Military Hospitals: Too Costly!
Robert F. Sawallesh
01 November 2009
A couple of years ago I was talking to an Army recruiter at a car wash in Brandon, FL. He was not aware that just a few years ago all you needed was a military ID card to be seen in a military hospital. Now military hospitals are shrinking into clinics which no doubt makes civilian clinics and hospitals very happy. Got your medical insurance cards handy?
An article by William R. Levesque in the St. Petersburg Times on 01 November 2009 titled "MacDill clinic continues trend," is an outstanding example of shrinking military hospitals. Go to
I have taken nine quotes from the above article and added some comments. They are as follows:
First quote: "MacDill converted its hospital to a clinic in 2005, closing its emergency room and sending urgent-care patients to private hospitals as the need arises." Sawallesh comment: Read "First off, Florida doesn't have enough emergency departments to service a growing population that includes many elderly residents with chronic ailments who are most in need of medical care." See Tampa Tribune, 26 December 2008, http://www2.
Second quote: "The move away from hospital service was necessary, base leaders say, because patient traffic was too low." Sawallesh comment: When the MacDill AFB hospital had its medical capabilities cut way down then of course the patient traffic went way down. This is like closing a military BX/PX store because there are no customers. Why were there no customers? Because goods/stock in the BX/PX were cut to bare bones.
Third quote: "We don't have the population to (justify) keeping a hospital open." And "MacDill's eligible beneficiary population runs from 106,000 to 250,000, depending on the season. That's the highest number for any medical facility in the Department of Defense, Beatty said." Sawallesh comment: Now let me think, the former MacDill AFB hospital served as a hospital for almost 50 years. And now suddenly there is no need for a hospital. Trivia: What famous hotel served as a hospital for MacDill AFB? See http://www.epinions
Fourth quote: "Hospital closures don't affect those wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pentagon says, because facilities such as MacDill's are not typically utilized to treat those patients." Sawallesh comment: Tell the active duty wounded and injured from Iraq and Afghanistan that no new military hospitals are needed when they are transferred to VA hospitals because there are not enough beds and medical staff in the Army, Navy and Air Force hospitals which come under DoD.
Fifth quote: 'But since a large portion of that number includes retirees with Medicare, many never seek care at MacDill." Sawallesh comment: That's very true, when you kick military retirees out of the military hospitals where else do they have to go? However, MacDill AFB sure likes the military retiree dollars which are spent on base and if it were not for the military retirees many retail facilities on military bases would close or go "bankrupt".
Sixth quote: "MacDill remains one of the military's most important bases and is home to U.S. Central Command and Special Operations Command, which are leading the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan." Sawallesh comment: Where do MacDill's VIPs go for medical care? See http://www.nbc33tv.
Seventh quote: "A true emergency department cannot be provided at the MacDill clinic," the base said in a statement. "And maintenance of a quasi-emergency service there would likely cause dangerous delays in the delivery of definitive emergency care." Sawallesh comment: How many generals and admirals are at MacDill AFB...no slack for them if one has a heart attack. When a civilian ambulance arrives at the MacDill AFB commissary to take a military retiree off base to an ER hopefully the ambulance driver knows how to navigate off base.
Eighth quote: "My staff has to pay me a dollar every time they use the word 'hospital,' " said Beatty, commander of MacDill's 6th Medical Group." Sawallesh comment: When the new hospital plans were dropped for a clinic suddenly the new terminology was that it would be a "Super Clinic." For some reason that name was dropped. However, see how US Army handles "Super Clinic" terminology. Read paragraph six of US Army letter at http://www.imcom-
Last quote: "The military's insurance program, TriCare, covers those seeking care in the private sector, including active-duty, military retirees and their families." Sawallesh comment: Why is the Pentagon so quiet
on Tricare fraud? Search "Tricare" at http://www.justice.
Bottom Line: How do you fund a new hospital?: See http://edwards.
There are many allied military officers and NCOs at MacDill AFB. I wonder if their embassies in Washington know the sad state of the US military health care delivery system. See http://www.centcom.
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