Lawrence, KS: I Only Support Patriot-Owned Businesses And This Is Not One Of Them

Dr. Douglass Stull - Orthopaedic Surgeon

1112 W 6th St, Ste 124

Lawrence, KS 66044

Phone: (785) 843-9125

Website: orthokansasllc.com/office

Referred by my primary physician, Dr. Steven Dillon, for severe shoulder pain that has been going on for months, Dr. Stull's office called to make an appointment, but when they found out I was retired military (Tricare) I was told "you're going to have to pay a lot out of pocket, we don't take Tricare or recognize Tricare's discounts".

Dr. Stull accepts Medicare, Medicaid, and most other major insurances, but those who protect his freedom have to pay out-of-pocket? That seems un-American to me and I refuse to support any business that treats military and Veterans with such disdain. If a doctor does not accept Tricare, he or she has made a conscious decision that padding their already inflated bank account is more important than treating American heroes, the men and women of our nation's military, retired military, and our families.

Thanks, but no thanks Dr. Stull, even if I have to suffer a couple weeks longer I refuse to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars out of my military pension and VA disability so you can get the latest Mercedes. There are plenty of patriots out there willing to accept Tricare, even if I have to drive 50 miles to Kansas City to see my old orthopaedic surgeon. She takes Tricare by the way.

As it turns out, there are six orthopaedic surgeons in Lawrence, including Stull, but like many medical professionals, and I use that term loosely, in this extremely liberal town, not a single one takes Tricare. Not a single patriot in the bunch:

William A Bailey, MD 

Neal D Lintecum, MD 

Stephan L Pro, MD 

Jeffrey C Randall, MD 

Douglass E Stull, MD 

Kenneth L Wertzberger, MD

So I have no choice but to drive nearly 30 miles to Topeka, Kansas, a much more conservative city and, coincidentally, where many more physicians take Tricare. To prove my point, there are 15 orthopaedic surgeons in Topeka, which is a little larger than Lawrence, and 8 of them (53%) accept Tricare:

MCCOY, MICHAEL T., MD 

WALLACE, BRETT E., MD 

WILSON, BRIAN F., MD 

GILBERT, JOHN H, II., MD 

LEPSE, PETER S., MD 

MUMFORD, JOSEPH E., MD 

POOLE, BRADLEY T., MD 

SMITH, MICHAEL L., MD

Compared to zero (0%) out of six orthopaedic surgeons who take Tricare in slightly smaller and much more liberal Lawrence, the story in Topeka is telling and distressing for those of us who serve or have served our nation and happen to live in Lawrence, protecting the freedom of all 21 surgeons referenced herein.

Oh, and by the way, Dr. Steve Dillon, who I switched to in April after a rash of bad encounters with primary care managers, has decided to reduce his practice by 80% and charge remaining patients $1,650 per year (out-of-pocket) to stay with him. I finally found a PCM I can trust and now have to pony-up close to $2000 or find ANOTHER doctor? I guess I will find another doctor, but I am running out of options in a town where most medical professionals do not take military medical insurance (Tricare). The Hippocratic Oath says "do no harm", but it seems as though modern medicine does not embrace that commitment and most practitioners are more concerned with their personal wealth than taking care of patients.

CombatCritic Gives Douglass Stull M.D. 1 Bomb Out Of 10 For Treating Military Patients With Disdain And Takes A Spot On CombatCritic's "WALL OF SHAME" ... More Bombs Are Better!   

"Follow Me To TravelValue"

Title: I Only Support Patriot-Owned Businesses And This Is Not One Of Them

Key Words: Doctor, Stull, Lawrence, Kansas, 6th, orthopedic, surgeon, Tricare, military, veteran, retiree, patriot, value, wall, shame, orthopaedic, Dr. Stull, Dillon, Steven

Letter To Vice-President Joe Biden: Attack on Military Retiree COLA and Disabled-Vet's Business

This has little to do with either Travel or Value, but is important to me and thought I would share it with my readers. I sent the following letter to Vice-President Biden and it is self-explanatory:

January 15, 2014

Dear Vice-President Biden,

I am a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, 80% disabled Veteran, and service-disabled veteran-owned small business owner. I am tired of this administration's anti-Veteran/military agenda and lack of concern and response to whistleblower retaliation against me by the Department of Interior.

The fact that military retiree COLAs were targeted for 1% per year reduction until age 62 is wrong! Your retirement, the retirements of Congress, and the retirement of DoD civilians like Sharon Hallinan, the Department of Interior contracting officer who retaliated against me and ruined my business, we're not targeted, but those of us who defended our country for 20+ years were?

Why are the millions of dollars being wasted by Government agencies and contractors each year not targeted BEFORE the pensions of the brave men and women who dedicated their lives to our Nation's freedom?

I was targeted for whistleblower retaliation by the Department of Interior after reporting gross fraud, waste, and abuse in the Military Family Life Consultant (MFLC) program in the tens of millions of dollars annually. I complained to the Department of Interior Contracting Officer, Interior Business Center, in January of last year and two days later my $50K MFLC contract was cancelled. Not only did I lose much needed income, she fabricated lies, defaming my character and ruining the reputation of my business, leading to my business being ruined and the loss of our home and half of our possessions.

I filed complaints with the DoI and DoD IGs, but was ignored. My Congressman, Sam Graves, and Senators Blunt and McCaskill blew me off as did your boss President Obama. 

How is it that military retirees are the FIRST ONES TARGETED when it comes time to reduce spending? Why are government agencies and contractors allowed to defraud our Government and taxpayers, wasting hundreds of millions of dollars each year with impunity? How can a Government agency get away with illegally canceling a contract and ruining a service-disabled veteran-owned small business? I will continue to pursue this until those responsible are held accountable and am contacting you because I believe you are one of the few in Washington with the INTEGRITY and persistence to take action. I hope I am right Mr. Vice-President.

God bless you, your family, and our United States of America!

Chris Sorrentino,  LtCol, USAF (Ret)

Submitted via the White House app and website at 4:30 pm (CST) on 1/15/2014

PostScript: Representative Paul Ryan (R - WI) and Senator Patty Murray (D - WA) initiated the bill in Congress and IN ALL LIKELIHOOD NEVER SERVED A DAY IN UNIFORM. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that both Rep. Ryan and Senator Murray NOT BE RE-ELECTED OR ELECTED TO A HIGHER OFFICE due to their contempt for our military and Veterans and the cowardly act of reducing retiree entitlements BEFORE addressing far bigger problems such as the GROSS FRAUD and WASTE endemic in government and government contracting.

KeyWords: resolution,Graves,retiree,McCaskill,disabled,joe,Biden,INTEGRITY,government,veteran,COLA,abuse,Congress,interior,Vice-president,Blunt,contractor,waste,budget,fraud