Disgraceful Treatment of Veterans Stains America's Honor. (Blue Water Navy)

VA WatchDog dot Org ^ | 12 / 14 / 07 | Joseph Galloway

[CRBDeuce]

Yep...

who knows, mebbe in another 100 years or so we’ll fix it.

[Tammy8]

I think it depends on the area you are at that makes a difference in care available. My hubby is a 100% disabled Veteran and he had a heart attack in May- we live in a really rural area and I took him to a local ER- they called the VA and VA wanted him to be sent to Albuquerque- so as soon as the ER got him stable he was flown to ALBQ. and they put in a stint. There is no way he could have received better care, or quicker care in this area than the way it was handled- no matter what insurance we had or anything else.

[CRBDeuce]

His timing is also suspicious....I saw a Vet Affairs Hearing (I believe the hearing was last Tues/Wed and on CSpan Thur/Fridayish) on Mental Health. The VA Rep was a Dr. Katz, in charge of VA Health and a few dedicated professionals. As is typical Congress critters treated Dr. Katz as if he were Joseph McCarthy, and bloviated away whatever message the VA tried to give. And yes, the CBS Statistics were compared with VA and other...5,000 suicides with a couple reporting groups, and 6500 per year from CBS. Scary numbers... Dr. Katz asked CBS for their data, CBS wouldn’t give it to the VA, of course. Bottom line, sure to be more money from Congress for VA mental health outreach...

[CRBDeuce]

“In the age of instant access records there is no reason it should take months or years to process a disability claim ...”

Snipe,
I don’t know if you’re aware, but the only ‘instant access records’ are in the VA computer....no other system, including Medicare has ‘complete’ patient records on computer. Most HMO’s PPO’s, etc are still ‘pure paper’ record folders....you can get your file in a couple weeks to a month at $1/page....that and a dime will get a guffaw at the VA...I know, been there, done that got the t-shirt. Gonna take decades for Cigna and UNHealth to catch the VA...we’ll be dead and buried. Welcome to the VA, best healthcare available to veterans on the planet! We deserve nothing less! Sure hope your VA facility opens up for you, really I do. Your service to your country deserves the best, and I’ve found that most of the professionals I’ve talked to in the VA respect that immensely. Most are not there ‘for a job’. they’re there because they care deeply...and they’ve got the highest percentage of veterans serving veterans anywhere.

[armymarinemom]

I like Joe Galloway as a person. I spent an afternoon with him as he covered troop greeting in Bangor. I watched him interview our troops and was impressed how he went straight to the Joes instead of talking to the brass.
That being said, he does a big injustice when he covers stories on a partisan basis. He got very anti- Rumsfeld after his trip to Iraq in 2005 and hasn't reported well since.
I would like to see him drop the political garbage and go back to reporting from a broad spectrum instead of being a mouth peace for the Wesley Clark crowd.
He does make a lot of points in this piece but his past rants put a tarnish on the whole thing.

[do the dhue]

For this data, well worth every penny!

[CRBDeuce]

Snipe,

” Private facilities usually in about 95% of the cases take state funding.”

I don’t know where you live, but where I live ‘private facilities’ are available for $3,000-6,000/month. Gonna drain most peoples bank accts really fast...I for one don’t ever hope to go to one. I kinda hope I don’t see the inside of a VA nursing home either, but at least it’s available as an option for my kids when my altzheimers gives them the clue I don’t care!.

[CRBDeuce]

“What I am laughing at is someone blasting private care when it is the most available. A vet with spinal issues would have some of our finest rehabilitation facilities as their choice and likely much sooner as well.”
I see our situations are almost opposite then...for me the distance factor doesn’t even enter the equation, so you’re absolutely right to look to the availability piece of the pie. Like you say available can mean a lot, too. And I’m sure there are horror stories in both private and VA camps (so far I only have private horror to compare, knock on wood). As to ‘Bush people’, all I can say is that I kinda miss Anthony Principi, but Nicholson’s a Vietnam Vet too, so not gonna hear any complaints there either. Other than the Whitehouse Press release don’t know anything at all about Dr. James Peake, the new VA Sec’y.

[1COUNTER-MORTER-68]

The experts say that between 20 and 30 percent of all troops returning from combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
~~~
Maybe this is why the Army is holding troops returning to
the states at their home base for 60 days before being able
to take a leave home for the holidays,,,
This started in Sept. from what I have learned,,,

Good Luck tryin’ to get the Truth out of the VA/Military
about Agent Orange and the rest of the Chemical-Weapons we were sprayed with,,,
Get a copy of your military records and look to see if you
were put in/under Project PACE,,,This means that they have
followed your health,,,What did they know and when did they know it ?,,,
The date on my records shows that my health
started being followed TWO MONTHS BEFORE I ROTATED IN 1968!!

[cva66snipe]

I was refering to pulling ones service records to process a disability claim. It should not take months/years for a vet to get compensation. By instant access I mean the service records should be obtainable within a couple of work days to VA and processing beginning. The vet should not have to waste weeks or months etc tracking down his former C.O. who likely isn’t still living or does not recall a specific event of a split second event in his career.

[cva66snipe]

I don’t know where you live, but where I live ‘private facilities’ are available for $3,000-6,000/month. Gonna drain most peoples bank accts really fast...I for one don’t ever hope to go to one. I kinda hope I don’t see the inside of a VA nursing home either, but at least it’s available as an option for my kids when my altzheimers gives them the clue I don’t care!.

That's the part you don't understand VA can CONTRACT CARE to private facilities. The most VA will likely be out is roughly $1800 a month maybe $2000 and $0 out of the vets pocket as VA is a 100% payer. Of our several VA patients one was an Army Captain {Nam era} with part of his brain missing. Actually he lived at home many years taken care of by his mom. She became elderly and unable to care for him. But thanks to CONTRACTING a local facility she was able to see him daily when the time came for her to have to stop caring for him. She didn't have to send him either 120 or 175 miles away likely to only see him twice a year. It cost her exactly $0.

Private facility is not the same as private pay there is a difference. Let's say Whoever Health care center opens a nursing home as a NPO. NPO make a mint in salaries for the Board of Directors who usually form them. This is still actually a private facility though which can have both private pay patients and Medicare/Medicaid/ VA patients.

Now in most states in they take Medicaid dollars that means the state inspector generals offices holds at least annual inspections of the entire facility usually they show up more often especially if a complaint is made. The complaint can come from anyone including patients or employees or patients families. The good part is it keeps it honest and all patients benefit from the oversight. Yes private pay can be very costly but that was not what I was referring to though. I meant contract private facilities.

[steamroller]

i don’t like to see the walter reed issue brought up in relation to the va-isn’t walter reed a dod facility?i hvae received excellent medical treatment from the va and since i am 50% or more service-connected disabled i have no copays-i developed my problems as a result of vietnam service(1968-69)on the ground in-country where i was exposed to agent orange as was virtually everyone who served there-the doctors,nurses,and other staff at my local va hospital/medical center are truly outstanding people-i am currently undergoing cancer treatment(not agent orange related-i had agent orange related cancer 26 years ago befroe the government admitted their culpability)and i feel i am receiving the best care-last year i needed a coronary artery procedure and was sent to another va facility where i also received excellent treatment and the same nice attitude from the providers-i think the problem with the va is with the paper pushers who make weird and inconsistent decisions depending what part of the country you apply from-cnn recently had a program on this(okay-cnn,i know,but even a stopped clock is right twice a day)and it featured some unbelieveable cases-one where a young man had an arm and most of his face destroyed and was treated shabbily-tammy duckworth,wholost both legs and part of an arm in iraq was also featured in her role as veteran’s veteran for the state of illinois-whatever her politics,she has absolute credibility on this issue as a result of her brave service and fight to recover afterwards

[steamroller]

i meant to say tammy duckworth was a veteran’s advocate for the state of illinois(illegal aliens sabotaged my keyboard)

[CRBDeuce]

Thanks, understand now...

fyi the VA requested budget is available at:
http://www.va.gov/budget/summary/index.htm

(they’re big files, I just started reading)
We’ll see how congress does with the ‘authorizing’ and the ‘appropriations’ that under Dem control has always been where ‘the cuts’ come from!