VA medical care.

[kybob]

i was wondering if any one here is under VA medical care. and how do you rate the service?

so far the Lexington Ky VA hospital and my local clinic have been excellent. i was wondering how it is elsewhere.
TTA

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

1. DH is with the VA.

He's self employed & insurance was killing us. I was really against it, but found out the VA hospital is hooked up with a teaching hospital which is rated in the top 10. His care has been exemplary. He goes to his GP at the clinic & has had some work done at the hospital.

All of the staff seem to have something to do with the military. They're either reserves, or they were an army brat. The most caring, nicest people I've met.

We're in Oregon.

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

2. A dear friend's father just passed this week

He had been in the VA for ca surgery. He went there since he had no insurance other than Medicare. The local VA hospital is understaffed and they are overworked. The family watched him go downhill for a couple of weeks then moved him to the local teaching hospital. His care was 100% better there. He hung on another month fighting all the infections and problems caused (IMO) by inadequate care at the VA. Finally his kidneys shut down and there was nothing more to be done for an 80 year old vet. I shudder to think of the amount of the bill the widow will now receive for 20% of his care.

[Monkeyman]

3. You want to know

The VA is underfunded by Bush in every budget.All budgets have been based on phony numbers GAO reports prove that. Waiting list are huge.Returning troops are treated like dirt.

[4dsc]

4. The VA called me

asking if I would like to come back to their care. I'm in Iowa and I dont' have any complains about the care I received.. But I did wonder why they called and ask if I would like to come back.. Are they looking for more patients or what??

[Ezlivin]

5. Just had my annual physical at the Dallas VAMC

I've received nothing but top-notch care at the Dallas VAMC, but I'm a 100% disabled service-connected veteran; other veterans may report less positive results.

The Dallas VA has a dedicated SCI Clinic that is simply fantastic. I give kudos to the doctors and nurses who staff the clinic.

I've received treatment at the Memphis and Tampa VAMCs as well. I would rate all three VAMCs in this order: Dallas, Memphis, Tampa.

Be prepared to wait (my sonogram involved an hour wait) and realize that the VA will schedule appointments months out, so sometimes you'll just get a letter in the mail telling you that you have an appointment on such-and-such a date. You may not even recall the appointment, but it's been made for you.

A helpful tip: Call to confirm your appointment. Paperwork takes time to travel and sometimes an appointment will be rescheduled; you'll arrive to find out that you'll have to come back. So always call before you make the drive.

[malmapus]

6. Is all you need to goto the VA your DD214?

With my new job offering a very sucky health, my wife suggested I check in with VA for my coverage. I live very close to Ft. Lewis and noticed there is a VA hospital just down the way from me really close.

Thanks!

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

7. DH says yes, all

you need is your DD214.

I've heard they've really cut back on who's eligable, but sheesh, if you are able to get in it can save you a fortune. DH gets great care. I'm sure he'll live forever driving me nuts. :rofl:

[FILAM23]

8. As a vet the VA health care

really upsets me. VA health care should only be open
to those whose injury/illness is due to military service.
Someone who served when they were 20-22 should not be elegible
for heart surgery 50 years later at the VA.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

9. Well, DH has two purple hearts

so I guess he qualifies.

Also, he & I both feel that anyone who enlisted (or in his case was drafted)took the risk of seeing combat. Therefore they should get VA care. IMO, it's that simple. The government said they would & they should.

[FILAM23]

12. No the govt did not say they would,

they said you get life long medical care if you do 20 years and for
SERVICE CONNECTED medical problems. And if his medical problems are
because of his wounds then hell yes he qualifies, however if he was drafted,
went to VietNam got wounded he should not be entitled to heart surgery caused by 40 years of smoking and improper diet.

[AbsoluteArmorer]

14. what if....

that veteran had heart complications not as a result of smoking or a bad diet? Then you think that vet 'then' deserves VA medical treatment then (if drafted and wounded in Vietnam)?

[Lowell]

10. So you are suggesting a time limit on health care?

I'm sorry FILAM23, but I think the debt to our veterans is never repayed in full. Many of us don't realize our service connected health problems until we get older.

[FILAM23]

11. No, no time limit

if it is service connected, however if not service connected should not be covered,

[oneighty]

13. May I see

your DD214?

My VFW magazine often has letters expressing your opinion. That column does not require proof of service for comments either.

Often service connected happenings rise years after discharge. What say you about that?

Nevertheless wiser heads than ours have made benefits that exist. I think they are right and proper.

No veteran should be ashamed of using the facilities he is offered.

An after thought. All military having been freshly discharged should take themselves to a private clinic/hospital/doctor for a complete exam. This should be done within thirty days of discharge date.

180

[FILAM23]

15. Sorry

unable to show you my DD214 (no scanner and not technically savy enough to know how to post it)However come to Waco, Tx and I'll be glad to show you all of them

[FILAM23]

16. Like I said before

No time limit, if it is service connected it should be 100% covered, if its
not service connected it should not be covered

[Monkeyman]

17. Bush's Budget if passed will toss out 1.3 million veterans

Cat 7-8 Buyer comment your only a vet if your a wouned vet. Tell that to our brothers and sisters who did not have a combat mos

[garywild]

18. VA Health Care

If you have a lot of time and not a dime. It's worth it.
As for if your eligible ? That can take up to thirty years to
prove your condition is service connected or not. The VA is
not the place to go if you have health care insurance. Go to a
real hospital with real doctors.
At the VA you are a number not a person. Thats why they called
you they need the numbers to support them not the vets. Anyone
with a truly Veteran service connected injury should be given
free insurance so they can get the help they need when they
need it and not have to fight the VA over medications,
treatments or a doctor that knows english. Or have to wait for
six to ten months for an appointment. My dad was 100 percent
service connected they found a spot on his lung and told him
to come back in six months. When he came back the cancer was
inoperable. He died two months later. Mom got a pension check.
She thought it was a bad trade. But Bush is going to fix it by
cutting the budget for veterans pensions. He needs the money
to fight more wars and create more vets.

[mykpart]

19. Hubby and I both get our care at the Dallas VAMC.

I think the care is excellent. I worked for several years at a Community Health Center, and I believe the care at the VA is superior to care at any Community Health Center, and the wait for an appointment is about the same. I also think VA care is superior to the care my late FIL received from his managed care plan.

That said, the above is faint praise, since health care access in this country is terrible. If we had a decent health care program for all citizens, arguments like whether veterans with non-service-connnected health problems should be covered by VA would be unnecessary.