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VA secretary: Disney doesn't measure wait times, so why should VA?

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posted on May, 24 2016 @ 04:27 AM
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VA Health should be disbanded and all VA health issues fall under retiree Tri Care Standard. Simple as that.



posted on May, 24 2016 @ 05:21 AM
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a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

Sorry to hear about that. I have the privilege of getting to help vets everyday. The VA pays us through a third party to handle most of their periodic health stuff and disability exams. Vets are always surprised that their appointments will only take an hour instead of all day like they're used to. They usually can schedule as soon as the day before if need be.

The problem with your situation is probably finding a pace that does work for the VA. They pay like #, so no one wants to do their stuff and they won't negotiate prices so most private places can't afford to take on VA patients.

edit on 24-5-2016 by avgguy because: (no reason given)

edit on 24-5-2016 by avgguy because: (no reason given)



posted on May, 24 2016 @ 07:43 AM
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The VA isn't a mess because the government runs it. Well, not entirely.

The VA is a mess because they hire doctors that may or may not be able to pass state medical board exams. VA doctors are terrible. Just absolutely horrendous. Army doctors suck, too.

If you want to improve the experience of a veteran getting healthcare, run it like a hospital and not the monolithic government agency that hires the cheapest doctors (that often can't get state board licensure).



posted on May, 24 2016 @ 08:18 AM
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In line at the VA I often get confused..
Is this Mr Toads wild ride ? Or where
I pick up form 876123 for approved
PTSD therapies ?



posted on May, 24 2016 @ 08:21 AM
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How many people have died waiting to ride on Space Mountain?



posted on May, 24 2016 @ 10:20 AM
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I'm a veteran who is with the VA for a while longer. i will be returning to Asia soon, and in comparison to the VA decent affordable medical care.

The VA is outsourcing somethings, but VA Choice has problems created by the government bureaucracy. You have to be more than 40 miles from a VA facility, must not be able to get a appointment for 30 days, need a procedure they don't have, or a condition they don't treat. There are other restrictions as well, pulled out when they don't want to send you out. At this point I meet several of these requirements.

Wait times from the VA put me in the position of what should have been a minor operation turned into a 2 year ordeal where I have now had multiple surgery's, the last being at a private hospital to begin correcting what the originally done by the VA surgery messed (fubar'd) up. The Dr there was not allowed to use the best implants and procedures because the VA wouldn't pay for it! The correct implant would have cost $575 more. The correct procedure would have added 10 minutes to the surgery. P1ssed off, your damn right. Things still don't work right, I will have to have the correct procedure and implants done over in Singapore next year, at my own expense.

I am still waiting for my VA Choice card, they have a backlog of request for approval. Wonder why? I have been waiting for 3 months for the VA to authorize a outside appointment for other problems, they have a backlog of request for approval. Oh and they now want to assign everyone a "case worker (i.e. social worker)" because you have problems you can't handle. The case worker will evaluate you and insist you go on med's. Nope not happening for me. One vet is being treated for PTSD and these case workers insisted he go on antidepressants and other meds even after being told by his psychiatrist they were not to recommend anything or even see him. They were suppose to only help him with transportation and a single legal issue.

I have seen vet's waiting for years to get treatment. Seen them denied treatment. All because the VA doesn't want to admit their system is terminally broken.

Single payer system, look at the VA to see what you will be getting. Government run medical (or anything for that matter), look at the VA to see what you will be getting.

PS I'm Viet Nam, and I always get the feeling that the VA and government want us (Viet Nam era) to all just die or go away, they don't want us around.
edit on 24/5/2016 by LamontCranston because: (no reason given)



posted on May, 24 2016 @ 10:54 AM
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a reply to: LamontCranston

im no fan of uncle sam or the military....but what our government did to the vietnam vets is the only thing that surpasses the way members of the public did. shameful. absolutely shameful.



posted on May, 24 2016 @ 03:59 PM
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a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan
While I can't speak of all VA facilities the VA Dallas has mainly residents from UT Southwestern, and contracts with them for some of their procedures. The VA Dallas urology department (which means you can figure out what was wrong and procedures and implants) where all my problems started has 2 full time VA docs, the rest are residents from UTSW. And of course you never see the same doc twice in a row. One of the permanent docs was head of department, always in meetings, the other was swamped with cases. So in 20 visits I saw 20 different people. This seems to be pretty much the same for all departments at VA Dallas.

On the primary care side I have a very good PC doc, but as he is head of the department, you get rescheduled a lot. And there are some very good people there but they can't make up he difference with the system.

A friend just called and told me he went to VA Dallas this morning for hand surgery, he was on the table, ready to be operated on when they came in and told him nope the surgeon was unable to be there, again. Third time.

The VA bl@ws dead bears as my Canadian buddy used to say.




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