Posted on Apr 19, 2016
What's your view on doing away with the VA health system?
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Responses: 94
I currently use the VA for 100% of my medical needs although I have TRICARE insurance. I live in the San Diego area and am fortunate to have many locations to go. LA Jolla VA is one of the top hospitals in the nation in my opinion. They are very responsive and provide referrals to civilian locations if they cant see you quickly. As for not living close to a VA hospital or clinic. In the last year or so if you are in the VA system you should have received a card called "VA Choice" which allows you to go somewhere near your location, Away or home. Check it out at http://www.va.gov/opa/choiceact.

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The problem with the VA, and the federal government in general, is the supervisors inability to discipline and get rid of under performing employees. I was a Team Leader at a Vet Center and I had 2 under performing employees I tried to get rid of to no avail. I was told the risk of a law suit was too great to risk firing the employees! So they were allowed to continue to work, get paid, receive benefits, despite bad ratings, counseling statements, etc. So you have these employees that really only care about their paycheck and making sure they leave right at the 40-hour mark each week. They are allowed to be rude to vets and no one says anything. As far as I know, even the Sec of the VA does not have the power to fire someone on the spot. This has to change. Set up a task force whose goal is to go out and find bad employees, write them up, and get them out.
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LTC Terrence Farrier, PhD
SFC Lockard, change is needed no question. However, if the problem is the rifle you might not want to be too quick to fire the soldier. That doesn't mean I disagree that some need to move on down different career paths, but I do support a pragmatic solution that looks at the whole (in separate divisions first) and then make decisions so that future medical people who want to work with or for the VA do not shun them as the place to go to get fired...as their first reaction. It is important to realign both pragmatically and strategically as we make such choices.
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SFC Dr. Fred Lockard
LTC Farrier - Good points. I did not mean fire every employee that ever makes a mistake on the spot. The point I was trying to make is the VA is full of employees that are consistently rude, do not really care about vets, etc, but nothing is done about it. There is no real fear of disciplinary action being taken. Supervisors have to work through a cumbersome system to manage employee's poor behavior and it is time-consuming and often impossible to take decisive action that would change poor performance and behaviors. Supervisors often thus just give up. I had stacks of counseling statements, appraisals, etc but nothing was ever done to remove the employee for fear of them filing a lawsuit. If I ran a company and saw one of my employees being rude to our customers over and over they would be fired. Not so in the VA.
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A system that utilizes VA hospitals for those injuries and/or diseases peculiar to service related disease or injury and an open availability to other medical facilities might help the situation. With that type of help available to Vets there would be a case load distribution that could be better handled by the VA Hospitals and make ready care open to the VET.
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I hear the news of extended wait times at VA hospitals, but at least as a government funded operation, there are checks and balances. Yes the VA has issues, but watching the whole choice program roll out, and all the issues I see with it, I don't think privatizing the VA will accomplish what we as Vets need. There will be no accountability with outside providers. I would like to see more accountability at my VA and hopefully they are on the right track to fix that.
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I'm 80% disabled and can receive care for a sniffle free of charge from the VA. I have used this benefit zero times. At some point veterans should be responsible for their own health. As the system is now some completely rely upon the VA for their health care , personal health be damned. While something may not be immediately life threatening, if you can't see a doctor for two or three months, it certainly could turn in a life threatening situation. The system for appointments and wait times is not going to get better and an alternative should be sought to reduce the wait times but a little personal responsibility for ones own health would go a long way. Enabling them to pick their own provider would certainly help them do that.
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I am 40% service connected disabled and on permanent disability retirement. Later in life I became 100% disable due to no service connected reasons. I use the VA for primary care at an outpatient clinic, but use Medicare and Tricare for Life for all specialist, test, imagery, surgery, pharmacy, etc. this keeps the VA informed of my total health situation while I can select my providers of choice for everything else.
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As far as I am concerned, the VA system (and not just the medical) is nothing but another bloated federal agency who seems to go out of their way to make life difficult for veterans and retirees but until the political double speak and posturing ends it will remain business as usual. As a retiree I have seen a continual loss of benefits ended in the name of saving dollars yet the DoD pushes forward with one obscenely priced program after another many which duplicate systems being developed by another branch of the service already yet those who served with honor and dignity previously are the ones that are paying with broken promises. Lack of COLA's for retirees under the false flag on zero inflation, limited access to local pharmacies utilized for years, commissary being tinkered with, a new retirement pay system, and now talk of cutting GI Bill benefits is just several in a long list of cuts to those served and we all know how bad the VA medical system can be. To those young people looking to serve their nation today and to those serving contemplating a career, I would exercise caution as you have become as disposable as the vending machine coffee cup.
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Why hasn't it been done already? I am, fortunately, able to use Civilian Health Care. In my opinion, comparing the V A Health Care System to Civilian Heath Care is not even close. I have been scrutinized, mistreated, had my Wife Verbally assaulted at V.A. Clinics and Hospitals in Nebraska. I could write a book however, I believe my point is made, Scrap the V.A. Health System Now!!
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After dealing with a local clinic doctor that a lump found during a routine breast check was nothing and she discourages her patients from such self-exams, I found a civilian provider. This was one of many issues I've encountered with a satellite clinic that is losing doctors and nurses at a very high rate. I have great respect for VA overall, but maybe allowing us to find our own doctors might be best.
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I think that there should be an established benefits system, but to be restricted to some of the providers that have been complained about time and time again....that is just not fair.
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I don't think this has to be an "all or nothing" proposition. This could be done as a pilot program in a few areas that are either a long way from a facility as well as do a few pilots where the existing facility is overcrowded.
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I believe that American service members would be receiving their due if they could pick the provider of their choice. My uncle had to use the VA for cataract surgery, and it looked like an amateur did it. My brother had to drive 4 hours and stay overnight at a motel for cancer treatments.
We served. Some receive benefits (I don't as I did not retire or participate in combat). Those who are receiving medical benefits should be allowed to get the best they can. Not long delays and less then quality treatment from the VA.
Hell, I wish they would do away with the VA! They are a bunch of clingers on who are sucking from the teat of the government. Rebuild the VA from the ground up.
We served. Some receive benefits (I don't as I did not retire or participate in combat). Those who are receiving medical benefits should be allowed to get the best they can. Not long delays and less then quality treatment from the VA.
Hell, I wish they would do away with the VA! They are a bunch of clingers on who are sucking from the teat of the government. Rebuild the VA from the ground up.
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I would be all for it. Its a broken system and has been for years and years. Move everyone to Tricare. Privatize the VA hospitals if they wish to specializations that accommodate rehabilitation of war injuries, but sack the whole system.
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I'm currently in the works of drafting up legislation to do exactly that within NYC. Wingsforwarriors.org
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I'm opposed to the natural, hip shot reaction that closing VA somehow violates our agreement with the government. I would be ok with shutout ting it all down resulted in veterans getting better, quicker service at non VA facilities.
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I think that it would be great. Simply dissolve the VA hospital system and insure every veteran at 100%. Then they can go to their local provider for the care they need. I am lucky that the VA hospital is only 15 miles from my house and on a good traffic day it's about a half an hour drive. There are 10 civilian hospitals closer to me including 4 under 5 miles. Let the vets go to who ever they want.
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LTC Terrence Farrier, PhD
You must look past the VA only if you consider moving all veterans to the civilian health care systems. Why? Medical doctors are currently being pushed by their employers to enter data into computers that once we completed by their administrative staffs. Civilian hospitals believe they can save money through less administration mistakes which cost more administration time with insurance companies who those same civilian hospitals rely on for repayment. That means less time per patient diagnosis and face time to see what is really going on. At least the VA is familiar with some military specific diagnosis. Despite the wait, and I don't like it any more than any of our RallyPoint members, the VA usually takes the time to have that face to face.
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