Posted on 12/29/2016 1:23:17 AM PST by 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.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
The problem is the VA reimbursement rates would like like the medicaid reimbursement rates and Vets would have a hard time, very hard time, finding care anywhere.
RFEngineer wrote: “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”.”
Veterans paid for their “free” health care when they served their country. They know exactly what their “free” health care cost. Too many non-veterans don’t understand that these veterans ‘pre-paid’ for their “free” health care.
You should read Jim Nobles post up thread, and take the time to learn why VFW is opposed to total privatization.
That way you will stop embarrassing yourself.
I haven’t embarrassed myself, Mariner.
Even Jim Noble who has an admitted vested interest in the VA system says at least that most of it should be privatized.
Give vets the same health system that Congress and the feds have and they will be far better off.
(Again, with concentrated specialties perpetuated in the private sector as they already are for other health areas.)
That is the position of the VSOs.
Primary, routine care in the private sector.
Specialty care at the VA.
There are several things the only the VA does well. I will cite a program I’m quite familiar with: Seeking Safety. It’s a program for people with PTSD and substance problems. And the group is all similarly affected and able to see it’s not just them.
Prosthetics is another. As is TBI long term rehab.
And the great risk all VSOs caution is the reimbursement rate.
If care providers are going to be reimbursed at the same rate as medicaid/medicare, there’s not a disabled vet in the country that would support the move.
None of those specialties would disappear under privatization.
And yes, I can understand the fear re: Medicaid level services—but the feds should not be in the hospital business and more good services can be funded under different models.
Many of us are Priority 1 (50% or greater service connected disability) and receive Gold Plated healthcare at the VA.
It will be up to the American people whether that continues or not.
Under complete privatization, they would slowly die on the vine.
They are all BIG money losers, “inefficient delivery models”.
Private insurance will not assign adequate resources.
Some things are best delivered by VA. Trump and the American people would do well to listen to the VSOs on the subject.
Referring to “big money losers” in government healthcare is a joke.
You either believe in free markets or you don’t.
You apparently don’t where you perceive yourself to be the beneficiary.
And I don’t trust heads of VSOs to represent what is best for their people any more than I do the AARP, AMA, etc.
The members trust the VSOs. They have a long history of being validated.
They are composed almost exclusively of Vets, mostly volunteers.
And no, I do not support the full privatization of the VA. That’s a Free Market that is not likely to meet the promise to vets.
Well, you’re safe anyway. Trump isn’t going to push it to the point that it becomes controversial for most vets.
A partial privatization will be good enough for now.
Spot on.
Spot on.
“Veterans paid for their “free” health care when they served their country. They know exactly what their “free” health care cost. Too many non-veterans don’t understand that these veterans ‘pre-paid’ for their “free” health care.”
I’m a veteran. I know (and care about) exactly what health care costs.
Too many veterans who get “free” health care have no clue what non-veteran taxpayers must pay for their own health care.
I served because it was my duty to do so as an American. I gladly returned to civilian life. I pay more for healthcare than you can possibly imagine. No veteran, other than combat wounded, should be above any other American in terms of healthcare costs.
You are ordering Americans that cannot afford health care for themselves to pay you because you are “owed” “free” health care paid for by them no matter what the cost. Do you think that will last very long?
Military service should not prevent anyone from suffering the travails of every other American.
I understand you want “free” and you think you are owed “free”. I’m telling you “free” ain’t free, and that it’s time for you to care about the cost issue or you will find yourself without it. Every American may find themselves without it the way things are going.
That would be great.
Since my medical costs are so low, I opted out of supplemental insurance and saved myself $1600 per year of premiums.
When one moves from TriCare Prime to Medicare, it becomes TriCare for Life - one pays the Medicare out of their SS, but stops paying for TriCare Prime - that makes our supplemental Insurance "free".
My Prostate Insurance was billed to TriCare at $238K, but TriCare disallowed $200K (Spent 6 hours in surgery and was discharged at noon of second day so it's obvious the hospitals overcharge the insurance knowing that they won't get the asked for amount (one of the evils of how they treat insurers as many will give heavy discounts for those who pay their own bills w/o having insurance).
When my wife sees a doctor that isn't part of the normal TriCare system, Medicare pays the 89% and TriCare picks up the rest - she's had some expensive procedures and the 20% would've added up to about $150K so far and she will likely need a knee replacement soon.
I understand that many will benefit from eschewing supplemental insurance but some of us would be paying hefty fees w/o it. Being retired Military is a big benefit for us.
I am a disable Veteran. I have used the VA for the last 8 or 9 years. I can tell you of horror stories and of wonderful stories I have experienced with the VA.
I am fortunate in that I live far enough away from the VA to use The Choice program to see a private doctor for all but routine care.
The problems with VA are systemic. The entire system is plagued with what I call urban myths. Doctors who tell you they can not prescribe a medication not in the pharmacology of the VA. (they can it just takes more paperwork). Podiatrist who have never read the VA manual for Podiatrist. (I would take my copy to appointments and when told an untruth I would show him the manual) Clerks in an office in a far away city who override a doctors order because they think it is in excess of why is required. (cost savings) I could go on.
Twice in the 8 years I have used my medicare with a supplement to pay for needed surgery that the VA delayed and procrastinated on until it was too painful or to dangerous to wait.
In the time I have used VA I have only seen the same Primary Care Physician twice.
I have have left out the good stories for brevity but there are some good doctors and people working in the VA but in many cases their hand are tied by bureaucratic rules.
In short VA pay my supplement cost and I will gladly say farewell.
I am not an advocate for the VA as it now stands. However, “free” is not free. The typical way government “fixes” things is similar to what they do for medicare - simply set reimbursements below the actual cost - requiring medical providers to raise the price on everybody else - or simply refuse medicare patients (which is becoming more frequent)
“Free to government-entitled patients” is the way to destroy the private medical infrastructure that is supposedly the savior of the VA - and also make it more unaffordable for everyone. It is also the way to make it unavailable to many veterans that need it (if the same model is used by government) because there will be fewer (if any) providers willing to provide care at a loss in some locations.
Somewhere, somehow cost must be managed. The VA does it now by simply requiring extended wait times and providing poor service in far too many cases.
There is no “FREE” ever.
We can pretend that we can provide “free” care to the old, veterans, disabled, indigent, or whomever, but there are so many people getting “free” now that there aren’t enough folks left to pay for it all.
We are now at the point where folks that pay can’t afford the deductibles should they attempt to get medical care that they supposedly are paying for. How long do you think they will continue to pay? Where will anyone go to get “free” care when those that used to pay stop paying for your care, in favor of paying for their own care?
I wish you good health in the new year.
Give the vets a card good at any hospital.
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