Have you been stuck with Medical Bills as a Veteran?

When my mother passed away in 2010, I went to West Virginia to do all the "no fun" arraignments for her funeral and what not. To say the least, I only took about 2 weeks worth of my medications with me. When I contacted the local VA in WV to attempt to get a temporary refill, they informed me that I had to do all sorts of paperwork "before" I needed the prescriptions transferred to another VA. I tried to explain to them the situation, to no avail... To say the least, I had to bail on my other family members just to get home and have my medications. It should be easier to get temp. refills when out of state, the VA 'IS' one company, not 52+ separate companies.

Hello COL Mikel J. Burroughs, here’s the “funny thing with my medical bills every year, since ObamaCare began, the VA sends me a tax statement stating that i have had medical coverage from the previous year. In reality as a cold war vet i do not qualify for VA healthcare without going through a financial review. I have not been able to use the VA since 2007, therefor i am in heaps of medicsl debt, but it is all out of pocket related to no VA heathcare. For that matter when i was at the CA they refused to get me into 3 different soecialist clinics i needed so while reciving care there i also had to rely on private healthcare for the remainder of my healthcare needs.
Please let me know if you can still help, due to many chronic illnesses i am drowning in medical debt.
Best,
Beth

Have had no real issues with the VA. I do of course have to pay for my wife's medical insurance, but so far, that's very affordable with medicare.

This is a Great effort to aleve much of the Financial suffering of many of My HEROES !!! Thank you Col. !!!! HOOORRAH !!!! Blessings !!!

Not yet... knock on wood!

I have had some medical bills to pay to the VA, but they were insignificant in cost. If it had been hundreds of dollars, I would have had a serious problem, but I think the most I ever paid wasn't more than $50. I pretty much self medicate or use my wife's insurance. I tried using the VA for some stuff but getting an appointment in the same month, or quarter is basically impossible. So I just don't use them anymore.

COL. No bills but my company didn’t care if I had other insurance or not. In fact I had cancer surgery 5 times and radiation treatment and not a dime out of my pocket except for travel. I am a little behind now on TFL but I used to study it when I almost paid when I did’t have to.

I was informed by the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Memphis that, because our nation's military was largely a civilian militia made up of Reservists and National Guardsmen and women, and we all probably had some level of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from life outside active military service, they would not evaluate or treat NGR soldiers for potential PTSD related issues. That's pretty close to exactly the wording they used. I sought help elsewhere in the private sector 5 years later, saw a brilliant provider who diagnosed me after my initial evaluation, and a counselor who helped me reach that breakthrough we all want and need. Costs? Bills? Yes, I have them. In the hundreds of thousands of dollars by now. My private insurance has been sufficient to do the work the Veterans Administration would not. But, in spite of the enormity for the debt incurred, I wouldn't trade it for the state of mind from which I was delivered. FTVA!

Not yet.