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This will make a difference in the level of care they will provide.
Does it? I go to the clinic here, and they are my primary care physician. I have a yearly physical (which includes blood work), eye exam (and a prescription for glasses), and prescriptions. I am not disabled at all. And because I don't have insurance, I don't have to pay for anything except the prescriptions ($8). I am 34 in perfect health.
Does it? I go to the clinic here, and they are my primary care physician. I have a yearly physical (which includes blood work), eye exam (and a prescription for glasses), and prescriptions. I am not disabled at all. And because I don't have insurance, I don't have to pay for anything except the prescriptions ($8). I am 34 in perfect health.
I'm not in perfect health, and I use a combination of my Tricare and VA according to what is cheap and convenient.
Many VA offices have limited resources, I was level 2 priority and I believe I am now the top tier. (Bumped from 40- 70%)
I also know that within 5 years of discharge or deployment (I forget which) everybody gets ANY care free.
After that they pay for what is not service connected unless they hit a certain %. (We are reaching the limits of my knowledge b/c my % is past the point where it's free)
I just know they have priorities, and $ as outlined above which is why I brought it up. (Just saying, find out local resources and priorities before dropping your insurance)
My employer based health insurance just changed drastically and in a very negative way. We were under a bigger group plan before and got very, very good rates. Now that we've unfortunately merged with another company, and separating from the larger company, insurance costs will be drastically higher than before and I really can use the money for savings/bills.
Im going from paying about $100 a month for medical/dental/vision to over $300 a month for just medical/dental.
I am a Veteran and eligible for VA Health Care. However, I dont know much about it. Im relatively healthy and not too old yet (32). I am really leaning towards opting out of my expensive employer coverage and just going with the VA. Have any of you done this? Has it worked out well?
Any problems with regular check ups/routine visits? How about if you have something serious or potentially serious?
Just looking for some advice from those that use the VA for health care. I do have a facility near me some that wont be problem finding a VA center.
I go only to keep in the system in case I become a vegetable and need to be hooked up for the rest of my life.
Otherwise, I won't let them touch me with a 10 foot pole. Like most other purveyors of conventional medicine, they are nothing more than drug pushers and don't have a clue.
I'm not in perfect health, and I use a combination of my Tricare and VA according to what is cheap and convenient.
Many VA offices have limited resources, I was level 2 priority and I believe I am now the top tier. (Bumped from 40- 70%)
I also know that within 5 years of discharge or deployment (I forget which) everybody gets ANY care free.
After that they pay for what is not service connected unless they hit a certain %. (We are reaching the limits of my knowledge b/c my % is past the point where it's free)
I just know they have priorities, and $ as outlined above which is why I brought it up. (Just saying, find out local resources and priorities before dropping your insurance)
I separated in 2003, so the five year rule doesn't apply. I have never paid for a VA service, except for a birth control pill prescription. I receive the same level of care as my disabled sister. Well, she has to use it more, obviously, but I get the same yearly exams that she does. I don't understand the 40-70%. Is that disability percentage?
Now, it does take me forever to get an appointment, while my sister can be seen quicker, but that is the only difference that I can tell.
I separated in 2003, so the five year rule doesn't apply. I have never paid for a VA service, except for a birth control pill prescription. I receive the same level of care as my disabled sister. Well, she has to use it more, obviously, but I get the same yearly exams that she does. I don't understand the 40-70%. Is that disability percentage?
Now, it does take me forever to get an appointment, while my sister can be seen quicker, but that is the only difference that I can tell.
Yes, When the Corps retired me the VA gave me a 40% disabled rating, and when I moved to a new state they reevaluated me and rated me 70%.
What I've said is about all I know b/c as I said, I just know where I fall.
ETA:
As per your Rating: Didn't think you were arguing, just trying to help by sharing what little I know.
My hubby is a vet and he uses the clinic here. First thing I would suggest is to see if you qualify. They now have a ceiling on earnings. Also, I'd ask around, see who uses the clinic and whether they're happy with it. It's like any other doctor - do your research.
If you can, I'd suggest keeping your insurance because not all clinics are set up for emergencies and such. For example, right now, we'd have to travel over 2 hours to get to an emergency VA hospital. This is why hubby has a "back-up" primary care dr. outside the system. This was suggested by the guy who gave us the indoctrination session at the clinic. In other words, you'd be SOL if you broke your leg or got into a car accident or something along those lines.
But if it is a well respected clinic, you're in luck. You can still save yourself $$ by using whatever services they have available. Prescriptions are cheaper and, a lot of times, we don't have to pay for specific services, not even a deductible.
Best of luck - do your homework and see what works for you.
You don't have to go to a VA facility for emergency care. Go to any emergency room and the VA will pay for it, though the hospital will probably try to bill you for the "excess" charges beyond what the VA will pay. They have a certain amount of time to stabilize you enough to transfer you to a VA facility beyond which the VA will not continue paying. I think it's 24 hours.
My employer based health insurance just changed drastically and in a very negative way. We were under a bigger group plan before and got very, very good rates. Now that we've unfortunately merged with another company, and separating from the larger company, insurance costs will be drastically higher than before and I really can use the money for savings/bills.
Im going from paying about $100 a month for medical/dental/vision to over $300 a month for just medical/dental.
I am a Veteran and eligible for VA Health Care. However, I dont know much about it. Im relatively healthy and not too old yet (32). I am really leaning towards opting out of my expensive employer coverage and just going with the VA. Have any of you done this? Has it worked out well?
Any problems with regular check ups/routine visits? How about if you have something serious or potentially serious?
Just looking for some advice from those that use the VA for health care. I do have a facility near me some that wont be problem finding a VA center.
Number one, as someone said, is to see if you qualify. There IS an income cap on non-disabled Veteran's receiving care at the VA and you may exceed that cap. However, if there is ANYTHING you can file a claim on, or any potential service-connected health issue, they'll have to enroll you and examine that issue. You'll have to pay a co-pay for any care unrelated to the issue, though. Without knowing more about your military service, I can't offer more advice about what you might claim. Few of us came out of the service, and especially home from a war, without some damage having been done to us for a variety of reasons.
Secondly, IF you do qualify, you must understand that the VA is a clinic-based system, very similar to military medicine. You will be assigned a primary care physician or PA (you can change that if y'all don't get along) and you must go through him/her to get a referral to a specialty clinic. For instance, if you have a skin problem, you can't just pick put the phone and make an appointment for yourself at the dermatology clinic. You must get a referral from your primary care provider and they'll contact you with an appointment time. (If that time doesn't work for you, you can contact them and make one which suits your situation better.)
Third, if you have no level of disability, you fall into the lowest category of care, which means everyone else with a disability of some degree comes before you in receiving care. The greater the degree of disability, the more quickly you can get appointments and receive the care you need. That's fair, though it can be frustrating for those outside the top categories. After all, the VA was not built to provide all the healthcare needs for all Veteran's, but to take care of those wounded or injured in military service, so that's their chief goal. Too often, the complaints you hear about the slow service at the VA are from people who don't understand this or know how the system works. They expect their needs to be met immediately, just as they are in the every day healthcare system, but that's not how the VA works.
The point is, that unless you have some service connected disability, you may find it taking a great deal of time to have your non-emergency or elective issues treated.
As in real estate it boils down to location, location,location plus your disability rating and possibly your income. Good for eye glasses and hearing aids if you qualify.
The last I recal the "means test" was capped at 23K for a single person, this doesn't mean that you can not receive VA medical care it means that it will come with a co-pay. If your in an area that doesn't have a VA emergency care facility you can use the local hospitals and the VA will pay the hospital at a lower rate, depending on the hospital they may try to recover the balance from you. I know that the hospital I use in my area will accept the VA payment and will not bill the veteran. I've use the VA health care system since 1998, it's pretty good but like it was posted, you may have to wait. I'm received the Purple Heart in Vietnam so my health care is provided without a means test and treated as if I war rated at 100%. I have not complaints, here in my area the clinic has been rated in the top 10% for the last 5 years. It has good doctors who really care, I get calls from them about every 2 months asking how I'm doing.
I'm a Viet Nam era Veteran and got into the VA Medical system in 1987 due to the company I went to work for charged for medical insurance. Back then I lived close to a big VA Hospital (Long Beach, CA). The only payment I had was a co-pay for meds. For the following 15 yrs, I used the VA and never had a problem. I was a "constant" user of the medical services, but I did use them. Stopped using the VA for 6 yrs due to getting good (and cheap) health insurance from a company I worked for. With that company, my salary was high enough for wife/I to afford it. For the last few years, due to being unemployed, I used my wife's company medical insurance. Within the last year, I went back with the VA......"financially" is better for us. When I re-applied for medical benefits, I didn't have to do a "means" thing because I automatically agreed for a "co-pay" situation (my wife makes a good salary, so I knew I'd have a co-pay thing anyway). Where we live now, there is not VA hospital, so if I have an emergency, I will have to go to a regular ER and have the VA help me with payment. I do have two VA Clinics close to me though. I have a co-pay for meds (3), to see my PCP, x-rays, etc, but it is still much cheaper than my wife's company insurance. I have no "Service connected" type medical issues. I even order my meds online and they are mailed to me..........I love that!
Also, another benefit of having a "picture ID" VA Medical card........I get free dinners on Veterans Day and a discount at Denny's restaurant. I'm not a Retired Vet, so I have no military ID for that.
Have NEVER had any problems with the VA medical services, but I do treat them nice!
Last edited by BabyBoomers2; 10-11-2011 at 07:55 AM..
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