*****
When we first moved out here, I had no health insurance so I went down and applied at the VA, not for free medical care but hoping I could get a nice discount through them from another insurer, but because I was a non-conflict Vet, I didn't have a service related medical issue, and because I wasn't destitute, they said I wasn't eligible. I appealed it and got another Fuck You, so I dropped it. I went without insurance for the next 8 years until my MediCare kicked in. No big deal.
A non-conflict Vet..... Had I enlisted before 1975 or after January 1980, I'd have been eligible. I enlisted in 1978.
Then a couple months ago at my American Legion meeting, we had a couple women from the VA come to speak and they explained that Vets were under-represented in my area and they needed to boost those numbers to get more funding from the Federal Government. They asked who wasn't getting any care under VA, and I think I was the only one in the room that raised their hand, so the Head Babe asked me to stay after the meeting so she could speak to me.
After the meeting she wanted to know why I wasn't getting VA care and I explained I had tried to sign up twice but was refused and besides, there was nothing wrong with me. I have zero service related conditions. She told me to sign up again because there were new conditions that might make me eligible such as burn pits and contaminated water supplies at military bases. I told her that I was stationed in Germany and their water environmental standards are higher than here in the States, and while we did occasionally burn classified trash, it was all paper and the 2 or 3 times I got stuck doing it, I stood upwind. I wasn't going to lie just so VA could get more funding. Then with one final jab, I told her, "Look around the room. Everybody in here considers me to be a Vet, but my own government doesn't."
She looked at me like I was retarded and then handed me a packet with another application and told me to try again. Fuck that and fuck VA. If they're that broke, I'm damned sure not going to take resources from them that can go to better use for a Vet that truly deserves them.
Hope tonight is one of those nights when you treat yourself to some finer bourbon.
ReplyDeleteYou earned it. Thanks.
QHM
dude, you served. you took time out of your life to train and stand duty to defend freedom. you spent day and nights cold, hot, dirty, sometimes hungry. you weren't free to come and go as you please like the rest of the people in the country. hell, you may be effected by stuff you don't even know about, meanwhile they're giving away our tax money to the taliban and illegals. get what you can get, you earned it. now excuse me while i follow my own advice. see ya at the va.
ReplyDeleteNope, they kicked me in the teeth twice. I'm not going to give them a third chance. Fuck 'em.
DeleteHey, I've got MediCare now and I'm happy with it so far. It sure beats the hell out of VA medical care according to what I've heard about it.
Get your ass in there and get your VA check up . Same as I tell all the lads down at my VFW.... "you earned it, and no you're NOT bumping someone else 'more deserving' out of any appointments" you'll be getting good quality care in an accepting environment , and by going you may be the bright spot in some other Vet's day just by chatting in the waiting room .
DeleteRetRsvMike
Your "fuck 'em" reply is music to the VA's ears. When the f*ckin' federal government sends billions of US taxpayer dollars to countries that end up hating the US, what would a few thousand dollars a month mean to anyone? But for you, it would be meaningful. And getting some VA health care a bonus.
DeleteJohn, other than high blood pressure, there's nothing wrong with me, service related or not. I cannot in good conscience take money I don't deserve or resources I don't need.
DeleteSedition and betrayal of the highest order
ReplyDeleteKenny, I am in the same boat. I enlisted Air Guard. My unit supported the Joint Communications Support Element of of MacDill. I was in one of the high deployable carrier fields. If something happened in the world I stood a high chance of being activated. I was in Panama for 10 days for equipment setup then flown back to Tampa. I also got to play in the sandbox for Desert Storm. During a Southern Watch in Kuwait I got sent to Afghanistan to lay a fiber down Main Street. That Southern Watch turned into OIF1. I was also at BrightStar in Egypt on 9-11, that training mission quickly changed to a real world mission.
ReplyDeleteI have 5 campaign ribbons. What I don't have is 2 years continuous active duty. A small requirement to get into VA medical. I have 2 military related issues that I paid to get fixed. I was around the burn pits and with the 2 injuries I could get a 50% disability.
I’ve had Tri-care since I retired and just went on Medicare and Tri-care for Life this month. Got 20% disability when I retired, about $300 a month now. They reduce my retirement pay by the exact same amount, but the disability is tax free! I can use the VA if I want to, but always figured they don’t need my sorry ass clogging up an already overwhelmed system just to save a few bucks in co-pays. Best thing I got was aVA no no mortgage without paying one point for loan insurance. Eod1sg Ret
ReplyDeleteI was in the Navy ,68-70. Did a Med Cruise. I applied but was turned down because we made too much money. Then, somehow I got to the VA for a hearing test. Actually took two, one at the VA and another at a VA sponsored hearing Dov. Got a 15% disability. Now, I use VA for Glasses (exams at my long time eye Doc) and for Hearing Aids. New facility in Loveland, CO. Very nice. The HA's are top notch, and the glasses are the best I have ever had. Sorry about your troubles.
ReplyDeleteI bet you have a supplement. Have you considered a Medicare Advantage Plan. Ours doesn't have premium. Next yr things going up because Medicare is raising costs. My wife has Cancer so we got to the copay level, which for this yr was $4,800 - next yr $5,300. Had some incidental cost, so this yr about 7K out of pocket. The Cancer treatments were about 90K at a pop, and she did 6. RX has free generics.
I've got a MediCare Advantage plan through BC/BS of Tennessee. I couldn't see paying out a monthly cut of my SS check for a plan when I hadn't needed to go to a doctor for the previous 8 years. Hell, I've only been once since I got signed up back in July and that was just to get a primary doctor on my records. We talked, she checked my vitals, prescribed some BP meds and sent me on my merry way. She gives me 90 days worth of meds at a time and when I need a refill, I just call her.
DeleteDamn near all the doctors in my area are in that network, so my out-of-pocket costs are really low.
I’m in the same place as you too. Desert Storm ended while I was still in Basic and spent all my active duty in Germany. Stayed in the Nasty Guard to finish my 8 years and I can’t go because I make too much money.
ReplyDeletePunishment for being successful off the govt tit
Same here Ken. Enlisted 78. said bye in 84. VA wants me to sign up. I have no issues service related. Georgia does give me free drivers license, so there is that.
ReplyDeleteOregon gives free vehicle registration to vets, that's worth a couple of hundred per vehicle per year.
ReplyDeleteI've got 'Veteran' on my driver's license but that was through my own efforts at DMV, not VA's doing.
DeleteThe Veteran stamp is good for discounts at some stores and restaurants, as well as up-front parking at the Tractor Supply right next to the handicapped spots.
Wirecutter, I love you buddy, but let me remind you that if the goddam Russians had come thru the Fulda Gap during your tenure, you'd have got caught up on your obligations most ricky-tick. They also serve, who stand at the wall and wait. You stood on that wall, go apply. VA ain't gonna run out of money anytime soon and you ain't gonna take somebody else's resources if you do. To the contrary. The VA owe you. Programs change. At least do down and see what they have to say now.
ReplyDeleteThe VA is workmen's Comp for the military-that simple. If you were injured during your service they're there for you. That simple. If you were not injured, your not eligible, it can't be that hard to understand. You don't like it, doesn't matter. I was a GI, did 14 months in RVN, 40 years later AO manifested itself. I'm 80% disabled. NO questions, no problems. I have never been denied any request from the VA. They are not a public health clinic or a welfare center. Man up and take responsibility for yourself.
ReplyDeleteUUUUGH you hit on a pet peeve of mine.
ReplyDeleteI am in the same boat as you served 1982 -1986 I retired NYC 2011 I have insurance moved to Tennessee. Only to find out no doctors in Tennessee participate in my plan.
I went to the VA hoping to fill the gaps in my insurance and was told I earn too much money to Qualify. .
I called my Union and was told I could switch my insurance But was told the new policy would cost 1100 dollars A MONTH! for a worthless Obama care plan. My current plan was grandfathered in before the un-affordable care act I currently pay 30 dollars a month. THANKS OBAMA!
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Meanwhile, My daughter who works for the VA is telling me stories about people at the VA getting hundreds sometimes thousands of dollars a month for PTSD even if they were never in a combat zone, people getting paid for deformed penises and shin splints,,,,, sicking.
BTW there is no logical reason for the VA to turn down vets for care (other than maybe medical resources) when a vet goes to the VA for medical treatment their private insurance is billed the VA only covers the deductibles.
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Hopefully the Trump Administration will cleanup This mess. I don't understand why Vets with an honorable discharge can't buy into the VA system with a premium based on income and private insurance. I would rather pay a few dollars a month then have to file a disability claim with the VA.
God bless you Mr. Lane. You have lifted my spirit with such uncompromising honesty.
ReplyDeleteMy apologies. I didn't mean to do that. Sometimes I just slip up.
DeleteAlways go to the Patient Advocate's office if you're turned down for any reason. It's amazing what those folks can do. They report directly to Congress and the hospital director can wind up in deep shit if they try to coerce the advocate in any way.
ReplyDeleteThe patient's advocate was the one that told me I wasn't eligible the second time. The first notice was by US Mail.
DeleteAs a non-serving citizen with two brothers who are veterans who also have to deal with the VA (some good, some bad), my apologies. 😥
ReplyDeleteI am absolutely discussed with how our GOV treats all veterans. 😡
I've watched my oldest brother (VN vet) have to fight for benefits and on the other side is my grandson who may have a higher disability rating than he does due to modern "ailments" and "conditions". 🤔
I was in Naval Air, 71 - 74, only lingering issue is some hearing loss and tinnitus; but not enough to fuss over. I've never tried VA medical, did use GI Bill, and VA home loans though. I was lucky and always had good employer medical plans. Since turning 65 been on the Advantage Plan, all good and minimal out of pocket expenses. Then last December bad genes caught up with me; life time of cardio exercises, regular checkups, and no warning signs. Five days in ICU (nothing like Xmas in the ICU) , six stents, and an ICD implant later; maxed my out of pocket medical and hit the damn doughnut hole for meds, an expensive year. Going to stay with Advantage plan this year, but keeping an eye on VA as a fallback. There is a possible complication of converting to regular medicare that pre-existing issues are not covered. Don't rule the VA out, life is full of surprises.
ReplyDeleteThere's no reason illegals get fluffed and feted simply because they look like they will vote democrat while our men and women are kicked to the curb without so much as a by your leave ... except that they won't vote democrat. There should be no such thing as a homeless vet.
ReplyDeleteMy son's godmother is a retired E7 (USAF Master Sgt),with over 20 years service. She asked the VA for hearing aids and was turned down because she "earned too much money". She's still pissed off about that.
My husband has had to fight for the benefits they said he was entitled to.
My brother-in-law suicided because the VA refused to see him; they said he wasn't a priority.
Those are just three anecdotal incidents. You can see I'm no fan of the VA; vets shouldn't have to beg for their benefits.
Well ,it is sad that our great mates in arms have the exact same issues as we do. My dad,WW11 R.A.A.F. airframe fitter,served in the top end.NT Australia from 1943. He always payed his own way after the war,but when things got a bit more serious later in life he thought,well why not try and get some help from VA.Their response was,You did not serve overseas in an active war zone! (an aside;more tons of bombs dropped on Darwin than Pearl Harbour) After enquiries to be told that Vets from Tasmania qualified because they had gone overseas he,as all right minded people,said,this is bullshit! It took years and a dedicated vet to to get the right legal actions going to be awarded what he'd earned.
ReplyDeleteRIP Harold Thomas Gilbert 02/03/1917 - 21/09/2012. "I was just an airframe fitter"
When I moved here to Minnesota I had my VA med records transferred to St. Paul ahead of time.
ReplyDeleteCalled to make an appointment somewhere, the retarded ebonics-speaker couldn't understand that simple request for some reason.
Got a "Welcome to the VA, here's how you can get benefits" brochure a week later.
That was almost 10 years ago, fuck them retards and their jobs program.
But I'll still take my 30% comp, they fucked me up.
I am not a vet, but my Dad was in Korea around 1950, never injured, but sometime after he retired he signed up with VA. The care he has received has been amazing, the money they have spent on him boggles the mind. Why some get coddled and some get the shaft, I have no clue, other than, Government.
ReplyDelete77-81 for me. After I got out it was understood by me that I didn't qualify for anything but a GI loan for my 1st house ( which I used ). Rules have changed since then but I'm sticking with the deal I made. I also feel as tho there are many more people that truly need those bennies and I will not dilute the pool of resources.
ReplyDeleteJust tried as well. I "AM" a conflit vet, and I was RIF'd in 94. Went in to reenlist at my 12yr point, was told no. Involuntarily separated, given a $18K check, and sent packing. I got into the VA system just a few months ago, and while I was found to have a 10% disability for a pretty solid hearing loss, I'm not eligible for payments until the benefit amount exceeds the amount I got 30yrs ago. So, more or less, I'll be dead before I'll see a payment from the VA.
ReplyDeleteI enlisted in 1978, and was honorably discharged in 1987. The worst thing I was exposed to was cigarette smoke. My son was born in the Cannon AFB hospital, no charge except my wife's meals. They paid for my college degree. I can't complain even if the VA will do nothing for me.
ReplyDeleteHey Wirecutter, What H said! EVERY WORD OF THE FIRST SENTENCE!! It is true, you were over there for a reason, just like me in A Btry Gmuend. I was given 10 o/o for tinnitus (listening to those generators 24/7). We ALL had the Fulda gap targeted, remember? Go to your local State Vet Rep or DAV Rep. Let that Rep start the process then let the VA run their tests. Give the VA a few hours of your time and try it again. The VA has changed ALOT in the last 30 years.
ReplyDeleteJohn in Texas
Fuck those cunt. Only thing the VA is good for is keeping VA employees employed. That and paying off this younger generation so they don't get too politically active (wouldn't want to endanger those monthly checks). Hope the new administration wipes the VA off the map with the ATF and the Dep of Education.
ReplyDelete