Trump signs extension of VA Choice Program, calls it a ‘good start’

[Right_in_Virginia]

Trump signs extension of VA Choice Program, calls it a ‘good start’
Stars and Stripes, Apr 19, 2017, NIKKI WENTLING

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a bill extending the often-criticized Veterans Choice Program beyond its August 2017 expiration date, a move that Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin said would buy him time to work with Congress on program improvements.

“This new law is a good start, but there is still much work to do,” Trump said before the signing. “We will fight each and every day to deliver the long-awaited reforms our veterans deserve.”

“The Choice Program was passed as a quick fix to the wait list manipulation scandal that broke three years ago, and while it’s helped, too many veterans still are forced to seek care at failing VA facilities,” said Mark Lucas, director of Concerned Veterans of America, a conservative-leaning veterans group. “Congress now has some time to work with Shulkin on broader, more permanent choice reforms.”

“We need to make sure the Choice Program continues, but it works better for veterans,” Shulkin said. “It’s too complex; it’s too hard to use, so we’re working hard now with Congress to redesign an improved way of accessing care in the community.”

Because of the extension signed Wednesday, veterans can seek care in the private sector after August and until a new program is established. Shulkin said last month that the looming expiration had already been affecting veterans’ appointments in cases when they were scheduling procedures months in advance.

Shulkin went on to say he was designing a system that was “seamless” and an “integrated approach” to veteran treatment.

At the signing Wednesday, Trump said he would hold a news conference April 27 about the VA. Details of the news conference weren’t made available.

“The veterans have poured out their sweat and blood and tears for this country for so long and it’s time we now take care of them and take care of them properly,” Trump said.


Read more:  https://www.stripes.com/news/veterans/trump-signs-extension-of-va-choice-program-calls-it-a-good-start-1.464338#.WPiRwfKGPIV

[montanajoe]

I've been waiting since last November to have a fairly simple procedure done up here that I needed to go to Salt Lake for and could not be scheduled till June down there. The Vet Choice is as usefull as udders on a bull as they say...they have cancelled me twice due to what they say are coding errors but are in actuality due to the fact they can't find a MD up here that will take it due to the low payment rate and the fact that it takes forever for the provider to get paid. They never bothered to send a letter saying there was a problem I always have to call them. I finally just gave up and am waiting until June...

If Trump wants to  model reforms to the VA system based on Veterans Choice then its going to be a disaster. Waiting months for an appointment in the current system is far better than never getting one with Veterans Choice

[Right_in_Virginia]

I've been waiting since last November to have a fairly simple procedure done up here that I needed to go to Salt Lake for and could not be scheduled till June down there. The Vet Choice is as usefull as udders on a bull as they say...they have cancelled me twice due to what they say are coding errors but are in actuality due to the fact they can't find a MD up here that will take it due to the low payment rate and the fact that it takes forever for the provider to get paid. They never bothered to send a letter saying there was a problem I always have to call them. I finally just gave up and am waiting until June...

If Trump wants to  model reforms to the VA system based on Veterans Choice then its going to be a disaster. Waiting months for an appointment in the current system is far better than never getting one with Veterans Choice

I think the Trump administration is well aware of the problems with Veterans Choice...and extended it for the reason quoted below. I hope you'll watch the President's news conference on the 27th for additional changes @montanajoe .

“We need to make sure the Choice Program continues, but it works better for veterans” Shulkin said. “It’s too complex; it’s too hard to use, so we’re working hard now with Congress to redesign an improved way of accessing care in the community.”

Because of the extension signed Wednesday, veterans can seek care in the private sector after August and until a new program is established. Shulkin said last month that the looming expiration had already been affecting veterans’ appointments in cases when they were scheduling procedures months in advance.

[Emjay]

I've been waiting since last November to have a fairly simple procedure done up here that I needed to go to Salt Lake for and could not be scheduled till June down there. The Vet Choice is as usefull as udders on a bull as they say...they have cancelled me twice due to what they say are coding errors but are in actuality due to the fact they can't find a MD up here that will take it due to the low payment rate and the fact that it takes forever for the provider to get paid. They never bothered to send a letter saying there was a problem I always have to call them. I finally just gave up and am waiting until June...

If Trump wants to  model reforms to the VA system based on Veterans Choice then its going to be a disaster. Waiting months for an appointment in the current system is far better than never getting one with Veterans Choice

Sorry about your situation.  At least Trump seems to be interested in helping the problems veterans are facing with the system.  I hope something workable can be figured out.

[montanajoe]

@Right_in_Virginia

The last thing I would do is waste anytime watching a Trump news conference just as I never watched Obama's.

Sorry but a guy whose personal Vietnam was his sex life has no understanding of the military or its veterans. The fact that he is even considering keeping this failed Obama program alive tells me all I need to know about his commitment to our Veterans.

Before Veterans Choice it was possible to get care up here arranged by the VA at a fairly local hospital (100 miles) and with fairly local MD's. Now everything has to go through Veterans Choice and it just evaporates into thin air with no explanation and no care....this has happened to almost every Vet I know.

VAHC was slow but at least it worked...propping up this failed program by an idiot president and his administration is what I guess the Vets can look forward to for the next 4 years..

[Right_in_Virginia]

@Right_in_Virginia

The last thing I would do is waste anytime watching a Trump news conference just as I never watched Obama's.

Sorry but a guy whose personal Vietnam was his sex life has no understanding of the military or its veterans. The fact that he is even considering keeping this failed Obama program alive tells me all I need to know about his commitment to our Veterans.

Okay ... you don't like the program being continued as an interim step @montanajoe .  I get it.  You've no interest in hearing what additional changes the President will propose for implementation.  I get it.

But the unnecessary and wholly hyperbolic insult of the President I do not get.  President Trump's commitment to our veterans is genuine and his promises to all Vets, including you, will be fulfilled...even though you choose to spit all over him.



 

[montanajoe]

Okay ... you don't like the program being continued as an interim step @montanajoe .  I get it.  You've no interest in hearing what additional changes the President will propose for implementation.  I get it.

But the unnecessary and wholly hyperbolic insult of the President I do not get. President Trump's commitment to our veterans is genuine and his promises to all Vets, including you, will be fulfilled...even though you choose to spit all over him.

Bullsh*t... you will support this president no matter what he does..I get it.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Bullsh*t... you will support this president no matter what he does..I get it.

Right back at ya @montanajoe ... you will disrespect and disagree with President Trump no matter what he does---even as he goes about helping you.

Further discussion is futile.   

[corbe]

   With all due respect @Right_in_Virginia

President Trump's commitment to our veterans is genuine and his promises to all Vets, including you, will be fulfilled...even though you choose to spit all over him.

   Him promoting the #2 at the center of the VA Health Care fiasco does not inspire confidence especially after that missed debate and the VA show he produced/directed which no one is really sure what happened to the donations.  I am a Vietnam Vet and president Trump has done nothing to prove he's got our back, though anything is better than obummer.

[montanajoe]

@Right_in_Virginia

Got this email from my Dim Senator today. 

Dear Montanajoe,

I’m writing to let you know that President Trump signed my bipartisan bill to improve the Veterans Choice Program into law this week.

It’s frustratingly rare that Republicans, Democrats and Independents put politics aside, which is why I'm pleased to announce that my bill earned unanimous support in Congress and became one of the first bills President Trump has signed into law.


The Veterans Choice Improvement Act will cut some of the red tape that's keeping Montana veterans from getting in to see their doctors, cut out-of-pocket costs for veterans, and make sure providers are paid on time for their service to veterans. This bill—combined with my insistence that VA Montana book appointments directly to help to reduce wait times for Montana veterans—will make it easier for veterans to get their care closer to home.

“The veterans have poured out their sweat and blood and tears for this country for so long, and it's time that they're recognized, and it's time that we now take care of them, and take care of them properly.  That's why I'm pleased today to sign into law the Veterans Choice Program Improvement Act. It speaks for itself."

- President Trump

Still, the Choice Program isn’t perfect. In the coming months, I will be working with folks in Congress to make even greater improvements to the VA’s community care program so that veterans can get high quality health care, when they need it, without red tape.

Our veterans have selflessly served this nation, and we owe it to every man and woman who has put on that uniform to provide them with the quality health care and benefits they've earned. While we still have a lot more work to do, this new law is a promising step in the right direction.

As always, it’s an honor to serve you in the U.S. Senate.

[The_Reader_David]

@Right_in_Virginia

Before Veterans Choice it was possible to get care up here arranged by the VA at a fairly local hospital (100 miles) and with fairly local MD's. Now everything has to go through Veterans Choice and it just evaporates into thin air with no explanation and no care....this has happened to almost every Vet I know.

VAHC was slow but at least it worked...propping up this failed program by an idiot president and his administration is what I guess the Vets can look forward to for the next 4 years..

So "choice" in Veterans Choice is used in the same sense as "war", "peace", "freedom", "slavery", "ignorance", and "strength" are used in the Party's motto in 1984 -- to mean whatever the state chooses it to mean, rather than what the English word that sounds the same means.  Of course, it has always mystified me who thought a veterans-only analogue of the British NHS was a good thing for our veterans.  Yeah, the NHS seemed to work well when it was first instituted and everyone involved was enthusiastic for the project, but now it's sclerotic bureaucratic nightmare that reproduces on a nationwide scale the sorts of abuses and inefficiency horrors that we've seen in the VA.

Wouldn't you be better off with health insurance that (1) reimburses physicians, allied-health professionals, and hospitals so generously they'd be fools not to accept it, (2) has a claims procedure streamlined so there's no logistical impediment to accepting it (both Oklahoma's Medicaid program and Tricare West have this right, while BCBS of Kansas doesn't), and (3) requires providers who accept Tricare to accept it, (thus resulting in what the English, rather than Newspeak phrase "veterans' choice" denotes), supplemented by much-reduce VA facilities that specifically deal with military and combat related health and mental health issues and nothing else?

[Hondo69]

I'm glad posters are taking the time to give us first hand experiences with Veterans Choice.  Otherwise we'd have to rely upon news accounts and this topic is too important for fake news. 

[Victoria33]

@CatherineofAragon

The only experience I have with the VA, is JRandomFreeper, Johnny.  When he was diagnosed with cancer in his brain and lungs and blood, the Dallas/Fort Worth, VA was there for him immediately.  When his brother couldn't take him to the VA clinic in Fort Worth, we took him and there wasn't a problem for his care.  When in the VA hospital, which is in Dallas, they did brain surgery and chemo and radiation, always on time, no problem. 

When first diagnosed, the doctor said he would be dead in three months.  He lived almost a year from then.  His VA care was excellent.

[montanajoe]

So "choice" in Veterans Choice is used in the same sense as "war", "peace", "freedom", "slavery", "ignorance", and "strength" are used in the Party's motto in 1984 -- to mean whatever the state chooses it to mean, rather than what the English word that sounds the same means.  Of course, it has always mystified me who thought a veterans-only analogue of the British NHS was a good thing for our veterans.  Yeah, the NHS seemed to work well when it was first instituted and everyone involved was enthusiastic for the project, but now it's sclerotic bureaucratic nightmare that reproduces on a nationwide scale the sorts of abuses and inefficiency horrors that we've seen in the VA.

Wouldn't you be better off with health insurance that (1) reimburses physicians, allied-health professionals, and hospitals so generously they'd be fools not to accept it, (2) has a claims procedure streamlined so there's no logistical impediment to accepting it (both Oklahoma's Medicaid program and Tricare West have this right, while BCBS of Kansas doesn't), and (3) requires providers who accept Tricare to accept it, (thus resulting in what the English, rather than Newspeak phrase "veterans' choice" denotes), supplemented by much-reduce VA facilities that specifically deal with military and combat related health and mental health issues and nothing else?

Actually I've been very happy with the care I receive at the VA. It's the Veteran's Choice program I have a problem with. Most of  the Veterans receiving care in the VA system are older and sicker than the general population and/or have special needs eg recent combat Vets who could not find adequate care outside of the VA. I firmly believe that the VA system should be left in place as it offers good to excellent care to the majority of veterans enrolled at a reasonable cost to the tax payer.

Veterans Choice has been a total failure and I cant see Trump and the Dims fixing it. However I can see them making the entire VAHC system much worse...

[240B]

I know you are going to hate me for this, but so be it.

I have a Veteran's Choice card and used it twice. I used it to see an ophthalmologist and an audiologist. Both times there was no problem at all and the appointment was done in two weeks or less.

Just yesterday I successfully used it as a threat. The VA told me that the next available appointment was in mid-June. I said, if that's the case, I'll do the Choice option instead. She said, hold on while I check something. A couple of minutes later she was back on the line and gave me an appointment for next Wednesday. It was that easy.

I can't relate to all these negative VA stories. I go there all the time, with no issues. And I've used Choice, again with no problems. I guess I'm just lucky. I don't know?

[bolobaby]

There is avery nice, new VA facility in Charlotte. I recently used it to get a suspected melanoma checked out. During that visit, they went to town with a battery of blood tests to check every other possible health condition, examined my eyes and prescribed new glasses, and filled a prescription which normally costs me $60 at no cost *to me.* (It cost someone but probably a lot less than normal in bulk.)

I gotta say - I was pretty happy with the experience. Everyone was nice and looking out for me. Go VA.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Got this email from my Dim Senator today.  [

Thanks for sharing  @montanajoe

[corbe]

    Apparently the VA Health Care system is a hit or miss situation, depending on the Administrator/Staff, There are some atrocious care facilities out there, Phoenix and Chicago to name a few, are well documented.
    I used them (Audie Murphy,SA) 20 years ago (between jobs) and though I was somewhat happy with the results, the conditions there seemed appalling.
    We as a Nation, owe these Warriors much more, at least what was initially promised to them. 
    I wish I was optimistic Trump and Congress would fix this but I have serious doubts and the Blame rest squarely on their shoulders (particularly that shameful McCain).

[Emjay]

@CatherineofAragon

The only experience I have with the VA, is JRandomFreeper, Johnny.  When he was diagnosed with cancer in his brain and lungs and blood, the Dallas/Fort Worth, VA was there for him immediately.  When his brother couldn't take him to the VA clinic in Fort Worth, we took him and there wasn't a problem for his care.  When in the VA hospital, which is in Dallas, they did brain surgery and chemo and radiation, always on time, no problem. 

When first diagnosed, the doctor said he would be dead in three months.  He lived almost a year from then.  His VA care was excellent.

My brother-in-law also have a satisfactory experience with the VA and we were also in the DFW area.  He went to the VA hospital in Dallas.  One of the problems seems to be for vets who are not close to a big facility.

I, too, appreciate the stories of real experiences with the VA so we can know the truth.

[Emjay]

I know you are going to hate me for this, but so be it.

I have a Veteran's Choice card and used it twice. I used it to see an ophthalmologist and an audiologist. Both times there was no problem at all and the appointment was done in two weeks or less.

Just yesterday I successfully used it as a threat. The VA told me that the next available appointment was in mid-June. I said, if that's the case, I'll do the Choice option instead. She said, hold on while I check something. A couple of minutes later she was back on the line and gave me an appointment for next Wednesday. It was that easy.

I can't relate to all these negative VA stories. I go there all the time, with no issues. And I've used Choice, again with no problems. I guess I'm just lucky. I don't know?

Of course we won't hate you.  You had positive experiences which I am really happy about.  We seem to be getting a good cross section of experiences with the VA which seem to vary widely.

[montanajoe]

I know you are going to hate me for this, but so be it.

I have a Veteran's Choice card and used it twice. I used it to see an ophthalmologist and an audiologist. Both times there was no problem at all and the appointment was done in two weeks or less.

Just yesterday I successfully used it as a threat. The VA told me that the next available appointment was in mid-June. I said, if that's the case, I'll do the Choice option instead. She said, hold on while I check something. A couple of minutes later she was back on the line and gave me an appointment for next Wednesday. It was that easy.

I can't relate to all these negative VA stories. I go there all the time, with no issues. And I've used Choice, again with no problems. I guess I'm just lucky. I don't know?

UPDATE Was down at the Salt Lake VA yesterday, was complaining about the fact Veteran s choice they blew me off on the cystocopy to my provider.  So got a call from Choice this morning saying the local urologists wont take Veterans Choice but they finally found an Urologist who would take Choice reimbursement ...he's only a hundred miles away and can fit me in the second week of May not to bad I guess....

As noted don't nolrmally have any problems with VAHC...so will be interesting to see how this Choice appointment works out