What's your view on doing away with the VA health system?

Fascinating. Many of us are satisfied with our physicians and providers, but run up our blood pressure over the actions of clerks and administrators.

Thank you CSM, you hit the nail on the head.

eliminate high cost by allowing private sector to happyly absorb va vet needs and care,,they are more efficient and have no aggenda,,the doctors at va are a sham,even the good ones are job scared,just ask one to fill out a nexus ..we can eliminate the va labor cost ,building utilties etc ,just the savings in labor is in the billions..not to mention the sell off of un needed buildings,,example kernersville nc .BIG ,NEW hospital, in middle of no where,,only doing cp exams,,parking lot almost entirel empty,this was a idiot that put this hospital there..that was needed money for vet care,,eliminate the va,,,save alot of money and it will improve our veterans health care,,,,the goverment cant run a leamonade stand..

1SG Daniel Foote - I've had 7 PCP's in the last 6yrs. I totally agree with you that this lack of continuity of care causes multiple delays in care for the veteran as each time the doctor & patient have to go through the dance of getting to know each other & bringing the doctor up to speed on what treatments you're currently getting, what's been tried in the past, etc. Unfortunately the current system of using the Choice card isn't going to help much. Being that my PCP retired w/o notice my clinic was shorthanded & therefore sent lots of us out using the Choice card. You can't make, cancel, or change an appt w/o going through Triwest (contractor running the program). For instance, I had an appt on the outside that I couldn't make b/c I hurt my back & couldn't walk. Had to call Triwest, explain the problem, tell them when I was available again for an appt, then call my local clinic & cancel my appt. Was asked when I wanted to come in by them I had to explain that we're not allowed to make the appts ourselves. Triwest takes 5-7 days on average to get back with you about the new date meaning it could be weeks between the original & next appt times. A very inefficient & therefore wasteful system to do something that Medicare & Medicaid have been doing for decades. Yes these are also gov't run & thus by definition wasteful but not nearly as cumbersome. Could definitely be streamlined & improved if the goal is truly the best healthcare possible for our wounded veterans.

What I didn't know on AD, is there is an 8 bracket priority system, and as a retiree, even though 20% disabled, Tricare meets my needs much more comprehensively. I have to question if there are not a few folks who would do better if they would take advantage of Tricare, if eligible. Since I live in Colorado and have been a volunteer at the VAMC in Denver, I have more than a few questions about the bureaucratic morass around the new facility. And some of the troublesome reports about ER visits. It is also reported that up to 1/3 of VA employees are veterans. So, do they individually do their best for their fellow service members, or do they their souls suckered out of them?

I think the VA needs the work an attention it is getting but personally I think the VA overall is better then the non VA hospitals in many ways. What they should do is make it impossible for congress and other government entities to take moneys from the VA once it is given, in other words if they award the VA 20 million then that 20 is untouchable. (amounts are just numbers to use for making my point)

My personal belief is a veteran should be able to walk into any medical facility and have their healthcare covered by the gov't. Obviously, due to the crooks in the public healthcare system, the costs would have to be standardized. This gets me to another point. The ACA is regulating the wrong side of the problem. Healthcare insurance is not the problem. The price gouging of healthcare providers is the problem. $6,000 for a 12 minute MRI is a bit over the top...and that is just a small example.

PO2 Joseph Barthelmess, III - Well, as someone who used to work on the insurance side, I can tell you that those prices ARE set by the insurance providers. I used to sit in meetings with Physican Groups in which my CEO would try to argue down what we would pay for. The collusion between big Pharma, big insurance and big med is the problem.

PO1 (Join to see) - Unfortunately I have had to experience what the "private sector" has to offer with my mother and sister here in the last few months, utter chaos! Among them were long lines in the waiting room of the ER and people loosing important information then after that all the different doctors not being able to talk to one another in different locations. It used to be the other way around! I go to the VA to have blood work done by choice just because of the above aforementioned. KCVA by the way.......

I don't think anyone treats and gives Vets as much as the VA does.... its the red tape of paperwork that's part of the government

Cpl David Klassen - I agree that the ER is crazy in the private sector but I've noticed that I have a quicker time in the ER at a VA hospital. I had Pink Eye (thank you, my son) and it took me no more than an hour to be checked-in, seen, treated and given my prescription.

I had problems with VA in Florida will never go back. I use medicare through Florida Blue Insurance with Tricare kicker at my civilian Doctor office. Best care ever and wasn't a problem finding a provider.

Sgt Richard Buckner - Yes. As one brother brought out earlier in his message sometimes civilian health doesn't mesh with the VA system, especially with veterans that have PTSD issues.

Sgt (Verify To See) - That is correct. So re-read my reply. As all neurologists go to the same school, the VA is not going to be 'better' at treating my M.S. than a civilian **JUST BECAUSE** they are military-centric.

Re-read the complaint about the VA

So based on the **COMPLAINT** about the VA, which is inability to efficiently run a system, what would happen - LOGICALLY - is that if VA patients were allowed civilian healthcare, they would call the VA first, VA would say "can't get you in for a month" and they would then call the civilian provider they've been assigned who will more than likely see them that week. Now using pavlovian dog type reasoning, do you think these vets are gonna continue to call the VA or are they going to just go civilian?

Next - as to your clinic angle - you can't go straight from "back pain" to "therapy" without a referral. So at ONE POINT you had to go to an intermediary. Someone has to look at you and refer you.

MAJ (Join to see) - What on earth are you talking about?

MAJ David Vermillion - All shrinks go to the same school. They all read the same book. Like I just said to the SGT, my VA neurologist treats me the same as my civilian one. They both do the same things to manage my pain and are equally successful. So PTSD should not be an issue.

SFC Wade Williams- maybe not stated, but at the Hamton, Various. VA Hospital, a large number of dedicated and caring volunteers word diligently to help VETS get thru and over the rough spots.

COL (Verify To See) - The figure the VA uses is nine million. Where they get it from I do not know. Maybe it is the number of veterans qualified to receive VA care. I believe the number of veterans served for 2015 are up considerably from the 2014 figure.

We'll never have a single payer health care system.

CDR Jon Corrigan - Never give up hope!