Veteran Forced To Pay For Own Surgery Despite Choice Program Approval Due To Healthnet Hangups

45 Comments

1. The VA Choice program is an excellent program.
   Folks need to give it a chance

   1. Gee Ralph, you should call the fucking nitwits in your Grand Junction VA to find out why they haven’t paid a bill for myreferral to Choice in March 2016. I just got a bill from radiology for it. That’s in your VISN buddy.

      You have at least 3 Choice champions at that dump. One would expect they could do their jobs after 3 years. You can bet your ass they will be getting a visit Monday. Along with a call to the VA Hotline.

      The Choice program might be a good program if you assholes would pay the bills.

      Friggin VA deadbeats.

2. Their comment is total BS. This program has never worked and isn’t better. Few acupuncturists are taking VA patients because NONE of them have been paid in the past three years. I actually got two payments (two sessions out of six) paid to my current acupuncturist and it took me hours of red tape and BS to get it done. I had to because she couldn’t afford to. I mean she was even in tears telling, but she has to feed her family too and I get it.

   I’m in the process of fighting with the Albany Stratton VA because they are refusing to treat me due to my prescription pain killer addiction I got because of the VA (clean six years now). Going on a tangent, but I have been extremely vocal with them because of the horrific treatment of their patients (I stayed in hospital for four months). They have lied to me and I keep all records and call logs and I also tape all my treatment sessions (legal in NY). It is amazing the power you have once they know they can’t lie to you.

   Good luck to everyone else out there. I so wish the would privatize out healthcare!

   Ryan

3. Its truly sad to say the least. But imho i cant speak for all though but va heath care in columbus is marginal. There are some good doctors whom work for the va in columbus but lack the resourc3s and block by red tape to do their job. Im living proof of one veteran whom removed themself from them va health care trap. Im paying out the pocket for all my appointments. I know this dosent work for many veterans but im tired of the wait. Since i started to pay for my own appointments the longest wait was 2 weeks, vs the va same appointment would have been 8 weeks. Im currently networking my own doctors for my issues to develope a plan to help my health in line. I refuse to have any more va qtc appointments. If the va needs medical information for a claim ill have it plus getting treatment. Thats a plus plus for me. Untill the va gets up to speed and gets modernized im staying away. For my healthsake. I to am a victom of va TBI claims that where faulty. My tbi goes back to the 90’s not even knowing what a tbi was or all about but that’s a differant story. Id say it but cold hard cash will get a veteran treated faster and better. Id like to meet a private doctor whom can diagnose TBI in a 20 min appointment. The va has a network of them through QTC. Those are super doctors considering the steps required to diagnose a condition like TBI in minutes over a true 3 hour appointment and test. Good luck and god bless

4. “In backlash against school officials, Minn. high school students protest with American flag display”

   By Matt Perkins / St. Cloud Times Today at 10:32 a.m.

   “https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/4324063-backlash-against-school-officials-minn-high-school-students-protest-american-flag”

   1. A stupid move by the administration to ban all flags, rather than making an exception for the US flag. Good on the students for educating the nitwits.

5. “It is our honor and responsibility to serve the veteran community….” otherwise known as spin-doctoreese… in other words, shut up and deal with it!!!!

6. My Doctor told me I needed to go to Cleveland Clinic, so I asked to use Veterans choice. This is after waiting for VA to diagnose me for a decade and they never did, so now they want to do more MRI etc… at VA. So now they all of a sudden grew brains and want to diagnose my injuries and illnesses from being Contaminated by TCE and PCE in service many years ago. But my outside doctors both agree with me, and feel I need specialist, sadly the VA will probably just let me die as they half ass everything they do, never follow up unless they want to give drugs to you.

7. An outrageous article in USAToday about the VA in Memphis being one of the worst in the nation. The article mentions some VA Under Secretary getting weekly briefings on 4 VA hospitals including Memphis. Seems those weekly briefings are not helping much.

   The article also mentions the VA botching a surgery on a vet. Seems they needed to insert a catheter into the leg of a vet to increase blood flow to the vets foot. 22 days later, they amputated his leg.

   Why did they have to amputate? Because the fucking morons doing the catheterization did not remove the plastic packaging from the tube, and inserted everything into his leg, which caused more blood flow problems. They took the catheter out, found 3 inches of plastic packaging, but the other 7 inches of plastic stayed in his leg…which they found after amputating the leg.

   How would more funding for the VA fix such raging incompetence?

   “https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/09/07/memphis-va-botched-surgery-veteran-patient-safety-threats/637497001/”

8. Molly Tuttle, Director, Communications, Health Net Federal Services in her statement “Developing a complex and consistent new program like Veterans Choice is a team effort, and HNFS is working closely with Congress, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Columbus VA Medical Clinic, and the 12,000 local health care……” is a lying fuck.
   When Bob Mc D got duped into using HealthNet Federal Services as the contractor to create and administer the choice program, he did so in response to the Phoenix debacle in 2014 which was on TV every night for weeks and he did it believing what HNet told him – “it is a big program to administer, but we are experienced in implementing large programs for the government- we handle Medicaid in all of the states – and we can do it better than anyone out there. Trust me. We can do it for 50% of each veteran on the program. We’ll pay the provider an agreed-on price, and we also get that amount to cover our costs of administering.” So, McD said “fine, can this be up and running in 90 days?” They assured him it would be very workable in 90 days. Deal.
   The Dept. of VA has realized it is a huge failure now. No notable hospital system provider or doctor group wants anything to do with Choice. When I was talking to a surgeon and his nurse and mentioned “Choice”, the nurse screeched out loud in HORROR. The surgeon didn’t know “choice” from a hole in the ground thinking it was a legitimate insurance. The look of HORROR formed on the doctor’s face as well as everyone of his support staff (11 nurses and assistants) in the room when she said “no way am I going to deal with VA healthnet choice program. I was embarrassed as I felt like some flim-flam artist coming with such shitty “insurance”. They had to tell me “it’s not me, it’s this failure choice program” so I didn’t feel so embarrassed.
   So the response from fat-ass Molly Tuttle should read HNFS is in BIG ARGUMENTS with Congress, the Columbus VAMC, and the 12,000 local health care providers instead of WORKING CLOSELY as she states. Now the only providers accepting Choice are solo practitioners who will accept anything to make a buck. If HNet don’t pay them, they will collect from you. You have to sign papers to that that you are ultimately responsible for the bill if the government should fuck them.
   How Shulkin is going to win all the large providers back when Choice is renewed is beyond me…and beyond him too. That is when he may be dismissed and replaced with yet another clown-ass.

9. I cannot fathom what the problem is. The VA is in control of authorizations. A veteran cannot use Choice without one. Healthnet is in charge of processing those authorizations and PAYING THE FUCKING BILLS! If the clinic can produce an authorization, what the hell is the hold-up?

   Healthnet’s spokeshack suggests in her statement that the program is not yet fully developed. When did Choice first start? How many years do you need to figure out how to pay the bills?

   I highly doubt that clinic does not know where to send the bills, particularly since so many VA bureaucrats are working so closely with the clinic.

10. “Developing a complex and consistent new program like Veterans Choice is a team effort, and HNFS is working closely with Congress, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Columbus VA Medical Clinic, and the 12,000 local health care providers like the Hughston Clinic to ensure the state’s 42,000 veterans have the appropriate, coordinated and convenient care they have earned for their service to our nation.”

    hmmmm. This comes from the PR department of the company paid to streamline the flow of money from the government to doctors for the benefit of veterans. It is one sentence. The one sentence is seperated by no less than five commas. In order to say what needed to be said from their viewpoint (in one sentence) the words; complex, consistent, appropriate, and coordinated, are all used to describe a “team effort” involving the wholesome relationship engendered between themselves, Congress, and the VA. Truly the gods must shine upon this holy trinity of goodwill and caring. A better suited threesome of bedfellows I cannot imagine, however after 36.4 words in a sentence the average American loses track of just what the hell the exact point is?

    So for those of you that cannot follow their 64 word, five comma explanation with detailed descriptive language, let me streamline their one sentence into one short sentence that carries precisely the same meaning but with fewer descriptors;

    “The check is in the mail.”

    1. Dennis:
       You need to write a daily column in the newspaper to send out such good scoop.

11. I’ve been on the VA waitlist 9 years for a broken Patella on my right knee with a torn ACL/MCL. Joint deterioration and arthritis issues are increasingly present and painful affecting my Quality-of-Life.

    Now that I’m in Choice Program it seems I can’t get a PCP provider of my choice. Seemly some interloper from the CBOC I was associated with has libeled and discredited me to the point that I being referred as: “A VA Problem”.

    I’ve had an ongoing IU claim (unemployability) for 15 years and 4 REMANDS. The VA is not going to pay for positive documentation to support my IU Claim. And I told them this Catholic Marine won’t commit suicide because it’s against my religion.

    After having a Subracknoid Hemmatoba they’ve tried to kill me off prescribing antipsychotic drug that are non cohesive with my well-being.

    Also refusing to address my pain issues. Very detrimental to my health. Pain level rises above 8. Blood Pressure escalates. Onset chest pains and headache. Headache worsen to Thunderclap. Bingo. Stroke. Was in ER 7 times as instructed by the course of action to take from the VAMC STROKE CLINIC. When bills piled up. Received denial. Denial says: Should have gone to VAMC ER. Too bad I blackout. Or I would have made the ambulance driver take me to the PORTLAND VAMC ER where they refuse admittance 29NOV2006 when I had my first TIA + brain bleed.

12. …-!ii!-…

13. This veteran shouldn’t have to pay, but I understand the VA system is totally jacked up nothing goes as promised this was what I was told and by my recruiter and l believed that was a contract for serving but apparently it’s a privilege instead, and really a scam in definition, that’s not right the new administration needs to get the system fixed and get our veterans the proper care and not have them pay for the care that was PROMISED to us

14. not always the va the provider did a procedure on me then even after choice made the appointment they called me and said they would ruin my credit if i did not pay right now .
    I said bring it on I have nothing left to lose.
    Ok the provider harasses me for almost a year then VA finally helps me out they had a recorded phone call the entire time where the provider agrees to bill health net/VA.
    Seems choice always records the appointment phone calls they just dont tell anyone.

    Anyway choice forced the provider to follow the rules to collect their blood money.
    There is a small part of choice that actually works (Very Slowly)

    1. AFGE and their supporters do not want Choice to be a successful program. VA Union president alma lee is on record saying she is against the program. Could it be that lower staffing levels equals less dues paying members? You bet that’s the reason. My approved claim was not paid by the VA after many attempts to resolve the issue. Screw AFGE , cox and alma lee! Both are complicit in harming veterans along with any va employee who supports their efforts.

    2. Seems like you got a hellacious lawsuit against the VA and the Provider??!!

    3. I was told long ago by the VA that a provider that signs an agreement to accept Choice is barred by that agreement from contacting a veteran for payment.

       Clearly the VA oversees those agreements as good as they oversee everything else they do.

15. The Veterans Choice Program is being run this way so that all the Congressional Representatives and Senators will get tired of the complaints they receive and will shut down the VA and privatize it.
    Secretary “Skulking” can’t possibly be retained with the abysmal record he has accumulated without an end game! Look at the over all picture. His is the only game in town!

16. It is not bureaucratic. bureaucratic refers to “government”. This is a private contractor who was underfunded because it paid too much out in bribes to get the billion dollar contract that immediately placed Health Net in the top 10 of government contractors paid in the billions. I believe the article said Health Nets contract was over 13 Billion.

    Health net has been cut back and for good reason. Non-performance. And so goes privatization. Non performance contracts which are neither enforced or audited.

17. 2003-2004, for 13 months, my VAMC delayed diagnosiing that a lesion on my leg was malignant. When they finally figured it out, they referred me to private surgical- & radiation oncologists. As a kicker, they added, VA won’t pay, you’ll have to. I ended up bankrupt & homeless. As of 9/7/17, I’m still fighting them.

    1. Did you sue them for malpractice and fraud? It seems to me that it is an ongoing fraud with no statute of limitations. If they referred you they must pay for it unless you are not entitled to VA care.

       1. Thanks, FPG:

          No, not for malpractice (I was a VA “newbie” when this all began, completely clueless that VA had an “ethical & legal obligation” to disclose to me that there had been “adverse events” in my VA treatment, and hadn’t done so (yes, I was entitled to it).

          Nor did I know they should have referred me to 38 USC section 1151/FTCA. (In fact, my provider wrote in my VAMC medical file that he hadn’t discussed my treatment with me, out of concern I might take legal action v. my providers/VA!)

          No, not for fraud, either. (Hmm, no statute of limitations, very interesting!).

          Also interesting is the fact that the 2 high VA “bigwigs” who were the most instrumental in blocking me from taking my “case” higher within VA, are, “as we speak,” associated with a VAMC that (spring/summer 2017), drew Shulkin’s scrutiny & quick smack-down.

          6/1/2017, I called the White House Veterans Complaint Hotline. They never got back to me “within 14 days,” as they said they would. Late August, I re-called the Hotline, spent over an hour on the phone going through everything, all over again. When I finished the Hotline agent said, “Someone will get back to you within 14 business days.”

18. I work for the VA and I am also a patient. I see this issue everyday and wish there were answers or even someone to refer the veterans to when this happens. (Which is over 50% of the time in my estimate.) It has even happened to me and is still an ongoing problem for over 2 years now! I have been sent to collections over payment that never gets paid correctly or not received by the choice program at all. Frustrating to say the least to not be able to try to simply guide someone towards help when this happens because I believe “not my job, go somewhere else” or “I don’t know.” Is an uncceptable answer that no veteran should hear.
    So as someone that experiences both sides of this mess, I’ve wondered where to look for an answer and I’ve come to the simple conclusion that the creator of the choice program implemented a highly unorganized team to work hand in hand with the VA Health administration to end the media controversay of too many veterans, not enough staff to care ordeal. A quick and favorable fix for the Obama Administration to end the relentless accusations of mismanged veteran care. Lack of proper communication, endless red tape for the two agencies to come together and once again unrealistic time lines for appointments has caused this scenario and the only one effected is the one in need. The VA has 30 days or less to get the vet the medically indicated care scheduled in house or else it is automatically sent to Choice. It takes longer than that to see anyone on the private sector just for routine followup with a specialist! The solution is not what the veterans needed and never was. If anything care has been compromised due to simply “too many cooks in the kitchen” and now a game of telephone between the two sometimes more providers when coordinating this care is now the problem. The aim was to get patients seen in a timely manner but what this program has done is caused veterans to wait longer, the private sector to be flooded with the veteran population which in turn makes their waits longer and STILL does not fix the issue. It’s simple…hire more qualified clinical staff for our VHAs. Get rid of the upper management abusers and in their place hire providers and a competitive salary to boot. Funding funding funding! If congress doesn’t want to fund properly, then conflicts with other countries needs to cease. Stop creating the need for care. In the first place.

    1. Elizabeth. If you hadn’t put your name on your writing, it was I would have chosen, except I don’t work for the VA. I have disposed of my telephone so the VA has to leave a paper trail with Secure Messaging. They don’t like that at all:-)
       After I calculated how many doctors were at the VA hospital, then divided the number of patients go through the VA, it came out to about 8 patients per day per doctor. I did not consider medical specialties.
       Elizabeth; wouldn’t you agree that we have to find the abusers of the system first before we start a lynch mob?

       Rate your VA doctor by region
       Rate your VA nurse by region

    2. Elizabeth
       I admire you for posting your real name but there are VA trolls lurking here. Watch out for retaliation. As your privacy officer for a sensitive patient access report if you suspect retaliation. And don’t be surprised whose names show up on that report, particularly your supervisors. Hopefully it doesn’t happen to you but as an ex va employees, I and others can vouch that the va is the biggest hipaa violator for a reason

    3. YOU SAID IT, RIGHT ON; IN THE MEANTIME WHEN THEY SAY THEY ARE GOING TO PUT YOU IN FOR COLLECTION, THEN GET YOUR LOCAL ATTORNEY TO WRITE THEM A THREATENING LETTER SAYING YOU WILL SUE FOR DAMAGES, THEY AGREED WITH THE VA TO ACCEPT PAYMENT AND IF THEY DON’T GET PAID THAT IS AN AFFAIR BETWEEN THE VA AND THE PROVIDER; (SUE THE INDIVIDUAL AS WELL AS THE MIDDLE MAN PROVIDER)

    4. The VA was given roughly $187 billion this year. That is on top of the billions given to Choice. Funding is not the problem. Pissing away billions is the real problem. You cannot tell me hiring 127 Interior Designers was a good use of funding, then turn around and bitch about not having enough providers. Do an honest comparison between a VA doctors workload and that of a doctor in the same community, and you will find a VA doctor has much less of a workload than private doctors.
       Every VA hospital has at LEAST one Choice Champion. These are people hired by the VA to help vets with the Choice program. If the VA wanted this program to work, they would advertise the availability of those people to help vets. Instead, they hire people looking for a paycheck and little more.
       Get rid of the disastrous AFGE union thugs who refuse to do their jobs. Far too many managers are in bed with the union, so get rid of it, and the managers who allow the union to run the place.

    5. @BEN….In March 2017 when I returned from getting treatment in another state, several weeks, by the VA, I was informed by one of my outside Providers they may have to shut their doors due to lack of payment by the VA! ..
       I emailed a letter to the VA SEc and 3 others WashDC VA Execs, Thomas Lynch Carolyn Calancy and Barbra Hyduke. The Following work day the provider was contacted about lack of payment and about 3-weeks later a person in WashDC VA contacted me saying my provider ad been paid, which was true and other debts for veterans care also had been resolved. My provider told me they had been contacted and informed them of the other bulls from other veterans on CHOICE and when they had been paid! This provider and all others now in the Western SD area are on VA Fee Basis!! Yeah a raise and timely payments now!

       I asked what phone number or email in the future should I use or another provider for lack of payment or any other problems with the VA?? I was informed to email this and pass t out as well:

       VHAClientServiceResponseTeam AT va DOT gov

       This does work as others veterans and providers have used it! PAss this on as well I think now it is tied to the VA Hotline but I am not sure of this fully but actioin for many has been taken and received.

19. I’ve asked many times; “Where is all the taxpayers monies which was given to the Choice Program?”
    Who’s pocketing all that money?
    Billions of dollars going into somebody’s overseas bank account, I’ll bet ya!?

    This article is one of the reasons why I won’t ever attempt to use Choice! Nothing but a bunch of lying pieces of pig shit!

    I’ll also bet someone in the VA is getting healthy some kickbacks!

    Don’t ask any of the alleged representatives or law enforcement agencies to investigate this situation. They’re too busy lining their pockets, in my opinion!

20. I could be wrong, but, it seems to me that of the ways to get into the vet choice program is either the vet lives too far away, there is some kind of terrain that’s difficult to get around or over, or, the VA is too busy to for the vet. The first two I haven’t given a lot of thought to, but, the VA being too busy?

    Universities have this thing called “Rate Your Professor”, Perhaps if we started a “Rate your VA Doctor or nurse”, they might start pulling their weight to keep out of a spotlight.

    If I knew how to do this, I would start it, but, I’m kind of don’t know anything except my name, and that gets tough to remember some times…

    anyone?

    1. tRIM tAB;
       ANY VET CAN POST WHAT HE BELIEVES TO HAVE BEEN INSUFFICENT CARE OR IF HE HAS GOTTEN THE RUN AROUND OR BEEN BULLSHITTED BY A BUREAUCRATIC BOOB. GIVE OUT NAMES OF DOCTORS, NURSES AND BOOBECRATS.
       Join the discussion

    2. The other way a veteran qualifies for Choice is when the VA does not have the specialist a veteran needs to see on staff.

       If you had to see a VA doctor for neurology and your VA did not have a neurologist on staff, the VA will refer you to Choice. That has happened to me twice. There is no discussion about referrals to another VA hospital.

       As for your suggestion about rating your VA doctor, that already exists. Check out the site, VAreview dot net. There are lots of reviews there.

       1. Thank you 91

21. Anyone notice Healthnet’s Public Affairs statement at end of this article in which it pretty much mirrors line for line VA public affairs statements? Same schools or same old tired lies?

    1. Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System Public Affairs statement is what I meant. It reads like any given VA cover-up statement. That statement says everything BUT the ONLY ANSWER….and that’s to PAY YOUE BILLS VA WITH THE BILLION$$$$ ALOCATED FOR….CHOICE.

22. RE: HEALTHNET STATEMENT: Nowhere in this statement does it say they’re gonna do the thing that is the simplest and most cost effective thing to solve the problem….PAY THE FRICKING BILLS ALREADY…

    Really simple…push a button, approve the payment, cut a check…easy peasy…I COULD DO IT…In fact, if they’ll pay me, I’ll do it for them…

    RE: CAVHCS STATEMENT:

    Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System takes the quality of the care it provides very seriously. …Obviously not seriously enough to make the system work and hire a competent provider…

    When problems occur, they are quickly identified and addressed. Bald faced lie unless you completely redefine the words “quickly”and “addressed”…

    CAVHCS is experiencing a lack of available orthopedic surgeons in the Columbus, GA area…Well DUH. When you don’t pay your bills, that’s what happens…

    CAVHCS is experiencing a lack of available orthopedic surgeons in the Columbus, GA area. Our largest Non-VA Care provider of this service is the Hughston Clinic. Due to issues with processing of health care claims by the Veterans Choice Contract Provider, Health Net Federal Service, the Hughston clinic is currently not accepting Veterans Choice program referrals. …Well DUH. When you don’t pay your bills, that’s what happens…

    Health Net has assured CAVHCS leadership that they have been in constant communication with the Director of Reimbursement at Hughston Clinic in effort to work towards resolution regarding their claims. Simple Solution PAY THE FRICKIN BILLS..No more ” communication ” needed…

    “resolution regarding their claims” There’s no other possible resolution than to PAY THE FRICKIN BILLS…Are you seeing a trend here?

    1. The VA only understands a one-way version of ‘PAY THE FRICKIN BILLS”….and it’s only when the VA benefits and the VA is paid, but rarely the other direction.

    2. Right Donald!? Exactly! They are just going to find other providers. WTF!!

23. Going through the same issue with VC as well here in Montgomery. They’ve actually cancelled appointments the day of the appointment five times and still haven’t paid a bill from an 2013 CT Scan at an outside clinic who are calling me for payment! Only the lowest bidder gets approved quickly, those are CAVHCS “buddies” whose practices fall right into line with CAVHCS poor medical practices or worse. No respectable medical facility will touch a veteran with a hundred foot pole when the facility realize Veteran’s Choice is suggested. Glad this is coming to light down here, Martha Roby’s office is only doing puff pieces and never helps with the well known chronic issues with the still broken system that continues to plague all the VA facilities in Alabama.

    1. Terrance,
       Choice is a second class operation and Choice only refers Veterans to second class medical providers/doctors/clinics.
       I attempted to use choice, was approved and the ONLY MEDICAL FACILITIES which the ‘middle-man’/HealthNet, ( also a second class operation), with the typical middle management boobs making decisions, directly affecting your LIFE AND HEALTH, and incompetent clerks doing the over the phone arrangements, were SECOND CLASS medical clinics and practioners. In case you haven’t checked it out No self respecting partricioner.medical doctor can survive on just medicare
       payments. Most of these “uptown” doctors, coming out of the top layer of residencies, have so much debt that they can’t afford to provide care just for the medicare payments. (I know of highly rated doctors who had to quit the VA because they couldn’t live and pay their medical school debt and they were replaced at the VA by foreign doctors who graduated from medical schools which provided them free medical education. (FACT CHECK THAT, SONGBIRD McCAIN)
       The Clinics/medical practices to which I was referred got very poor reviews, were dirty and these Clinics/practices will accept just the Medicare Payments with no additional payments required; the clinics are typically staffed by doctors who are just starting out and need to build up their client/patient list or are doctors who are “over the hill” or doctors that do not get the jobs which go the most outstanding medical residents from our own medical schools.
       This Pile of Sh _ t deal must be directly referred to our President Trump who can address the respective parties, (The persons who designed the Choice program and the boobs at HealthNet who “ADMINISTER”, (or whatever describes their actions with reference to how they “TAKE CARE OF” Veterans, and the VA boobs who handle the Choice Process), I.E. “YOU’RE FIRED!!!”.
       Again, as I have said before, there needs to be numerous lawsuits filed against these VA boobs and Health Net Boobs for fraud and medical malpractice as well as a Class Action lawsuit against all of the Riff Raff who are directly responsible for the lack of and mistreatment of Veterans.
       The time for “strategic patience” with regard to the VA is OVER!!
       We need to organize by ourselves without the DAV, American Legion, VFW, etc. etc. who have “skin in the game” of the dirty rotten ping pong game which has been played for years with regard to care of us Veterans.
       Ben, help us get a bunch of mean, nasty, TOP NOTCH LAWYERS TO TAKE ON THIS BUNCH OF SLEAZEBAGS.
       As well we need to push and PUSH HARD for criminal action against these garbage eaters BY THE U.S JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INSTEAD OF HAVING THE “JUSTICE” DEPARTMENT DEFENDING THESE TRAITORS.??!!
       TIME TO KICK ASS AND TAKE NAMES, PEOPLE; SQUEAKY WHEEL GETS THE GREASE.

    2. Same here man, VA scheduled the appointment for me with my pcp. The VA sent the billing info to my pcp’s office and one of the numbers were wrong. The VA did not send me a copy of the correspondence, so i did not have the number and i informed the doctors office. Instead of going after the VA, the doctors office went after me for the money. I couldn’t pay it at the time and couldn’t get the VA to resend the info fast enough, so now the unpaid bill is on my credit report and i got discharged as a patient from the doctor’s office, over a little more than 100 dollars. Even stranger thing is that my wife actually was working at that same doctors office full time during that time period, and her and the doctor were friends….

24. I know what he is going through and I feel his pain. I have had 26 operations related to my service connected injuries, and out of the 26 operations I have had I paid for 24 of them because the VA admitted that they should pay for them but refused to do so. The ONLY one they paid for other then the first one I had in service, was the spinal fusion in 2004. Since then I have had two complete knee replacements and another 3 more spinal fusions, all at my own cost. Now they are trying to decide if my left kneecap (and why they put the original damaged kneecap back in is beyond me) is too small to keep or too large to remove. Plus I am looking at a possible 5th spinal fusion, and what do you want to bet if I need these I will have top pay for them myself.

Comments are closed.