Retired pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson on Saturday called the Veterans Administration scandal a "gift from God" because it portends the future of healthcare in America under Obamacare.
"I think what’s happening with the veterans is a gift from God to show us what happens when you take layers and layers of bureaucracy and place them between the patients and the healthcare provider,"
Carson told Fox News.
Editor's Note: Dr. Ben Carson: It's Time to Stand Up - Get His Vision for America
"And if we can’t get it right, with the relatively small number of veterans, how in the world are you going to do it with the entire population?" he asked. "You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure this out."
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Carson, 62, who is featured on the June cover of Newsmax magazine, retired last summer as chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He is considering a White House run as a Republican in 2016.
He added that it was important that Washington deals effectively with the scandal, in which at least 40 veterans
died while awaiting treatment at an Arizona VA. The agency's inspector general found that some operations falsified wait times and used secret lists to cover up failures.
"We need seriousness here rather than just political speak. 'How can I look better? How can my party look better?' And I’m saying this to both Democrats and Republicans: Stop, and think about the people," Carson said.
"You guys are servants. You're not rulers. You have to get that out of your mind and think about what we can do to solve the problems in this nation, some of which threaten to destroy our nation.
"Fiscal irresponsibility," Carson cited. "We can deal with this quite easily."
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