Va Choice Card = More Va Lies

[Vync]

I tried to use the VA Choice Card and found out that the only people making a choice is the VA. The card is aptly named.

My VAMC is lying to patients and scheduling them as walk-in's instead of bonafide appointments.

After being hospitalized out of state, I was discharged and instructed to see my primary care doctor within 7 days. I called my VAMC primary care clinic last week. They said the earliest appointment was three weeks out, but when informed about "the date medically determined by my physician" being within 7 days, they could suddenly see me one day next week. I received the robo call appointment reminder the night before my appointment. After arriving early for my appointment and checking in at both the kiosk and the clinic desk, I ended up waiting about five hours before being seen (despite being in priority group 1, 100% P&T). I checked periodically and was told I would be seen "soon".

I asked the doc what took so long and was told I was classified as a walk-in and did not have an appointment.

Has this happened to anyone else?

VA Choice Card

http://www.va.gov/opa/choiceact/index.asp

You have been told by your local VA medical facility that you will need to wait more than 30 days from your preferred date or the date medically determined by your physician

Actual wording of the law

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-113publ146/pdf/PLAW-113publ146.pdf

Sec101 (B)(2) the veteran—

(A) attempts, or has attempted, to schedule an appointment

for the receipt of hospital care or medical services

under chapter 17 of title 38, United States Code, but is

unable to schedule an appointment within the wait-time

goals of the Veterans Health Administration for the furnishing

of such care or services;

[Buck52]

Tbird same thing happen to my spouse, we ended up paying 400.00 on the Bill the Bill was about 1200

Werid thing is the Ambulance trip was a lot closer to the private Hospital only about 3 mile trip, I ask them to take her to the VA hospital they said thet couldn't they had to take her to the closer hospital.

And a year or two before that happen I had to call Ambulance when she had a seizure here at home I ask the Ambulance driver to take her to the VA Hospital and its 23 miles from here and the VA paid the whole Bill that time...ChampVA paid it.

As for as getting appointment's I sure hope Robert McDonald gets all this mess straighten out...so for I don't see a change at my VAMC...> Appointments still take a long time, back when all this was in the media the VA employee's were being very nice but seems like they are going back to their old ways!

[georgiapapa]

Some shyster sold the idea of VA Choice Cards to congress as a way of solving the problems veterans were having trying to get appointments in a timely manner. I hope VA Secretary McDonald reads the posts under this topic and sees the fraud that has been perpetrated upon our military veterans. Veterans should write to Jeff Miller, Chairman of the Congressional House Committee on Veterans Affairs, and share their stories about their problems with the VA Choice Cards.

I know I sound like a broken record but the only way the problems veterans are experiencing at the VAMCs are ever going to really be solved is to shut down the VAMCs and give the veterans a real "Choice Card" which veterans can use to select medical providers of the veteran's choice in the private sector. VAMCs will never be able to give veterans the same level of quality healthcare or treatment choices as medical providers found in the private sector. if you write to Jeff Miller or your congressional representative or Secretary McDonald; remind them of the statement we always hear from our politicians that "our nation's veterans deserve the best healthcare available" and then ask them to shut down the VAMCs and give us access to the private sector medical providers which are the best healthcare providers available. JMO

[Buck52]

Good Ideal georgiapapa,

My Opinion I don't think the Government should NOT have closed down all the Military Bases & a lot of the VAMC....That is part of the problem and the ones they kept is being over crowed!

There (VA) is spending Billions on things like annex's and parking garages here in Dallas &not only Dalla but many many other VA City's

Here in Dallas there remodeling the VAMC and building 5 storey parking garages we have 2.. 5/10 acre parking lots and two 5 storey parking Garages one is complete and the other is under construction...T

They put Healthcare on hold and using the funds tax $$ to rebuild because some one decided they didn't like all the Military Bases and VAMC that we already had and wanted to cut back and now that cut back has cut into the Veterans Healthcare Programs.

I guess I need to stop worrying about the VAMC's all it does is cause stress, and I am getting on up there in age, I just hope and pray our younger veterans don't have to put up with this type of nonsense and they do get better healthcare than we got.

[Vync]

I've waited months for appointments in Phoenx, Vegas and Portland only to have them call morning of and cancel - they then wrote it down as a "no-show" until I called and argued it.

They treat the ER as a day clinic and jaded ER staff are in no hurry to process the mountain quickly.

I came up with a saying for the awful San Francisco hospital: "Don't go to the VA unless you can STAY all DAY."

The VA is the epitome of a soulless, heartless, union-infested bureaucracy that should be shut down.

Hey Kelly,

When I was stuck in the waiting room for hours, I overheard the staff at the desk talk about calling Veterans to cancel and reschedule their appointments. One poor guy who was waiting almost as long as me was told that he probably would not get seen today. They asked if he would be ok rescheduling his appointment for another date.

The VA is playing "kick the can" with our appointments, just like Scatman in The Twilight Zone movie...

[Notorious Kelly]

The real story is where all that money goes, but we don't have any true journalists to pursue it.

Our local news just did a story "On Your Side" http://www.krem.com/story/news/local/spokane-county/2015/01/08/a-look-at-spokane-va-one-month-after-er-cuts/21439891/

about the Spokane VA ER 1 month after it went part-time, allegedly due to lack of physicians.

A VA employee said things are going well and ONE veteran said it's not too bad.

What the McNewz didn't ask is what lack of foresight and planning allowed this ER to go part-time in the first place. Can you name a civilian part-time ER in America?

These kind of fluff pieces do more harm than good.

[63SIERRA]

My VA has me as having had a heart attack and yet I have never seen a cardiologist. Try and see a neurosurgeon at the VA or even an orthopod and suddenly every one is out to lunch. I am glad I have private insurance. I cannot remember seeing a specialist for any of my 8 SC conditions even the ones that may kill me. I had cataracts done on Medicare. Foot surgery done at private hospital on my dime. I am asking for CT scan with contrast for my neck and my PCP says it is going to be hard to get the VA to do it. I can't get MRI due to implant in my chest. My neck and feet and lower back all have nerve issues and all I get is pain killers. I actually want to know what is wrong with me. Maybe I should forget about the VA then, right?

John

they know you have private ins, so they are stonewalling you so you go see your private ins docs.