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SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
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Sgt Joe LaBranche great topic, Its a good program for Veterans of great distance, however I have heard of horror stories of payments the VET incurred due to VA negligence.
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SGM David W. Carr  LOM, DMSM  MP SGT
SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT
8 y
SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL I am currently using the Choice program for Occupational Health and I am very happy with how they treat you as a patient.
I would not be upset if I was afforded the Choice to use a civilian medical facility.
All my major surgeries have been outside the VA.
If it was not for my TRICARE prime I would have been yet another cancer death
I had a biopsy done for Prostrate Cancer while the VA was just observing my 4.0 PSA.
The results came back positive in April stage 1 by August after surgery it was stage 2/3
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COL John McClellan
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Interesting article, thanks SGT Joe! Complex issue... expanding choice for Vets when many still lack timely care and the pace of reform in the VA seems glacial... appears to be a no-brainer, but - with the VA's huge inventory of established hospitals and clinics, I tend to agree that caution is warranted. Too much choice too fast could endanger the care of many vets who are using VA facilities and where these facilities are performing adequately. As long as poor performance in some locations and outright fraud at others persists, this will no doubt be a contentious issue! Maybe the Q for the large vets Groups is - how can they help the VA clean-up their house and restore the confidence and trust of the Veteran community before the only option is a sell-off to private industry?
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SGM David W. Carr  LOM, DMSM  MP SGT
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Edited 8 y ago
Sgt Joe LaBranche SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL LTC Stephen F. CPT Walt Tollefson CPT (Join to see) TSgt Hunter Logan SGM Erik Marquez SGT Brian Carr when my Temple VA hospital could not schedule me an OH appointment in the next 30 days.

I was referred to the choice program to be sent to a civilian rehab which did therapy and not just ordering devices. I do appreciate the personal touch. VA did very little therapy after multiple surgeries.

TriWest out of California supportsthe Texas region. I had to contact them to schedule an appointment. You then have call them back 5 business days later to make sure. You can't assume it is done.
They send you an authorization letter that you bring along with your choice card or VA ID. Let them make a copy of the authorization but keep the original for your records.
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