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 VA Clinic Experience (currently 1 views) |
| Frenchie |
| Posted on: February 9th, 2014, 12:49am |
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Maximum Member2 LIke to hear from anyone that was Co C 4/31
Posts: 407
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been on medicare a couple years, i ve never received a check from VA other than "normal" stuff.
If it was me id call the toll free number and ask them |
Frenchie - Gilbert E Manasselian
C 4/31 Feb 68 to Feb 69
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Reply: 15 - 33 |
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| Bob Kotch |
| Posted on: February 9th, 2014, 6:00pm |
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Posts: 187
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| I've been on medicare a couple years now. Never got a check from VA. Every year after the lab work and annual check up I get a small bill and have to send them a check. |
HHC, MP Plt. 9-67 through 9-68 |
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Reply: 16 - 33 |
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| Jim Gray |
| Posted on: February 18th, 2014, 9:50pm |
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Big Member Sept 67-Sept 68 D 3/21 and HHC
Posts: 87
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I contacted the VA at Bay Pines. They could not tell me anything.
Today a get a bill from the VA for dermatology and out patient. It is a detailed bill. Some how they made a mistake when someone else paid and it went to my account. So they issued an over payment refund. Wonder how long, if ever will it take them to figure this out? |
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Reply: 17 - 33 |
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| Jim Armstrong |
| Posted on: May 19th, 2015, 4:31pm |
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Posts: 203
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In early February I asked my primary care doctor if I should worry about a couple of spots on my old hide.
Oh, I'm not a specialist she said, I'll give you a referral; get an appointment at the front desk when you leave.
That appointment with a "dermatologist" was two months off in early April, but at least was at the local clinic.
The day before that appt I got a call that the "dermatologist" was ill and I needed to reschedule.
The appt was mid-May. Has anyone heard of the 30 day rule?
The day before that appt, I got a call that it was cancelled since they decided to drop that service and I would have to go to San Francisco (6 hours roound trip) for a new appt.
Besides now being three months since my VA doctor referred me, it turned out that the "dermatologist" was not really and all he would have done is take pictures of any suspect spots and send them to SF for evaluation and for treatment there if necessary.
I am discussing this with a VA patient representative and with my Congressman's office. |
Jim Armstrong
C, HQ, A 2/1
1965-1967 |
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Reply: 18 - 33 |
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| Bob Kotch |
| Posted on: May 22nd, 2015, 1:39pm |
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Posts: 187
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| Jim, hopefully your VA patient rep. & Congressman will speed things up. It's been a long time since February when you first bought it to their attention. This should have been taken care of a long time ago! Good luck and let us know how you make out. |
HHC, MP Plt. 9-67 through 9-68 |
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Reply: 19 - 33 |
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| Frenchie |
| Posted on: May 22nd, 2015, 6:38pm |
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Maximum Member2 LIke to hear from anyone that was Co C 4/31
Posts: 407
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Jim , i retired from the GOv and i want to share that whenever someone went to their elected officials, they went to the front of the line in our office and well trained employees responded to the Congressmen and things got done pronto.
Your issue will get resolved. |
Frenchie - Gilbert E Manasselian
C 4/31 Feb 68 to Feb 69
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Reply: 20 - 33 |
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| Jim Armstrong |
| Posted on: June 2nd, 2015, 12:11am |
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Posts: 203
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With a four month delay from the referral from my primary care doctor (now gone from the VA), I thought I might come under the new Veterans Choice Program.
So far that approach to timely care doesn't seem to work any better than the old way.
Any one have some experience with the Card? |
Jim Armstrong
C, HQ, A 2/1
1965-1967 |
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Reply: 21 - 33 |
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| Gregory B Peters |
| Posted on: June 6th, 2015, 3:18pm |
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Maximum Member2 B company, 3/21/196th, incountry 07/1966-07/1967
Posts: 173
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Jim, see below. I think you are caught in a catch-22. You are trying to get an appointment to determine if your condition is covered by the VA. As you are finding out this takes forever. Care Cards are only for those who already have a VA approved need, but can't get a VA appointment in a timely manner, thirty days. If you used your Care Card at a local dermatologist they will submit the bill to the VA, who will deny it because they didn't approve it. And then the local clinic will send the bill to you. Clear as mud????
"Care in the community is only covered by VA for medical needs which have been approved by your VA physician. We can happily schedule an appointment for other medical needs, but the we can only cover the cost of care related to your VA-approved health needs." |
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Reply: 22 - 33 |
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| Jim Armstrong |
| Posted on: June 6th, 2015, 4:18pm |
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Posts: 203
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Greg: Thanks for the reply.
I requested a referral to the Choice program on first hearing that the appointment for the care prescribed by my primary VA doctor was well over a month away.
In the typical way this program is being (mis)handled, I was told I lived within 40 miles of the clinic and so did not qualify. Not at all related to the problem, just the same decades old arrogance and self-serving BS of the VA.
They are resisting the Choice program in both the letter and spirit of the law.
VA Watchdog has some pertinent information that parallels my experience.
MacDonald is probably worse than Shinseki, who was just incompetent. |
Jim Armstrong
C, HQ, A 2/1
1965-1967 |
| Revision History (2 edits) |
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Reply: 23 - 33 |
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| Jim Armstrong |
| Posted on: June 20th, 2015, 4:43pm |
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Posts: 203
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Four full months now since my referral and no resolution.
Something for all to think about: If you do get an appointment where the Choice program is supposed to pay, LOOK OUT.
If you make the mistake of showing your Medicare card at the the doctor's office, the whole deal is off, with you paying the deductable, the copay and the prescriptions.
Great deal, eh? |
Jim Armstrong
C, HQ, A 2/1
1965-1967 |
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Reply: 24 - 33 |
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| Frenchie |
| Posted on: June 20th, 2015, 10:06pm |
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Maximum Member2 LIke to hear from anyone that was Co C 4/31
Posts: 407
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Hey Jim:
maybe this has been previously mentioned and if it has....ignore my reply
Perhaps its time to contact your local (US) rep and asked them if this (your experience) is the NEW VA ....whatever it is they are doing, it is not working.
Too many wars at the same time without increase in Medical Personel(?).
Good luck
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Frenchie - Gilbert E Manasselian
C 4/31 Feb 68 to Feb 69
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Reply: 25 - 33 |
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| Jim Armstrong |
| Posted on: August 23rd, 2015, 4:26pm |
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Posts: 203
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I got a letter yesterday that may signal a really significant change in the VA Choice program.
Starting off with a demand that I schedule an appointment 3 hours away in San Francisco for a Cat Scan, if finished with a big OR.
OR, if I live more than 40 miles from the SF VA Clinic, I could contact the Choice program to have the procedure done locally.
This changes the whole program from 40 miles to the nearest VA clinic to 40 miles from the VA Clinic that can provide a needed medical service.
As far as I can find, this change has not been generall announced |
Jim Armstrong
C, HQ, A 2/1
1965-1967 |
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Reply: 26 - 33 |
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| Jim Armstrong |
| Posted on: October 27th, 2015, 5:20pm |
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Posts: 203
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The Veterans Choice program. at least in my experience, has turned out to be useless and a total insult to veterans.
My request for its services began in early February.
I was informed last week that I could contact the program (run by an outfit called Tri West, not the VA) to get a local appointmnent.
This was EIGHT MONTHS from the time the VA violated the 30 day rule!
A short versiion of that contact:
The mystery person one talks to at TriWest tells you that they choose the doctor you will see in your community, she will choose when you will see them and she will make the appointment you have to keep.
Then she chose a doctor that retired almost five years ago.
Then she told me the doctor I had seen before and preferred would not accept Choice payments.
Then she offered another doctor 60 miles away.
When I told her I no longer needed an initial exam appointment, but minor surgery, she told me she knew what she was doing.
The next morning another worker called to tell me they had made an appointment for me with the doctor who "would not" take payment.
The person called me cold and started the conversation with demanding I give her my full name. date of birth and SS Number or she would not discuss my appointment!
It turned out she had scheduled an appointmnent on a day when the surgery (a MOHS dermatology procedure) was not available and I had to cancel it with the doctor's office.
So I am basically where I started in February. |
Jim Armstrong
C, HQ, A 2/1
1965-1967 |
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Reply: 27 - 33 |
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| Frenchie |
| Posted on: October 27th, 2015, 6:52pm |
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Maximum Member2 LIke to hear from anyone that was Co C 4/31
Posts: 407
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Jim , youre a very patient man.
Immediately contact your US Senator and or Congressman....i believe you will get a satisfactory response.
Let us know. |
Frenchie - Gilbert E Manasselian
C 4/31 Feb 68 to Feb 69
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Reply: 28 - 33 |
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| Gregory B Peters |
| Posted on: November 7th, 2015, 5:09pm |
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Maximum Member2 B company, 3/21/196th, incountry 07/1966-07/1967
Posts: 173
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. Veterans Affairs Reports Lowest Backlogged Disability Claims Since 2007
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently reported the lowest number of backlogged disability claims since record keeping began in 2007. The VA defines a claim as backlogged after it has awaited a decision for more than 125 days. The backlog is currently at 98,000 veterans which is an 84% drop from the backlog peak in March 2013.
Since 2012 the VA administration has been working to reduce the backlogged claims. The administration has been hiring new employees, as well as enforcing mandatory overtime for current staff. The VA has also made a considerable push to digitize records instead of relying on paper files. This is great news for veterans with disabilities who have been going without highly needed benefits for extended periods. While the backlog has decreased, the number of veterans who have appealed the VA's decision on their claims has held steady, a problem that remains to be addressed.
Full Story: Ben Kesling, VA's Backlog of Disability Claims Falls to 8-Year Low, Wall Street Journal, Aug. 24, 2015, available at
http://www.wsj.com/articles/va.....705#livefyre-comment |
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Reply: 29 - 33 |
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