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My S.O. and I are both vets...we have used the VA medical facilities for
all our medical needs but find it greatly lacking...Neither of us have had any other form of healthcare coverage until recently...
S.O. is now old enough to have Medicare and qualifies for Medicaid but
can't find quality healthcare providers in our local area.
We are both disabled (non-service connected) and when an emergency arose a while back causing us to have to use civilian hospital care for a
period of time, due to a lack of availability of VA facilities,our medical bills
were denied by the VA system for payment...we now pay out of our own
pockets for those bills...I use no other form of healthcare and have no other coverage.
I have also found that the VA is fairly liberal with dispensing medications
that could be problematic when taken in combination, so I no longer
use the VA system for anything but replacing an orthotic shoe every 4-6
months as necessary, I use no other healthcare and haven't seen a Dr.in over a year.
Last edited by leftmyheartintennessee; 01-12-2012 at 07:37 PM..
Reason: completed a thought
By the by...are there any other vets who are having problems getting
meds/prescriptions filled because the med. is NOT an FDA approved medication and no longer on the VA's approved meds. list?
S.O. has chronic GOUT, and until recently (OCT) has been taking
COLCHICINE for the problem...that med worked really well and he's been able to have a reasonably normal life...
In October it was taken off the market by the FDA and now the VA is
no longer able to give him a prescription for it...He has tried some of the
other meds. available for GOUT but none of them have worked at all.
We researched on the Web, found that it was available under the name
COLCRYS, and got the VA Dr. to write a script for it, but because it
is NOT on the VA approved meds. list, he had to pay for it out of his own pocket. A 10-day supply cost him $170.00...and it doesn't seem to be
working as well as the original...
Is anyone else haveing problems like this...and how are you dealing with it..
Just interested, if you are a veteran do you utilize services at the VA?
Hell yeah. I would never go to a civilian doctor. I go to the Cincinnati VAMC and it's one of the best medical facilities I've ever been in. I have to say that the quality of care has improved to be even better since I started going there in '91.
Now, I was also at that same facility in the 1960s and 1970s when my grandfather was there, and it was dump. My grandfather would never go back. Even later, when he was in Florida near Bay Pines and the one in Tampa, he wouldn't go, in spite of my trying to convince him that the care was much better (I'd also been to the Tampa VAMC --- Halifax or Halley or something like that).
I would have to say that as a veteran and a tax-payer, I'm very happy with the care and services.
I am a disabled vet and only use the VA because I do not have health insurance. My primary care dr. will not see me other than to run tests and give me the results. If I am insist that I need to see her, the nurse advises me to go to the emergency room for treatment. I did have one primary dr. who would see me, but she was reassigned. Wonder why?
My son is military, as was my husband, and my Father. I have been impressed with the improvements I have seen in the staff at the VA. I was not so impressed in the 80's, but now, see medical professionals of a very high caliber there. I wonder if that is due to the costs of private practice now? We had Tri-Care, and did not go to the VA, but my ex found out some things at the VA he got, that Tri-Care did not have.
I wonder if that is due to the costs of private practice now?
Fear-factor.
They were basically told, "Justify your existence, or we're shutting you down."
They were forced to do a lot of soul-searching and reinvent themselves. They started doing the unheard of thing of asking patients (veterans) what do you like, what don't you like, how can we improve, and getting the veterans involved. In the last 15 years or so, I've filled out 3 huge questionnaires and spent 20 minutes on the phone doing a survey. I also know they sent people to Europe to study the Clinic Model and how to adapt that to the VA's health care delivery method.
I no longer have to go to the VAMC to re-fill my prescriptions. They are mailed to me using an automated system, and I can go on-line, or call and interact with an automated system to see the status of my prescriptions at any time.
They've made a lot of changes, and all for the better.
People in the US who fear socialized medicine should look at the VA model, because that is what it is basically. Seems to be working okay. Room for improvement, of course, nut seems to be doing a good job.
I am a disabled vet and only use the VA because I do not have health insurance. My primary care dr. will not see me other than to run tests and give me the results. If I am insist that I need to see her, the nurse advises me to go to the emergency room for treatment. I did have one primary dr. who would see me, but she was reassigned. Wonder why?
Your VA primary care provider won't see you? Why?
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