My care from the VA is excellent.

[Ron Green]

Appointments when I need them, never more than a few minutes' wait to see the doc, quick referrals to all specialties, timely follow-up messages after visits. And it's all free.

My experience is of course anecdotal. I wonder about the sources (and timing) of these stories in the news. They're anecdotal, too, until there's real data.

[riverwalker]

1. My Dads care was outstanding

and I am a nurse in a major trauma hospital, so I know what to look for. I spend years taking him to scheduled appointments and many trips to the VA urgent care (they don't really have an ER), and he had major surgery twice, all at the VA. The after care, home care visits, hearing aides, all through the VA, he wouldn't go anywhere else.

[Ron Green]

2. No system is perfect, but the VA has many outstanding qualities: for example,

if I get sick or hurt a thousand miles from home, my records are at the nearest VA facility. Also, I can refill my meds, or message my primary care clinic, with my smart phone.

It's sad to hear the "horror stories" on the news, but my observation doesn't bear out what the echo chamber is now screaming.

[gwheezie]

3. The problem that I see where I work

is there aren't enough beds at the va here. I work in a non profit hospital 5 miles from the nearest va hospital and we frequently get vets in our psych unit because there are no va beds. I worked at a va hospital during the vietnam era and it was pretty bad where I worked but the care differed depending on what department it was. I worked long term care psych with korean and ww2 vets, it was at best dismal, over on the acute side where the recent vietnam vets and chemical dependency units were, it was pretty good. That department was better funded, congressmen used to tour that unit, they never came to where I worked.

[Cha]

4. You're not the first person on DU that I've heard this from, Ron Green. Others whom I've

respected over the years have also vouched for this since Shinseki has taken over.

Thank you for your Service!

[DustyJoe]

5. Be Happy

Be happy you are in a zone with adequate VA medical service. I agree with your statement that the care is excellent. The VA Drs as a rule are contracted private Drs, and if the VAMC you go to is in close proximity to an active base you will have active duty military medical which I consider some of the best physicians around.

But not having problems in your neck of the woods doesn't mean all is rosy everywhere. Scheduling and actually getting to see the Drs seems to be the most documented complaint. In all my years in the VA system I have only had 2 extremely negative instances. Having to wait 9 months for a tumor biopsy that kept getting pushed out further, that is a scary thing. Waiting for the result is bad enough, but waiting to just get the biopsy sample is just as scary, you can just 'feel' the tumors growing. Then almost unable to walk being scheduled almost a year out for leg surgery for a combat injury ? That one was intolerable it was like they wanted me in a wheelchair for a year. I saved enough to go to a non-VA medical facility and was able to make a down payment and payment terms in advance for day surgery. This was to remove a large piece of schrapnel, hardly a non service-connected issue that the VA just couldn't seem to find the time to take care of. That one piszed me off having to self pay to have a combat injury repaired after I aged and it decided to degenerate and cause difficulties.

And as a side note, these 2 instances predate the current administration and head of the VA more than a decade.

[Ron Green]

6. Thanks for the reply, and I'm glad you finally got through that.

Yes, my VA hospital is connected to a large teaching hospital (literally, with a sky bridge), and very clean and efficient. The two other states where I lived and received care had good facilities as well.

But your wait in limbo was not conducive to your health, and not acceptable. I hope you're getting the care you need now.

[AsahinaKimi]

7. I am so glad to hear this as

a Volunteer at a VA hospital.

[Ron Green]

8. I'm kicking this in light of today's bullshit sacrifice

of Shinseki. My care has IMPROVED on his watch, for the record. This whole thing and its timing are designed to discredit 1) Obamacare and 2) single-payer health care in the eyes of a low information electorate.