US will fix broken VA disability system

[Vendzilla]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...022200345.html

The VA medical system is pretty messed up, anyone that has ever dealt with it knows what I'm talking about. They even made a movie about it called Artical 99 made in the ealry 90's.
The reason I bring this up is this is a "government run health system" and Obama is still pushing thru his obamacare V2 and is still not going anywhere with tort reform, but he wants to put more regulations on the insurance companies, does this make sence?

I think they should look to improving the current VA healthcare system first

[TheDoc]

Kind of an odd skew to put to the article...it has nothing to do with gov ran health care, the issues in the article have nothing to do with the actual health care being provided, but rather the issues we have with getting coverage years after they find out that we should be covered, which has created a huge backlog of problems.

Maybe a better way to say it is, finally after 35 years of being ignored, a president, President Obama pushed the issue so Veterans can finally be taken care of in a proper time frame.

And actual VA healthcare/insurance, is fine... it's not perfect because we don't have enough of them, outside of that it works.

[Vendzilla]

Kind of an odd skew to put to the article...it has nothing to do with gov ran health care, the issues in the article have nothing to do with the actual health care being provided, but rather the issues we have with getting coverage years after they find out that we should be covered, which has created a huge backlog of problems.

Maybe a better way to say it is, finally after 35 years of being ignored, a president, President Obama pushed the issue so Veterans can finally be taken care of in a proper time frame.

And actual VA healthcare/insurance, is fine... it's not perfect because we don't have enough of them, outside of that it works.

It's ran by the government, pretty easy to see that, they get their funding from the goverment.
I don't know if Obama is pushing it's reform or not, but if so, he wouldn't be the first to do so.
And it remains to be seen if this is just more BS for the veterans or something they will actually fix

[Matt 26z]

The VA should be closed to anyone who didn't sustain their ailment in combat.

[TheDoc]

It's ran by the government, pretty easy to see that, they get their funding from the goverment.
I don't know if Obama is pushing it's reform or not, but if so, he wouldn't be the first to do so.
And it remains to be seen if this is just more BS for the veterans or something they will actually fix

It's not ran by the Gov, it's funded/overseen by the Gov. It's managed by Veteran organizations that elect people to manage it.

[Vendzilla]

The VA should be closed to anyone who didn't sustain their ailment in combat.

It's suppose to be for Veterans that served that need help, weither they got it in combat or not. I believe thats what is should be for

It's not ran by the Gov, it's funded by the Gov. It's managed by Veteran organizations that elect people to manage it.

Government funding with an elected board, how is this different that what they want for the national health care system?

[TheDoc]

It's suppose to be for Veterans that served that need help, weither they got it in combat or not. I believe thats what is should be for



Government funding with an elected board, how is this different that what they want for the national health care system?

It's very different, each VA's are state/local controlled, with local elected boards, voted in by VA members, that elect representatives for the federal level. If I remember correctly, only the head guy (a veteran or current military) person is actually put in by congress, but a board of veterans put in by people like me, help control him/the va.

[TheDoc]

If you want to see politics in action, chain of command like no other. Join a Veteran Organization and become active.

From the local bar (setup with voting powers, elected people, even the bar manager is controlled by the board), regions within the state, each state, regions of states, and federal level, all elected/voted in, the political chain of command is awesome in the VA.

It gets screwed when Presidents/Congress take away from them, which almost every president has done over the last 35 years.

[Vendzilla]

If you want to see politics in action, chain of command like no other. Join a Veteran Organization and become active.

From the local bar (setup with voting powers, elected people, even the bar manager is controlled by the board), regions within the state, each state, regions of states, and federal level, all elected/voted in, the political chain of command is awesome in the VA.

It gets screwed when Presidents/Congress take away from them, which almost every president has done over the last 35 years.

I'm part of a veteran organization, we help get a cemetery put in, small group, old submariners, funny thing is I'm the youngest, we have 3 WW2 vets, they have balls that clank, they have done some scary shit.
I just look at the system and see that it's under funded at the very least and have you seen the new commercials? That can't be an coincidence

[TheDoc]

I'm part of a veteran organization, we help get a cemetery put in, small group, old submariners, funny thing is I'm the youngest, we have 3 WW2 vets, they have balls that clank, they have done some scary shit.
I just look at the system and see that it's under funded at the very least and have you seen the new commercials? That can't be an coincidence

I don't think I have seen the new commercials..

It is greatly underfunded... and without some of the wonderful veteran orgs helping out, many more vets would be screwed.

[Tanker]

I cant wait till they get their heads of of their ass's

I have been missing my disability compensation payments since June and they have not a fucking clue how to get them started again its been 9 months since the last one got to my mailbox!

Thank god I don't rely on it to live as my sole income but I know a lot of veterans that do. Veterans with 100% disability definitely rely on it and if there checks got lost they would be screwed.

[davecummings]

Kind of an odd skew to put to the article...it has nothing to do with gov ran health care, the issues in the article have nothing to do with the actual health care being provided, but rather the issues we have with getting coverage years after they find out that we should be covered, which has created a huge backlog of problems.

Maybe a better way to say it is, finally after 35 years of being ignored, a president, President Obama pushed the issue so Veterans can finally be taken care of in a proper time frame.

And actual VA healthcare/insurance, is fine... it's not perfect because we don't have enough of them, outside of that it works.

I've used the Va Medical Center in San Diego for years--it's GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Vendzilla]

I've used the Va Medical Center in San Diego for years--it's GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've heard that some are great, I went to the one in the San Fernado Valley, it was a nightmare

[theking]

I have delt with the VA since I was removed from active duty in '92 and have never had a problem with service (other than wait time) or the care I have received and have never missed a check. I am aware that some people have had problems of various kinds...
I am also aware that some VA hospitals are better run than others...depending upon the director and other positions of leadership and staff.

[baddog]

The VA should be closed to anyone who didn't sustain their ailment in combat.

Why? They still put themselves out there.

I don't think I have seen the new commercials..

Probably shown in select areas. The noisy ones.

I've heard that some are great, I went to the one in the San Fernado Valley, it was a nightmare

I have had friends and relatives use several in So Cal and none ever had anything bad to say about the VA.

[Vendzilla]

Why? They still put themselves out there.



Probably shown in select areas. The noisy ones.



I have had friends and relatives use several in So Cal and none ever had anything bad to say about the VA.

They kept me for 3 days for a headache, on the third day I got a pill and I walked out

[theking]

They kept me for 3 days for a headache, on the third day I got a pill and I walked out

Why would you go to the VA because you had a headache? In addition it sounds like very good care...to me...if they were concerned enough about your headache to keep you for three days.

[seeric]

i am a veteran. the only thing i've used military related since i got out is the USAA.

lol.

i guess its nice to know that if i ever needed it, at least i have somewhere to go. for now.

[Vendzilla]

Why would you go to the VA because you had a headache? In addition it sounds like very good care...to me...if they were concerned enough about your headache to keep you for three days.

It was a really bad headache, so instead of just relieveing my pain, they tried to figure out caused it. I had a bad head injury when I was a kid and sometimes I got bad headaches. I don't get them anymore.
I felt like a science experiment for some new doctors
This was a while ago too, like maybe 25 years ago

[kane]

A friend of mine has horror stories about a VA hospital in Washington DC. He went in because he had a tooth pulled a few weeks before that and developed dry socket that got infected. He nearly died. It was bad enough that they actually came and started packing up his stuff from his room at the barracks. Anyway, he said they did things like putting him in the CT scanner and when he got out he caught his IV cord and it ripped some out of his arm. So he is bleeding all over the place and they just tell him to walk like that back to the duty nurse. So he has to walk by himself bleeding and dripping blood onto the floor to an elevator, take it down a floor and across the building to a nurse. He said just overall is sucked and he would only ever go back there if it was an absolute last resort.

That said, he went to the VA hospital here in Portland and said it is really good.

[kane]

Here is a question, just wanting to get people's opinions on this.

The way I understand it. If you go into the military, serve your four years and get out, you can now go to the VA and get medical care for the rest of your life.

Should this be the case?

Obviously if you were wounded or injured while serving, yes. But what if you were just another one of the tens of thousands that went in, served an uneventful four years and left?

Should someone who was a cop for four years get lifetime medical? What about a fireman? Postal worker?

Just curious what people think.

[Vendzilla]

Here is a question, just wanting to get people's opinions on this.

The way I understand it. If you go into the military, serve your four years and get out, you can now go to the VA and get medical care for the rest of your life.

Should this be the case?

Obviously if you were wounded or injured while serving, yes. But what if you were just another one of the tens of thousands that went in, served an uneventful four years and left?

Should someone who was a cop for four years get lifetime medical? What about a fireman? Postal worker?

Just curious what people think.

When you are comparing military to police and firemen, you're comparing apples and oranges.
The US should take care of it's veterans. I went to the VA hospital once and I used a VA loan to buy my house. One employer got a tax break to hire me in the late 90's.

[theking]

Here is a question, just wanting to get people's opinions on this.

The way I understand it. If you go into the military, serve your four years and get out, you can now go to the VA and get medical care for the rest of your life.

Should this be the case?

Obviously if you were wounded or injured while serving, yes. But what if you were just another one of the tens of thousands that went in, served an uneventful four years and left?

Should someone who was a cop for four years get lifetime medical? What about a fireman? Postal worker?

Just curious what people think.

Cops...fireman...and postal workers do not make the sacrifices that active duty military make...especially those that belong to combat arms.

[kane]

Cops...fireman...and postal workers do not make the sacrifices that active duty military make...especially those that belong to combat arms.

For sure. Being in the military is a huge sacrifice. I won't argue that and I honor and respect anyone who has served our country. I am just curious.

Here is an example. I have a friend that went into the Air Force. He ended up working construction. He would travel 2-4 months per year as they went and did work on various embassies around the world. The rest of the time they did repairs and built things at the base he was stationed at in Texas. During those times he said it was basically a 40 hour a week job. He lived off base with a couple of friends and would get up, go to work then come home at night. He had weekends off. So basically, for him, the military was like a job that sent him overseas for a few months each year. After four years he got out and went back to his normal life.

It just makes me wonder. I see conservatives yelling about people being entitled to health care and they are angry saying that you are not guaranteed health care in this country and you have to work for it, yet if you join the army, peel potatoes for four years and leave you get lifetime free health care if you need it.

I'm not saying that military people shouldn't get these benefits, but it just makes me curious and I like to find out what level of service/sacrifice people feel needs to be made for the country in order to justify them getting life long free health care.

[Vendzilla]

Some parts of the military are just like a job, others are like nothing you have ever experienced.
I've done things that you will never do in the name of protecting this country. And I believe that all veterans should be treated with dignity, not just the ones that were put in harms way

[kane]

Some parts of the military are just like a job, others are like nothing you have ever experienced.
I've done things that you will never do in the name of protecting this country. And I believe that all veterans should be treated with dignity, not just the ones that were put in harms way

I agree that there are things many people in the military experience that can't even really fully be explained to or understood by those who were not there. I have a friend who was in the Marines back during the first gulf war and he still has issues with it today. He was among the first group to push in and saw some heavy resistance for a few days. He said he saw and did things he would never forget. He also was in Somalia for a year. His division was pulled out about three weeks before the who Black Hawk Down incident happened. While there he saw things that made him so ill he lost 30 pounds because he couldn't eat and when he went there he only had about 4% body fat so much of that weight was muscle. He was constantly sick because of what he was seeing happen day in and day out.

Anyone who goes through anything like that deserves benefits for as long as they want them. Anyone who is put in harms way deserves the same. Anyone who chooses to serve our country should be treated with dignity.

I am primarily playing devil's advocate here. If I join the military and end up in one of those MOS's where I don't do much and it is basically like a job, when I leave I can get free heath care for life if I need and want it. Nobody complains and everyone is all for it. However, if I go to work for a company that designs and builds body armor for the military, or builds armored vehicles for the military, or does some type of service for the military that helps our soldiers do their job or helps keep them safe, that job is not considered worthy of free health care. I just find it interesting where some people draw the line.

[papill0n]

I agree that there are things many people in the military experience that can't even really fully be explained to or understood by those who were not there. I have a friend who was in the Marines back during the first gulf war and he still has issues with it today. He was among the first group to push in and saw some heavy resistance for a few days. He said he saw and did things he would never forget. He also was in Somalia for a year. His division was pulled out about three weeks before the who Black Hawk Down incident happened. While there he saw things that made him so ill he lost 30 pounds because he couldn't eat and when he went there he only had about 4% body fat so much of that weight was muscle. He was constantly sick because of what he was seeing happen day in and day out.

Anyone who goes through anything like that deserves benefits for as long as they want them. Anyone who is put in harms way deserves the same. Anyone who chooses to serve our country should be treated with dignity.

I am primarily playing devil's advocate here. If I join the military and end up in one of those MOS's where I don't do much and it is basically like a job, when I leave I can get free heath care for life if I need and want it. Nobody complains and everyone is all for it. However, if I go to work for a company that designs and builds body armor for the military, or builds armored vehicles for the military, or does some type of service for the military that helps our soldiers do their job or helps keep them safe, that job is not considered worthy of free health care. I just find it interesting where some people draw the line.

good post man

[TheDoc]

Serving in the military doesn't get you health care for life... it gets you college benefits, and some honor, pride and discipline.

Something has to happen to you or it be during war time for you to get health care/benefits and that sometimes has huge limitations. They have ranges/cut off dates to get even 1% medical or even college depending on what took place.

A person in an Embassy may have pictured the job as easy and safe, but it's hellish boring to the next degree and Embassy's have been attacked all over the world, while safer than many military jobs, it's still not safe like you are right now.

Everyone deploys... and during war time a supply guy is as important as the grunt on the ground. One is in a bit more danger than the other, but if the supply guy busts up his back working hard for the grunt.... it's a fair trade off. Someone has to push papers....but without that person the supply person would never get the order.

We are a team for a reason.

[kane]

Serving in the military doesn't get you health care for life... it gets you college benefits, and some honor, pride and discipline.

Something has to happen to you or it be during war time for you to get health care/benefits and that sometimes has huge limitations. They have ranges/cut off dates to get even 1% medical or even college depending on what took place.

A person in an Embassy may have pictured the job as easy and safe, but it's hellish boring to the next degree and Embassy's have been attacked all over the world, while safer than many military jobs, it's still not safe like you are right now.

Everyone deploys... and during war time a supply guy is as important as the grunt on the ground. One is in a bit more danger than the other, but if the supply guy busts up his back working hard for the grunt.... it's a fair trade off. Someone has to push papers....but without that person the supply person would never get the order.

We are a team for a reason.

I didn't know this. I didn't know that something had to happen to you or you had to serve during a time of war to get benefits. I thought if you served in the military, no matter when or in what capacity, you could go to the VA hospital whenever you want. This makes it a lot more clear. Thanks.

[Dr.Strangelove]

Plus there is a financial means test. I believe the national test is under 35k plus a regional means test. The community clinic I go to is great. Though I haven't used the Bronx NY hospital. If you're a vet, I strongly recommend finding out if you're eligible for benefits. Once you're in, you could be grandfathered if Congress ever pulls funding. Good thread, indeed.