered into its computer system, according to the Health Consumer Alliance, which is made up of legal aid groups throughout the state. Exchange staff has a limited ability to update a state computer program for determining whether people are eligible to enroll in Covered California or in Medi-Cal, the state’s low-income health program, the group says.

Those Californians who have managed to enroll in the exchange are poised to receive a 4-7 percent increase in their rates.That should make them feel a whole lot better!

Meanwhile, Governor Jerry Brown has called a special session of the state legislature to address problems such as healthcare funding, prompting one lawmaker to reintroduce an assisted suicide bill:

Assemblywoman Susan Eggman (D-Stockton), the bill’s primary author, defended the decision to bring the issue into the special session on healthcare financing. “It’s about making healthcare work better,” she said. “Healthcare is about providing care, but it’s also about providing relief at the end of life.”

So rather than dying while waiting for an appointment, like over 200,000 of the veterans in the VA system have done, those relying on the public healthcare system in this state can depend on death plans instead.



