Noteboom The Law Firm

New Study Finds VA May Discriminate in Treating African American Veterans

March 18, 2010 - The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) operates under the premise that all veterans are provided the very best health care possible. Contrary to this premise, a new study finds white veterans are more likely than African American veterans to:

• Be prescribed heart and blood pressure medications;
• Be prescribed cholesterol lowering medications; or
• Be given heart bypass surgery to relieve blocked arteries and reducing chances of a heart attack.

 The study consisted of 475,000 VA patients and suggested their findings could explain why African American veterans, as a group, are not showing an overall decline in heart disease deaths contrasted with other racial groups. Overall, the rates of heart disease deaths have dropped in the U.S. but African Americans still find themselves at greater risk.

In the civilian world, studies have shown African Americans have unequal access to healthcare and therefore obtain fewer amounts of prescriptions that could lower the possibility of heart disease. These racial disparities should not exist within the VA's world.

Explanations for the inequalities do not seem to exist. While some would like to blame the discrepancies on African American veterans who are not aware of their higher risk of heart disease or claim they are "less forceful" with doctors about their medical treatment, these excuses seem completely inadequate in explaining why some veterans are not receiving the treatment they need and deserve.

Hopefully, with these recent studies pointing out the inequalities going on in the VA health care system, something can be done to turn these numbers around and help all veterans get the medical care they are entitled to.