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The VA is pawning off disabled Vets...
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Member Posts: 168,427 ✭
This is down right pathetic! As most of you know, I recently relocated to the North West. I called the VA hospital in Spokanne to get registered and set up with a primary care team...well, I got this letter in the mail today that said they were too busy to take new patients and that I would have to go to an outside clinic run by internal medicine residents (IMR)for my primary care. This whole situation really pisses me off. I have serious combat related health issues and the VA wants to pawn me off on some outside clinic...all the while Congress keeps passing millions in pork projects[:(!] I don't know how this clinic is supposed to be able to provide adequate care for our vets. I had a cardiologist, pulmonoligist, primary care doc, and two surgeons at my last VA hospital...now they want to pawn me off on some clinic...sorry for the rant.[:(!][V]
Comments
The VA over here is more pathetic than even the Stateside VA "clinics". They won't answer their phone for the appointment line so I walk in to make an appointment. "Sorry sir but our VA doctor has left the island and we don't know when we will get another...write down your phone number and name and I'll call you when we get one".
I am no longer a member of the VFW or American Legion. They let the VA turn into it's current mess.
WHY do employees at VA Hospitals EAT FOR FREE at their place of work? Shouldn't the money be used on Veterans?....Not making pathetic VA employees fat???????
I fully support the closing of the entire VA System.
I do agree that maintaining a complete system of hospitals, etc is inefficient and costly. I think the government should just provide insurance to disabled veterans( I mean like they provide to our porkbarrel legislators not the typical you pay your part and go bankrupt kind...).
I realized I was on my own several years ago. VA is staffed by some of the most incompetant gov't workers of all time.
My advise: use your Mont. GI education benefits to re-train for a good job that has benefits. Be careful about what you share on the initial (first) medical forms. You have 5th Amendment rights and Privacy Act protection from providing damaging info about yourself. Leave in-appropriate areas blank. When asked, state that you are excersizing your 5th Amendment rights. They'll look puzzled but usually will not press the issue. Do not sign your name to false info!
Provide too much info and you will be un-insurable!
You are on your own and don't waste energy looking for help from Uncle Sam; those days are over. Sad but true.
TR
BTW: Welcome to the forum, It dosen't matter to us if you served as a Squid, Jarhead, Flyboy or as a proud memebr of the U.S. Army. What matters here is that you served.
rushmoreman, That is exactly what I did after my problems with the VA started. Now that I am self employed I have private insurance, yes I pay through the nose for it but it is the only thing that works. I understand that some VA hospitals are good, but I'm not going to move all over the country to find a good one. The only reason I have been back to the VA is for a re-evaluation of my injurys and for my worsening condition. Other than that I haven't been down there for years.
BTW: Welcome to the forum, It dosen't matter to us if you served as a Squid, Jarhead, Flyboy or as a proud memebr of the U.S. Army. What matters here is that you served.
+1
Wouldn't that suck?
Give yer left nut for the country and they take your right one to boot.
First, NO NEED TO APOLOGIZE!! You laid yourself out for us when it was your time to go over. Now, it's time the tax dollars that we paid go for the veterans who need it. Not a congressional raise, not for illegals who need health care and not for PORK! I agree.
Second, for what it's worth, I've had two knee surguries caused by a broken face on the lower bone of my right knee. I had the knee lock up on me a couple times when I was in. But, "the x-rays showed nothing." Advil(any over the counter anit-inflamatory) kept the swelling down and the 'lock-up' went away. I had no idea at the time what happened. Three years after I got out the 'lock-up' didn't go away. It made this incredibly loud "pop" as I jumped out of the concrete I was pouring. I went up and turned as I jumped out...my knee didn't. Turns out I had to have surgery on it and they removed a 7mm x 4mm x whatever and a 4mm x 2mm x something sized bone fragments out of my knee. When I sent for my medical records the only thing they showed was a make-up shot I got before going to Germany. Needless to say Workmans comp picked it up. The point of this whole story being is that if I had to go the VA in Reno, who had a "technically competant" Orthopedic Surgeon, I would have had to have my knee worked on by him instead of a doctor(Orthopedic Surgeon) who was at the top of his field because he worked with athletes training for the Olympics.
The real point of the story is I had good medical care in the civilian world. To this day I still think my knee injury was caused by jumping out of planes, fastroping and slack Australian rappelling. But I sure am glad I didn't have to deal with the VA on a longterm basis, or ...let their doctor do my knee surgery.