Equal care for women

Sunday, June 15, 2008 | 2:08 a.m.

One of many nerve-racking aspects of the war in Iraq is how it helped shine light on the shoddy health care treatment American military veterans receive back home. Revelations about deplorable conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and lengthy delays in disability payments to veterans exposed gaping bureaucratic holes at the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Sadly, that drumbeat continues with a report obtained by the Associated Press showing that female veterans do not get the same level of medical care as their male counterparts. The agency review, ordered by Congress, found that to be the case in roughly one-third of the outpatient facilities operated by the VA.

Though women make up only 5 percent of the VA’s population, they deserve the same quality of medical care as other veterans. Why this is not standard practice is puzzling. Everyone who serves this country in a military capacity should be treated equally, regardless of gender.

The review recommended that the VA train more physicians in women’s health care and purchase more medical equipment to meet the needs of female veterans. The VA had better act soon because the percentage of women who now serve in the armed forces, 14 percent, is nearly triple the percentage of female veterans. More than 190,000, or 11 percent, of American troops connected with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are women. The math suggests that the percentage of women who will be served by the VA will increase sharply in the future.

The VA’s Dr. William Duncan, associate deputy undersecretary for health for quality and safety, is vowing the agency will aggressively correct the shortcomings in medical care for women. But Congress cannot afford to take its eye off the ball. Lawmakers with the capacity to oversee the agency must demand frequent progress reports to ensure there is a level playing field when it comes to proper health care for all veterans.