With the Veterans Choice health care program set to expire next August, why not go back to the way things were before? The answer: 1 million veterans now rely on it, many with little choice in the matter.
Veterans Choice is Congress’ hastily crafted response to the scandal of veterans dying while awaiting appointments at VA medical facilities. Many veterans call it “No Choice” or “Bad Choice.”
The chief of staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Tomah, Wisconsin — exposed by Reveal for his opiate prescription practices — has been fired, effective Nov. 9.
Officials said the Tomah, Wisconsin, VA medical facility’s former director is no longer working for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the latest development after our investigation of the hospital’s improper prescription practices.
In this episode of Reveal, we look at the power of a single photo, a VA doctor accused of handing out opiates to veterans like “candy” and surgery patients who got screwed out of legitimate medical hardware.
On our debut pilot, reporter Aaron Glantz uncovered how the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has been prescribing highly addictive pain medications at an alarming rate. He returns to the show to discuss how lawmakers might address the spike in opiate prescriptions.
WBEZ reporters show how heroin moves from Juarez, Mexico, to Chicago and into the Midwest; reports from inside “The Box” from teens in solitary confinement; and an update on our examination of prescription drug abuse in the VA.
