I've been with the VA care system for about ten years now, prior to that I was with Kaiser, but switched when my Kaiser bill was at $950 a month plus copays before the ACA went into affect. That $950 a month was my part, my wife's was an additional $900 a month.
For years the VA was as good as Kaiser had been. Basically anything I needed checked out was done within a week or so, I had sleep apnea testing, a couple of MRI's, lots of blood work, physical therapy, a neurologic specialist for neuropathy, upper GI, a basel cell cancer removed, etc. Doctor appointments were within a week and the followup tests and procedures were usually well within a month.
Now an appointment with my new doctor that I have not seen is out at almost three months. I called and asked for a phone consultation to go over things that cannot wait that long like a reoccurrence of a basel cell cancer. a sleep apnea test was going to be five months out so they asked if I wanted a local provider doing it. They did a "virtual" picture of the cancer to go over to the dermatology department and get that going. My eye doctor appointments have been picked up by a local optometrist. These private doctors and procedures cost vastly more than it costs the VA to simply increase staff and infrastructure department by department. The short coming in performance responsiveness is due to downsizing and cutting back funding and personnel, and I can guarantee you that the privatization is not saving any money.
The civilian agency that provides appointment referrals is an example of seriously stupid money being spent just on the referral process, they get somewhere around $200 simply for contacting the patient, finding a doctor, and setting up a referral appointment. I have paid for eye doctors for prescriptions for contacts and glasses, and I can guarantee you that the doctor bills the VA system far more than I would have to pay if I went as an uninsured person paying for my own appointment.
One of the things I couldn't help notice was that while the VA was downsizing on doctors and staff, the hospital was going through an extensive remodeling project. This was a military base hospital that was converted to a VA hospital when the base was decommissioned and privatized, so it was admittedly military ugly, but who cares if the care and service is excellent? They gutted the lobby, changed entrances, and made the inside and outside much better looking. That is a prioritization that would serve a move toward privatization and turning hospitals and facilities over to private corporations, which they will pay for with pennies on the dollar.
Meanwhile the process of heading the VA toward privatization moves full speed ahead.
Under President Trumps new spending plan the Dept of Veteran affairs budget will increase by 13%. It is not expected to pass in the House do to Democrats opposition.
woodguru wrote:
I've been with the VA care system for about ten years now, prior to that I was with Kaiser, but switched when my Kaiser bill was at $950 a month plus copays before the ACA went into affect. That $950 a month was my part, my wife's was an additional $900 a month.
For years the VA was as good as Kaiser had been. Basically anything I needed checked out was done within a week or so, I had sleep apnea testing, a couple of MRI's, lots of blood work, physical therapy, a neurologic specialist for neuropathy, upper GI, a basel cell cancer removed, etc. Doctor appointments were within a week and the followup tests and procedures were usually well within a month.
Now an appointment with my new doctor that I have not seen is out at almost three months. I called and asked for a phone consultation to go over things that cannot wait that long like a reoccurrence of a basel cell cancer. a sleep apnea test was going to be five months out so they asked if I wanted a local provider doing it. They did a "virtual" picture of the cancer to go over to the dermatology department and get that going. My eye doctor appointments have been picked up by a local optometrist. These private doctors and procedures cost vastly more than it costs the VA to simply increase staff and infrastructure department by department. The short coming in performance responsiveness is due to downsizing and cutting back funding and personnel, and I can guarantee you that the privatization is not saving any money.
The civilian agency that provides appointment referrals is an example of seriously stupid money being spent just on the referral process, they get somewhere around $200 simply for contacting the patient, finding a doctor, and setting up a referral appointment. I have paid for eye doctors for prescriptions for contacts and glasses, and I can guarantee you that the doctor bills the VA system far more than I would have to pay if I went as an uninsured person paying for my own appointment.
One of the things I couldn't help notice was that while the VA was downsizing on doctors and staff, the hospital was going through an extensive remodeling project. This was a military base hospital that was converted to a VA hospital when the base was decommissioned and privatized, so it was admittedly military ugly, but who cares if the care and service is excellent? They gutted the lobby, changed entrances, and made the inside and outside much better looking. That is a prioritization that would serve a move toward privatization and turning hospitals and facilities over to private corporations, which they will pay for with pennies on the dollar.
Meanwhile the process of heading the VA toward privatization moves full speed ahead.
I've been with the VA care system for about ten ye... (
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Maybe they just don't like you?
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