Donald Trump Considers Moving VA Toward Privatization

http://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-considering-moving-va-toward-privatization-1482974260 ^ | 28-Dec-16 | Ben Kesling

[ARGLOCKGUY]

President-elect Donald Trump is considering moving the Department of Veterans Affairs toward privatization, a transition team official said Wednesday, a policy decision major veterans’ groups have said they would oppose.

[tgusa]

Thanks for the gouge! We tend to fear the unfamiliar....

[RFEngineer]

Here is the problem with all manner of government “free” healthcare, that bears mentioning.

The more entitled government users there are the more expensive the health care for “regular folks” becomes, because medical care for “free” government users is generally not reimbursed enough to even cover the cost of services.

This drives “regular folks” out of the ranks of the insured, and/or limits the number of medical providers willing to provide services at a loss.

This VA initiative must be profitable for providers or it will kill medicine for the folks who must actually pay, or it will only sound good to those who use it - actually finding a place where they can get services will be the challenge.

“Free” is never free. Folks who get “free” rarely appreciate what things cost, and rarely care if someone else who needs medical care can afford to pay for it as long as they get theirs for “free”.

[rjsimmon]

every Vet I’ve talked to wants a version of Tri-Care not the VA.

Concur. I use Tri-Care Prime. Had to use the VA during my evaluation after retiring and found out quick that it was not the way to go.

[antidisestablishment]

I agree 100%. Keep a few targeted specialty centers and offer Tri-Care.

Thanks for helping vets.

[trebb]

I’m still Tri-Care (for another year) and my wife has been Tri-Care For Life for a little over a year - both are great deals, especially since we can get most prescriptions for ‘free” via the military pharmacy. It recently cost me $25 for prostate surgery (cancer - cleared) at a local hospital (performed by a military surgeon. and $0 for a hip replacement. Wife can go anywhere that takes Medicare and Tri-Care picks up the 20% Medicare doesn’t cover.

[castlegreyskull]

I am a Veteran with a service related disability. It wasn’t a wound. It is epilepsy. I am not entirely sure it was caused by being in the military or just the timing of when this problem revealed itself. I was rated a 10% disability, and now I can use the VA for whatever I like. I would have thought it would be limited to whatever my service related disability is. In fact it seems that it would be easy for them to reimburse me for whatever treatments that I get from a private source for this problem, but instead I can go to the VA for anything.

BTW. I have my own private insurance. The VA has this on record. So they will attempt to bill my private insurance first. Whatever, my insurance doesn’t pay, they swallow. Something has to be done.

[bert]

The concept of either or is fallacious. What is envisioned is and, both.

By lying about either or a false point is attempted.

Liberals must lie to exist.

[Lumper20]

I agree 100%. I had a VA outpatient treatment card in AL that was good at any MD or hospital. It was great. I came to Nashville and went to the VA some 14 years later. I totally quit this VA in Feb 2015 and use my BCBS Diamond plan. I pay for all my meds even though I am 100% P&T. I prefer the Trump way of privatizing the VA. The damn VA here is being enlarged with taxpayer funds, has no parking other then a damn garage some 4-5 floors, and; it has no courtesy parking like most private hospitals do. If one has trouble walking around a Walmart he/she damn sure will have trouble here.

[Vaduz]

Amtrak and the post office should be next items on the privatization list time to dump the money pits.

[New Jersey Realist]

I live one hour from a VA facility and that sucks. A veteran should receive quality service at the nearest hospital of their choice.

[Lumper20]

DISAGREE.

[Lumper20]

My wife has Champva for life and it works great. She has zero CO pays at MD’s, hospitals etc. We pay very little for her MEDS.

[seeker41]

As a USAF veteran, I have a interest in the VA issue. It is my only care provider and I have been happy with my local VA hospital. It offers excellent care and I have never experienced a problem. Been going for years & have a great primary care doc. Currently, my priority level is 4, there are 8. It is appropriate for me. A priority 1 would be for someone totally disabled or gravely wounded. I feel bad for any vets who get substandard care but that is not my experience.

[Hildy]

I hate to broad brush anything. My husband’s experience with the VA had always been good. But he stopped going about 10 years ago. My sister in law was the CFO for a large VA Hospital in Southern California and she would tell us shocking stories.

[ScottinVA]

Ditto. I’ve used Tricare Prime since I retired from the AF in 2004 and it’s a pretty decent system. I say move the veterans’ health care system to a Tricare model as well.

[Pecos]

+1 on the “Medicare + TFL” route. My wife, not using Medicare yet, is still covered by Tricare and a third-party supplement that picks up the delta.

[Palio di Siena]

Exactly.

[ops33]

I love my TriCare. It has by far become my greatest benefit now that I am retired.

[vpintheak]

Please please please let this be true!!!!!!
The VA can administer the paperwork, but let us Veterans go to a private medical practice! Please! Faster/better/more competitive service that we veterans deserve!

[Not gonna take it anymore]

Tri-Care picks up the 20% Medicare doesn’t cover

What isn't specified is that Medicare tells the doctor and hospital how much they will be reimbursed and that is the 20% that supplemental insurance will cover. So if your surgery should have cost $5,000 and Medicare says it will only pay $1500 then the hospital will get $1200 (80% of $1500) and the insurance will pay the 20% left over of $300. If the supplemental insurance isn't free it is often cheaper to just pay that 20% yourself.

Since my medical costs are so low, I opted out of supplemental insurance and saved myself $1600 per year of premiums.