CALL FOR ACTION: Seeking to interview Citizens or Veterans with Diabetic Foot Ulcers (DFUs) which may have led to amputations

Call for Action: Arlington, VA—June, 2024

The TreatNOW Coalition is seeking to interview citizens or Veterans — or their surviving spouses and family members — with Diabetic Foot Ulcers (DFUs) which may have led to amputations.

The US Veteran’s Administration, and too many hospitals, continue to mismanage the clinical evaluation and timely care of the estimated 2.2 million diabetic Veteran population at risk for Diabetic Foot Ulcer limb amputation. This failure on the part of the VHA has resulted in substantially higher Lifetime costs, morbidity, mortality and a tragic reduction in Veteran length and quality of life that is well below that of the Medicare civilian population statistical comparators as reflected in this report.

The underlying tragedy is that the VHA is arbitrarily withholding services to conserve contract expenditures when expending six times the cost in treatments, amputations, surgical, and after care cost. The VHA delays or refusals to provide HBOT to DFU Veterans for outside treatment referrals is essentially sentencing DFU LLA Veterans to early deaths.

Here are the highlights of our revised Report:

• 796,340 Veterans have died from Diabetic Foot Ulcer (DFU) and Lower Limb Amputation (LLA) in the past 22-years, more than all the Veterans KIA in all the U.S. Wars (623,982) since the beginning of World War I. Approximately 94% were not offered HBOT treatments.
• The current VHA DFU Lower Limb Amputations (LLA) Veteran mortality rate is 64-71 percent within 3-years post-LLA surgery.
• 79.4 percent of VHA Veteran DFU LLA’s are diabetic with an average age of 66.2 years, the majority over 65 CMS eligible and HBOT covered indication.
• The VHA provides HBOT treatment to approximately 46 Veterans per month versus amputating on average 3,016 lower legs per month, a 66 to 1 ratio.
• The industry average is 74 percent heal rate for DFU cases when treated with aggressive Wound Care to coincide with HBOT treatments.
• Veterans are NOT being provided the doctrine of “Informed Consent” on HBOT under the Code of Medical Ethics Opinion 2.1.1 by VA medical staff.
• The VA does not operate HBOT chambers in any of the 1,298 VA facilities nationwide. There are 1,156 medically qualified, trained, and certified HBOT treatment facilities in US not including the private clinics treating with HBOT.
• On 20-year average 93.7% of the 2.2 million diabetic Veterans do NOT receive HBOT The 20-year average annual DFU LLA total is 8,624 of which 6,123 die on average post 3-year LLA surgery.
• The VHA contracts to less than 32 percent of existing HBOT wound care facilities in the U.S.
• An estimated annual $2.7 billion spend for Veteran DFU and Lower Limb Amputation in surgical, hospitalization, aftercare, prosthesis, wheelchair, and disability costs.
• All 2021 DFU 9,542 Veterans could have been treated with CMS, FDA, and Tricare approved HBOT for approximately $115 million, 4% of the estimated amputation cost.
• HBOT for DFU Veterans has been CMS approved since 2002, Tricare approved since 2008 but on average 94% of diabetic Veterans are NOT provided or informed about HBOT.
• The VA is violating federal law under The VA Mission Act of 2018, The Veteran Access to Care Act of 2014, and the Code of Medical Ethics 2.1.1 by denying routine access to HBOT.
• “They can’t say, ‘No, you don’t get the care,’ and they can’t say, ‘Yes, you will get the care,’” she said. “They’ll just say, ‘It is processing.” As a result of these delays and denials, DFU Veterans who normally would receive limb-saving treatments are instead having amputations and 70.9 percent are dying within 3 years post-surgery.

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The TreatNOW Coalition’s pro bono Mission is to end service member suicides. Service members suicides have once again increased, continuing a fifteen year trend. Coalition clinics have demonstrated 100% safety and over 90% success in treating over 31,000 service members, Special Operators, first responders, athletes, and citizens with TBI/PTSD/Concussion. Veterans with DFUs are invited to and register their condition on the website .

The information provided by TreatNOW.org does not constitute a medical recommendation. It is intended for informational purposes only, and no claims, either real or implied, are being made. If you or anyone you know is contemplating suicide, please immediately contact the new ###: 988 or the old Veterans Crisis Line: 1-800-273-8255 (Press 1)