tdiu Va Billed My Wife's Insurance

[Guest terrysturgis]

I have been 100% TDIU P&T since 2001. I use private medical care outside of the VA but I have to go to the VA for a checkup twice a year. The last time I went they asked me if I had private medical insurance. I told that I am 100% P&T and did not give them any insurance information. My wife's insurance takes good care of me and I do not believe the VA has a right to bill them. Lo and behold yesterday I got a copy from my wife's insurance that the VA billed them for my semi annual visit.

I just got "reevaluated". They checked my earned income and sent me a decision letter that said "TDIU was to be continued". I am not gainfully employed.

Having said that the VA did not get the insurance information from me I wonder if they didn't discover the INS info during the reevaluation.

I guess what upsets me most is my private Doctor not the VA discovered the DMII and PN. By my using outside care I believe it leaves more room for other vets who do not have insurance to get health care they need. Terry Sturgis

[Jay Johnson]

I have to disagree with you. If you have insurance and don't give them the info then VA costs go up and maybe some other veteran who needs help is left out because of the money situtation and doesn't get the help he needs. Remember those costs are passed on to your provider. I have both options and use both doctors to my advantage

I understand what you're saying here, but it's faulty logic. It doesn't matter who pays the bill in the end, because your tax dollars are used to subsidize both the private insurance companies and the employers who use them, so it's all coming out of the same pot eventually. The only thing that changes is that the VA can claim they "saved" X amount of dollars in some bogus budget report, but that just means they're taking tax dollars from some other fund.

As I said in the other thread about universal health care, we already have socialized medicine...the only difference between ours and the rest of the world's is that more people are profiting in our system, it's far less efficient and 50 million people have no health insurance (and countless more have sub-standard insurance).

So, no, the VA shouldn't be billing other companies for medical services provided to deserving veterans.....

[jbasser]

This is an interesting post. My wife works for the VA and her insurance gets billed for my care, Even SC treatment.

Now most of you know that Vets rated at 10 percent or more do not pay copays except for meds and that ceases when you reach 50 percent and get moved to priority group 1.

Go to the VA site and type in the search box (Who pays copays).

The VA has the right to bill insurance companies for non SC conditions for all Veterans that have insurance.

Now for SC conditions, the insurance industry should investigate this because I am willing to bet the VA has taken millions they should not have.

I would like to see the slugfest between the VA and the Insurance companies. It is going to happen, only time will tell us when.

JBasser