Military members have little recourse if they receive sub-par medical care
While the U.S. Army for years urged recruits to "be all you can be," that message didn't quite get through to the military's health care system. In fact, military members who are misdiagnosed or otherwise hurt by treatment in a military medical facility lack accountability measures available in the civilian world to address the situation, resulting in substandard treatment and a general lack of transparency.
Lawsuits are not an option; mandated safety inspections are often skipped when a patient dies, and complaints filed against health care workers are stored in an internal database with little action taken.
Leaving the military's care is often not a viable choice, either: Service members are "unable, without specific approval, to get care elsewhere if they fear theirs is substandard or dangerous," wrote Sharon LaFraniere at The New York Times. "Yet if they are harmed or die, they or their survivors have no legal right to challenge their care and seek answers by filing malpractice suits."
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