VA Dental Care

More Veterans May Get Dental Care If Bernie Sanders Legislation Passes

Legislation proposed by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) would expand dental care to all veterans eligible for VA health care.

Under Bernie Sander’s legislation, VA would receive funding to create a three-year pilot program to test out the idea that providing dental care to veterans will improve overall health and welfare of those veterans. It also expands dental care to veterans with toxic exposures as well as those in need of restorative care.

“The goal of my legislation is really pretty simple: to improve and expand access to dental care for veterans throughout the country,” said Sanders, who is a longtime member and former chair of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. “Today, millions of veterans have access to timely, high-quality health care through the VA.  However, very few of these veterans have access to dental care through the VA. To my mind, this doesn’t make sense. The evidence is very clear that a person’s oral health is directly linked to a person’s general health.”

“If a person has oral health problems – problems with their teeth or their gums – those problems can cause serious diseases and illnesses, everything from heart disease to premature births,” Sanders said.

The proposed legislation would also allow veterans to receive restorative care. “That means if the VA pulls a veteran’s tooth to prepare them for surgery, they will be able to then furnish the veteran with dentures or implants. We know that missing teeth can have a huge impact on a person’s life. It can affect their mental health, their ability to get or keep a job, or – quite simply – make it hard for them to eat,” Sanders said.

The legislation would require VA to build a new dental clinic in any state that lacks such an agency facility.

“This draft legislation would also provide the Secretary with the authority to construct or lease a dental clinic for any state that does not currently have a VA facility that offers dental services. The VFW finds this to be incredibly important, as veterans must have access to dental care and they should not have to cross state lines to obtain that care,” Gerald Manar, former director of the National Veterans Service at the Veterans of Foreign Wars, said in his written testimony.

“Right now, there are veterans out there who are suffering because Congress hasn’t made sure that our laws have kept pace with the medical community,” Sanders said. “I think we owe it to our veterans to right this wrong. We owe it to veterans to make sure the VA is leading the way.”

I know a ton of veterans have struggled securing dental care since the general receipt of those benefits are dependent on local policies and whether the veteran has a dental or jaw injury of some kind. Now, the new legislation, if it passes, would greatly expand the help many veterans need to maintain their health and healthy smiles.

Source: https://www.vermontbiz.com/news/2018/august/01/senate-hearing-held-sanders%E2%80%99-legislation-expand-dental-care-veterans

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79 Comments

  1. cj ¯¯̿̿¯̿̿’̿̿̿̿̿̿̿’̿̿’̿̿̿̿̿’̿̿̿)͇̿̿)̿̿̿̿ ‘̿̿̿̿̿̿\̵͇̿̿\=(•̪̀●́)=o/̵͇̿̿/’̿̿ ̿ ̿̿ says:

    I think I am going to open a new trucking company.
    On the side of my truck I will write:
    ______________________________________________________
    Two republicans with a truck
    Helping liberal celebrities move out of the country permanently.
    Why two republicans with a truck?
    Because you just can’t find two democrats with a truck willing to work.
    ==============@@=====================================@====

    I think it will be a big hit.

    1. Good luck with that Cj, hope you know another Constitutional Republic believing “Republican” healthy and not afraid of sweat or work. Or won’t weep when their sports or entertainer anti-American type idols or gods move out.

      Beware the hate. It’s alive and well in Indiana and our Draconian Marx college towns of filth and corruption. Oh and we are colored a “red state.” How funny. Pity the commies own all local, state and MSM news so the truth won’t come out much.

      Hell, my T-shirt will read… “will work for pain meds.” lol

      Can’t even get parents here to allow their kids to shovel snow. They get ‘so cold’ and ‘wet.’ Or they want to charge $100 bucks for 18 foot of path way. Work ethics, common decent expectations and common sense I think have left the nation.

      There again I live in a NWO global lefty community full of non-sense, corruption, and filled with people, VA or not, with those like Sarah Jeong. Here they hide it better… until the cameras and minutes of meetings are off.
      NYC names street after racist mass killer; “Tucker Carlson” takes on NY Times racist editor
      “https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4i8Zit6cys&feature=em-uploademail”

      1. cj ¯¯̿̿¯̿̿’̿̿̿̿̿̿̿’̿̿’̿̿̿̿̿’̿̿̿)͇̿̿)̿̿̿̿ ‘̿̿̿̿̿̿\̵͇̿̿\=(•̪̀●́)=o/̵͇̿̿/’̿̿ ̿ ̿̿ says:

        LOL Oldmarine, we’re to late.

        “https://pics.me.me/two-republicans-and-a-truck-helping-liberals-move-to-canada-23983652.png”

  2. The U.S. government is awash with foreign citizens—Israeli citizens. And if you don’t think that Israel is exerting tremendous influence over the decisions, policies and wars of the United States, you are hopelessly naïve.
    It is absurd that people who are citizens of foreign nations would be allowed to hold public office in the United States—or, at the very least, would not be required by law to disclose those foreign citizenships and recuse themselves from any vote or decision involving the countries in which they hold citizenship, as Michael Hager opined above. Senator Ted Cruz and Rep. Michele Bachmann were right to renounce their foreign citizenships (Canada and Switzerland respectively), albeit they both served several years in Congress as dual citizens and both surrendered their foreign citizenships only after receiving media backlash for it during their respective presidential campaigns.
    More at…”https://anationbeguiled.wordpress.com/2018/08/03/08-03-18-our-government-is-awash-with-foreign-citizens/”

    And everyone of those 545 traitors signed a agreement with AIPAC A foreign government lobbyist firm
    Nothing but outright Bribery

    1. “https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2018/08/03/americans-live-in-a-world-of-lies/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=americans_live_in_a_world_of_lies&utm_term=2018-08-03”

      “https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2018/08/03/noam-chomsky-russia-isnt-influencing-us-elections-but-israel-definitely-is/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=noam_chomsky_russia_isn_t_influencing_us_elections_but_israel_definitely_is&utm_term=2018-08-03”

      “https://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/loneliness-is-at-epidemic-levels-and-this-is-the-number-one-reason/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=loneliness-is-at-epidemic-levels-and-this-is-the-number-one-reason”

      “https://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/left-wing-media-literally-driving-americans-into-mass-mental-illness-psychiatrists-baffled/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=left-wing-media-literally-driving-americans-into-mass-mental-illness-psychiatrists-baffled”

      There is enough info out there that shows ALL the obvious issues with the VA or today’s modern health care systems and being corrupt to the core. It’s all cover-up, lies, distractions, false studies, the list is endless. We are supposed to be in the info age but then censored by all those who hate truth or local issues to make everything look positive like with the VA crap, unions, globalism, the censoring, while telling us not recording in a court house or court is for our own safety??? If we try to record at the VA we are breaking some laws and have to get prior permission from everyone we see or treats us even if they are caught red-handed playing politics and the retaliation game? Oh, “we are from the government, we are from the VA and here to help you, how can we help you?” Barf.

      I think I’ve proven that I live in a state akin to living in the Gaza Strip, the USSR, under complete fascist corrupt rule. To why ol’ Trumpster has picked so many from here and other Marxist like Nikki Haley to fill his admin with, plus his nepotism that just like here ruins the works from the start. Even some students around here I have discussed matters with can’t wait to graduate and get out of this God forsaken state and social engineering college town and state.

      With all the un-reported news and battles going on I think the only thing left to do is bitch, play activist, Keep repeating like the enemies do, hope for the best and wait for everything to implode or us turned into a huge FEMA camp like they are doing with schools using IDF trained personnel and pretending we live in a free country with folks thinking we get “quality care” or whatever we need from the VA. Which is total bull too thanks to lying news and a totally corrupt community. But let’s not piss off the media people or some talking head singing Kumbahya or call them out on their lies and propaganda. It will bring their family, the mafias, foreigners, and everything else down on our heads. Truth and reality is not wanted and the peeps want to be spoon-fed info or told what to believe and who to attack for PC or sacred cow’s sakes.

  3. @ Oldmarine,
    Bless you! I know with the game of Political Apprentice reigning in DC it seems futile to keep up with who is who, but Paul Ryan is the SoH. As far as weeding out in Congress, look at the voting block and what appeals to them… Are any of the students still required to take American Government in HS? Are they actually paying any attention? Is the teacher teaching the specifics or just telling the students to read the book for an “easy A”? Keep in mind, the next group of voters has likely never been taught cursive!

  4. What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The President can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

    The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? John Boehner. He is the leader of the majority party. He and fellow House members, not the President, can approve any budget they want. If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

    It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts — of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can’t think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

    If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair.

    If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red.
    If the Army & Marines are in Iraq and Afghanistan it’s because they want them in Iraq and Afghanistan.

    If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it’s because they want it that way.

    There are no insoluble government problems.

    More at….”https://ncrenegade.com/editorial/545-vs-300000000-people/”

    1. Oldmarine, one great find.

      Per article… “think it’s funny?” Too many do on many levels and about too many issues.

      How many hits did the vet get that is paralyzed compared to the ones over ugly Kardashian’s butt get or some other nonsense in the hundreds of millions? I think the only way left is for the country to collapse like every activist and Marxist and foreigners desire. Go through it’s white man/Constitution hating civil wars that is wanted by Maxine Waters, college cliques, the “Socialist,” Obummer from Kenya, and many others to numerous to list. Waters like Hillary, Madonna, and others aren’t in jail for crimes or instigating riots and calling for harm to others who don’t bow to their group think and fascism? Just like their ilk get by with crap here in Indiana, anyone, everything, everyone, and college towns due to mere politics and wanting to destroy all others to have their way. Townies and others just sit by and watch fearing involvement, etc. American? Justice? Common decency? Kick the cans down the road for the ignorant mis-led vets and youth to deal with in their time like what happened to us hated “baby boomers.”

      Some on this board think it’s funny for another AMERICAN to be under full attack, oppressed, ignored, denied health care, deal with the town’s elected and media over their mob/mafia/fascist rule and much more by a town full of so-called Democrats who are fully in charge of things. “Proud to be Socialist?” Some see what all that means including the censoring, no real journalism, ignorance of facts, propaganda, not having trust in those we are supposed to be protected and represented by. Can’t trust LEOs, courts, health care people, down a very long list of what I call today…. corrupt anti-American communist, Cultural Marxist (+), secretive societies, cliques and traitors, pure and simple. The so-called right wing party or moderates just sit by and do nothing including all VSOs, Congress, media, the whole sheebang. This includes all those in this state top to bottom. Just over VA covering-up for their lefty union/staff/ teammate protecting their comrades then on it goes to full blown reasoning being pure politics, shows of power and retaliation then on it grows.

      Bottom line is “socialism” doesn’t work which the VA, medicare, medicaid and other crap is. The negatives aren’t allowed to be discussed or how it ruined Europe and beyond with other social issues, rape, murder, bring home around 30% of work pay to cover the cost for “Socialist styled” living. Plus the loss of rights, censoring, fascism, treating people like me the way they do in ‘merica.’ Oh and no real decent dialog to have about any of it or our many issues… but let’s force in more Marxism or Israeli rule. Ahhh Congress is voting to allow Isra-hell to get their daily billions so to hell with Americans and vets.

      Oops more to come about Wednesday in corrupt Hoosier land.

      1. Truck sign results from an expected short run to a store just south of the local CBOC in high shopping time.

        The first was the reason I mentioned the issue of “sexual re-assignment” or having such done easier than getting my needs met. In their fifties two females approached like others and asked about my sign and anti-VA stickers. I gave them a brief history. I was informed they were “Marx-Feminist,” not only that but the new “Marx-Fem-Chauvenist Movement.” If they encountered issues or mistreatment at the VA they’d ‘raise hell and got no retribution from it ever.’ That it was time to get rid of all male staff, professionals, any workers, corporate leaders, anything, everything, with all females to improve the world. It’s time for women to control the works. They also informed me seriously unless jerking my chain said the the VA, supporters, groups, were traveling to a VA out of state for both to have “re-assignment’ surgeries. Very costly, painful, time consuming I was informed. Okay, good for them. More power to ya. The man hating has been brewing for years. Pleasant enough conversation for them being lefties and man haters.

        Two vets with two different stories about VA care but both have not had any issues with getting their pain meds and one has shown dirty on tests more than once. One got “quality in-home care,” visiting nurses, in-home therapies using the VA combined with Medicare set up by the VA, while the other did not when needed but again no issue with pain meds but did not get the home care needed nor in-home phys therapy after falling out of a tree. Both had the same ratings and such. Why the different treatment between them, myself and group, and among others in state or out of state?

        Had to jump in the vehicle to cool off in the heat. Here comes an older gent knocking on the window. Said he knew exactly what I was going through and he knows of many fearful vets locally who don’t want involved or left the VA or CBOC. Being treated differently than many others. And he knows for a fact some he knew died from game playing, being rushed through appointments, change in PCPs, or med changing. He too went bankrupt and was told his VA disability was NOT exempt from his medical bill bankruptcy. Plus hit on a subject I forget to mention like after a bankruptcy here your property is automatically inspected by your insurance company, and if one thing doesn’t meet with their approval or needs whatever or as simple as it is…or may need a new roof not because it’s worn out but not new enough looking….or a home is not sided with vinyl to improve looks/values… property insurance is cancelled, whatever improvements must be made to increase the cost of the home and looks on ‘campus’ before any other higher priced insurance company will cover them. No money, not healthy enough to home improve, tough shit. Nice gotcha game going there for the ‘professional’ country club pukes huh? Kick em when they’re down tactics for greed and Martha Stewart campus town socialist/fascist approved living. Keep the outside of things looking manicured and perfect while everything inside locally… rots, corrupts, decays. Sweet. Corruption and unethical practices by local attorneys must be remarkbly rampant and all consuming to protect… the local socialist fascist greedy all mighty machine.

        The next one is a doozy besides the others conversation that didn’t evolve into much besides being told they refuse to vote locally due to no-one to vote for other than Democrats, socialist, and those family mafias that rule here. Also speaks volumes about a corrupt college town and why the majority here refuse to vote and too afraid to speak out.

        The doozy is a guy and his nursing student son came up with their cell phone to show me the up-coming inserts into the medical professions and others like they are doing here already wanting to fill certain fields and certain … cough cough… hospitals and health care with. This documentary is supposed to be on the Starz or Showtime, forgot which, that shows high a school in California like here more or less demanding less white people be in the professional fields. “It’s all designed to promote white people not immigrants, the slaves, or minorities, the oppressed and forgotten’ supposedly. They want to reduce grade points and averages, expectations to graduate, to get into medical schools, or get higher positions they claim is racist and needs filled with immigrants, DACA people, people of color etc. Not white people regardless of their ability. If they want the positions it should be given to them regardless of grades, ability, IQ, since everything in America is or was built for white’s and priviledged only. More divisive BS and lies.

        No surprise but the son said he knows of others that could not pass testing like nursing math skills or antatomy even but grades were fudged to allow them to pass and given scholarships that were not rightfully earned. Just done to fill quotas, to get what I call the mafia family members into positions, nepotism, the perks of high society, the connections. Possibilities to marry up with high dollar MDs and pros. Who pays from this crap? We do in poor patient care and activism instead of ‘quality health care.’ If he knew me well enough he stated that he could tell me stories that would spin my head around in the same hospital I have been dealing with.

        Kinda like a retired nurse I know and well, used to work there saying she knows a lot of stories she could tell me but she’s kinda sworn to secrecy and doesn’t want to let her nursing academy and sorority sisters down. Right. She also said all they were doing is harmful gossip and character assassination due to local politics and stepping on some wrong toes plus contacting those who are supposed to help but actually are part of the many problems. Guess I am not the first one that has gone through this. Those are tidbits from a totally corrupt global socialist NWO village. Corporate or socialist those corrupt at the top and in power benefit more while the tax serfs and non-conformist pay big time. Or are allowed to be persecuted, left to suffer, community shunned, burnt out, or left to die without health care or representation in a Constitutional Republic they hate so much. So great living in a Bernie, Hillary, or Obama village. Fantastic.

      2. HOW DONALD TRUMP WAS COMPROMISED
        “https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKe32JerYws”

      3. Oldmarine, that’s another one I didn’t get notified of. And it is another very good one. Then we are supposed to just jump on everyone’s band wagon and not be critical of any or do our own research? Just let them all walk over us. Not me. I don’t drink city water, trust academia, or drink any others home-made Kool-Aid.

  5. @ Seymore,
    Re your response to WyldeChylde this morning: I can see exactly what you mean. I know of a significant facility that has recently remodelled to install a much needed specialty clinic for veteran health with a highly qualified in that specialty physician on staff, and that person is there to perform only ONE proceedure. For a couple of years now, that whole specialty clinic has had no other purpose at this time. So, that would definately illustrate to your point, that VHA could install dental specialty clinics with a highly qualified D.D.S. on station daily and whose only purpose is to supervise dental hygenists! The veteran is in another never ending loop of wondering why they cannot get at the very least a filling, and of course, no one is allowed to explain the facade!

  6. cj ¯¯̿̿¯̿̿’̿̿̿̿̿̿̿’̿̿’̿̿̿̿̿’̿̿̿)͇̿̿)̿̿̿̿ ‘̿̿̿̿̿̿\̵͇̿̿\=(•̪̀●́)=o/̵͇̿̿/’̿̿ ̿ ̿̿ says:

    Bernie Sanders health care plan, would cost an estimated 32.6 trillion.
    And who the fuck is going to pay for that? Stop bringing pipe fucking dreams to the table. If you think a politicians whos lips are flappin it being honest? I have a new plan to sell you, that will stop killing Veterans….Bernie Sander B.S. enough said.

  7. Stratton VA Medical Center

    “Capital Region doctor accused of unlawfully distributing controlled substances”
    by Emily DeFeciani, Thursday, July 19th 2018

    “TROY, N.Y. (WRGB) – “I am baffled at all this, actually. When I read the story, I couldn’t even believe it.”

    Speaking over the phone, Lisa explains she found out Thursday her psychiatrist, Dr. Adrian Morris, has been arrested and charged with prescribing drugs for no legitimate medical purpose.

    Lisa says she wants to keep her patient confidentiality, which is why CBS6 is keeping her identity anonymous.

    She says she’s been seeing Morris for treatment for the last year for anxiety and depression.

    “I thought he was extremely helpful and nice,” Lisa said.

    Lisa says she saw Morris at Upstate Physician Services in Troy.

    On the organization’s website, Morris’ bio reads that he previously served at the Stratton VA Medical Center, Samaritan Hospital in Troy, and Four Winds in Saratoga.

    The 61-year-old psychiatrist specializes in addiction recovery.

    According to a criminal complaint, Morris dispensed Xanax, Adderall, and Suboxone to at least one patient in exchange for sex.

    “When you cross those boundaries, you are in a realm that should not ever be crossed with any professional,” Lisa said.

    Morris is also accused of writing prescriptions for people he never treated.”

    Full Article At: “https://cbs6albany.com/news/local/clifton-park-doctor-accused-of-exchanging-medication-for-sex”

  8. VA employee charged with child molestation in Lake County
    By ABC FOX MT News Staff
    Posted: Jul 26, 2018 10:28 AM CDT

    “Spokane’s Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center has begun the process of firing an employee who was arrested and charged with sexual assault in Lake County.

    According to the Clerk of Court at Lake County, MT, Frank D. Paulsen is charged with two counts of felony sexual assault. In 2016, Paulsen said in an interview with Spokane station KHQ that he was an Operations Manager for the Spokane VA’s surgery department.

    Spokane VA spokesman Bret Bowers confirmed with KHQ that they are aware that a Spokane employee is charged in the Montana criminal case. Bowers then sent a statement on behalf of the Department of Veterans Affairs:

    “This behavior is not in line with the norms and values of the department, and as a result VA has initiated the process for termination of this employee. VA has made clear that it will hold employees accountable when they to fail to live up to the high standards taxpayers expect from us, and that’s exactly what we’re doing in this case.”

    Paulsen was arrested this week, booked into jail and then released.

    Court documents from Lake County charge Paulsen with sexual assault for molesting a young boy during incidents that took place between 2002 and 2013. The incidents began at a home in St. Ignatius, documents say.

    Paulsen is the second Mann-Grandstaff employee who has faced sex crime charges. Craig Morgenstern, an emergency room doctor at the VA, was convicted of nearly three dozen counts of sex abuse and child porn charges. Morgenstern was sentenced to life in prison in 2016.”

    Full Article At: “https://www.abcfoxmontana.com/story/38740896/va-employee-charged-with-child-molestation-in-lake-county”

  9. 4 Veterans Affairs Dental interns arrested in Las Vegas for gang rape July 28th, 2018
    See below:

    “Four Dentists Arrested, Accused of Rape at Las Vegas Hotel”
    By Warner Todd Hudson, August 2nd, 2018

    “Four dentists from California have been arrested and accused of raping a woman in a hotel on the Las Vegas strip, according to reports.

    Las Vegas police arrested Ali Badkoobehi, Saman Edalat, Sina Edalat, and Poria Edalat — all in their thirties — and charged them with raping a woman at the Wynn Las Vegas hotel on July 28, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

    The suspects are all registered as licensed dentists in Southern California, according to the Dental Board of the State of California, and were allegedly in Vegas to celebrate Poria Edalat’s birthday.

    The victim told police that she met Badkoobehi in a casino on Saturday and accepted his invitation to go to his room for a drink. She also noted that the man became amorous even on the way to the room. Once they got to Badkoobehi’s room, she claimed that he immediately began pawing her in a hotel room chair. Then the other three suspects entered the room.

    The police report says that the victim claimed she tried to resist, “but she was too intoxicated and overwhelmed because of how many people were attacking her and she could not fight back.”

    The report adds that one man kept watch in the hallway while the others attacked her even as she “begged for them to stop, asking to leave.”

    Police also say that a medical exam tends to support the woman’s claims of a violent attack.

    The suspects were booked into the Clark County Detention Center. Badkoobehi was booked on three charges of sexual assault while the other three were hit with two counts each of sexual assault. All four also face one count each of first-degree kidnapping and one count each of conspiracy to commit sexual assault.

    Full Article at: “https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/08/02/four-dentists-arrested-accused-of-rape-at-las-vegas-hotel/”

    ******************************
    Confrimation of VA Connection At: “https://www.zoominfo.com/p/Ali-Badkoobehi/-1217740859”

    Ali Badkoobehi Resident at Department of Veterans Affairs
    Location: 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, United States
    Company: Department of Veterans Affairs
    HQ Phone: (800) 827-1000

  10. Got to say, love the way some of the power struggles goes on at Ben’s site. Solves everything, only in the best interests of a few. That’s how it’s played ladies and gentlemen. Out for their own best interests, and hard to ride out with another until a victory is in sight, and possible to secure. Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.

  11. “Investigation underway into 133 Veterans Affairs nursing homes”
    Published: 12:57 PM EDT July 18, 2018
    Updated: 8:57 AM EDT July 18, 2018

    Video News Report at: “https://www.13newsnow.com/video/news/military/investigation-underway-into-133-veterans-affairs-nursing-homes/291-8193045”

  12. Doctor sentenced to prison for scamming federal veterans program
    Updated Aug 1, 4:05 PM; Posted Aug 1, 4:00 PM
    By Gianluca D’Elia, For NJ dot com

    “A cardiologist who pleaded guilty to scamming the federal Department of Veterans Affairs was sentenced to 20 months in prison, the U.S. District Attorney’s office announced Tuesday.

    Apostolos Voudouris, a Somerset physician who specializes in cardiology and electrophysiology, admitted that on more than 350 occasions between 2011 and 2015, he submitted documentation to Veterans Affairs, claiming he performed procedures that never actually happened, the attorney’s office said.

    He pleaded guilty in August 2017 to federal health care fraud.

    As a result, Voudouris, 44, fraudulently received $238,320, for which he now has to pay restitution to the federal program.

    As part of his plea agreement, he also has to pay $476,460 in a civil settlement with the government, for a total payback of $714,690.

    In addition to his prison term, Voudouris was sentenced to two years of supervised release and a $7,500 fine.”

    Full article at: “https://www.nj.com/somerset/index.ssf/2018/08/doctor_sentenced_to_prison_for_scamming_federal_ve.html”

  13. VA opposes bill calling for pilot program to test patient data device
    By Greg Slabodkin, Published August 02 2018, 7:14am EDT

    “The Department of Veterans Affairs is opposed to proposed legislation that would require the agency to conduct a pilot program providing patients with a new device—the size of a credit card—to access their personal health information and share it with providers inside and outside of the VA.

    The Modernization of Medical Records Access for Veterans Act, sponsored by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), would also require the VA to conduct a full and open acquisition and award a contract within 120 days of enactment of the legislation, as well as establish a one-year pilot in at least one Veterans Integrated Services Network.

    However, Paul Lawrence, undersecretary for benefits at the VA’s Veterans Benefits Administration, told senators on Wednesday that the agency does not support the bill as it is written because the VA currently has technologies that support interoperable patient health information exchange nationwide.”

    Full Article At: “https://www.healthdatamanagement.com/news/va-opposes-bill-calling-for-pilot-program-to-test-patient-data-device”

    ***************

    Looking like Paul Lawrence, the VA’s new undersecretary of benefits it a total shit stain at the VA.

  14. Homeless quadriplegic veteran living outside VA struggles to get healthcare
    By: Deedee Sun
    Updated: Aug 1, 2018 – 7:41 PM

    “A Navy Vet who is a quadriplegic has many health care needs. But he — and the people trying to help him — say the VA hospital in Seattle continues to reject him for care.

    Mike Mikesell is 49 years old. He’s a Navy veteran who was honorably discharged, according to a document from the Department of Veterans Affairs office.

    He needs medical service so often he’s stuck living in a tent just feet from the VA Puget Sound Health Care System. Mikesell said he had a good paying job, but then he got very sick — and suddenly ended up homeless.

    Mikesell said he worked at Boeing until he developed an infection while on a trip to Mexico in 2016.

    “I went from that to this overnight,” Mikesell said. The infection spread to his spine and left him a quadriplegic.

    “I’m dead from the armpits down,” he said.

    Shortly after that, he lost his housing.

    In October 2017, he started living in a tent just outside the VA Hospital in Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood.

    “I can’t leave the hospital because there’s always some ailment happening. It wouldn’t be this way if I could wash up in a bathroom,” Mikesell said.

    Since becoming homeless, his situation has continued to decline. His reclining electric wheelchair broke and now he struggles with a manual one that doesn’t recline.

    “I’ve been sleeping in this chair for a long time,” Mikesell said.

    “It’s torturing me not to give me an electric wheelchair. I can barely move myself along the ground with this thing and it’s really made things really difficult just trying to get into the hospital. I have that hill to go up,” he said.

    In June, Linda Soriano learned about Mikesell’s story. Soriano lives in Lynwood and tries to help people who are homeless on her own time.

    “It hurts me a lot,” Soriano said after learning about Mikesell’s story.

    She and a friend, Pam Keeley, shared it on Facebook with Mikesell’s consent.

    They detailed what Mikesell is going through – how he needs a catheter, a colostomy bag, and deals with chronic infections.

    “He suffers. He suffers!” Soriano said. “We’re not asking to treat this man like royalty. But that they would pay more attention and have a little more empathy and compassion.”

    The Facebook post has been shared more than 11,000 times as of Wednesday evening. But Soriano points out despite all the shares, Mikesell is still in a tent, outside the VA.

    “What does it take? Does this man have to die?” Soriano said.

    She and Keeley reached out to Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal’s (D-WA 7th District) office, and a staff member helped Mikesell secure a visit with a doctor, and got him a housing voucher.

    But just hours later, Mike was back out on the street.

    “He’s a high needs individual and many of our services, including the veteran’s hospital, are not set up to take up these high need individuals. He now is back on the streets and I think it is a tragic situation,” Jayapal said. “Mike’s conditions -they make it challenging for him to get housing. So even though he has a housing voucher, we can’t get him in.” ”

    Full Article At: “https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/homeless-quadriplegic-veteran-living-outside-va-struggles-to-get-healthcare/803912732”

  15. “VA raises opposition to bill extending benefits for Blue Water Navy veterans”
    By NIKKI WENTLING | STARS AND STRIPES Published: August 1, 2018

    ” WASHINGTON — Department of Veterans Affairs officials urged senators Wednesday to vote against legislation that would extend VA benefits to sailors who served off the coast during the Vietnam War and claim their illnesses were caused by exposure to Agent Orange.

    Paul Lawrence, the VA’s new undersecretary of benefits, told the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee insufficient evidence exists to link the veterans to Agent Orange exposure.

    “We oppose this bill because the science is not there, and we depend on science,” he said. “We care, so we keep looking.”

    The bill would set a bad precedence for approving benefits for illnesses without proof that they were caused by military service, Lawrence argued. He worried the move would “erode confidence in the soundness and fairness of the veterans benefits system.”

    The bill that the committee considered Wednesday would make disability compensation available to approximately 90,000 “Blue Water” Navy veterans — those sailors aboard aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers and other ships who contend they were exposed to Agent Orange through the ships’ water systems. The dioxin-laden herbicide has been found to cause respiratory cancers, Parkinson’s disease and heart disease, as well as other conditions.

    “We were disappointed to see the reversal in the VA’s position,” said retired Navy officer John Wells, who’s been advocating for the bill for years. Wells said he plans to talk with new VA Secretary Robert Wilkie about the issue.

    “We’re disappointed in the testimony of the undersecretary. We hope the Senate moves fast to pass this bill,” Wells said.

    The House unanimously approved the bill in June with a vote of 382-0. It’s the furthest the measure has progressed in Congress after being introduced in 2011, 2013 and 2015.

    Instead of taking the bill directly to the Senate floor, Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., scheduled the hearing Wednesday to hear from veterans service organizations and the VA. Veterans filled the committee room Wednesday afternoon, as more of them stood in line outside, waiting for a seat.”

    Full article At: “https://www.stripes.com/news/va-raises-opposition-to-bill-extending-benefits-for-blue-water-navy-veterans-1.540542”

    1. More from the article:

      “Besides the lack of funding, Lawrence argued the legislation would lead to an increased volume in veterans’ claims for benefits, which would grow the claims backlog unless more employees were hired to work on them. He said the VA would need an estimated $500 million during the next 10 years to boost their resources to handle the claims.

      Then, there was the cost of the benefits themselves.

      Extending the benefits for 10 years would cost $1.1 billion, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. To make up the cost, the legislation raises fees for servicemembers and veterans who use the VA’s home loan program. The increase amounts to between $2.14 and $2.95 each month.

      “Granting new benefits for some veterans at the expense of other veterans is counter to VA’s mission,” Lawrence said.”

      **********************

      Guess we now know that Paul Lawrence, the VA’s new undersecretary of benefits is nothing but another shit stain at the VA.

  16. “A Former Veterans Affairs Employee Tried To Defraud a Disabled Vet of $680,000”
    ‘Kenneth Richard Devore used his position to list himself as the sole beneficiary to a disabled veteran’s Assets. Then he got another federal job.’
    Zuri Davis|Aug. 2, 2018 9:45 am

    “A former Veterans Affairs employee has been convicted on federal fraud charges after using his position to write himself into a disabled veteran’s will.

    A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Tennessee details Kenneth Richard Devore’s long list of crimes, beginning with the attempted defrauding of a disabled veteran. The veteran, identified by the government as D.N., was discharged from the military in 1986. After D.N. was officially declared incompetent, Devore, a VA field examiner, was tasked in 2013 with making sure D.N. received his VA benefits and that his assets were managed responsibly.

    But that’s not what Devore did. Instead, he concocted a plan that would make himself rich. Devore convinced the unsuspecting veteran that he needed a will and then helped him write the document, listing himself as the sole beneficiary of D.N.’s assets. Devore then drove D.N. to the post office to have the documents notarized. He also forged D.N.’s initials in a notice sent to Regions Bank, which the DOJ says was D.N.’s legal guardian. Devore was poised to defraud the veteran of more than $680,000.

    Devore was forced to resign for misconduct in 2015 after the forged documents were uncovered. He then applied for a position with the National Background Investigations Bureau, which conducts investigations into candidates for government positions that require security clearance. (Its website promises “efficient and effective background investigations to safeguard the integrity and trustworthiness of the Federal workforce.”) He failed to disclose his misconduct at his old job, and he also claimed to have attended Canterbury University, a school that was fabricated by Devore himself. Despite all this, he was hired.”

    Full article At: “https://reason.com/blog/2018/08/02/former-va-fraud-disabled-veteran”

  17. We need to treat dental/periodontal health as important as any other body part we treat, Veteran or not, it is needed care that remains many times neglected because of cost. I think we need some form of Dental/Periodontal Insurance Plans that really serve as preventative care and also at reasonable cost fillings, crowns, etc., which I am certain can help prevent other medical issues. We just need to make the VA wake up and treat the mouth like the rest of the body, it’s important.

  18. How in the world does Bernie Sanders think that the VAMCs can handle most Veterans getting dental care when they can’t handle the dental care of the 100% service connected Veterans. let alone the cost of expanding VAMC Dental Clinics and Staff. I do believe that dental care is much needed and that immune system and respiratory system issues may in some cases linked directly to mouth infections and/or periodontitis, etc., and I believe the VA should consider treating the whole body and not excluding the oral/dental issues as they currently do. I filed a VA Tort last year that is based on what dental/oral infections can cause if left untreated as mine were by the Houston VAMC. So is dental care needed by all Veterans, YES it is, but don’t count on the VAMCs to provide quality care, let alone needed care.

    1. just makes the case to get rid of the VA and put us out there in the private sector where there are plenty of skilled and capable Dentists willing and able to take care of our oral needs.

      1. I completely agree with the Private Sector and oral care must be part of everyones care, no exceptions. If people would only do a small amount of research on what severe periodontitis can cause if left untreated, they’d see their Dentist/Periodontist tomorrow. How many times I’ve been at the Houston VAMC talking to another Veteran, and by the smell of their breath when they talk, you can tell they have bad periodontal issues, but their VA Prime Care Doctor most of the time will just ignore it like it doesn’t exist. The number of medical issues that VA has caused Veterans by this neglect is probably staggering, which in my opinion is malpractice.

  19. This was just sent to me by a friend of mine. He said the Washington DC Elite at VA wasn’t happy about receiving the letter!
    ________________________________________

    “VA staff plea: End ‘incompetence’ and fix worsening conditions at DC hospital”

    DONOVAN SLACK | USA TODAY | 9 hours ago

    “Robert Wilkie has been sworn in as the next secretary of Veterans Affairs. (July 30)”
    AP

    WASHINGTON – Employees at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Washington pleaded with the new VA secretary to take action as conditions at the facility have continued to deteriorate even after national leaders swept in more than a year ago, removed the hospital director and sent in patient-care experts to help.

    Infection rates went up instead of down in veterans’ bloodstreams and in their urinary tracts. Patient satisfaction went down instead of up. Employee satisfaction tanked.

    The hospital declined so much that a senior VA health executive put local and regional officials on notice last month that the situation is under investigation and more “leadership changes” could be in store, according to internal documents obtained by USA TODAY.

    The group of anonymous employees showed little faith in the effort. They wrote to newly minted VA Secretary Robert Wilkie this week asking him to step in and finally fix the hospital that serves tens of thousands of veterans in the nation’s capital.

    They noted an investigation concluded this year that VA managers at every level – local, regional and national – knew for years about dangerous conditions at the hospital but didn’t fix them. The VA inspector general found “a culture of complacency and a sense of futility pervaded offices at multiple levels.”

    When the results were announced in March, VA officials claimed “significant improvement” had been made, even as key quality indicators continued to deteriorate, including rates of ventilator complications and patient safety scores.

    “We ask you, our respected leaders, to stop this coverup and incompetence, to really care and live up to America’s promise to its Heroes,” the employees wrote to Wilkie and other top VA officials. “Enough is enough.”

    The VA replied in an email Monday, saying the secretary forwarded their concerns to top VA health officials for consideration. “Thank you for your communication.”

    Fearing the problems would be swept aside rather than fixed, the employees provided a copy of the correspondence to USA TODAY on the condition they not be identified because they fear retaliation for speaking out.

    Robert Wilkie testifies June 27, 2018, at his Senate confirmation hearing in Washington, DC.
    MANDEL NGAN, AFP/GETTY IMAGES
    VA spokesman Curt Cashour declined to answer questions about why the hospital has continued to deteriorate but said VA officials are “taking additional measures to support the facility.”

    “VA appreciates the employees’ concerns and will look into them right away,” he wrote in a prepared statement. “Veterans deserve only the best when it comes to their health care, and that’s why VA is focusing on improving its facilities in Washington and nationwide.”

    Patients in imminent danger
    The Washington VA hospital made national headlines in April 2017 when the agency’s inspector general issued a rare emergency report because conditions at the medical center put veteran patients in imminent danger and VA managers who knew about the problems hadn’t fixed them.

    The operating room repeatedly ran out of critical equipment, including vascular patches to seal blood vessels and ultrasound probes used to map blood flow. The facility had to borrow bone material for knee replacement surgeries. Investigators found most of two dozen sterile storage areas were dirty at the hospital.

    Top VA leaders quickly removed the hospital’s director, set up an incident command post and dispatched teams of experts to help the facility.

    But problems continued.

    In June, the inspector general again found sterile storerooms that did not meet infection prevention or cleanliness criteria. In August, hospital staff reported running out of tubing for blood transfusions and oxygen. In September, the facility didn’t have staplers to close incisions for days.

    In November, sterilization specialists from VA headquarters found stained and rusty medical instruments and bacteria in water used to disinfect them. The hospital repeatedly ran out of sterilization supplies and had to borrow them from a neighboring private-sector hospital, according to an internal report obtained by USA TODAY.

    In January, the headquarters specialists found nearly a dozen “repeat findings,” including failures in surgical instrument tracking and quality assurance monitoring, another internal report shows.

    ‘Deflected blame’
    The inspector general’s investigation concluded in March that local, regional and national VA officials had received 10 different reports dating as far back as 2013 about sterilization and supply problems but hadn’t fixed them.

    “In interviews, leaders frequently abrogated individual responsibility and deflected blame to others,” the investigation report said.

    VA officials have asserted publicly for more than a year that things are being fixed. In May, the top health official at the time, Carolyn Clancy, testified at a congressional hearing that “substantial progress has been made” to address the concerns.

    Clancy was the same official who wrote to leaders at the facility last month noting “continued deterioration in overall quality” at the hospital and “significant gaps causing concern.”

    She singled out increasing rates of avoidable complications, such as bloodstream infections associated with tubes placed in large veins and antibiotic-resistant staph infections. Clancy, who moved to a new VA position focused on research and advancement, pointed to “large deterioration” in the rate of hospitalizations that could have been prevented with better primary care.

    Cashour, the VA spokesman, said the hospital stemmed nursing turnover and improved in ratings of specialists, but the lack of other improvements triggered additional oversight from headquarters. He said the investigation could result in the dispatching of more “expert improvement coaches” or a national takeover of the hospital.

    Cashour said that in general, when VA facilities such as the Washington hospital “fail to make rapid substantial progress in their improvement plan, VA leadership will take prompt action, including changing the leadership of the medical center.”

    The VA hospital in Washington serves tens of thousands of veterans.
    ____________________________________

    And Sanders is asking for taxpayers monies for dental? When this kind of shit is going on Nationwide!
    Bullshit!
    #fuckva
    #fuckvha
    #fuckafge

    1. just what the holy fuck is a “national takeover” supposed to do??? What does that even entail? Does it involve rolling the chief administrator’s head down the fucking hall? National Takeover sounds like yet another bad joke perpetuated against unwilling veterans. Start filing criminal negligence charges against some of these fucks and watch how long the it takes for the joint to get cleaned up and stocked adequately. How’s that for fucking National Takeover Procedure.

    2. Also, let me ask you this question.

      If it was Trump who had suggested dental for veterans. Would you still be so up in arms and concerned for the taxpayer?

      1. WyldeChylde,

        If it had been Trump who had suggested it would you still be for it while knowing everything the VA does is a schame?

      2. Absolutely I would. And here’s why. Not taking care of your teeth will end up killing you. Going to the VA for your teeth may kill you.

        Furthermore, Once the VA goes completely tits up. It’ll be nice to have that already cemented into our healthcare for the private sector.

        Personally I don’t have a stake in this either way. On the one hand you won’t ever catch me walking into a VA for healthcare, I’m lucky enough to have options. On the other hand, well, I’ve got no teeth anyhow and I’m perfectly happy with private sector service. It just seems to me that anything veterans get at this juncture especially something as big as dental should be held near and dear to the heart, no matter who wants to give it to us and no matter the pretext. “Oh but the taxpayer” Newsflash anything we get out of the VA is taxpayer funded. And, honestly at the end of the day Fucking excuse me while I put my hand in the jar for a moment. I’m not sorry for what I’m about to get. Not sorry one little bit. I’m fucked up. I’m fucked up because of my service to this country’s founding documents that are supposed to guarantee our way of life. That’s the end of the argument. Or at least it should be. If a veteran has a goddamned toothache there should be a fucking line of taxpayers lined up outside that dentists office with fist fulls of cash to take care of that tooth. They should be clamoring over each other for the privilege of taking care of that veteran. Instead we get once a year a hasty and mumbled “thanks for your service”

        Fuck you.

      3. While I agree with you on your feelings about how the VA should be supplying dental for Veterans. It is the mode of them supplying it that I disagree with. Like Elf I feel it would be a total waste of tax payers dollars for the VA to try and start supplying dental at the VA.

        I would support the VA paying the way at established dental practices with a cap on the cost of services. But for the VA to start providing health care at VA Facilities no fucking way.

        The $Tens of Billions of dollars that would be wasted building new facilities, remodeling old facilities, purchasing the supplies and equipment just to make it look like the VA is capable of doing it. Then there is the maintenance on the equipment and facilities. It would be like building another VA healthcare system from scratch.

        Then add to all that the bogus school programs that the VA and the dental schools would cook up. Surely incorporating a another J1 visa system to ship in all the want-a-bees from India, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, and a slue of other countries to fill the school slots and staff the positions at the VA in the dental field. Just like they have in the Medical field.

        Then comes the new Software that will be needed, …

        In other words a total waste of taxpayers dollars that will harm Veterans more than help them. Unless it is done using civilian dentist the Veteran gets to chose for their dental care.

        Anything else is just throwing money away on a system that will never work.

      4. A example of just how wrong could the tax dollars be wasted:

        “SIGAR: U.S. Funding Afghan Irrigation Canals Used in Heroin Production”
        By Edwin Mora, August 2nd, 2018

        “The U.S. is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on agricultural projects in Afghanistan, including irrigation canals linked to opium and heroin production.

        Drugs from Afghanistan have been implicated in three-quarters of fatal heroin overdoses worldwide, including deaths from the opioid crisis gripping the United States.

        John Sopko, U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) watchdog agency established by Congress, wrote about Afghan opium production in his quarterly report issued on Tuesday.

        Despite spending about $9 billion on counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan since the war started nearly 17 years ago, Afghanistan remains the globe’s tops supplier of opium and its heroin derivative. Opium is Afghanistan’s largest cash crop.”

        “SIGAR reports former President Barack Obama’s administration, which ended U.S.-led eradication efforts at a time when the production of opium and heroin production was hitting record levels, extended the failed Kandahar Food Zone (KFZ) and the Strengthening Watershed and Irrigation Management (SWIM) programs. These initiatives funded the construction of irrigation canals and provided fertilizer for a few years beyond 2016, at a cost of more than $133 million to American taxpayers.”

        “In other words, even though SIGAR has found that some of the irrigation canals have been used to cultivate deadly opium, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is intent on supporting “activities that include rehabilitating irrigation infrastructure.”

        Natural opium and heroin produced largely in Afghanistan and the synthetic fentanyl that mainly originates in China are responsible for the vast majority the unprecedented 63,632 fatal drug overdoses in the U.S., based on the most recent available data.

        “According to the latest World Drug Report, opioids continue to cause the most harm, accounting for 76 percent of drug-related deaths worldwide,” SIGAR noted.

        SIGAR noted that the farmers’ financial incentives to cultivate opium may still take precedence over their need to grow food, further exacerbating food shortages.”

        “Last month, SIGAR revealed opium and heroin production in Afghanistan have benefited greatly from $2.2 billion in U.S. taxpayer funding for agricultural programs and tools. On the other hand, SIGAR’s analysis found “no counternarcotics program led to lasting reductions in poppy cultivation or opium production,” and “eradication efforts had no lasting impact.””

        Full Article At: “https://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2018/08/02/sigar-u-s-funding-afghan-canals-heroin-production/”

  20. I began working in maintenance at the VA in St Louis in 1975. At that time, there was a dental clinic that provided care to those who needed it. Then congress began means testing and cutting back on who could qualify for services and what services would be available. Dental care was a victim of them wanting to save money so they could give their wealthy friends another tax cut. The dental clinic got rid of most of their staff and downsized. It wasn’t a choice made by the VA but the lack of funding provided by a regressive congress – similar to what we have today. Congress hasn’t been willing to expand the VA as the veteran population increased after all the unnecessary wars they sent us into. Bernie’s one of the good guys wanting to make sure health care is available to not only veterans but every U.S. citizen as a human right. The U.S. stands alone among all the other developed nations in the world by not covering every citizen with health care. The crying shame is that health care in all these other countries is rated higher than ours yet costs a lot less than we pay per person per year than they do – they live longer and have better infant mortality rates among a long list of other advantages. You want a great procedure, have it done in the U.S. You want the best health care available, you’ll find it somewhere else – France is very highly rated. Big pharma and insurance companies are taking us to the cleaners – no doubt about it.

    1. Don F,
      Yesterday, I watched a video over what our elected officials, Congressional and Senators only, in Washington DC “…think about fixing our national deficit!” Which now stands at over $20 TRILLION DOLLARS!

      I can’t remember the “site”. Only, It was really a short video.

      The individual being interviewed was talking about a meeting he had with a number of elected officials, on both sides of the aisle, concerning our deficit and if they actually think about fixing it!
      It was answered this way; “The officials shrugged it off and said “NO”!”
      Meaning, in my opinion, all the elected officials across our Republic don’t give a RATS ASS about fixing the deficit, the VA, the crimes committed by elected or appointed officials, our illegal Immigration issue, our refugee resettlement issue, taxdollars being wasted and stolen by theives and liars, and much much more!

  21. Vets raise Hell because they don’t get dental from VA. Then they bad mouth the guy trying to get dental care for them. This is why vets get consistently fucked. Most vets ignore that part of the world beyond the end of their own nose.

    1. Yeah it’s kinda sad that people are so blinded by ideology that their willing to cut their noses off to spite their own faces.

  22. And here is the $100.00 Question. Who is going to work and pay for all of these benefits????? Illegals get the benefits also.
    No cigar from me. VETS EARNED their benefits. Illegals and Loafers get it all for free.

  23. Sounds like the dental schools have come up with some Lobby Bucks for Burnie, so they can start reaping the rewards of using Veterans as training dummies.

    1. That or the dental supply industry has found a way to use depleted uranium as fillings and need to test it on non-human subject i.e. Veterans.

  24. This was a recommended preventive medicine item, in my back and forth to David Cutler (Obama’s first point man on health care) that is used by the Japanese in extending their life expectancy and lowering the lifetime individual medical costs. If you have a mouth full of good choppers your digestion is better, fewer carcinogens and other digestive tract problems. Longer and better life with fewer health care problems. Cheaper in the long run as demonstrated by the original care plan for Medicare in CA (can’t think of the name right now) that also had dental care for no charge and operated without collecting the Part B premimum for years because of healthier patients. An HMO bought them out and went to the HMO program of denying benefits as a cost saving mechanism while raising rates.

  25. Back when they allowed dental when I was 100% for 13 months, they pulled three teeth and were going to make a snap-in bridge to replace them. I’m sure you know the story, it took them 13 months to pull three teeth and was deemed ineligible for the bridge because my time ran out. They even took an impression for the bridge. SSDD, Soooorrrry, your time ran out. Wouldn’t even give me the impression so I could take it to an outside dentist. If you hear the VA has to complete a treatment once it’s started, might as well just laugh and start saving your $$$ for an outside Dr. to do it…..

  26. He is correct. As a nurse and paramedic for over 30 years I know that teeth and gum health are linked to the vascular system. It actually would save some lives.

  27. “Today, millions of veterans have access to timely, high-quality health care through the VA.” WHO THE FUCK is he kidding??? Or is he so brain dead that only stupid ideas come through to come out his mouth?

  28. “Today, millions of veterans have access to timely, high-quality health care through the VA…”

    Aside from dirty dental drill bits used on patients, maggots crawling out of wounded vets in VA hospitals, unlicensed doctors, uncooked chicken, dead bodies found in the shower on the gurney, unauthorized medical testing on unknowing vets, a generation of vets now addicted to VA opiate, maimed and dead vets who would have live except for VA and the fact VA puts a gun up nearly any veterans ass as they see fit just to access the high-quality care, I mostly agree with what good old Bernie says up there.

  29. Another great idea that even if passes, would do little to any to help Veterans. And where is all this high quality health care? Is there some Area 51 VA clinic

  30. I bet that Sander’s proposal comes with a cost, funding something for Sander’s, the ole man is sneaky, something fishy that’ll help his cause

    1. Juan…Your right, I bet he’ll have something nice in that Bill to stuff his pockets with, Typical Politician

  31. Here we go again.
    “Another day, same ol shit!”
    Only this time it’s a “Socialist” wanting VHA to help vets with dental!
    And, of course, he’s expecting it to be paid for by the taxpayers! Only, it’s just a “three year test program”!
    I’ve still not received my “follow up with dental” that was supposed to be over ten years ago!
    #fuckva
    #fuckafge
    #fucksanders!

    1. P.S.
      BTW,
      There’s no such thing as a “Democratic Socialist”!
      Especially since our country is a “CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC”!

      1. That “Constitutional Republic” is doing a great job taking care of its vets, right? Oh wait lol it’s not.

        Lmao at how you’re raging at not getting your dental care, and simultaneously raging at the idea of someone trying to get vets dental care.

      2. You’re right Elf. No such thing as a Democratic Socialist. It’s social democrat. Think Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, you know, all those countries that don’t have a national debt, that have functional social medicine, and very well educated people. What a horrible fucking concept.

        Remind me – did Cadet Bone-Spur Twimp have dental in his overhaul of the VA. Thought so.

        But hey – I just come here for the entertainment, and reaffirmation that government of the money, by the money, and for the money is still in charge.

        Give it a rest brother. There aren’t any good guys in DC any better than ones any of us consider bad guys.

        Oh the poor folk hate the rich folk
        and the rich folk hate the poor folk
        all of my folks hate all of your folks
        And everybody hates Tom Cruise

        Be – cause it’s

        National Brotherhood Week
        National Brotherhood Week
        Hill-ary and Donald Trump
        Are dancing cheek to cheek….

    2. See here’s the thing Elf.

      If I was still paying taxes and I haven’t admittedly since 2014 when I went on SSDI. I would rather spend 100 bucks now so a veteran can get his damned yuck mouth cleaned so we don’t collectively have to spend 200k+ to crack his fucking chest open because he’s having a heart attack because he’s so depressed from PTSD he can’t even brush his own teeth. I don’t know, last time I checked the dentist route was a better deal, unless you ask the cardiac surgeon.

      1. WyldeChylde,
        You say you don’t pay taxes?
        That’s not entirely true. Every time you purchase ANYTHING you pay federal, state and local taxes. And, it doesn’t matter what you purchase either!
        Our government has everyone by the short hairs.

      2. Ok I will give you that one. However my original statement stands and is still, entirely, valid. So, if we’re done splitting hairs?

  32. “High quality care?” Bull shit as usual and a lotta lip service, same ol’ same ol’.

    If VA dental is contracted (anything contracted) it doesn’t apply to a forty mile travel rule so no using the “Choice Card” there.

    Ole socialist open border freak Sanders doesn’t address the many problems with VA care. He wanted us to follow Venezuela socialist ways. Where are they at today?

    The VA like many dentist today won’t use less painful tactics like gas, a rub on Novocaine type stuff that numbs the gums before multiple injections… or attempts at injections and moving the needle all around while inserted. What fun that is. Or try acupressure points that may help with pain as well. Oh no not those highly trained modern medical activist/students dealing with us lab rats. You close your eyes wanting to get the shit over and done with and with so many in a room taking turns on you, you don’t know who the hell done what and the main Dental MD not around just the clinic staff.

    Then the battle of what constitutes or applies to be 100% or not. One report may say yes if one is say like 80, 90, or 70% plus inability to work addition can use dental. Others say no, you have to be 100 % connected, period, nothing added to achieve the 100% rating. Got a bunch of that crap load of confusion in black and white too somewhere.

    This is one of my major bitches. VA can totally screw you up, like breaking a jaw to pull a tooth creating major issues, then to have civilian dental refuse to X-ray you or get involved in making the VA pay to make things right. Instead, the dental boards, locals, state, circle the wagons and go all out attacking me? Then they want you to go back to the VA and play more games after years of attacks, torment, activist games and using local politics to activism and other health care people to continue on with the retaliation for not bowing down to the VA or politics game?

    Modern medicine to insurance companies to the self interest of many others in their fields, the idea of old standards of getting more help or something like “Second Opinions” is out of the question or ability. Too costly, not taking new patients after investigating a new patient, mention the VA, etc., they don’t want involved and insurance will not pay for second opinions and the state will not get involved in malpractice to HIPPA violations or so-called “patient rights.” It’s all a game unless you’re connected or special, lucky perhaps. Have hard evidence against any of them the worse the attacks are and the more we are ignored by the likes of those in any medical fields, scum-sucking politicians and the rest out there.

    Oh, and you get no choice between dentures or implants. If I wanted a sex change that may be more possible, not so with more costly non-PC implants.

    1. Just *imagine* how the VA would cut corners on sex changes? I can see heating/ventilation hoses scavenged from Marion Ill. VA Nursing Home pipes infected with Legionnaires being re-purposed into new sex organs…only after many failed attempts of transplanting dancing monkey pieces and parts…

      …so rest assured Vets, *if* the VA manages to migrate from wooden dentures to plastic, that plastic will be recycled PCB’s and other burn pit items…all for the Vets. Implants? Imagine those would come with RFID implanted chips from the VA Disruptive Behavior Committee where if your incredibly “bad”, they can simply push a button and given Vet’s head explodes?

      Wait for it… “Scanners”, VA style…

      1. There are so ranchers in Montana who would make these warped individuals, who want a sex change, dream’s come true during calving season. About 15 seconds from start to finish.

  33. *GASP* a Democratic SOCIALIST is trying to give us dental care…

    What say you Comrade?

      1. In 4 days my goddamned C&P examiner is going to be feeling quite a few burns 😀 😀 😀 I’mma light that bitch up like a willie pete round…

      2. Remember, don’t be combative aggressive, they frighten easily and will know when you see the Barney cops arriving in large numbers.

      3. I got that look in my eye that says “you should keep a finger near the panic button at all times”

  34. I ended-up going to Aspen Dental and having remaining 7 teeth extracted and full upper and lower dentures done…..ALL OUT OF MY POCKET.

    Guess what? In my many months since last Nov. and going to Aspen Dental, I hjave met a handful of OTHER 100% SC Veterans that are paying OUT OF POCKET because the VA either refuses, failed, or already screwed-over medically those Veterans….all out of pocket…so YOU tell me that this is normal?

    1. EXTRA EXTRA Read all about it……It all sound’s good in the Headlines that’s all they give a shit about.
      F**k you VA

    1. Sure you *might*…in my case, I was told **last November* it wouldn’t be until March of 2019 before I could even get an initial dental appointment, and that would be driving across my entire state…then it got even trickier, I was told that since I have Medicare and don’t use the VA medical that it was ALL OR NOTHING, meaning, I would have to have ALL my medical trusted to these hacks in order to GET dental…and yes, I’m 100% SC, but I use Medicare because the VA effectively almost killed me 3x, they do not get another chance.

      So sure, there’s *sort of dental*, only if you are not in a hurry and you don’t mind the VA dentist going from one bloody mouth to another with same tools OR thosesame tools were not properly sanitized in nomenclature….been on that mailing list warning Vets that have been to the Dayton VA Dental Clinic to go get immediately tested for all Heps and HIV because of *just that*….

      Bernie Sander’s legislation makes sense because unless your a funny hatter or abide by every fucking rule the VA delights in enacting, and are a suck-up to the VA, you are NOT getting dental at 100% SC.

      The only thing missing from Sander’s legislation is requiring proper sanitizing of equipment and English as a first or at least second language as a Dentist requirement at the VA…

      1. I ended-up going to Aspen Dental and having remaining 7 teeth extracted and full upper and lower dentures done…..ALL OUT OF MY POCKET.

        Guess what? In my many months since last Nov. and going to Aspen Dental, I hjave met a handful of OTHER 100% SC Veterans that are paying OUT OF POCKET because the VA either refuses, failed, or already screwed-over medically those Veterans….all out of pocket…so YOU tell me that this is normal?

      2. whoever told you that is full of shit namnibor. I have my private dental insurance from my job and I have the dental from the VA, and have had this for well over 14 years and have never been told this by any dentist from the VA anywhere in Ohio Indiana or southern Michigan (yea I know but I go where they send me) and if this was the case then one of these dentists would or should have said something. I just checked with our local Veterans Service Officer and they said that whoever is telling you this needs to be called to the carpet as they are lying to you

      3. Nam it was about all or nothing here as well. Then the socialist, progs, fascist, commies at the VA who told us to vote Democrat for better health care, to support Obummer then Hellary. Nice huh for health care from the VA? Then played all the games they have non-stop since along with civvy care comrades and layers of other anti-Americans.

        People think since they get this kind of treatment or that or is told this or that it must apply to all of us across the board. Totally fucking wrong. Those of us who have solid proofs of corruption, socialist/Marx/Mafia/Mob styled attacks, actions, protectionism, and covering-up on many levels are treated like we have the plague. Not many want truth about anything especially in occupied, lost, Indiana. The Democrat Socialist Stronghold that runs my town runs the state too. Think they would harm their own to help or protect those not like them, who won’t bow down to all their commie shit or do what is right? No, it’s assimilate and group think here, period. Or be an enemy for life. That is Bernie, Hillary, Obummer, Indiana Democrat-Socialist party agendas. I think I’ve proven that and why Indiana and this shitty town ins off limits about truth and the nation fears this state and shadow governance, the thugs so much.

        It’s about all of them being corrupt as hell and creating nothing but division while harming those like me that would NOT stand for all there shit. That includes the “Democrat-Socialist/Marxist/etc., that totally fill my town’s governmental structure, health care, the college cliques, chamber of commerce, country club cliques, et al, who have done nothing but give me huge problems… daily. All the stuff done is why I post it out here as an example of how things really are with all those connected “comrades” and corrupt filth that do nothing but cover-up and play games. Name it all those professionals, town leaders, state’s millionaires/billionaires/foreigners/activist, VA vampires, lying two party politicians, lying corrupt media, scum attorney generals, hospital head civvy and VA, and more including the lies about being “Republicans” are major issues.

        All agendas to ruin this country from the streets to the “top,” are met, will be met, and veteran’s quality care for all, truth, ethics, real media, transparency, hold a countless multitude of corrupt freaks responsible, root out the commies/foreigners/corrupt has not nor will be part of their activist first, party first, union first, elitist first anti-American agendas.

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