Posted on Feb 21, 2025
If you could enact one change at the VA that would go into effect nationwide, what would it be?
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Recently, I've been dealing with several scheduling conflicts when it comes to getting stuff done through the VA. Whether it is the fact that they only call when I am at work or that they can only fill the need for appointments during my work hours, it is a nightmare. If I could make a change, it would be to the business hours of the VA, shifting it later by two or three hours, to allow for easier access for those of us who work full-time jobs, usually 9-5.
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Healthcare
Disabled Veterans
Posted 5 mo ago
Responses: 23
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Wow. This is bringing out the worst rather than the best in our Veterans.
Personal experience: I have been treated at the VAMCs in Spokane, WA, Tucson, AZ, Sturgis, SD, Phoenix, AZ, and Prescott, AZ. In every instance I was treated well and in some I was treated excellent. Twice my life was saved by those institutions. The slowness is a problem, but I think that is probably the same in civilian facilities.
I do know one thing for sure: Cutting staff will resolve nothing!
Personal experience: I have been treated at the VAMCs in Spokane, WA, Tucson, AZ, Sturgis, SD, Phoenix, AZ, and Prescott, AZ. In every instance I was treated well and in some I was treated excellent. Twice my life was saved by those institutions. The slowness is a problem, but I think that is probably the same in civilian facilities.
I do know one thing for sure: Cutting staff will resolve nothing!
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A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney
YES ~~ Here's A Classic Example: My Brother Mike Was Also A Vet, Lived In Centerville, Ohio And Went To The DAYTON VA; His Care Was SO Great, When We Talked By Phone He's Be BRAGGING About. When Something Came Up SA The VA, He'd Get A Call And Be Told About Them. One Day He Was Notified He Qualified For 2 Pair Of Leather Shoes As He Had Peripheral Neuropathy To Both Feet Caused By His Diabetes.
I Live In Vegas And Go To The North Las Vegas VA Facility, In The Past 30 YEARS I've Left Several Messages ~ Wanna Guess How Many Call Back I Got? MAYBE 3, But I Only Recall 2 ~~ But After I Filed Complaints With The VA From The White House To Our Local City Mayor, Carolyn Goodman ~ And The Care? Don't Get Me Wrong, The ARE Some Great Doctors Out There ~ I Met Them In The ER On Numerous Occasions. ~ They Saved My LIFE ~ LITTERLY ~ Due To Screw=Ups By Other Physicians,
~~~~~~There's The Difference ~~ Location ~ Location ~ LOCATION~~~~~
I Live In Vegas And Go To The North Las Vegas VA Facility, In The Past 30 YEARS I've Left Several Messages ~ Wanna Guess How Many Call Back I Got? MAYBE 3, But I Only Recall 2 ~~ But After I Filed Complaints With The VA From The White House To Our Local City Mayor, Carolyn Goodman ~ And The Care? Don't Get Me Wrong, The ARE Some Great Doctors Out There ~ I Met Them In The ER On Numerous Occasions. ~ They Saved My LIFE ~ LITTERLY ~ Due To Screw=Ups By Other Physicians,
~~~~~~There's The Difference ~~ Location ~ Location ~ LOCATION~~~~~
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MSG Stan Hutchison
A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney - I agree there can be some bad apples in the VA, but the system is doing what they can given the funding and staffing set by Congress.
As I have posted before, I agree with cutting out the bad apples, but use a scalpel not a chainsaw.
As I have posted before, I agree with cutting out the bad apples, but use a scalpel not a chainsaw.
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A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney
MSG Stan Hutchison -
EXACTLY Stan, Ya NAILED It.
But It's Hard To Do When One Idiot Backs Up Another Idiots Lies..
I Have Had Multiple SERIOUS Issues ~~ 1 Due To Misdiagnosis
Followed With Wrong Medications Which CAUSED Over 9 Years Of Insanity.
Another Was An Undiagnosed Liver Infection Which Took Years To Fully Develop Into
Emergency Surgery - Month In Hospital ~ Damned Nearly Died ~ Loss Of ALL My Teeth ~And Affected Multiple Other Issues, Which Include (And This Surprised Me Too) Causing Me To Develop Diabetes And Therefore Neuropathy To Both Feet! How's That Grab Ya? ~ ~~ LOL ~~But It AIN'T Really All That Funny When You're The Victim
EXACTLY Stan, Ya NAILED It.
But It's Hard To Do When One Idiot Backs Up Another Idiots Lies..
I Have Had Multiple SERIOUS Issues ~~ 1 Due To Misdiagnosis
Followed With Wrong Medications Which CAUSED Over 9 Years Of Insanity.
Another Was An Undiagnosed Liver Infection Which Took Years To Fully Develop Into
Emergency Surgery - Month In Hospital ~ Damned Nearly Died ~ Loss Of ALL My Teeth ~And Affected Multiple Other Issues, Which Include (And This Surprised Me Too) Causing Me To Develop Diabetes And Therefore Neuropathy To Both Feet! How's That Grab Ya? ~ ~~ LOL ~~But It AIN'T Really All That Funny When You're The Victim
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SGT Joseph Gunderson
I've experienced the bad and the good. There are some definite improvements that can be made, though.
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military trained doctors, nurses, medics and staff work at VA clinics and hospitals thus saving money and private doctors quitting causing chaos for those who have waited for their appointments only to be rescheduled because their doctor quit. We are trying to save money and wasted time and give the men and women the best care available correct. It might even open up specialty MOS's to benefit military members.
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A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney
I've Had Doctors And PA's Tell Me Similar Things One Even Told Me (Paraphrased)
"Our Population In Here In Vegas Is About 3 Million People With A Lot Of Great Doctors
But They Won't Come Out Here Because Of Our Reputation, And Don't Want To Be Known As VA Doctors" ~
"Our Population In Here In Vegas Is About 3 Million People With A Lot Of Great Doctors
But They Won't Come Out Here Because Of Our Reputation, And Don't Want To Be Known As VA Doctors" ~
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SGT Joseph Gunderson
An interesting concept. It may also incentivize more doctors to take commissions if they know they will be specifically assigned to VAMCs.
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Why should the VA need to change their hours to accommodate your schedule? Most medical practitioners have similar hours to the VA. People work! They fit their appointments into the schedule offered by their doctor. Veterans are no different than non veterans!
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The Austin, TX VA clinic while I was there were scheduling Saturday appointments - maybe talk with patient advocacy as to your VA adopting such a program.
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A significant change is how community care interacts with outside providers. Once an outside provider accepts responsibility for a veteran's care, the provider can not refer the veteran to a specialist without community care approval (Mother May—I method). This delays the veteran's care by weeks or months. Some care is urgent, but urgent is only a word without meaning in the current environment.
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We could start with providing all active and reserve component service members with the same medical insurance and benefits plan given to members of congress.
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SGT Joseph Gunderson
It does seem pretty awful that there is an tacit, though obvious, promotion of the notion that politicians and their lackeys are simply better than we peons.
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Get rid of travel pay for appointments. Insane amounts of abuse with that benefit.
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SGT Joseph Gunderson
I know people who do this, too. But then how do we rectify the situation in which a vet must ravel 1-2 hours to go to a VAMC for an MRI? Do we make better use of community care for such things?
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SGT (Join to see)
Honestly, eliminate travel pay entirely. If I have to travel a few hours for an appointment with blue cross/blue shield, they aren’t paying me to do so
Definitely, I’m not opposed to referring more treatment out to the community. I’d rather that, than people consistently making 3-4 appointments per week, simply to get 3-4 travel reimbursements per week.
For decades, veterans have struggled to get appropriate benefits. In the last 15-20 years, things have generally improved quite a bit. But the first thing a lot of vets did was learn how to game the system. Don’t even get me started on the care giver program, another one that should be drastically overhauled or eliminated. Unfortunately, that type of behavior is what ruins it for all of us.
Definitely, I’m not opposed to referring more treatment out to the community. I’d rather that, than people consistently making 3-4 appointments per week, simply to get 3-4 travel reimbursements per week.
For decades, veterans have struggled to get appropriate benefits. In the last 15-20 years, things have generally improved quite a bit. But the first thing a lot of vets did was learn how to game the system. Don’t even get me started on the care giver program, another one that should be drastically overhauled or eliminated. Unfortunately, that type of behavior is what ruins it for all of us.
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There is no good reason for the VA to be operating medical facilities. They are especially awful when it comes to women's health. Turn the hospitals over to the nearest medical school, and just buy any honorably discharged veteran the same top of the line healthcare coverage that VA employees enjoy.
The nitpicking over who has what copay is ridiculous. Worse, the VA is the only healthcare provider where any clerk can see a patient's rating, and treat her or him accordingly. It is absolutely disgusting.
The nitpicking over who has what copay is ridiculous. Worse, the VA is the only healthcare provider where any clerk can see a patient's rating, and treat her or him accordingly. It is absolutely disgusting.
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SGT Joseph Gunderson
As a free-market guy, I do think there is potential in privatizing the entire system, but then I think it should be that the government forces different institutions to compete for contracts. Or perhaps, VA could become something like an insurance provider, and veterans can just go see whoever just like anyone else.
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Gentlemen, Start Your Engines ~ Then Copy The Following & Save It To Your Permanent Files,
Because IF You Need It, You'll Also Need The Proof, As Even MOST Of Our VA Medical Centers Will Only Tell You What They've HEARD ~~ And It's WRONG, Because They've Never Actually READ It In Print: While Doing A LOT Of Searching For Information, I ACCIDENTLY Ran Across This From Either "Benefits.Gov OR VeterransBenefitds.Gov"
~~
QUESTION: ~~ Is A Military Veteran Entitled To Care And Supplies,
Through ANY VA Facility, Regardless Of Where He Resides"?
REPLY~~ YES, a military veteran can receive medical products from out-of-state VA facilities, even if they are not living there. ~~ (The Rest Is If They're Living Over Seas, Etc, But DO Read It.) ~~
However, the veteran must be eligible for VA care without needing to enroll or be enrolled in VA health care 1. The eligibility for community care is dependent upon a veteran’s individual health care needs or circumstances 1. In most cases, veterans must receive approval from VA prior to obtaining care from a community provider 1. VA staff members generally make all eligibility determinations 1. Please note that VA is not authorized to ship medications or medical/surgical supply items outside of the U.S. or its territories 2. If you’re a veteran who lives overseas, you remain entitled to the benefits and services you earned through your military service. Most VA benefits are payable regardless of your place of residence or nationality 3. If you’re moving outside the U.S., you’ll need to sign up for the Foreign Medical Program. Through this program, VA will pay for certain needed health care services received in foreign countries to treat a service-connected disability or a disability that’s making a service-connected condition worse 4.I hope this helps
Because IF You Need It, You'll Also Need The Proof, As Even MOST Of Our VA Medical Centers Will Only Tell You What They've HEARD ~~ And It's WRONG, Because They've Never Actually READ It In Print: While Doing A LOT Of Searching For Information, I ACCIDENTLY Ran Across This From Either "Benefits.Gov OR VeterransBenefitds.Gov"
~~
QUESTION: ~~ Is A Military Veteran Entitled To Care And Supplies,
Through ANY VA Facility, Regardless Of Where He Resides"?
REPLY~~ YES, a military veteran can receive medical products from out-of-state VA facilities, even if they are not living there. ~~ (The Rest Is If They're Living Over Seas, Etc, But DO Read It.) ~~
However, the veteran must be eligible for VA care without needing to enroll or be enrolled in VA health care 1. The eligibility for community care is dependent upon a veteran’s individual health care needs or circumstances 1. In most cases, veterans must receive approval from VA prior to obtaining care from a community provider 1. VA staff members generally make all eligibility determinations 1. Please note that VA is not authorized to ship medications or medical/surgical supply items outside of the U.S. or its territories 2. If you’re a veteran who lives overseas, you remain entitled to the benefits and services you earned through your military service. Most VA benefits are payable regardless of your place of residence or nationality 3. If you’re moving outside the U.S., you’ll need to sign up for the Foreign Medical Program. Through this program, VA will pay for certain needed health care services received in foreign countries to treat a service-connected disability or a disability that’s making a service-connected condition worse 4.I hope this helps
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