New Republican bill would retain and retool Obamacare

[txradioguy]

I understand that vouchers are happening for Vets that live away from population centers with VA hospitals, but it's denied to the vast majority of Vets living inside an hour's drive away.  McStain's handiwork.

And the ones that are less than an hours drive away are the ones suffering most from the secret VA wait lists and backlogs.  The vouchers need to be made available to ALL vets.

IMHO it's about time we put a General Officer in charge of the VA the same way Truman appointed General Omar Bradley to run the VA and get it sorted after WWII.  Maybe bring one of the former Surgeon Generals of The Army...AF etc back on active status to get things right.

[libertybele]

I understand that vouchers are happening for Vets that live away from population centers with VA hospitals, but it's denied to the vast majority of Vets living inside an hour's drive away.  McStain's handiwork.

Indeed.  My father-in-law needed to see a specialist and instead of having to take him to a facility over an hour away, the VA approved for him to see a local specialist.  Much easier!  Much quicker!  Our vets should have access to whatever health care they need where it is convenient for them!

The VA still needs a lot of work.  I took him to a couple of local appoints at the local VA.  Good grief!  Much to be desired!  I stood my ground and a doctor finally agreed to see him -- they were going to cancel after he had waited 2 months -- because they needed some other paperwork??  My husband took him one time only to have one of the receptionists drop the f bomb at him because my husband complained of the run around my father in law kept getting. 

[Cyber Liberty]

Indeed.  My father-in-law needed to see a specialist and instead of having to take him to a facility over an hour away, the VA approved for him to see a local specialist.  Much easier!  Much quicker!  Our vets should have access to whatever health care they need where it is convenient for them!

The VA still needs a lot of work.  I took him to a couple of local appoints at the local VA.  Good grief!  Much to be desired!  I stood my ground and a doctor finally agreed to seeR

Meanwhile, the budget for the existing VA is being wasted and Vets are being ignored when they need help.  Dammit!  If anybody deserves quality care it's the men and women who got hurt protecting this country that the Rats hate so much!  We owe them, as a Nation, for their sacrifices.

[Bigun]

And the ones that are less than an hours drive away are the ones suffering most from the secret VA wait lists and backlogs.  The vouchers need to be made available to ALL vets.

IMHO it's about time we put a General Officer in charge of the VA the same way Truman appointed General Omar Bradley to run the VA and get it sorted after WWII.  Maybe bring one of the former Surgeon Generals of The Army...AF etc back on active status to get things right.

To heck with vouchers!  I say every veteran should have an I.D. card just as active duty people do. and that ID card should be all they need to get medical care anywhere in this country for the rest of their lives. They have more than earned that IMHO.

[Cyber Liberty]

To heck with vouchers!  I say every veteran should have an I.D. card just as active duty people do. and that ID card should be all they need to get medical care anywhere in this country for the rest of their lives. They have more than earned that IMHO.

 

I'm down with that.  "Voucher" implies permission, and our Vets shouldn't need a "by-your-leave" from the gooberment.

[edpc]

To heck with vouchers!  I say every veteran should have an I.D. card just as active duty people do. and that ID card should be all they need to get medical care anywhere in this country for the rest of their lives. They have more than earned that IMHO.

I disagree with that. In the strictest sense, based on govt criteria, I’m a veteran. However, I fixed radios for a few years, never served in a combat zone, and received an honorable discharge. I served my enlistment period without disciplinary issues and they gave me training for a skill I’ve used in my career for the past 25 years. In my book, we’re square. IMO, there would have to be a more narrow scope for what you suggest.

[txradioguy]

I'm down with that.  "Voucher" implies permission, and our Vets shouldn't need a "by-your-leave" from the gooberment.

Veterans do have a VA ID card that works similar to a military ID.  My father-in-law has one.

[jmyrlefuller]

I'm down with that.  "Voucher" implies permission, and our Vets shouldn't need a "by-your-leave" from the gooberment.

Nothing's stopping them from buying civilian care like the rest of us.

[Cyber Liberty]

Nothing's stopping them from buying civilian care like the rest of us.

Even the Vets who are damaged because they were protecting us?

[txradioguy]

Nothing's stopping them from buying civilian care like the rest of us.

Except we shouldn't have to.

Part of the agreement/pact/bond between the military and those that raise their hand to serve is a guaranteed retirement for serving 20 years and providing healthcare for us when our bodies are beat up and worn down after those 20 years of service.

It's bad enough the VA dumps us into Medicare A&B when we hit 65.

They need to live up to their end of the bargain and quit shirking their obligation. 

[Cyber Liberty]

Except we shouldn't have to.

Part of the agreement/pact/bond between the military and those that raise their hand to serve is a guaranteed retirement for serving 20 years and providing healthcare for us when our bodies are beat up and worn down after those 20 years of service.

It's bad enough the VA dumps us into Medicare A&B when we hit 65.

They need to live up to their end of the bargain and quit shirking their obligation.

 

I know of no other way to properly thank you for your service, @txradioguy.   

[jafo2010]

You can dress up a pig, it is still a pig.  Obamacare is an abomination.  We are processing more Medicaid claims manually today than we did in 1981 when I first worked with Medicaid.  And the cost is significantly higher today.

The ONLY way America gets back to quality healthcare is to end Obamacare and transition to something that is not created by the usual suspects, the stakeholders that have for decades sat around the table representing their own interests.

[Smokin Joe]

Root and Branch....

Until it is gone and the market can operate as a market again, health insurance, and health care will not improve, except for the very poorest and the very richest.

[roamer_1]

When the Republicans pass this abomination, and Tumpy the Clown signs it amid much fake acclaim, taking yet another phony victory lap... Do I finally THEN get to say I told you so?

[sneakypete]

If you think it's bad now, wait till it's "free"!   The VA provides "free" government healthcare to eligible veterans and it SUCKS! They have about 1/100 of 1% of the clients' full-blown universal government healthcare would have!

@Bigun

I am rated at being 100 percent disabled by the VA due to my time in the army. I live maybe 65 miles from the closest VA hospital,so when I have an emergency I go to the local hospital for treatment,like any sane person. Had an incident last July that required hospitalization at the hospital only 25 miles away after going through the ER.

I have been waiting since July for the VA to pay the hospital bills. I called them on the phone in Oct when the bills started piling up and threats were being made to my credit rating. I was told on the phone,"Oh,yeah. We have your paperwork here,but nobody has had the time to take a look at it yet."

Guess what? It is late Feb,and STILL "nobody has had the time to take a look at it." Meanwhile I have a stack of hospital and related bills being reported as unpaid debt,and my credit rating is now in the tank. Good thing I already have a new truck because now I wouldn't be able to buy one.

On top of that,I have been given an estimate of 244 GRAND as an estimate of the final bill from my latest medical problem. And that doesn't even count the several trips to the ER and the resulting emergency surgeries that resulted in stuff like my Pacemaker being installed because these events are so new the VA hasn't even heard of them yet.  In fact,I am heading off to the hospital for minor surgery this morning so I can drain the fluid out of my right lung myself at home,instead of having to go back to the ER once a week. I can't really notify them and tell them what the final bill is until I get the final bill,can I?

In the spirit of full disclosure,even if I  lived next door to the local VA hospital,I wouldn't go there for surgery. Tried that twice in the past,and am still dealing with the results.  Almost lost a leg the last time due to them forgetting to reattach the major blood vessel before sewing me up. My freaking leg turned black and purple,and all the bastards wanted to do was give me more fluid pills,"and if that doesn't work we can always amputate and give you a new high-tech prosthetic leg". I went to a local surgeon and had a 45 minute procedure done right in his office that replaced the vein with an artificial vein once we got the infection under control. I still have trouble with circulation in that leg,but here it is,almost 15 years later,and I am still walking on it,not some piece of aluminum.

I am SUPPOSED to have free medical care for life due to my service and the damage I received while wearing the uniform. The reality is what USUALLY (NOT always) happens is that I use medicare to pay most of the outside hospital and related bills,and then negotiate paying the balance myself.

I have had the VA pay for several outside surgeries,but these were surgeries I had time to fill out all the paperwork on and get approval in advance.

Probably the perfect example of "medical treatment by bureaucracy" was the VA refused to pay for emergency surgery when I had flesh-eating bacteria. The head surgeon told me after the surgery that if I had been 30 minutes later getting to the hospital that I would have died and there was nothing he could have done to have saved me,yet the VA refused to pay that bill because I didn't apply for and get approval in advance. Seriously.

[Bigun]

@Bigun

I am rated at being 100 percent disabled by the VA due to my time in the army. I live maybe 65 miles from the closest VA hospital,so when I have an emergency I go to the local hospital for treatment,like any sane person. Had an incident last July that required hospitalization at the hospital only 25 miles away after going through the ER.

I have been waiting since July for the VA to pay the hospital bills. I called them on the phone in Oct when the bills started piling up and threats were being made to my credit rating. I was told on the phone,"Oh,yeah. We have your paperwork here,but nobody has had the time to take a look at it yet."

Guess what? It is late Feb,and STILL "nobody has had the time to take a look at it." Meanwhile I have a stack of hospital and related bills being reported as unpaid debt,and my credit rating is now in the tank. Good thing I already have a new truck because now I wouldn't be able to buy one.

On top of that,I have been given an estimate of 244 GRAND as an estimate of the final bill from my latest medical problem. And that doesn't even count the several trips to the ER and the resulting emergency surgeries that resulted in stuff like my Pacemaker being installed because these events are so new the VA hasn't even heard of them yet.  In fact,I am heading off to the hospital for minor surgery this morning so I can drain the fluid out of my right lung myself at home,instead of having to go back to the ER once a week. I can't really notify them and tell them what the final bill is until I get the final bill,can I?

In the spirit of full disclosure,even if I  lived next door to the local VA hospital,I wouldn't go there for surgery. Tried that twice in the past,and am still dealing with the results.  Almost lost a leg the last time due to them forgetting to reattach the major blood vessel before sewing me up. My freaking leg turned black and purple,and all the bastards wanted to do was give me more fluid pills,"and if that doesn't work we can always amputate and give you a new high-tech prosthetic leg". I went to a local surgeon and had a 45 minute procedure done right in his office that replaced the vein with an artificial vein once we got the infection under control. I still have trouble with circulation in that leg,but here it is,almost 15 years later,and I am still walking on it,not some piece of aluminum.

I am SUPPOSED to have free medical care for life due to my service and the damage I received while wearing the uniform. The reality is what USUALLY (NOT always) happens is that I use medicare to pay most of the outside hospital and related bills,and then negotiate paying the balance myself.

I have had the VA pay for several outside surgeries, but these were surgeries I had time to fill out all the paperwork on and get approval in advance.

Probably the perfect example of "medical treatment by bureaucracy" was the VA refused to pay for emergency surgery when I had flesh-eating bacteria. The head surgeon told me after the surgery that if I had been 30 minutes later getting to the hospital that I would have died and there was nothing he could have done to have saved me, yet the VA refused to pay that bill because I didn't apply for and get approval in advance. Seriously.

I fully believe you @sneakypete.  I have several other veteran friends around my age who have had very similar experiences.

I personally have been lucky enough in life to have always had very good insurance and have never had to visit a VA facility. At this point, I'm sure that I never will even though I am perfectly entitled to. 

I had brain surgery last year done by the finest neurosurgeons on the planet that cost well in excess of $100K and my out of pocket costs to date, other than getting back and forth to the necessary facilities, has been $0.00.

[Cyber Liberty]

@Bigun, my father was a sailor in WW2 and he went to the VA just one time in the 80's.  Never went back again.  It was the infamous Phoenix VA Hospital from the stories a couple years ago.  The law McStain push through to "help" had the effect of icing anybody who wanted decent health care, because he lives too close to that killing box to ever get reimbursement for seeing a private Doc.

It's the Phoenix VA Hospital or nothing as far as the VA is concerned.  He's on Medicare now.

[Bigun]

@Bigun, my father was a sailor in WW2 and he went to the VA just one time in the 80's.  Never went back again.  It was the infamous Phoenix VA Hospital from the stories a couple years ago.  The law McStain push through to "help" had the effect of icing anybody who wanted decent health care, because he lives too close to that killing box to ever get reimbursement for seeing a private Doc.

It's the Phoenix VA Hospital or nothing as far as the VA is concerned.  He's on Medicare now.

It's a crying damned shame that people who have put their lives on the line for Uncle Sam, in many cases more than once, are treated that way!