William D. Hedges: You call this ‘inefficient and expensive’?

<p>Let me see if I understand this fully. For years I went to private doctors and waited endlessly for them to give me five minutes of their time and a horrendous bill. Becoming fed up, I thought I would try the VA, which, as </p><p>a former veteran I could, I did and am on co-pay there. I never have to wait, I get phone calls at home to see how I am doing, I can go in at 7 a.m., get a blood draw, and have the results available for my meeting with </p><p>my doctor at 9 a.m. the same day. My doctor never hurries me, listens carefully and is one of the finest I have ever encountered. </p><p>According to George Will and Republicans like him, the government is inefficient and expensive. I find the VA, efficient, thoughtful, sensitive, considerate and umpteen times better than the so-called private sector. The people at the VA are on salary and not out to grab more and more bucks; they are there to give you good service, and they do!</p><p>Go there, give them your card, and whammo, they have the data and you are off and running. Go to North Florida or Shands and they start all over with dumb questions as though you have never been there and you will </p><p>invariably wait and wait and wait.</p><p>William D. Hedges</p><p>Gainesville</p>