Jump to content
VA Disability Community via Hadit.com

VA Disability Claims Articles

Ask Your VA Claims Question | Current Forum Posts Search | Rules | View All Forums
VA Disability Articles | Chats and Other Events | Donate | Blogs | New Users

  • hohomepage-banner-2024-2.png

  • 27-year-anniversary-leaderboard.png

    advice-disclaimer.jpg

  • donate-be-a-hero.png

  • 0

Letter To Secty Shulkin re 40-mile 30-day Rule

Rate this question


MrsVeteransWife

Question

This is a letter my sister sent to Secretary Shulkin. I wonder if it might be worth posting?

----

Dear Secretary Shulkin,

I want to tell you about a devastating consequence of the VA 40-mile 30-day rule. We live less than 40-miles from a VA clinic which has cardiologists on staff however my husband needed an interventional cardiologist to perform a procedure.

My husband is a service-connected agent orange Vietnam Veteran who honorably served in 3 campaigns.

He has been enrolled in VA healthcare since early 2015.

He was fairly healthy until 2015.

He trusted that the VA was providing good care but was having second thoughts due to his increasing symptoms.

He went outside the VA for a second opinion on his service-connected heart disease. The non-VA doctor wrote orders for surgery.

He took those orders to the local VA clinic cardiologist who told him to wait a while because the procedure "would not save his life".

3 weeks later, my husband had a significant heart attack with terrible complications and permanent injury.

My suggestion is the following:

A Veteran who is service-connected for 1 disease that is rated 60% or higher disabling is "more likely than not" cognizant of the fact that he is in less than perfect health; the Veteran should be allowed to use the VA Choice insurance without having to get clinic approval. Not only did my husband have to wait "29-days"  to be seen at the clinic, he was told by the VA cardiologist that the above-mentioned procedure would not prevent a heart attack or save his life.

Interestingly, when he was admitted into the hospital for the recent heart attack, the E.R. interventional cardiologist performed the exact same procedure that the VA doctor declined to proceed with.

Bottom line, if he didn't have to get local VA clinic approval, he would have had the procedure 8 weeks before the massive heart attack: there certainly would have been less permanent injury.

Unintended consequences? Not every clinic has all the necessary doctors but the rule clearly requires more than 40-mile residency from any VA clinic to use VA Choice. Some clinics are essentially nothing more than a pharmacy with a blood draw lab. How can they possibly treat a heart attack?

Why are we using emergency rooms for care that optimally should be preemptively managed in a controlled, non-emergency environment?

I surely hope the rule will be changed.

No Veteran deserves to be treated or malpracticed upon like this. It's a disgrace. These brave men and women reported for duty, countless numbers were unwillingly drafted and they still reported for duty: now it's the VA's turn to turn up the quality, access to, and EASE of care. There was no proactive "choice" for my husband even though he had a second opinion. The VA Choice program is not working as intended as there is no choice unless you live 40.0+ miles away or your appointment is scheduled 30+ days out. Our clinic is scheduling 29-days for appointments. Interesting coincidence?

Many doctors are not interested in working for the VA but they will gladly see VA patients in their private offices. Where we live, there is no shortage of private doctors who love to treat Veterans: the doctors express a sense of gratitude for the Veterans service and sacrifice. Our local clinic is funded to the tune of well OVER $64,000 per Veteran per year including Veterans who don't visit but are enrolled, and also including the "frequent fliers". The clinic is in a new, beautiful, sparkly-clean, grand building but it has a lot of empty offices and a lack/shortage of specialty doctors who are surely needed. The clinic has state-of-the-art equipment but not enough doctors and nurses to alleviate the scheduling backlog.

My husband has received a lot of excellent care at the local clinic but he has also experienced terrible care by a very few medical professionals at the same clinic. There are certain statistically known medical conditions which are affecting a large percentage of aging Veterans i.e. these are family-altering and life-altering diseases. Veterans with these known presumptive diseases should be allowed "choice" which insures that they get prompt, dignified, high quality medical care (which they are entitled to as part of the enlistment deal). Whether they choose VA or private should be up to them.

Thank you for your time. Please, please, please change the rule and save some Veteran and his family from these unintended consequences.

Respectfully,

Edited by MrsVeteransWife
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Answers 6
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters For This Question

Top Posters For This Question

6 answers to this question

Recommended Posts

  • 0

I think your letter is excellent and to the point.

https://www.stripes.com/news/veterans/shulkin-proposes-eliminating-40-mile-30-day-rule-for-non-va-care-1.456087#.WPCmC4jythE

As the link states:

"The program was created as a temporary measure in 2014 after it was discovered veterans were suffering long waits for health care at some VA facilities. It was funded with $10 billion and given an expiration date of Aug. 7, 2017.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., introduced legislation last month to do away with the expiration date. The lawmakers estimated by August, the choice program would still have approximately $1 billion in funding.

Congress has yet to taken action on either the House or Senate bill."

I will try to find anything more recent than that info on the bill but there may not be anything new.

You stated: " Our clinic is scheduling 29-days for appointments. Coincidence?" It amazes me what VA will do to get out of doing the right thing.29 Days is as long as 30 or more for any vet needing significant care.

I am interested in how others reply to this here and I also suggest that you send President Trump a copy of the letter with a brief cover letter, and maybe even with quotes from other vets here who have been harmed by this 40 mile-30 day rule.

I asked the Sec to change a regulation too.

Sec David Shulkin was hired, not to maintain the status quo of the VA, but instead to REFORM it.

"Bottom line, if he didn't have to get approval, he would have had the procedure 8 weeks before the massive heart attack: there certainly would have been less permanent injury."

If you feel his rating before the attack should be increased, after the heart attack,due to VA negligence,this is a basis for a Section 1151 claim, and even a FTCA case, and if you can get a doctor to fully agree with your statement as to the "bottom line sentence" you should win.... but this is would be a 1151/FTCA on a VA policy.....as well as negligence.

A VA policy in M21-1MR Physicians Handbook 1988 , was one of my prime pieces of evidence when I 1151/FTCAED the VA  and won, for wrongful death of my husband.

Others will chime in on the letter.

Info here on the Phoenix VA scandal in 2012-2014 that prompted the 40 mile-30 day rule:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/23/health/veterans-dying-health-care-delays/

And much discussion here at hadit under a search in the Scandal forum...

THANK YOU for taking a stand on this.

 

 

Edited by Berta
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

I just noticed this is a letter from your sister regarding her husband...sorry about that---it still doesn't matter...this is a serious issue that grew from a devastating scandal and any vet harmed by the Phoenix sandal should take action.....or should have by now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

We just received the following reply from the Secty's office:

"Secretary Shulkin has received your email dated April 14, 2017.  He has forwarded your email to VHA leadership for review and consideration.  If you would like us to look further into your husband’s specific situation, please provide us with your husband’s full name, last four of his SSN, phone number or email address, and the VA facility at which your husband receives his care.  Thank you for your communication."

Does anyone on hadit have any suggestions?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0
On 4/14/2017 at 6:05 AM, Berta said:

I just noticed this is a letter from your sister regarding her husband...sorry about that---it still doesn't matter...this is a serious issue that grew from a devastating scandal and any vet harmed by the Phoenix sandal should take action.....or should have by now.

Berta-

Here is another mini scandal. This is about a Veteran who has to appear in federal court on April 18, 2017 because he was displaying US flags on VA property/and or took a picture on VA property in his efforts to bring public attention to Veteran homelessness. It also looks like the VA wants to allow a public dog park in the nearby VA park or property. I don't have all the details yet and I don't want to misrepresent anything. I would hope lots of people email david.shulkin at va dot gov about this travesty of "justice". Is that VA cop smiling or smirking?

If you care to look, the video is on youtube, and will pop right up if you search for yeFnRQvqj6c.

 

Edited by MrsVeteransWife
removed video
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Guidelines and Terms of Use