Government Managed Health care. A true story.

[puerco-bellies]

I've dropped my PPO plan not long ago after it broke the $6,000 per year mark. (I'm a middle aged single (again) male non-smoker non-drinker living in West Los Angeles) One of my colleagues and fellow veteran, had been recommending using the V.A.(veterans administration) medical care.

I finally took him up on it and registered with the V.A. last month. I caught a pretty bad cold last week and started to cough up what looked like old blood in my flem. Two nights ago around 9pm I called the V.A. help line and was connected to a nurse in less then two minutes. One of the wealthiest corporations in the world is Microsoft, try timing how long it takes to connect with their "support".

The nurse was very nice and efficiently went over my symptoms then scheduled an appointment for the next afternoon at the West Los Angeles V.A. hospital. With my PPO it took over a week to see a doctor. ten minutes before my appointment time a nurse called my name and took my vitals, five minutes after the appointment time a Doctor walked out to the busy lobby called my name and escorted me to an examining room.

Forty minutes from the time of my appointment I was walking out of the facility with my filled prescription in hand, for which I will be billed less then ten dollars for an anti-biotic. Again a visit to my Managed Care doctor was at the very least a half day affair. The total cost of the visit including my prescription was way lower than my "nominal" co-pay for a Blue C~@#s/Blue Sh%^&d office visit, again who ratcheted up my yearly payments to over $6,000 from about $2,600 in about 7 years.

Government "rationed" health care.. Bring It On!!!

[BonnieJW]

1. Who qualifies?

My husband served in the Air Force for four years. Does he qualify? Would I?

[cynatnite]

6. Yes, he would

I'm not sure if you would.

Either way, get in touch with the VA. Maybe going to the nearest VA hospital would be quicker. Get registered ASAP. The sooner he's in the system, the better.

With the changes they continue to make in providing care vets are better off getting registered first chance they get.

[SammyWinstonJack]

7. My nephew served in the Navy for seven years I think, and he uses

the VA. He claims anyone who served, qualifies. :shrug: Wouldn't hurt to find out if your husband qualifies. The worse they can say is no.

[RufusEarl]

8. All veterans qualify but not reservist or NG's

This may have changed since Iraq & Afghanistan, reservist and National Guard may qualify after serving in combat in. I'm sure someone here will speak up, not sure about spouses.

[TreasonousBastard]

10. Check with the VA-- there are...

all sorts of qualifications and it's imposssible to say here. The state may also be involved in some places.

FWIW, I signed up about 8 years ago when they were accepting Viet Nam era vets and there was a deadline for filing.

[BonnieJW]

15. Deadline?

He was in during the Viet Nam war too. We may be out of luck.

[TreasonousBastard]

17. Check anyway at the closest VA hospital-- things...

change all the time.

[RufusEarl]

18. If he's a vet of foreign war he qualifies for VA

[puerco-bellies]

12. He qualifies, I don't know about dependants.

I don't think dependants are included after active duty separation, but call the V.A. The number will be in the Government section of your phone book.

[oneighty]

13. Go To

www.va.gov/vbs/health/

There are various categories dependent on many things- income being one of the more important ones.

I took that addy from the 2004 edition of Federal Benefits for Veterans and Dependents.

180

[steve2470]

2. Nice story, thank you ! nt

[shoelace414]

3. I has to sit on a waiting list to have my gallbladder removed.

and this with "the best health coverages in the world"

[MrMonk]

14. Was that at the VA or through a private plan?

My uncle had a growth in his throat that prevented him from swallowing anything but liquids. The VA took very good care of him from start to finish: instructing him in a nutritious diet, diagnosing his cancer, providing chemo and radiation treatment; providing surgery; and arranging for post-op care. They also allowed him the number of visits and days of hospital stay that he needed WITHOUT the micromanagement and continual hassles that one gets with private plans.

Some would say that this proves that the VA medical system is inefficient. One might say, with better justification, that the VA medical system is focused on providing good health care. I wonder how their cost-per-patient compares to private health care plans?

[wakeme2008]

4. One of my friends in Long Beach has a brother that

uses one of the LA VA centers and it is unbelievable. He signed up around 8 months ago and has had GREAT medical care....

As a Vietnam War Vet I qualify. :)

[MrMonk]

5. Shhh!

Don't tell Bush how well the VA manages health care. He'll have Congress defund the whole thing.

[Cobalt Violet]

16. Or privatize it.

So his friends can get richer at the cost of quality health care.

[Warpy]

9. There are equal horror stories about 20 hour waits

and mistakes by overtired and overworked staff, so it's not perfect. The VA system certainly is not fancy, suffering as it has due to underfunding since the 1960s. However, most people who come in manage to get better. The care they offer is remarkable, given the bare bones staffing.

For profit health care is the worst possible system imaginable, since the ways to increasing profit are to understaff (degrading service) and by denying care outright. The profit motive has no place in the delivery of health care. The only cure for our fragmented, inefficient, expensive, and cruel system is the radical overhaul of single payer, universal health insurance. Nothing else will work and nothing else will do.

[LSK]

11. K&R - its good to hear the truth sometimes

[Catherine Vincent]

19. I've had PPO and HMO.

Right now I have HMO. If you need to see a doctor that day (other than going to an ER), they tell you to call that morning to get one of their open appointments that they save for emergencies. I don't understand why this wasn't the procedure with your PPO. If I call my doctor and said I was coughing up blood, they would want to see me that day.