Problems with the VA

[nw_hunter]

There has been talk, and action taken lately to reduce services at the VA Hosp. in Roseburg Oregon.
With more and more veterans returning from war with numerous medical problems, this is the Federal governments response to it's Vets!

Is anything like this happening in your neck of the woods with the VA?

(Taken from the Roseburg News Review paper)

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More than 200 people crammed into the Roseburg Veterans Affairs Medical Center auditorium Tuesday to hear about the future of VA health care in southwest Oregon and northwest California.

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden told the crowd the forum was being held because of concerns he and U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio had heard from vets about the possibility of the local VA eliminating inpatient and emergency services.

“Ending benefits to our veterans is not acceptable and we're going to make it clear today reducing veterans services is not acceptable to the veteran community,” Wyden told the crowd, which included many men and women wearing military-themed caps and vests.

The two members of Oregon's congressional delegation said they plan to ask VA Secretary Eric Shinseki for a moratorium on further service reductions in the local VA system.

They will be asking for an independent review of any planned changes and for VA officials to come back to local veterans and ask their opinions of the changes before any are implemented.

“That's what veterans deserve, is that kind of quality care and a right to be heard,” Wyden said. “And that's what they're going to get.”

Wyden also said if Shinseki doesn't honor the congressmen's requests, they will introduce legislation to demand the same concessions from the VA.

[Squib]

Obama wanted to let the VA opt out of covering even combat related injuries if the vet has insurance, remember?  I wonder how that would/could work out if he brings it up again now that we are all supposed to adopt some form of healthcare now? 

I've only dealt with maybe 1 good doctor in the military and ZERO good ones in the VA in the last seven years (some of the nurses are good though).



oh, by the way the gi bill is great about actually getting around to paying up too.     back-pay for three months if you don't get expelled by your school for not paying all that time (if you get booted for not paying your tuition, the va doesn't owe you because you're not a student anymore, and that school won't take you back either because you owe them). 

[Sourdough]

My being a heart patient I have been seeing my Doctor every three months.  Suddenly there is too many patients and not enough doctors.  My appointments have been reduced to once every six months.  That is OK with me, I am not that critical, but some others are and they need to be seen more regularly than once every six months.  I have noticed the addition of a new doctor, bu7t one doctor is not enough to keep up with the big influx of new patients coming in from the war.  I would like to go to a doctor down town, and my wife has Blue Cross/Blue Shield, but none of the doctors in town will take me on as a patient since I have heart problems.  So I am stuck with the VA.

My son is going to college and since I am a 100% disabled Vet, the VA is paying his tuition.  Luckily we had set aside a college fund for him.  He pays his tuition up front, then the VA reimburses him.  I could see a troop that got out and was trying to go to school this could be a major problem.