tinnitus VA Billing Private Insurance

[CHerv08]

Hey Everyone!

I just wanted to throw this out there and get everyones thoughts and opinions on the subject. So right now I am 20% SC for Tinnitus and TBI. I've got a couple claims in right now, and have been seeking treatment for those claims, as well as my SC disabilites. As an OIF/OEF I am entitiled to 5 years of free healthcare - I am in year 3 of my 5 years. Everything was fine and dandy, and then all off a sudden the VA started billing my private insurance for my claims. My first thought was WTF - why are they billing my private insurance. So I went and talked to my VSO and she stated that "Yes, they can bill your insruance but they cannot bill you." I thought okay.... sounds legit, but then I started to think more... why are they billing my private insurance if my treatment is supposed to be free. Why does my insruance have to pay for any treatment ? Won't my insurance look down at me now since I am going to all these appointments - not only through the VA but my private family doctor as well? So I online and searched this topic - and thus leads me to here. I have not really found a solid answer to this.

My intial thought was okay - so their billing my private insurance, no big deal as long as it doesnt bill to me.

Then I thought - No, this is not cool. They shouldn't be billing anyone but themselves if I am qualifed for 5 years of free health care.

What is the sense of saying that it's free health care if they're still billing my insurance?

It's sort of iratating if you start to really think about it.

 

Just my thoughts - wanted to see what everyone had to say.

 

C

[brokensoldier244th]

In my experience over the last Eleven years it just counts against your deductible and gets kicked right back to VA. As for the why of it, I don't know.

[CHerv08]

It just seems like it's shady.  Not that I am suprised what so ever....

Thanks Broken.

[broncovet]

Im gonna focus on issues that affect Veterans or myself.  It does not seem to matter much whether an insurance company pays the bill or VA, I will let the bean counters work out who pays as long as its not me.  This is like if a 3 friends take you out to dinner, and they start arguing who should pay.  As long as you are not paying, why get into that arguement?  Im not saying one should bury their head in the sand and only care about themselves, Im just saying that 

it makes no differnce if Premier health pays a part of the bill or not to the Vet.  

[broncovet]

If anything, it would be in a Vets best interest that private insurance does pay a part of it.  Why?  Well, for every dollar private insurance pays, that should be 2 cents left over for Veterans, after the VA squanders the other 98 cents on executive bonuses, and cost over runs on hospitals.  

[Buck52]

I Look at it as long as it don't cost me anything and my private Insurance don't increase, they can bill it

the private insurance is not suppose to increase no matter how many times you use it  but they have other ways to increase it.

As long as us veterans are not charge for our VA Health Care...then its Free. 

 

jmo

............Buck

[jbasser]

If the VA bills your private insurance and you are part of a special program like 112/shad or other issue or are billing your insurance for any service connected treatment, or medicine for that treatment then the VA is defrauding your insurance company and they need to be locked up for it. That is larceny. They do this all of the time. If insurance companies would wake up and realize they are getting stripped by the VA they they would do something but they don't realize the scope of the problem. Could be billions of money. Besides this makes your private rates go up.