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1. The Veterans Affairs department (VA) has been caring for nearly 40K veterans. Though its death rate of 5.4% and a positivity rate of 8.3% are well in line with the hardest-hit states, it nonetheless owns miserable testing credentials relative to those states. The normalized testing rate of 24K vis-a-vis the national average of 184K is just appalling.
2. Of course, once the testing level is improved, the positivity rate and the resulting confirmed cases are expected to climb. Unfortunately, the veterans living in small towns and rural areas do not have easy access to the VA hospitals and clinics, so the reported cases (as indicated above) do not represent the 20.4M active population. According to some experts, it could be manifold higher.
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3. Despite the inadequate care, the VA system has already registered more cases than in 20 US states and all territories. It has the second-highest death rate and fourth highest positivity rate on the list. Lately, its caseloads and deaths are on the rise alongside the rising cases in the Sunbelt. Again, the VA shows the worst testing credentials on this list.
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4. The above graph from the VA site shows the rapid surge in July, which has continued into August. Though the VA reports a very limited active caseload of 14%, its convalescent cases account for over 80%, so the active case picture, unlike in different states, is somewhat misleading.
5. Ideally, the VA system should be merged with Medicare so all veterans would qualify for Medicare. As indicated before, the veterans living in small towns and rural areas are at a significant disadvantage in having proper access to medical care as they generally prefer to stick to the VA system to avoid out-of-pocket expenditures. If the VA system becomes part of Medicare, our veterans would be better off.
"Medicare for All Veterans" will be a good start, eventually leading to "Medicare for All."
Stay safe!
Data Sources:
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
https://www.accesstocare.va.gov/Healthcare/COVID19NationalSummary
-Sid Som
homequant@gmail.com
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