Posted on Jun 4, 2016
How to complain to Veteran Affairs about your health care
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If you could sit down with an influential / sympathetic politician, what veteran related complaints would you ask him to address?
How to complain to Veteran Affairs about your health care
Posted from gulflink.org
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Politics
Orlando
Osceola
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Posted 8 y ago
Responses: 7
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This is a great topic, a very important one. Few people really now how to complain effectively. All too often frustration inspires us to rant and the rant only serves as an excuse for others to dismiss us. A kook. A fanatic. A rube. Frustration. It kills rational thought. Take a deep breath, count to ten, and avoid the temptation. You know what I'm talking about, don't you? How many times have you been frustrated here on RallyPoint by the idiots who disagree with you. The mindless sheep who are supporting the "other" candidate. Shouting at them IN ALL CAPS doesn't even help, does it?
Once upon a time, you could take your complaint to your Representative in Congress. Representatives were as effective as a polecat at a picnic. Bureaucrats quaked in their boots at the mere mention of the words "Congressional Interest". I know. I used to work at Social Security. Whenever a member of Congress called with an inquiry, everyone (that's 18,000 of us under one roof at Woodlawn, Maryland) were warned that the "team" was coming. They were looking for a beneficiary file and by God one of us had it and they were going to find it while the Director amused the member of Congress on the line. I even used "Congressional Interest" to my advantage in Vietnam to get unit commanders to hurry up and gather the personal effects of Medivac's and forward them to the hospital (as if unit commanders didn't have enough to do). That's not true anymore. You can't get a member of Congress to pay much attention to you these days unless you have a rather large check in hand (and the promise of more to come).
So, what to do? I wish I knew. I can only hope that someone in this discussion has a good idea, an effective system for complaining...
Once upon a time, you could take your complaint to your Representative in Congress. Representatives were as effective as a polecat at a picnic. Bureaucrats quaked in their boots at the mere mention of the words "Congressional Interest". I know. I used to work at Social Security. Whenever a member of Congress called with an inquiry, everyone (that's 18,000 of us under one roof at Woodlawn, Maryland) were warned that the "team" was coming. They were looking for a beneficiary file and by God one of us had it and they were going to find it while the Director amused the member of Congress on the line. I even used "Congressional Interest" to my advantage in Vietnam to get unit commanders to hurry up and gather the personal effects of Medivac's and forward them to the hospital (as if unit commanders didn't have enough to do). That's not true anymore. You can't get a member of Congress to pay much attention to you these days unless you have a rather large check in hand (and the promise of more to come).
So, what to do? I wish I knew. I can only hope that someone in this discussion has a good idea, an effective system for complaining...
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CW2 Shawn Stevenson
I disagree, we receive hundreds of congressional inquiries a month and they are investigated very thoroughly. In almost every case the VA decision is upheld. The politicians just don't understand their own CFR's and regulations. They write them, not the VA. It's not that veterans are uninformed, the VA is a VERY complex system even for VA employees. There is a huge disconnect between the doctors and the system because the hospital medical employees know nothing about benefits, regulations etc. and that's where veterans get much of their information. For example, veterans are often told that they will be covered if they go to a non VA facility emergency room. If a 60% service connected veteran goes to a non VA emergency room because he tripped and broke his ankle he would be considered under CFR 38. 1725 - Millinium bill. Under this regulation it would be denied as non emergent and VA was feasibly available. If the veteran had Medicare part B or any other health insurance it would be denied for that also. The state Reps know absolutely nothing about the regulations they have passed. The VA is doing things correctly; to make changes the laws must be changed.
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Why is there an ombudsman line with actual live people with a responsibility to clear the issue with in a week. It's nearly impossible to reach a person that can answer a question before you are actually enrolled or lapsed.
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In MA we have a Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/VABOSTON if we have questions or complaints
VA Boston Healthcare System. 3,186 likes · 132 talking about this. VA Boston Healthcare System consists of the Jamaica Plain, West Roxbury and Brockton...
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