The VA

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11C1P

Yellow Jacket
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Now generally I can't complain how the VA has treated me, especially compared to some of the other stuff I've seen on T.V. However since I get diabetes it's once again reminded me of my days in Army and how silly things can be. Once I got the diagnosis I bought a meter (fairly cheap even without insurance) test strips (you don't want to pay for without your ins!) got some test samples from the doc till my prescriptions could get filled. Getting them through the VA would be much cheaper for me ($9 vs. $300) The VA however has a different meter than the one I bought and they don't use the same test strips, but they would give me a new meter and I could fill my test meters through them, for about the same price as the others I had. They also don't have the auto injector pens like my doc gave me, so I will have to use the regular needles, not a huge deal for how much I'll be saving and that all this gets mailed to my house too. So I got my new meter on Monday, but no test strips yet. Now my strips for the other meter are out today (thurs.) and they're still not here. Now also my auto pens are low on one kind and out on the other as my insulin arrived today, but yes no needles with it. Wife called the local VA clinic to see if they had any strips or at least one or two needles we could get. They said no! My civilian doc was able to give me another sample of the one I was out of which should last me till my VA stuff gets here, and hopefully it gets here before I run out of the other one, and also my test strips show up too. Those of you that served I'm sure this all sounds very familiar to you. The old days of hurry up and wait, SNAFU, and the 3 ways to do things, 1. the right way. 2. the wrong way 3. the army way!
 
Sorry to hear that. The VA's reputation didn't happen in a vacuum. Hope you don't have further hiccups once the train (deliveries) gets rolling.
 
As a disabled vet, I quickly realized how awful the VA is at actually provided care on a timely basis. I just paid a private doctor to do a procedure that the VA would have done for free as it was service related. Why? It took a month to schedule it through a private doctor, while it would have taken years to get it done through the VA.
 
That's too bad. If I wanted to have anything done more than see a general practitioner, I would have to drive 200 miles, at least before they changed it a few months ago to allow you to go see a local guy if they don't have a VA specialist within 50 miles. I can get my diabetic supplies sent to my door for a fraction of the cost I would have had to pay otherwise. Granted they don't have as many options but for how much I'm saving I'll live with it. I can now also get my eyes checked locally, even if my normal eye doc isn't VA approved, they are sending me to a VA approved one here, who is at the exact same clinic I see the other guy at. :shrug:

Oh, and thanks for your service and getting gimped up for us all. :grin:
 
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dealing with the VA has been a roller coaster ride for me

i have decided the good and bad VA depends on where one lives

the Bob Dole facility in Wichita was excellent

the VA in Burlington Colorado , not so good

i suppose it is that way everywhere , civilian or military
 
Bro -- BTDT. And I do have the T-shirt regarding VA response. You are authorized by law as a veteran to see a local doctor of your choosing. Clearly, what you need is to talk to a VA counselor. Just dial up VA and search. You will find the way. This counselor (or whatever title) can get the booshit cut through.

Better yet, if you are in driving distance of a VA horsepistol, go there and walk in the door and stop the first denizen of the place and ask for specific directions to solve your problem.

I do not go to the VA for medical issues. My local doc only. But twice a year I have to go to the VA for a ten-minute session. This is necessary to keep my service connected dinged helmet vigorish coming.

I would strongly recommend you get the VA on the fargin phone as soon as you get done reading these fabulous words of wisdom from yer old Unca Walt.
 
Unca I had no idea I could go to a local Dr. I thought I was locked into the VA. I like getting my meds in the mail. Makes it nice and easy but I have only been to the VA facility once and have no idea of how to do anything. Next week I will take a ride in and see what I can get done.
They had put me on metformin and that shit really forked my digestive tract up so I stopped taking it. If I eat super healthy I can keep my blood sugar down but I seldom eat super healthy. LOL. I need insulin
 
Go gettem, bro. Remember:

They. Owe. You.

Print out my instructions in the previous post, and use them. Failing that, HAND THEM to the first denizen of the VA krankenhaus you meet after going in.
 
Interesting article on state taxes & vets.

Bill would allow younger military veterans to receive tax break in Virginia

The Virginia General Assembly last year passed a law that allows veterans 55 or older to deduct from their taxes tens of thousands of dollars in military retirement pay. But some legislators are hoping to go a step further this year by eliminating the age restriction.
www.stripes.com
 

I've had excellent response from my local VA. I'm 60% service connected. I've been a Type 1 diabetic for about 6 years now.

I had almost given up on my service connected disability claim but finally got it 37 years after my initial claim. But even without a disability claim you can get great service from the VA.

First, get yourself signed up on their "My Healthy Vet" online program. This will get you access to the pharmacy, appointments and a variety of other helpful things. Once your Doc gives you your prescriptions you can then order them online as needed and have them mailed or shipped to you. The only thing I buy myself are the pen needles for my insulin pens. And that's only because they don't have the type that I prefer. The My Healthy Vet program is excellent and it gives you an easy way to get what you need from the VA. I make most of my appointments and requests online these days. I haven't been to a pharmacy in years, as everything is shipped to my house.

Also as a diabetic you should get your feet checked regularly. Our local VA has what they call the Nail Clinic. I go 3 or 4 times a year and get my feet checked and a good pedicure.

Here's a link to My Healthy Vet........ https://www.myhealth.va.gov/mhv-portal-web/user-login

PS: Unca Walt is right, I've had excellent care from my VA Doc but I've also had Docs that sucked. There's no law that says you cant have a VA Doc especially for prescriptions and the other run of the mill care,...... AND an outside Doc. Your mileage may vary.

Cheers
 
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Cigarlover said:
They had put me on metformin and that shit really forked my digestive tract up so I stopped taking it. If I eat super healthy I can keep my blood sugar down but I seldom eat super healthy. LOL. I need insulin
Click to expand...

Metformin is a freaking miracle drug. Don't give up on it. I take it even though I'm on insulin. If its messing with your gut reduce the dosage. I take 500 mg twice a day. You may only need to take 250 mg. Talk with your Doc about the dosage.

Now here's why EVERYONE should take metformin. And there's been a ton of studies on this. People with diabetes who are taking metformin can and do outlive people who are not diabetic and are not taking metformin. Its got some amazing anti aging properties.

Don't believe me? Do your own research.

Metformin for Anti-Aging: Can A Diabetes Drug Boost Longevity?

Some studies suggest taking metformin for anti-aging benefits may help extend peoples' lives–even if they don't have diabetes.
honehealth.com

Is metformin a wonder drug? - Harvard Health

Metformin, a medicine prescribed to treat type 2 diabetes, also has cardiovascular benefits and is used off-label to treat other conditions. Interest is growing in its potential to help lowe...
www.health.harvard.edu

Can We Live to 120 On Metformin?

Summary: Report on metformin and anti-aging medicine. To find out if the type 2 diabetes drug metformin will extend lifespan, researchers are conducting a $65 million clinical trial of metformin as an anti-aging drug. Here's what both
longevityfacts.com
 
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Hola Kao!

I have C&P'd the links to MySonTheDoctor as of this morning. Will get his response.

(*snork*) Upon reading the recorded effects of Metaformin, I could not help but think in a sonorous tone:

"The spice... extends life. The spice... expands consciousness."

Well, if'n it makes you live longer and shoos away Alzheimer's... don't that qualify?
 
The VA. Trials and tribulations.

Quality of care depends on two things: Where you live; and who lives in the White House.

I'm serious. For fifteen years I've been batted around...mostly, since the ACA mooted out any kind of private health insurance that would be useful to me (high-deductible; low cost).

I first applied to the VA while living not far from Minneapolis, about 12 years ago. I was told I qualified for nothing but Service-connected injury treatment. Nonetheless I was registered.

Time went on; I got a new job, left it as a losing proposition; moved to Montana; worked here for awhile, and then got medically-ruled off the rails.

I was too young to retire. So, while hustling, I went down to an elected official's office, to find out why I was not eligible when so many others in my situation (SW Asia Service) were.

I was told, I was - just go down and re-register. By this time, Trump was in office, and the lines were magically clearing. For the three years I got treatment, here, it was prompt, appropriate, with civilian specialists quickly authorized when needed.

Then I was told (because of a lump-sum payment for back RRRB claims) I was medically disqualified. Southwest Asia Service veterans who were not careerists, are eligible to be treated - subject to an income test. I exceeded it.

THEN...the G D virus hit. And our VA clinic was basically HALVED, thanks to the Jab Mandate. They had no intake people. They had nobody to see anyone. I waited around for FIVE HOURS to talk to someone; no one even came up to look at the sign-in pad I'd signed.

That's how things work in the Biden government.

I don't expect things to get any better, ever, for the VA. Things are going to be turned on their head.
 
BeefJerky said:
Eating correctly helps you live longer too. It also reverses diabetes.
Click to expand...

While I agree with the eating part, I completely disagree with "reverses diabetes" part. IF,........... you have Type II diabetes you might be able to manage it better with diet AND exercise. If you have Type I diabetes you can manage diabetes with INSULIN, diet, and exercise.
 

I agree with some of what you've posted here. I've just learned to work around a lot of the stupidity and make it work for me. I would ask, do you still exceed the income test? It sounds like you've given up on it and I cant say I blame you. I'm moving soon and will keep others informed of how well its going in the Omaha area VA.
 
Pretty simple.

They have an income chart - that's not available to recipients - and I failed it.

Because of a back-payment lump sum to me. Reported IMMEDIATELY to the IRS. Which reported it to the VA.

So - and this was just before the Beer Cooties panic hit - for that year, I was at 100-percent copay. And I was to be liable for all services not paid for, in that year.

Then the Coof; then the Mandates; then the VA staffing depopulation. I've not received a bill.

I may or may not be eligible this year, based on last year's income...I took a big distribution off an IRA, and that counts as income. But someone has to TELL me whether I am or not; and that means taking my documents down there, waiting, with a face-diaper on, and then, maybe they've got a new Intake staffer who can go over what I have.

For years ahead, I should be eligible. But now that they've got nothing but Jabbed sheeple in there, not real doctors...do I even want to? One reason: The diabetes medicine they had me on was, when I had to get my own refill (after being cut off) incredibly expensive. And I'd never heard of it.

So a doc elsewhere gave me a metformin scrip. A three-month's supply costs $28. And, as we're finding out, metformin has other health benefits.

But the VA is run like a military sick-call clinic. You don't ask. Your wishes do not MATTER. Here's the scrip; you take it or leave it.

We'll see if in the years ahead, they again get straightened out. But right now they're back to the Good Old Days of Hussein...long lines, turn patients away, lose requests for outside specialists.
 

Definitions​

(1) "Below the means test threshold." "Below the means test threshold" is defined as those veterans whose attributable income and net worth are such that they are unable to defray the expenses of care; therefore, they are not subject to co-payment charges for hospital and outpatient medical services. Within the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA) system such veterans are designated as "Means Test Copay Exempt."

(2) "Above the means test and GMT threshold." "Above the means test and GMT threshold" is defined as those veterans whose attributable income and net worth are such that they are able to defray the expenses of care; therefore they must agree to pay a co-payment for hospital care and outpatient medical services. Within the VistA system these veterans are designated as "Means Test Copay Required."

(3) "Above the means test and below the GMT threshold." "Above the means test and below the GMT threshold," is defined as those veterans whose attributable income and net worth are such that they are able to defray the expense of care, but whose inpatient medical care co-payments are reduced 80 percent. Within the VistA system these veterans are identified as "GMT Copay Required."




 
Okay.

Assuming that's correct, I fail for this year, based on last year's reported income.

Next year I probably will qualify. We won't mention my Boating Accident in Intake.

But it remains, the shorthanded staff; the fact that the staff are all Jabbed up, and shedding spike proteins themselves; and it's a critical component now that they get as many vets Jabbed as possible.
 
CJ -- Now lissen to yer Unca: Write your situation down clearly, and send it to your congresscritter with a specific request for its help. cc to the VA <-- they have a gripe address. Include sitting for hours** for nothing, and ask why is the VA income chart not published to assist ex-GI's?
**Name the site/date <-- stuff like that has impact with publicity problems and will be addressed imo.

Tactically, you have been taking mortar fire while hiding in a hole. Time to get out and make some noise, since there is nothing "they" can do to you to put you in a worse position. Possibly get creative on your cc.

Fight and have at least a chance of winning BIG, or hide in the hole and die. I'd rather die fighting.
 
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Interesting article. While I won't complain about the actual health care, I'd prefer to be able to use my card anywhere in the US at the doctor / hospital of my own choosing.

Veterans should be allowed to use private services to get benefits​

During my time serving as a U.S. senator, many New Hampshire veterans contacted my office seeking help in navigating the complex and confusing process of filing a claim for disability benefits with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Years have passed since I left the Senate, but the VA has failed to fix this broken system. The claims process is still excruciatingly bureaucratic, and veterans are still waiting far too long to get their benefits or are getting less than they deserve.

Right now, the agency faces a sizable claims backlog — those waiting more than 125 days for a decision — of more than 300,000. And that backlog is expected to continue rising over the next year.

More:

 

In one of the largest-ever expansions of Veteran health care, all Veterans exposed to toxins and other hazards during military service — at home or abroad — will be eligible for VA health care beginning March 5​


WASHINGTON — Today, VA announced that all Veterans who were exposed to toxins and other hazards while serving in the military — at home or abroad — will be eligible to enroll directly in VA health care beginning March 5, 2024. This means that all Veterans who served in the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Global War on Terror, or any other combat zone after 9/11 will be eligible to enroll directly in VA health care without first applying for VA benefits. Additionally, Veterans who never deployed but were exposed to toxins or hazards while training or on active duty in the United States will also be eligible to enroll.

More:

 
Voodoo said:
Wait... don't all Veterans get access to VA coverage anyway?
Click to expand...

Yes and no. My experience = apply by filling out application and financial disclosure forms, get approved / classified as to what care I could get and possible co-pays. Around 25 yrs ago.

Edit to add:

VA health care | Veterans Affairs

With VA health care, you’re covered for regular checkups with your primary care provider and appointments with specialists (like cardiologists, gynecologists, and mental health providers). You can access Veterans health care services like home health and geriatric (elder) care, and you can get...
www.va.gov
 
Voodoo said:
Wait... don't all Veterans get access to VA coverage anyway?
Click to expand...
Not since 1985. I believe that was the cutoff date, anyway.

Those who enlisted prior to that time, got lifetime "free" VA medical coverage. Those after that date...only careerists eligible for a military pension would get VA medical benefits. Those with Service-connected injuries could expect treatment FOR THEIR INJURIES - and no other medical issues.

Since then, they've loosened up requirements in stages. Non-careerist veterans could request treatment at VA clinics and hospitals, and would be granted on Space-Available considerations. An income test and expected co-pay were required.

About ten years ago, Southwest Asia Service decorated veterans (that's all the Persian Gulf folks) were given rights to VA treatment - subject to an income test. In this horrific era of Obamakair, that change saved me tens of thousands of dollars in (non)insurance costs.

Covidiocy just destroyed the VA. I don't have national figures, but locally, the VA facility lost over half its physicians. My VA respiratory therapist (CPAP) "retired" in his mid-fifties, rather than take a Jab. Caught between Medicare and VA eligibility, I needed information - and suddenly, there was NO ONE working Intake or Eligibility, to either answer a phone or talk to me in person.

Then, in some VA clinics/districts...veterans were required to produce an up-to-date Vaccination Record card to get treatment.

The end result was...predictable. Veterans found other ways to get medical care, or did without. I'm sure the patient base, between Jab deaths and those avoiding the Jab-death...the patient base has evaporated.

That means layoffs. That means contraction - and loss of power, which is what government is all about.

Time to throw more bread crumbs upon the waters. MOAR FREE!!....
 
If your state or county offers a Military Discount Card I recommend you take full advantage of it and any other military / veteran discount you can get.

Your 2024 State Veteran Benefits

There are great federal benefits offered to veterans. Did you know there are also state-specific veteran benefits? Find out the benefits your state offers.
www.military.com
 
Opinion piece I came across. Been thinking about this for some time now.

Opinion: Veteran Basic Income could be the solution the VA has been searching for​

Five years ago this February, the Department of Veterans Affairs underwent an overhaul of its appellate process when it implemented the Appeals Modernization Act. Congress wanted to shorten wait times for veterans, provide more choices in the appeals process and afford clear and understandable decisions.

This band-aid fix did not mend the broken system that is VA benefits, as veterans are still waiting about 41 months for the Board of Veterans Appeals to adjudicate claims. Unfortunately, that wait time is only one step in the process and does not include the initial application, remands back to the VA Regional Office or appeals to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

As a researcher specializing in veterans law and disabilities, I have witnessed the significant harm the VA system has on veterans.

The VA benefits system relies heavily on the medical community to provide diagnoses, research on medical conditions and their causes, and the expertise of examiners to provide opinions on how an event or exposure during military service is related to a veteran’s condition. This overreliance on the medical community, however, impairs veterans.

More:


The VA does offer a pension plan for certain Vets. If interested, you can read about it here.

VA pension benefits | Veterans Affairs

VA pension benefits are available to some wartime Veterans and their survivors — find out if you're eligible to apply.
www.va.gov
 
Magic Money Tree Theory.

We're gonna try it AGAIN. History be DAMNED...We can DO it...the Right People are in CHARGE!

Because we KNOW:

--Money is wealth.

--Money is whatever WE DECLARE it is!

--Prices are WHAT WE SAY!

So, WE CAN DO THIS! WE'LL ALL BE RICH!
 
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