Have you been stuck with Medical Bills as a Veteran?

They see me once a year for things they claim are not duty related. I intend to appeal my disability rating. Thanks to my job my family is covered.

Every veteran deserves to be provided with the healthcare they deserve. They put their lives on the line for us and we should provide for their healthcare needs without being saddled with debt. They have a debt we can never repay.

Oh the stories I could tell. They had my income wrong and started charging me co pays for doctor visits and specialist visits and prescriptions. I had tried, unsuccessfully, to have the VA straighten out the problem. After 18 months of trying to get that done I had to get a Congressman involved to get it straightened out. I still had to pay part of the bill because they would not write off the total amount just back 6 months, even thought it took them 18 months to get it done.

I cannot comment from my own experience, since the only relationship I had with the VA was my guaranteed home loan, which is no longer active, since I paid it off. As a career Army officer with almost 21 years of commissioned service, TRICARE was my insurance carrier upon my retirement in 1984. Combined with the health insurance provided by the school district with which I was employed following 1984, I always had good, responsive health care with minimal copayments. When I turned 65 and became eligible for Medicare, TRICARE For Life became the second payer to Medicare, and I had no further copayments.
With my wife being a few years younger than I, I enrolled her in TRICARE Prime, and we were quite happy with the results, since she had similar coverage to mine with the school district and the annual TRICARE Prime premiums were ridiculously inexpensive. When she finally reached 65, she was covered under my Medicare, and she also went on TRICARE For Life. So we now have full coverage with only the monthly Medicare premiums for each of us and no TRICARE premiums. As an added benefit, our prescription medications are covered under TRICARE For Life, so we consider ourselves quite fortunate to have had our health insurance needs fully satisfied with the combination of Medicare and TRICARE For Life.

I never applied for any of my VA benefits. They made it too hard for me wanting all kinds financial and tax info. The lady was rude. Oh and fill out an application. This was a VA outpatient psych clinic. Little did she know the only reason I went in the was a psych emergercy. She never looked up and saw me, just kept flipping her papers. I knew right then Colonel, I was on my own. So I said thanks and left. I made a discovery about myself, and an opinion of the VA.

I don't have an unsuccess story because I do not use Veteran's Choice. There was a necessary treatment that necessitated VC. The paperwork was very specific so I had no problems. However, because I know veterans who have been unhappy with the program, I choose to receive everything through the VA.

The Veterans administration attempted to stick me with an ER visit once when I had having symptoms of a heart attack.

They advised me to go to the nearest hospital which was about 18 miles away versus their facility which was over 50.

I followed the directions and consequently received an ER bill of several thousand dollars which the VA would not pay.

I contested it and brought my Senator and congressman into the dispute and the VA finally paid.

I have had the same problem with mammograms over the years. the VA set some up at a private hospital, then the bills bounce and I have to sort it out myself.

I had a colonoscopy done and was instructed to do so by VA. They sent me to a civilian doctor under the choice program. They did not pay the doctor or hospital for months and so they came after me. Anyway I finally got with a representative from choice and she said that the hospital or doctor could not come after me. The next time I had a call from the hospital I told them this. Anyway they finally paid the part of the bill of which they were contracted to pay and the fiasco ended. I hope to not have to use any outside the VA medical again.

Many times I have been stuck with medical bills. They even garnished my social security for it once

Unfortunately i have heard to many horror stories about the VA facilities here in Massachusetts so i use my employer insurance that i pay for, our plan is not that expensive.