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I have never.....my son in law has. Drive 80 miles to an appt to get told "No one called you to inform you that the appt had to be cancelled"? He had a huge mess trying to remove his ex wife and get my daughter on. After much run around they told him it was done. They got the paperwork and what they did was remove his ex wife and then put her back on.
Sounds like a situation that could be easily solved with a more hand's on approach. No vet has to drive 80 miles to an appointment unless they're not paying attention and don't understand the system. The VA rule is 40 miles. I just had a major heart catheterization some months ago. Instead of using the Phoenix VA hospital which is 87 miles away, I had authorization to use the Northern Arizona Heart and Vascular center, a civilian organization that was 4 miles away from my front door. The VA copay was the same for the stints as it would have been at the VA hospital. 50 bucks total. But I had to schedule an appointment with my VA PCP and specifically request Veteran's Choice for the procedure. Then wait for Tri West to approve it, then get the info to the local cardiologist, who scheduled the procedure.
Every year I get an automatic notification from the local eye doctor to come in for exam. I get an approval from my local VA PCP and get the exam locally instead of the Phoenix VA. I send them the prescription and I get a new pair of free glasses in the mail after about 3 weeks.
I'm not disputing your SIL's experience but what I am saying is there are available alternatives if one educates themselves with the existing system.
Sounds like a situation that could be easily solved with a more hand's on approach. No vet has to drive 80 miles to an appointment unless they're not paying attention and don't understand the system. The VA rule is 40 miles. I just had a major heart catheterization some months ago. Instead of using the Phoenix VA hospital which is 87 miles away, I had authorization to use the Northern Arizona Heart and Vascular center, a civilian organization that was 4 miles away from my front door. The VA copay was the same for the stints as it would have been at the VA hospital. 50 bucks total. But I had to schedule an appointment with my VA PCP and specifically request Veteran's Choice for the procedure. Then wait for Tri West to approve it, then get the info to the local cardiologist, who scheduled the procedure.
I'm not disputing your SIL's experience but what I am saying is there are available alternatives if one educates themselves with the existing system.
I don't expect anything to be perfect but there is no excuse for the actions of the V.A. I am sure there are many that have been treated well but where this is concerned, that is not good enough.
Somethings are better left broken. They cost more to fix than they are worth.
Insurance companies are pulling out of the marketplace. One county in Arizona had zero insurance companies offering plans until the state had to step in and fix it. Just leaving it broken is not an option. Either repeal and replace or just shut the whole thing down. I think most will find the first option a better one.
I don't expect anything to be perfect but there is no excuse for the actions of the V.A. I am sure there are many that have been treated well but where this is concerned, that is not good enough.
Yeah, I know about Phoenix VA wait times that have been reported. All I can say is that I've been using the Phoenix VA hospital since 1999 and I've never experienced any of that. I've had major surgeries there where the odds were 50-50 which door I'd be coming out of, post-op. Front or back door to the dumpster.
Worst was having an appointment with a vascular surgeon at 1PM and not being seen until 3:30PM. Second worst is when you get discharged from the hosp. and you need to get meds right there. You're number is B167 and they're only on A49.
All the problems with wait times can be attributed to congressional funding. Not enough doctors, not enough techs, not enough outpatient clinics. Not enough time for all the patients due to staffing.
Yeah, I know about Phoenix VA wait times that have been reported. All I can say is that I've been using the Phoenix VA hospital since 1999 and I've never experienced any of that. I've had major surgeries there where the odds were 50-50 which door I'd be coming out of, post-op. Front or back door to the dumpster.
Worst was having an appointment with a vascular surgeon at 1PM and not being seen until 3:30PM. Second worst is when you get discharged from the hosp. and you need to get meds right there. You're number is B167 and they're only on A49.
All the problems with wait times can be attributed to congressional funding. Not enough doctors, not enough techs, not enough outpatient clinics. Not enough time for all the patients due to staffing.
I always bring a really good book.
I'm seriously glad they have been treating you well. I am very against our wars but I am 100% for the very best treatment for those we send over to come back broke.
I'm seriously glad they have been treating you well. I am very against our wars but I am 100% for the very best treatment for those we send over to come back broke.
Congress has traditionally underfunded the VA system for centuries. We always pay lip service to those who fight for our nation but never pony up where it matters most.
Right now the VA is getting clobbered because there are so many PTSD cases with no medical experts on the VA staff to deal with all of them and no funding to hire more.
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