The worst available care

Liberal commentators long lauded the Veteran's Administration (VA) health-care system as a model for the nation. New York Times columnist Paul Krugman called it a "huge policy success" and "a real live case of impressive cost control in health care." His colleague, Nicholas Kristof, gushed that the VA health system is, "one of the best-performing and most cost-effective elements in the American medical establishment." And Phillip Longman, in his book Best Care Anywhere, touted the VA system as "the benchmark for quality medicine in the United States." Now, the ongoing scandal about record falsification at Veteran's Health Administration (VHA) hospitals has confirmed what most American physicians have long known—the system is irreparably broken.