seriously....am I missing something here??? if you have non-combat wounds you get to see the doctor of your choice and have the bill paid for you???
I’m sure many vets are quite pleased at this development....
There's another side to the issue that's not covered. VA healthcare is NOT free healthcare for all who are enrolled. I'm enrolled and pay a portion of the medical expense because of income.
On the surface I have no issue with what I see here, but don't understand how it would be significantly different that what is available now, except it would free up the VA clinics and hospitals to focus on war-related injuries.
The other issue is availability of public healthcare. As mentioned, I have non-combat related illness which includes a history of stroke, heart attack and bypass operations. Yet I can get quite good healthcare on the market without pre-qualification, at $62.00/month. And that includes medication. My co-pay is $10 per doctor visit, $25 per emergency room visit, $35 per outpatient procedures such as CT's, and $100 per hospital visit. The only qualification is that one must already be a Medicare recipient. In fact, this plan replaces Medicare as the payer.