Hi LT:
In response to your question about Rule #1:
When I said I got up, left, and never came back...I was referring to that particular VA Center at the time. Had nothing to do with the VA in general. And, since I was neither retired military, nor had a verifiable service-connected disability, didn't see much point in wasting any more of my time and effort with it. Furthermore, at that time, unless you were in one of those categories, you really didn't have much of a claim for any of their services.
As you may recall it wasn't until in the late 80s early 90s sometime, when they finally decided to have all veterans sign up for a VA card. Remember? Which I did...and have used on an annual basis...to get a free flu shot. As for the rest, again, unless you are in one of those two mentioned categories, with that card, you can seek medical attention, even hospitalization, but on a very low priority basis, and if you have private insurance and/or Medicare, who pays for what and how...is still a muddle.
According to the VA here in SF, Congress was supposedly working on a formula to get around the prohibition of one department shifting funds to another department, so that veterans with Medicare, could use it to re-imburse the VA,just like any other provider....that was some 10 years ago...and Congress, of course, has yet to do anything about it. According to the last thing I got:
a) I can go to the VA here, pay a flat "fee" of $50 bucks, and see as many doctors, specialists as can be crammed into that visit as necessary.
b) If I'm admitted to hospital...I'd have a flat fee of $750 bucks, regardles of my length of stay. So, from an out of pocket expense perspective, veterans like me, basically have a $50 "co-pay" deal per visit. Not very attractive. But if we do manage to get taken in for hospitalization...$750 bucks as the max "co-pay" cost...beats the hell out of anything private insurance offers...even Obama Care!
To summarize...for me...the VA is simply a fail-safe deal...should I ever find myself in a situation where I have no other means to cover any medical needs. But since I'm paying for Medicare anyway (..they take it out of my Soc. Sec), see no point in using VA except in minor way as I do now.
And just from a personal perspective...VA facilities are clutttered up enough already with guys who are really hurting and qualify for its attention, that, and at my "age", I sure as hell have no desire to arm wrestle with any kind of bureaucratic crappola in whatever time is left in the joy of my declining years! (of course if Congress ever gets off its ass and fixes things like this Medicare deal...that might be a different story).
By the way, the only way anyone gets a "free" flag is if they die in a VA hospital. Otherwise...zilch. But we're covered. My mother did...and I still have the one they gave for her. Guess we'll use it for me...how's that for a two-fer deal!
Centurion
Hey Bill! You are a Korean War Veteran. A Forgotten Warrior. You guys went through pure hell in Korea, and, most Americans not only have no idea where Korea is, they can't spell it, either. Especially our high school graduates of today! Here's Rule #2: Don't believe anything the VA tells you!
ReplyDeleteHere's the truth to what you are saying about your so-called "fail-safe" dealie with the VA: You did combat time in Korea. That entitles you to a whole slew of benefits. The crap they've told you about you have to have your head blown off, or have enemy bayonets sticking our of your neck, or have your ass blown over your eyelids is true, but still, that kind of propaganda makes one like yourself who came back from that Korean Hell feel 'guilty'. I had a 'shrink' tell me once in the VA at San Francisco in the very early 1970's before they knew what PTSD was, "Don't you feel guilty coming in here wanting help for your so-called mental problems when there are guys in here with their arms and legs blown off who really did get hurt over there in Vietnam?" That was all it took to get me to stand up, tell that 'shrink' where to shove it, and I got into reverse mode and exited his door, exited the VA's front door, got in my car, drove home and got drunk and cussed the whole VA. I did not know at that time that that 'shrink' had accomplished his mission. He got me to 'quit' by lying to me. In those days, there were a lot of Korean Vets and WWII Vets and even a lot of WWI Vets clogging up the VA system so they were doing every nasty trick in the book to turn away we Vietnam Vets who were seeking help. And their hands were full with the booby-trap wounded coming back from Vietnam, and they were being instructed to get anyone who was not missing a vital part to go away! The simple truth is the VA lies to us. Ask anyone who has been wounded with Agent Orange. And I can bring up so many other 'wounds' that they are still lying to us about. I have so much more to say about this, and I will, but for this reply, I'm going to keep it simple. You did your time in Hell in the Korean War. The VA is there to support you as a result. They are not there to be a 'fail-safe' dealie for you. They should meet you at the front door and bow down to you and thank you from one side to the other for your service to this great nation. What they've done to you is spit in your face, and you wipe it off and say, "Gee, thanx!" Well, we Vietnam Vets put a stop that that crap! Now, they are getting ready to spit in the faces of all those brave guys and gals who served our great nation in Iraq and Afghanistan, and guess what? They ain't gonna spit in those fine soldier's faces as long as you and I can report to this ROLL CALL!