View Full Version : Veterans Choice Card
I went up to the mail box...found a real official, first class letter from the VA...I thought, O, ****, I've been filing against them for my brothers death for years, the last time with Sen. Claire McCaskill, that went nowhere ( I'm sure to vote for her again, yeah right)
So I open it up and its a 2 page letter with the veterans choice card and a bunch of crap about what I have to do to use the card.
Now I'm OK with the VA lately, I'm not forgetting about the times in the 70's when they ****ed my Nam buddy Tracey over and he checked out or when I was having problems and thinking about it, but that was 30 years ago and my last hearing aids are great, my ears still ring different warbles and I sometimes dream of the Nam but after this long, I wake up and don't give a ****.....well actually I do take a ****.
So back to the choice card....this is a great example of what's wrong in the VA management ....How about a post card, call us if you need us....this first class mail with the card attached probably cost's more than it would cost to reach out and save the lives of many of our new brother and sisters from the devils that claimed many of them after they came back to the home of the free and the brave.
Oh, I forgot, the guy who hooked me onto these new hearing aids was a contractor. The VA guy who reviewed it said he spent too much.....same old ****.
Marine1955
12-22-14, 12:47 PM
That VA card is worthless !!!!!
I tried to use it and got no where.. When I got it they told me I could go to my own doctor and They said If the doc. agrees to there payment I could go there.. So I tried, and they said no they had to all the leg work and they Guarantee me they could get me in ,in 5 days.
I was standing at the office counter and the office ladies all heard her say I promise I can get you in, in 5 days and they all said no way.. I had made the appointment 3 mouths prior to the card and so when I asked them would it be OK they said no and then she said we can get you in ,in 5 day I told her that's not going to happen cause this is a small town and not a large city like her city.. But she was still saying I can get you in,in 5 days. When the Office Secretary told her there's no way she argued with her ,and I told her she was full of chit!!
That card is worthless as tits on a Marine!!!!!!!!
I kind of figured that. The card is the result of the congressional hearings and bad press about all of the vets who died waiting for appiontmants that they never got. So the VA spends millions issuing a card to every disabled vet thats worthless because they make up a bunch or rules that no private provider can satisfy or even understand. The VA is great at that kind of scam and the ****'s going to keep on and vets are going to keep on dying waiting for care until the government wakes up and closes down all of the VA healthcare facilities and gives every disabled vet a card thatthey can simply take to a real doctor of healthcare provider and get real help just like we do with medicare. Don't hold your breath though.
repeat after me
you can keep your health care plan.
you can keep your doctor...
you have to pass this bill to see what's inside this bill.
*WE love you L O N G T I M E , GI....
Don't be so critical, Ed. This country is at the bottom of the quality of healthcare and at the top of the prices and the wages of doctors and the profits of healthcare facilities. I'm not an Obama fan but it would be nice to have the same type of healthcare as the rest of the civilized world. I saw a med that I'm taking go up 5000% in the last 3 months. Now tell me we don't need some kind of controls on this kind of ****.
SGT7477
12-22-14, 09:13 PM
Just got mine today, says right on the card temporary program, then it also says, This card does not provide pre-approval. Veterans may be liable for the cost of care that is not pre-approved, what a crock of ****, Semper Fidelis.
Tony
for the past 40 some odd years, i've been paying
for health care- one type or another.
Union policies , private policies, Cobra payments
yada yada yada yada....
IF you couldn't tell GOVERNMENT was making
a POWER move that had little - IF- anything - to do
with or about health care... Other than what they
were saying to get the Camels nose into the tent...
You'd better go hang out with Carvy.....
He's looking again this year under that pile of
HorseTurds/CurbApples for the Pony they''ve
convinced him he's getting for Christmas...
Have you noticed ,,,
Obama and his Companions , still have't given
accurate numbers as to how many people
are now covered by the Affordable Health Care Act..
They're singin' and dancin' and you keep dancin'
with them along to their music...
Merry Christmas Brothers...
and
Semper Fidelis Marines...
Marine1955
01-08-15, 11:08 AM
Update,,,
Got a call from Sen. Pat Robertson Office about the " card " and they wanted know why I was so pi**ed about the card,so I told them what had happened .
So they called the V.A. about the card and the V.A. was under the same assumption I thought the card was meant for and they got upset also. So they called the head office of the company and they said no and said that a person is suppose to call them prior to wanting to make an appointment and I told them when they called I had made this appointment before I received the card and they said since I had made it prior to the card then I could keep the card and it would be OK for me.
I told them how the receptionist was such a Bit#h, and they said will have a talk to them all about how to have better relationships with a client who calls for the next time someone calls..
jack1227
02-07-15, 10:25 AM
PLEASE settle down guys, it's not worth the stress and aggravation you're giving it. I got my card yesterday and I read it carefully, here's my observations:
1. Even though I moved over 1 year ago and advised every VA and TRICARE/EXPRESS SCRIPTS contact I had that I was moving more than 1 month before I moved this letter was sent to my old address. WOW, now I've got to send another letter to this place in Columbia, S.C.
2. My letter had 3 pages, one of which was an expensive sheet in which the "Veterans Choice Card Temporary Program". I urge everyone to read this card closely because it clearly says it doesn't provide for "pre-approval" and provides a phone number to call to get that authorization.
3. The card is of no use to me personally because I'm a 100%, combat wounded Marine from the Vietnam era. It does seem the VA could have saved some money by doing a simple search of all the guys like myself and eliminated them from this mailing, HOWEVER, I would dollars to donuts that most vets who didn't get the letter would call to complain and ask "why?"
4. Having had to deal with VA since 1968 I've learned to have a lot of patience and not expect much at all and that's the advice I want to pass on to all the younger vets.
Mongoose
02-07-15, 10:57 AM
More and more VN Vets are starting to use their Medicare instead of the VA. Several on LN have finally got their issues taken care of through Medicare.
Marine1955
02-07-15, 11:52 AM
I"m using me Medicare plus Humana Plus..
Old Marine
02-07-15, 08:04 PM
I retired in 1973 and use Medicare and Prime For Life and I received one of those cards about a month ago. I put it in my drawer as it is of no value to me. They sure did waste some funds by sending me one when someone else might have had a use for it.
Riven37
02-08-15, 09:21 AM
I got one too first you will need to call that 1-800 # to see if you qualify for this benefit if you are you then can go outside the VA system to a regular hospital for health care however, you will be responsible to all cost you incurred.
Like myself a disabled Vet I will stick with the VA I see my medical doc once every 6-8 months for my heart and diabetes. Otherwise would I change after all these years 44 years to be exact.
This card is the patching due to the tons of veterans backlogs.
The card is a typical VA scam. Our vets will never get real care until we close up all of the VA facilities and allow our vets to get the same care that the rest of our citizens get at local hospitals and clinics
I have cancer. I have been lied to by the VA. A month ago I was told by my PCP that my request to use the Choice program had been denied. Today I found that a request had never been submitted
I have cancer. I have been lied to by the VA. A month ago I was told by my PCP that my request to use the Choice program had been denied. Today I found that a request had never been submitted. I contacted Choice. They informed me that they are not responsible for determining whether or not a person is eligible to use the program. I was told by them that the my local VA clinic does that. I then called the local clinic and they told me that they do not make the determination, that the VA in Cleveland does. I called them, they told me that they don't do that and that someone else does. I called them...etc. till I have made a complete circle, back to where I started. No one will take responsibility, therefore no one is accountable. So much for the Accountability Act. In the meantime, I guess it is my problem, according to my primary ' nurse. I have done the calling and contacting. It doesn't work because they are not accountable.
Here is my story: I went to the local VA clinics because of pain in my throat and ear. My primary found nothing, upon examination, and said he's wanted to send me all the way to Cleveland (Wade Park) to see a specialist. I told him that I wanted to use the choice program and see a local specialist. He laughed at me. When I asked him why he was laughing, he said that nobody ever gets approved to use that program. I told him to make the request anyway. I then paid out of pocket for a second opinion at a local ENT specialist. After he performed the same examination, he told me that I had a what looked like a tumor the size of an almond in my throat where my tonsils had been, and there was a good possibility that it could be cancerous. So he scheduled me for a CT scan. When I got home, I immediately called my primary at the clinic and told his nurse what had occurred. I then asked about my request. He informed me that it was denied and if I did not use the hospital in Cleveland, then that was my problem. When it is determined that I do, in fact, have cancer, does the VA expect me to travel to Cleveland for any subsequent surgery and treatments? I guess my primary was right. This program is a joke. After calling numerous VA offices and the Choice program people, no one will claim the responsibility for denying my request. Now I find out from my patient advocate that my primary didn't even submitted the request. This is total BS.
Since then, I have paid out of pocket for the local ENT specialist, the CT scan, the biopsy, the pain meds, and am currently scheduled for radiation treatments at Mercy Medical Center Radiaton / Oncology. I'm probably going to have to sell my truck and sell our home because the VA won't step up and do the right thing.
wmraley
09-02-15, 11:40 PM
I,m in the same boat with cancer & Live about 55 miles from a VA Hospital Getting the treatment I have to have, it's a constant battle with the VA I,m 100% Agent orange and have o be preappoved for eyery type of treatment I receive, They try every trick that they know to prevent me from getting the treatment I have to have, Just had to vent They need to shape up or ship out they are worst tha a insurance company
29palms
09-03-15, 08:05 AM
I'm with you HST. I absolutely agree with what you say about our medical situation here in the USA. Sorry to hear about that choice card. I've heard about it, thought it was a convenient thing for veterans but wow, you've opened up my eyes on that one.
FistFu68
09-03-15, 09:44 AM
4 what it's Worth...my VA claim # goes back 2...Dec 1968...it was opened by the Convenience of the Govt 'cause I surely didn't do it...Fast 4ward 2...2015...only words of Wisdom I can give the Young Grasshoppers whom are Veterans & dealing w/these C**K Suckers "VA" the Wheel that makes the Most noise gets the Grease ! GodSpeed 2 ya...Sempers