Posted on 05/08/2026 6:50:05 AM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
For more than a decade, Guy Shoemaker pitched military service to potential new recruits with one key promise: healthcare for life.
“You’re going to have medical and dental for the rest of your life,” said Shoemaker, a retired Army sergeant first class and recruiter who spent a year in Afghanistan. “I used that phrase too many times.”
That promise held up when Shoemaker, 64, of Fort Worth, Texas, was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2021. TRICARE — the military’s healthcare program for active service members, retirees and their families — covered the chemotherapy, radiation and years of follow-up care that helped him eat and speak again.
Then, last year, TRICARE moved his coverage to a new contractor called TriWest Healthcare Alliance, a change that he said made him lose faith in the system — and question his longtime recruitment pitch.
“I mean, you go from flawless, I’m being taken care of, to just getting dumped,” he said.
Suddenly, tens of thousands of dollars in previously approved claims were overturned and money that had been paid to providers was clawed back. Shoemaker stopped going in for his regular therapy appointments, no longer able to pay.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
“ That promise held up when Shoemaker, 64, of Fort Worth, Texas, was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2021. TRICARE”
Why isn’t this guy on Medicare?
“Which is more that I trusted my recruiter.”
‘Mine lied his ass off.’
That’s what they do. You don’t join for the benefits if you don’t want to end up just disappointed
“ Of course you omitted the key phrase in the headline!”
Of course what? Are you accusing me of something?
Could have fooled me, based on the number of videos of fake "disabled vets" collecting thousands per month, when most of them never "served" more than a few years, in country, as cooks or in other non-combat roles. We waste tens of billions per year on these lying grifters.
BECAUSE
HE
IS
RETIRED
ARMY
I'm having trouble believing ANYTHING you say about yourself.
“based on the number of videos of fake “disabled vets”
What?
Cite one. Please.
If this vet had flyers printed up, telling this problem and stood outside recruiting stations, maybe something would be done.
You are so unpleasant.
“Yes, retired Army personnel (and military retirees generally) typically get Medicare, becoming eligible at age 65 or earlier due to disability. To keep TRICARE, retirees must enroll in Medicare Part B. Once”
You're damn right ... "nice" literally means "ignorant" or "foolish". I am neither.
Military healthcare has been good to me.
I had a root canal procedure done in 1972 when I thought the only option was to pull the tooth. It’s still in good shape even now. However, even though I have a partial disability (for hearing loss) these days, I’m not eligible for VA dental care. I just buy insurance.
But I’ve got a $100,000 pacemaker and $9,000 hearing aids provided by the VA. The pacemaker battery is running down so it will have to be replaced this summer. I’m eligible for new hearing aids every 4 years.
"That promise held up when Shoemaker, 64, of Fort Worth, Texas, was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2021.
And you claim to have read the article ...
I'm done with you ... nothing you post has the ring of truth about it.
Again, I work w vets and retirees and med insurance.
Retired military are most certainly eligible for Medicare. The ones who don’t take Medicare part B tend to opt out not wanting to pay the premiums, they stick with lower level care “because the government promised them”
When you’re in the military and you have friends, retired friends as well, you find out reality and it’s not bad at all you work around some things just like in civilian life
My question is why isn’t this particular guy on it
With Medicare and tricare as supplement, he would have many non limited benefits
https://x.com/Melissa_WongMT/status/2035394011834585481
Oh geeze. Well those not every disabled vets
I know plenty of vets who have good cases who work for years just to get a denial or approval
Yes
I served for 4 years and the VA has been doing my healthcare for last 30 years. Its not free but its not horribly expensive.
As do I. But there is clearly a crapload of shenanigans going on just the same.
TRICARE is NOT managed by the Veterans Administration. It is a DOD program managed by the Defense Health Agency under leadership of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs).
TRICARE, unlike the Veterans Administration health benefit, is ONLY open to (1) active military, (2) retired military - service members with enough years of service to qualify for retirement (pension) benefits, (3) certain national guard and military reserve members, (4) certain dependents of (1), (2) or (3).
The VA health care system gets, more than (1), (2), (3) or (4) gets mostly former military service members who only served a short time and never qualified for TRICARE.
Yup. Dad told me “You only get what’s in writing - make sure it’s in writing before you sign anything. Uncle Sam pays recruiters to recruit and they can promise you anything.”
I am retired Navy (20 years). I just had open heart surgery, a 2.5 month stay in the hospital, a defibrillator implanted, major surgery due to an infection related to the cardiac surgery, etc. etc. As far as I can tell between Medicare and Tricare For Life I will not pay a dime for my treatment. I actually feel guilty about it. Even before I had Medicare my catastrophic cap was $3000.
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