LSGi

fully empathize about the burned in the past. they tell me they don't bill for SC issues, nevertheless, trust but verify as they say.

i'm curious,did your medicare of secondary insurer ever deny payment, i.e., they figured VA should have paid for some things that VA billed them for?

i'm all for offsetting the high cost Americans/Veterans pay for healthcare in this country so every citizen gets a fair shake for quality healthcare...just some of this billing is just hard to wrap my head around. i'll check with that office, good idea, thanks.

the VA person that called wanting the info said the same, i.e., they only bill for non-SC disabilities. like you, i asked twice and asked another person at VA and they came back with the same statement. Yet, we all know the VA, good & bad, and in your case, that's what i'm trying to preempt...the huge bills that we shouldn't be getting and along with that the non-stop calls from medical bill collection outfits. though the paperwork for my recent Choice appt states all of it was approved and no copay or such was mentioned and the center that did the procedures didn't ask for any dough upfront i'm always leery that in the mailbox will be those unforeseen bills. and as you say, they(VA) often takes forever. plenty of these stories abound out there from many veterans so leery is a bit warranted for all of us. i'll keep my fingers crossed. appreciate your reply and hope they sort it out for you soon with positive outcome.

makes sense and i agree to some degree. i guess what gets me a bit, is the god awful amount of money & time va spends to NOT pay compensation when verifiable evidence is presented. then after a lifetime fighting for that, you get it, then you can afford a monthly premium, and they want to jump on that and use it to save them money. i'm replying to everyone but for some reason i don't see my replies...

so we "have to" report this? i didn't know. if not for medicare supplement i'd still be told by va they don't see my problems but "something" is there. civilian docs diagnosed it in no time. glad i got the supplement as va really doesn't want to treat/pay for incurable service connected things as they tend to cost more as we get older. most times i feel like the can that gets kicked down the road after va visits. residuals from dealing with them over the years i guess. thanks for reply and letting me know.

this is why i posted my question as i have similar thoughts. i don't see how my medicare supplement would be willing to pay for my VA SC issues when i see VA. i see why when i go to a civilian doctor or civilian treatment but not when i go to VA. recently had to use Choice. and now they want this info. just seems like a round-robin pay shuffle game. since its a medicare supplement i guess somewhere there is a rule/law the company will pay but i don't see how they could keep their books straight or make a profit. i pay the premiums, seems VA has a way to piggyback on that.

appreciate your reply & insights. i guess the feds somewhere in this equation pays the priv insurer.

i have same experience. odd but it is the va/gov

me neither. but they sure want veteran's priv insurance card number too these days. am i the only one that thinks that odd if one is 100+ SC?d. i posted this question in new thread.

thanks. i put my phone on that donotcall list. helps some. the VA now sends out narcan to those on pain meds. i felt dirty when i got that in the mail. don't know why, but i did.

they asked for last 4. the call was logged into my file as my primary and nurse at my va clinic knew of it and the pharmacist's name. pretty sure the call was legit this time. thanks for the info. the scam calls we all get is off the charts these days.

sorry for being so late. it was a new standard for VA pharm's to call pt's who are/have been on long term pain meds. want to know how its working, what other things i do to help with pain, (i.e., exercise, meditation, what foods i eat, any adverse reactions to meds, those kind of things.). same type of questions my primary has asked over the years. primary has a medical degree and years of experience seeing me and talking with me, versus, i've never met anyone from a VA pharm in my life that i know of. we all know now, the CDC & how political it is, lumped all the opioid deaths in with legit chronic diseased/injury longterm use patients who have had little to no neg issues with their pain meds over the years. so the media and politicians knee-jerk out opines and bad policies. politicians, media, big pharm don't want to take on nation actors(you know who they are) who are and have been flooding this country with fentanyl/meth, and the like, so they side step that, and the patients who hadn't had any issues get slammed dunked by these policies. and of course, more population control as all of us legit patients got tossed into a national database and telling pharmacists they know better than a patient's doctor.

sorry for delay in reply. yes, it was the VA pharm who called in a phone interview to go over things. sort of odd a pharmacy person calls to discuss my med treatment and not my primary care doctor. interview went ok. just strange but i know why they do it now since i posted this thread/question. non-VA doctor said the same and mentioned it is happening to all his patients now too. mentioned a pharm's have over-ridden him and yet, the pharm's know nothing about the patient or history. thanks

so we can request a non-VA MH doctor to do the C&P MH exam?

regarding veterans with 100+% SC disabilities, is it ok to give VA one's civilian medical insurance card information when they ask for it? i don't know, which is why i ask. recently made use of the "choice program" for SC procedures/tests that that is covered along with no co-pay. and now i get phone calls from VA to home phone wanting my civilian insurance info. may be a nothing burger, but wanted to get advice/educated on this.

i'll see what they say via phone first, it may be nothing, but then again, it just seems odd to me. and you too i see. i'll check back after call

recently was called by VA pharm to setup a phone consult with VA pharm to ask questions about the pain med i'm on. (for 10yrs). caller mentioned this is a new protocol for this VA. i've never had this type of call before. usually PCP would generally ask about such things with each visit. caller mentioned some med, forget the type, something about blood type med. high blood pressure or thinner or something, when i asked what the call was about. i'm not even on that type med that the caller mentioned. can't help but have a sense of suspicion with that reply. with all the crack down on pain meds in this country, wondering if this is a prelude to them switching gears on me or something. i hear/read these type stories all over the country last few years. anyone else hear about these type VA pharm calls and/or participated in one? what can i expect?

thanks for the links. the worriesome mind took over and i had forgotten about these. i can see why the attorney might get annoyed with my questions, though he didn't say as much, so i'm projecting a bit. thanks for the help

you're right. i guess its more with me and the "feel better thinking i'm doing something". guess the attorney knew that too. appreciate the advice.

i have an attorney who filed an appeal about 2 years ago. i asked him recently if he would check with VA on status. my question is, should the attorney or veteran check on the appeals status periodically or does that just cause issues with the appeals itself? i don't want to keep asking him if that is the wrong protocol, i mean, VA way of things is a bit strange anyway, tia

darn, i see i posted twice. brain malfunction with 2 computers. i'll deltet one. its been a rough few months with my ms.

see, we think alike. whew, good. you already know i'm a little slow in the head, glad we're on the same page. boggles my mind the billed my priv insurance for SC issues. my concern at the time, when i was able to work, was it affecting work related issues like promotion and security issues. that was my big concern about the priv issues. you understand. yeah common sense. i mean we [have to] include civilian medical reports to counter VA medical reports in our c-file for claims when such counters are warranted. for many veterans its life and death...from AO fiasco and including those veterans that died of gastric cancer recently. i agree, its ventured into the criminal arena on many fronts, from its not answering to Congress nor to veterans, zero accountability, the AO issues, gulf war syndrom which is now called "multi-system illness", denying spouses compensation after veteran dies, etc etc. i'll keep looking and see i can find a link about VA supposed to acknowledge civilian medical reports thus my question as to whye ROI wouldn't scan it in though they used to.

ok, thanks for the explanation. for my mind, i didn't think of a difference in IMO and IME. if thats an exam i've had those. i'll check the IRS site when my brain clears up a bit. i still ahve to have someone do my taxes even on only disablility income as i find the tax prep a bit much for my brain. i'll file this thread in my tax box for next years. thanks

i don't know the answer to that. i was just something that crossed my brain. i don't make enough or have such mortgage whereby many deductions are on my radar. the tax preparer at a national chain the other day mentioned medical expenses to me. i mentioned i go to VA and some civilian and he said co-pays, ER visits, hospital stays i could deduct. i never really thought about it. he keep a record for next year. when i got home the thought of IMOs that many of us have paid for (the only way to counter VA) popped up.