What Would YOU Like For Christmas?
Even though I am no Saint, much less Saint Nic, I do have the ability to bring you some cheer, helpful news, and tips this Christmas.
And this short article is all about asking you, my faithful readers, for feedback on what you’d like me to talk about here.
So let’s get this Christmas season started off on the right foot.
Prayer: “Dear Lord, We dedicate this platform to you and your glory. May the information published here shine a light on the issues and concerns of Americans and veterans as you see fit. May it serve your greater purpose and bring your truth to the bowels of what has been called by Congress the Most Corrupt Bureaucracy in the federal government, the Department of Veterans Affairs. May those who read the messages on this platform gain the perspective and truth they need to gain freedom from whatever shackles are holding them back. We ask that the Department of Veterans Affairs treat all its employees who care for veterans well and may its leaders develop reputations for truth rather than bureaucratic double-speak; and, most importantly, may the agency be reformed into an agency that truly looks out for the interests of and helps ALL veterans, their families, wives and widows, husbands and widowers, orphans, and everyone in between. ~ Amen.”
Phew, that was a long prayer.
That said, let me know what topics of interest you might like covered here over the next 24 days. Whether it be a scandal or a top 5 list of the best ugly sweaters or somewhere in between, what would you like to see covered here?
Have a great week.
P.S. The picture is of the Bloomingdale Christmas Tree in Chicago.
Here’s another fubar by VA and Congress:
*”https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/12/05/va-and-congress-struggle-reach-compromise-veteran-suicide-prevention-bill.html”*
This article proves Sec of VA Wilkie lied to America! Read the article carefully to understand what I’m saying!
Ben,
There has been a noticeable shift toward CHOICE care. In my case, it has taken a while to get in the queue for acupuncture, but I got there, and have gotten off pain killers and muscle relaxants. Good stuff. But, during my last session, my dart thrower told me that invoices submitted since August have not been paid. Furthemore, on some of her patients, Tri-Smear has come back and told her what you heard when you had to go to the ER – e.g. “treatment not warranted” – or to that effect.
Is there any way to sick Lagoe or auditors on TriWest?
First I would like to say thank you for all you’re doing for us. Thanks to seeing a video of you, I have decided to apply for the VocRehab, I went to the orientation, fill out some papers and it’s been a month, it only shows a “open status” on ebenefits. I am a college student and my GiBill also ran out. I would like to know what’s coming next and how should I prepare for it. Thank you.
IMO Primary Care is in itself, a specialty.
Each and every thing to do with any patient’s MEDICAL care is supervised by the gatekeeper of that care… the Primary Care Provider. If that assigned primary person has most of their training in another specific area, then they are not the ideal candidate as primary care provider. Nowadays most VHA primary providers are some level of Nurse, and the patient has little knowledge of their actual skill level of whole body MEDICAL care. Too many VHA primary providers are referring patients to specialty clinics without proper preparatory tests or labs, and leaving the patient to explain that lapse in whatever way they honestly can, and maybe to their own detriment in care. That specialist should be able to analyze previously provided tests/labs and care to determine a course of treatment at the patient’s FIRST visit to that referred clinic. If primary does not do the preliminaries, regardless of reason, then that might explain why so many have had a difficult time securing a specialty clinic appointment. VHA needs to provide patients with dedicated fully educated PRIMARY care persons, rather sticking whomever into the slot because some First-Aid Certification is good enough for “just-a-vet” needs!
Many VHA facilities are NOT keeping their VA webpages up to date.
There is also a clumping together of available care at the various facilities. As an example, the Low Dose CT Scan mentioned above. Which VA facilities have that option available for providers to refer their patients? All we get to see is X-Ray department and if there is an extension listed, maybe a human will eventually answer the phone! Do they have MRI, CT, US, available at that facility, or is it farmed out at the patients expense? Keep the facility webpages updated an with copious information on current departments, programs and provider capabilities. As patients we can’t search for the most convenient facility for our MEDICAL needs, it is always for the cheapest benefit of the VA’s bottom line and the patient can just croak. That brings me to another anomaly within the system.
In the last few years, every patient at every VHA appointment gets asked about insurance.
I have read many posts here about UNPAID VA consents and /or referrals to allow medical service(s). Dumping this on the patient in a time of health crisis is becoming the routine of the day across even civilian medical facilities nationwide. “https://www.cbsnews.com/medical-price-roulette/”. It has been reported that many civilian facilities are following the VA way in practice and procedure, leaving all of us to fend for ourselves or pay for their luxuries. Some posts here have stated the lack of surgical aftercare/wound care, both being critically important to those patient’s health and well being. This also brings to my mind a severe lack of honesty from VHA providers to patients.
I would like to see honest, clearly stated and followed transparency of/in operations across all of the VA entities.
There is so little “go to” directory information at the local level, for folks to get the correct help or answers. Then it is always put upon the veteran to navigate an ever changing system, while RO’s and VISN’s operate in their very own, very private, tunnel-visioned world. There is no continuity for the veterans benefit toward finding needed answers and services at the local level. Add to that the staff, regardless reason, is also “uninformed” of system changes when a patient/veteran has need. One clear example most can relate to is the persistent changing monikers for all things VA provides for veterans. As in this example, is it Fee Basis, Outside Care, Non-VA Care, Veteran’s Choice, Community Care, MISSION Act… and ALL of those used within this decade! For Pete’s sake (and the rest of us) pick a moniker and stick with it! Regardless of the changes within any individual program, have employees at least initial that they are informed of those updates and changes!
Did anyone see over Thanksgiving, the VA’s newly minted for the taxpayer’s assurance TV ad?
Well! There are several visually attractive and frozen smiled, non-harried VA “employees(?)” all in perfect fitting powder blue T-shirts extolling all of the help they can’t wait to bestow on veterans, specifically for those needing all variety answers from VBA! They gave a va dot gov/ address that I don’t recall. If anyone has the rest of the link…. Or maybe use results to report…
Please write about the Veteran Master Plan, VMP, the supplemental master plan for the 3-year-old, failed, draft master plan that has done nothing for disabled Veterans and has tried to do everything for non-veteran special interests at the “home” at VA, WLA.
Oh! I’m sorry, we asked for this before and nothing, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, has been written about it for that same period of time.
Things that make you go, umm.
Harrison Baize VA disability and medical care is in the contract you signed when you went into the military and If you are honorably discharged and need help they are supposed to welcome you with open arms. Vets do not need to Such it up they need to fight and if that means a giant class action to force the issue then so be it. You and all your vet friends earned those benefits and for you to even suggest that the vets throw in the towl is plain stupid.
Ben,
You asked for my wants, here goes:
1. VA to open the reservoir of Medical Data from all VISN’s to the National Academies of Science toward the list of most common institutional medical errors ( including MEDICATION ERRORS & Infections; nosocomial and iatrogenic). PURPOSE: to give us a well defined output of work products including tabled data , population health stats, medical malpractice stats, claims stats and so on…..This program is to be well funded and to receive continued funding to produce annual reports once established.
2. Outsourced Data Analytics Help for Veterans: Data Analytics by independent 3rd parties at the election of the Veteran to be applied to every Veteran claim with summary reports ( information) incorporated in claims decisions arrived at by the VARO’s or its henchmen.
3. PERMISSION; for Veterans to come off the Reservation and allow us to pursue our claims in public court rooms and with qualified medical professionals just like any other citizen of the United States.
4. Remove the political influence of the American Medical Association on Veterans Health and make them tow the line when it comes to medical malpractice on Veterans by medical people who are also members of the AMA (the most dangerous Union in the United States)
Oh my God Ben! Thank you for this post. So many Veterans deserve better care and a better life,
You are so loved for all you do.
Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas to you !
Russell
Arnold Cabral you made a mistake as a Disabled Veterans who is 100 percent service connected us Disabled Veterans who is 100 percent service connected need a raise in compensation no worries our Budget never have enough money for G4 implants…Semper Fi
Although me and my ex had a messy divorce and fierce child custody battle years ago, when he recently requested I submit a letter explaining why I divorced him, I gladly consented. He was a veteran with PTSD and had flashbacks where he would be reclused and depressed and drank heavily. I just could not stay married to him with all his mental problems, which were directly related to his tour in vietnam. The VA considers such evidence for PTSD claims and I’m happy he’s finally getting the help he deserves. So, to answer your questions: YES , this evidence is considered as proof of PTSD as is “buddy statements” from friends, current and ex spouses, neighbors, relatives, ect… Gather your statements and submit them with your claim. Hope this helps. Like I said before, I’ll say it again: The VA is not going to do any of these things for you, you or someone else you trust is going to have to do these things and more. Its not up to the VA to prove your disabled, the burden of proof is on YOU.
Off Topic – does anyone have any links on “how the VA healthcare negatively effects or puts strains on marriages?”
Many mahalo’s (thank you’s).
November article out of Indy Star
Government officials fail Americans by holding impeaching proceedings
This government has unlimited taxpayer funds for impeachment. Their priorities are the people of Ukraine, even while their own districts are failing. The millions of dollars wasted could have housed the homeless. Instead of fixing the broken Veterans Affairs system, we lost 80 veterans to suicide in four days of impeachment hearings. The broken Social Security and disability systems have abandoned its obligations. People are losing there homes due to deliberate denials and Congress’ failure to fix the broken and unjust system. The U.S. government is responsible for turning the disabled into drug dealers and prostitutes because no one can survive the long denial process.
Hi jerry VA likes to take your rating and lower it. If you cant maintain gainful employment talk to your DAV rep or organization and see if you can get unemployability. Some time ago VA authorized tinitas and alot of veterans still are unaware of it. If you were around loud noise like gunshots, planes, Boat motors in the Navy there a good chance your ears ring and drive you nuts!
To be eligible for unemployability you must have 1 disability rating of 60% or a combined rate of 70% and those disabilities must be directly related to military service and not a secondary issue. I have 3 that total 60% directly service connected, so I don’t meet the requirements for unemployability. My right ankle is the reason for my medical discharge but as bad as it is it doesn’t meet the requirements described in the VA requirements for an increase. My ankle was 10% upon discharge in 1988 and is 20% as of now. I have been told by a C&P doctor that the information used to describe and determine disability rating is over 100 years old. In his, words the language used is difficult to understand and in dire need of updating.
Jerry, I replied to the wrong post above. Copy and paste here:
Fred, you do not meet the “presumption” of unemployability. You can be rated as TDIU with any rating directly service connected if it prevents you from gainful employment. I knew a vet who had grand mall seizures. It took only one for him to lose a job. And if he reported the reason he lost his last job no one would hire him. So he didn’t report it to a potential employer. Problem is, he would have one after a few months of employment. Not enough to be rated more than 40% but unemployable because the nature of grand mall seizures and their ability to frighten employers and fellow employees.
Personally, I have a remand in process from the BVA for my claimed “extra schedular” TDIU beginning in October of 1987 until it was granted under the “presumption” as of July 2009. I fully expect to get the award because Social Security gave me SSDI.
To who read this who how if a Disabled Veterans who is 100 percent service connected he or she can pick any Medical Provider they want to go.
Happy holidays to all. I would like disabled veterans.org to occasionally do interviews with veterans who were plaintiffs before U.S. Supreme Court , US Federal Circuit courts, or CAVC and were involved in a case they won or valiantly lost that was complex and led to a precedent, if they are willing to come on this website and tell their story. Cases like Blue Water Navy Veterans ( Alfred Procopio v. Wilkie US Fed. Cir. Jan 2019 ), Monk v. Wilkie Fed. Cir. Oct 2018, or Melba Saunders ( Saunders v. Wilkie April 2018 ) as examples. Let us hear from these brave veterans, ( while they’re alive- and I’m still breathing) there is a lot to be learned and researched.
Fred, you do not meet the “presumption” of unemployability. You can be rated as TDIU with any rating directly service connected if it prevents you from gainful employment. I knew a vet who had grand mall seizures. It took only one for him to lose a job. And if he reported the reason he lost his last job no one would hire him. So he didn’t report it to a potential employer. Problem is, he would have one after a few months of employment. Not enough to be rated more than 40% but unemployable because the nature of grand mall seizures and their ability to frighten employers and fellow employees.
Personally, I have a remand in process from the BVA for my claimed “extra schedular” TDIU beginning in October of 1987 until it was granted under the “presumption” as of July 2009. I fully expect to get the award because Social Security gave me SSDI.
Appreciate you and what you do, can you give a run down of what’s available in the way of Voc Rehab and other stuff for 100% Permanent & Total disabled vets. What can voc rehab do for a P&T vet can you explain the quality of life thing? Much appreciated!
I have PTSD and a overall disability rating of 80%. I have had a P/T job I like because I get to be left alone when I work, but that now is in The company I work for is soon to be absorbed by a bigger Company. I’m 67 and want to go back to school to be a Chaplain. I can take online courses for that. I was wondering if Vocational Rehab is a good route to go and if so how do I get started or does the VA assist in any way with what would I need to get that started?
I have witnesses who have seen and heard how horribly I have been treated and spoken to over the past 31 years. I have had an Orthopedic surgeon tell my wife after reading that I have PTSD, anxiety and depression, pointed to the screen and laughed as he told my wife, oh I see his leg isn’t hurt he’s Fing crazy.
What is the average wait time to receive Travel Pay after a clinic visit for eligible veterans. Mine averages 5 months before it shows up in my bank account.
Hmmm. What I would like for Christmas? Tough one Ben. A nice big bag of evil opioids would be nice. I am a responsible human being contrary to beliefs of the bottom feeders at the VA, medical boards, LEOs, tyrants, gubbermint, etc. Oh and a worthless community, and state wide totally shunned carbon unit. Oh those evil retaliatory deep networks of the Grinch and monstrous elves! That includes all the two-faced cowards of veteran service organization or out-reach groups claiming to care. VA, multiple state agencies, media cheerleaders too. While they either join-in with the attack reindeer (with brown noses not red)/elves, sit silent, watch and know others are suffering, dying, being intentionally harmed, being hard censored, un-represented, support all the media/local propaganda, etc. Happy happy happy.
A really real and good one would be a un-censored chat forum for vets and family to honestly discuss the many issues/battles many face and no-one to discuss anything with, or to vent some. Inform others about some realities in every state in the union instead of being so afraid to make a peep, or peep on certain topics due to back-lash. Minus the constant barrage of gas-lighting by VA cheerleaders, trolls, officials, activist. I’ll still chip-in to get something like that going. We could even have a forum or thread on there about how to make Gingerbread cottages and fun stuff. Odd isn’t how so many are getting banned or accounts “terminated” just for discussing such issues, medical issues, or complaints from some younger ones coming home from deployment with odd illnesses? Communities keeping people separated, not united on any front. Not to forget the up-tick in veteran suicides (not the only ones), and being many from dealing with major illnesses (some “unknown” or secretive) and chronic pain issues. Or those silenced ones like me dealing with totally corrupted states and communities that want to see us “Shushed up” by any means necessary. Ya know it’s “not good for drawing businesses or for the college towns” or for the corrupt full circle. Everything must appear great, no negatives allowed.
Other than that I don’t know. Countless people have their own major issues and personal needs, needs, not mere wants or simple “whines.” One hell-u-vah long list of them actually. Claims issues, VR issues which you cover well. Then to the phony “whistle-blower” protection laws. Appeals issues. Retaliation issues. Which my last call to DC informed me that I should be under and go back to the VA and use proper channels or use government elected and officials (? Like I haven’t). Not happening. Plus being beyond time limits, the un-believable corruption, cover-ups, their networks, no representation, corrupt staff and secretaries etc. With time and some of our health issues being on their side, not ours. So they can delay and play games all they desire while we wait or get totally ignored and attacked. We’ve all seen or know some that passed away on this blog while playing gubberment, activist, politics and VA games. Throw in communities and other vets plus politicians, those in the health care field all preventing us from connecting or networking with others are huge issues. Preventing us from discussing things even in some VSO hall or bar/club room? So many toes we aren’t supposed to step on or expose. But great at putting fear or retaliation or being “flagged” over something is commonplace.
Which brings me back to needed forums, not fascist over social media, and the censoring. There has to be some way for vets to group-up or network with others, and find some solutions, not be totally alone. Or to expose how homeless vets are being bused from one big city to the other across the nation and can’t get any attention, dealing with all the VA red-tape, lost records, the games. That issue alone is never mentioned let alone much known or heard of. Just like issues of suicides or the causation or labeling of. We are up the creek without communications. And don’t think for a moment there aren’t activist and incompetent hateful scum-bags that would have zero concern about killing us off in some hospital that already covers up crimes, death, incompetence, etc., in or out of the VA.
Other than all that stuff. Yeah, I believe in some miracles. I can put on my own facade and say Merry Christmas, Happy New Year. And hope those with kids along with others suffering can try to have a good one besides the hell we live with daily. And may God help those with children in this day and age. Have good day too. Rant off.
Personally what I want is this nightmare of dealing with the mental midgets at the VA to get done with my appeal. As one of the first people in the RAMP program it has turned into another delay tactic. I have been told mine was expedited, buy was not. I have been turned down for claims I didn’t file. I was just informed by my lawyer another 12 – 18 months after being in this RAPID system already for 18 months. I have had 28 surgeries, 10 on my spine alone. Every joint in my body has deteriorated to which they make separate claims. It is not an individual joint problem, I have inherited defective cartiledge which my mothers side all suffers from. This should be a system problem not individual. I finally ran out of joints to fix and my heart went to hell, forcing me to sell my home as I could not maintain a huge yard. I suffer from severe depression and anxiety attacks and have been suicidal many times. After I sold my home I needed a break, jumped in my old RV and went to the east coast to visit a friend. I found I could not breathe and went to Fayetteville VA and fence post repair comapny and the doctor never even looked in my throat. He gave me an inhaler which I had used before, turned out to be the cause of my problems. I returned to MN to the one VA doctor I trust, opened my mouth and this inhaler had caused massive Thrush. For anyone on Symbicort the directions say rinse your mouth after use, but brush your teeth and use mouthwash. I actually bought another house for full asking price, then they raised it 8k so with winter approaching I took off again. I am now living in a dump of a place in my RV. I get by fine. I had quit drinking and smoking but since the VA is going to kill me anyhow I restarted. We hear so much about the VA and suicide, but I truly believe many of these are vets like me who can no longer deal with the delays and broken promises. The only thing that keeps me going is my dog and a son at home and 2 grandkids. Thanksgiving was hell and Christmas will be worse. So what do I want for Christmas? Either finally quit screwing with my records and the ones they mixed up with mine and finish things or death. Sorry brother, it’s what you asked for.
For Christmas I’d like to know why, with a fully documented claim for medical malpractice against the VA, I can’t find an attorney that can/ will both take on the VA and will follow my directions as to how to approach the problem (failure to diagnose/treat Anaplasmosis for 6 months) instead of going down the VA’s rabbit hole and discussing Lyme disease. I was told by one attorney that because I “only” spend $500 (out of pocket) a month treating myself it’s not worth his spending $75,000 to appeal to the VA. Why is $500 more important than the fact that I am physically unable to move for more than a few hours a day due to ME/CFS (SEIDS)? The original attorney dropped me as a client after the VA denied my claim for totally bogus reasons. It’s no wonder that the VA keeps killing and destroying vets lives, they are absolutely not held accountable in any way. Thank you Ben for all you do! Merry Christmas!
To have Secretary of VA to tell the damn truth for once! He needs to be held accountable, as do all of his employees, over the egregious healthcare veterans receive!
Crazy elf; AGREED!!!
Amen.
Aside from ongoing VA issues, I was recently reminded: ’tis the season for miracles’. So here goes…
One miracle — follow-ups on the BVA. I had an appeal (five issues) merged with another appeal with another appeal (one issue) since 2016. My appeal(s) are on the docket as of 2017. I’ve checked weekly since this past May to verify my ‘place’ on the line chart in va.gov. Since the VA has now pushed additional options to ‘speed up veterans’ appeals process’ the past couple years, they don’t seem to affect the the progress (or lack there of) of those who chose to stay in the legacy process. Due to the inadequacies and negligence taken by the VA for the last ten years–up to the point of filing for appeals, is the reason I chose to keep my appeal(s) in the legacy version of the BVA. If I removed them from legacy to enter another channel of appeals, it will certainly delay my case even longer. I’ve only ‘moved up’ on the visual line about 20,000 claims since May. Through calculations of the past nearly seven months, it appears my appeal(s) won’t be completed for another three years. Is the visual line provided on the claims anywhere near accurate? What is the reality factor of each of the versions for claims appeals that Soldiers have claims submitted? What might the ‘reality’ outlook for those who have not yet filed appeals? I feel there should be regular updates regarding BVA progress. In spite of me as well as other Veterans being jerked around; there is still hope- as remote as it may seem—and I still believe in miracles. Happy Holidays to all!
Thanks OpsMsg, same to you.
Having my knight aka Dave with me after 48 yrs of hell. Nite mares n last January n February have lung cancer due to agent orange n 14 inches of colon due to cancer. I dont want to sound greedy who did all the monasato money help our vets or the high official eat more steak. I go to VA an it sadden me .
My list is short, why is it that in this modern day it takes months and months to get results on a compensation claim?
My prayer: Put teeth in the requirement that VA adhere to the provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act.
From a recent NYT article:
“The Administrative Procedure Act doesn’t tell the government what to do. It simply requires that actions of federal agencies be supported by reasoned decision-making. When challenged, agencies have to provide explanations that are plausible and consistent rather than “arbitrary and capricious.”
Mr. Krause.
Last year I followed all of your step by step instructions on how to increase my Service Connect Disability and with your online guidance I got my 100 percent. Fellow Veterans please follow Mr. Krause site for all Honest VA relative issues. This is what I want to hear from Mr. Krause, honest reporting about VA issues. Merry Christmas to all Veterans
Jim, I would agree with you. Ben has sound legal information accessible to veterans on his website to better prepare vets in fighting their claims. Objective evidential substance from veterans in adherence to the VA process can win at the end of the day if the VA is accountable too their own process. Vets have to be positioned with all their ducks in order to steamroll their claims forward. The process is a tic for a tac. Though, at the end of the day, VA can still deny and delay no matter what. This is the problem. The vet will be dead before a decision is made. In some cases, vets maybe better off if they just try to do it themselves because the world does not wait on the VA. Each one of us has only so much time on this Earth. So time is valuable in my opinion.
Merry Christmas to all….
Ben, my first wish is for the VA to abide by 38 CFR, and approve claims for presumptive illness for Gulf War Illness, Vietnam and Korean War illness and injuries.
Second wish is that VA puts on its big boy/girl pants and MANDATES that all claims adjudicators receive the training that’s available to properly process the above claims.
And last, ya know, there are veterans who served, were injured or became ill before 9/11 happened. Our sacrifices and innovations in war set the stage for the current generations successes. Pull us out from under the deuce and a half you’ve thrown us under and treat us as you do post 9/11 veterans.
Ben, what I’d like to see, and it would benefit most, is an bulleted outline of where to start and finish, and/or bypass the complaint process against the VA.
Almost EVERY Vet that I know has unresolved issues, problems, and grievances against the VA.
Plus we all know how the VA uses stahling tactics.
VA has me on the Home Based Primary Care Program (HBPCP), and I’ve been waiting over 17 months for in-home PT.
In the meantime, my body is wasting away, and now my ankles & knees are swelling, and its hard to walk. Its like the VA is purposely trying to kill me.
The above would be a priority for most. And as you may know, I’m an Investigative Research Biologist, so you can see how this digs deep into my heart.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your precious family.
Plus, I share your articles on social media.
Agree with you ANutterVet,
most issues get shutdown at the bottom of the VA hierarchy. They say it is the laws whether the laws are applicable to the situation or not. Plus, they all give different information. If they know, they do not reveal the information to vets. Never make a decision but a decision not made is a decision. Yes, a documented legal complaint process or resources outside the VA hierarchy are needed to bypass the na sayers to get information to the leadership who may know the details and who can make the decisions. Lots of stalling at the bottom. I have witnessed this.
I’d like to see the discrimination of our 100% physically wounded WWII Korea Vietnam and Desert Storm Veterans ended.
Over 800 a day die waiting for equal Home Caregiver stipend we’ve paid young vets (90% for PTSD). They can’t wait any longer
The expansion due in October 2019 is now in indefinite HOLD
We’re desperate for help
Paula, I agree.
My uncle who is my dad’s brother fought during the Korean War. He is 87 years old. He lost his hearing from that war. He has a TV screen set up to show the words being spoke in a conversation when someone calls him on the phone. He can view the words on the screen as the person is speaking them over the phone. He cannot hear at all. But, you are correct. The VA does crap on veterans ten times over. My uncle tried and tried to get help from the VA. He never could. After all these years, he might have gotten a little help with the hearing aids but I am not totally sure. He uses private healthcare insurance plus of course he has Medicare. But, still the VA never recognized his injuries from the Korean War. Just look at all the money that Trump hands the VA. Honestly, where does it go? Squander.
I want for Christmas raise the Budget of Veterans Healthcare plus Veterans and Spread my belief email your Senators or Representative contract Veteran Affairs Committee passed a new Veteran Benefit Law if a Disabled Veterans who is 100 percent service connected needs a Dentist know how to G4 implants for free because they don’t have one work for a Veteran Medical Centers or have a contract with Veteran Administration and if a Disabled Veterans who is 100 percent service connected doesn’t get the G4 implants it would cause really bad Health Problems plus it would cause really bad Gums Disease also it may cause Cancer
my wish for Christmas is that Congress will decide that they need to force the VA to grant Korea claims based on 38 CFR 3.102 or 3.304 and grant my Joe’s claim for disability and I get a sweet check before Christmas for 100% from 2001
Benjamin Krause are you I have to say to you?
I want to know about the likely hood of a veteran such as myself who has a Masters degree already, was awarded a TDUI this year, and would like to access Voc Rehab (have Chap 31 benefits extended) so that I can get a clinical Masters of Social Work degree.
Ben, while I have numerous VA issues/problems I would like to see covered here. I do have a number one.
Low Dose CT Lung Cancer Screening (LDCTLCS) for eligible Veterans who have a history of smoking and for Veterans exposed to known respiratory carcinogens during their military service.
LDCTLCS is not offered or available to Veterans based on their exposures to respiratory carcinogens like Agent Orange, Burn pits, asbestos , etc.
Ben, I have a plethora of documentation (VA and Congressional Letters, Emails, Links, Open Letter to US Oregon senators/congressmen published in an Oregon Newspaper by VVA Chapter 757, letters to the editor as well as Veterans public comments about these VA Failures and much more.
Ben, I will be more than happy to provide you with all of this documentation if you want to address these VA Failures and and inform Veterans.
I have made some progress locally with the new Roseburg VA Director Keith Allen who announced at the November 20, 2019 Town Hall that the Roseburg VA would finally be offering LDCTLCS for eligible Veterans based on their smoking history and that the Roseburg VA was “looking into” offering LDCTLCS to Veterans based on their exposures during their military service.
Let me know if you want the info Ben.
Mike
Why a veteran can’t get a Purple Heart when they have a TBI rating but lack the proof from the scene of the battle that caused it.
Letter to my congressperson:
“I want to thank you in advance for allowing me to use some of your valuable time. I am having difficulty with the Veterans Administration Hospital Staff located at the Cheyenne VAMC and would like for you to assist me in getting the help I need with a bill from a downtown provider the V.A. sent me to for a service connected disability and the fact that the V.A. refuses to pay it.
On March 4, 2019 I went to a scheduled appointment the V.A. knew about as a follow-up of previous appointments for the same medical condition. The week before I went to the Cheyenne V.A. and asked the ‘Care In The Community’ office if this appointment was going to be paid for and they said yes, it would be. I have had to do this several times in the past due to the fact that some previous bills were not getting paid and when brought to the attention of the head of the office of ‘Care In The Community’ the mistake was identified and the bill paid.
Now, all of a sudden I am not allowed to speak to the head of the ‘Care In The Community’ office to attempt to resolve my current bill from the noted visit to my provider and it is listed as “31-60 Days Past Due” and may have already ruined my financial credit standing. I have called them several times to no avail.
I had been seeing this provider for over 4 years and wonder why this particular bill is not being paid.
According to the folks at Ft. Harrison financial center who would normally pay this bill my authorization date was cut off 45 days prior to my appointment. Normal window is 180 days. So, why was I told just one week before the appointment that it was going to be paid for?
PLEASE NOTE that after calling Ft. Harrison and asking about this bill they informed me that my ‘Care In The Community’ office at the Cheyenne V.A. was responsible for the “authorization dates”. They also noted that they thought the dates were highly unusual. They said that it should have been authorized until the end of Mach 2019 making it a 6 month window which is considered normal. Mine was only 110 days. 70 days short. March 29, 2019 should have been the end of that window as Ft. Harrison had pointed out.
I suspect that the Cheyenne V.A. cut me off because a new payer was coming on-line due to changes in the laws. I was under the ‘Choice Program’ and then the ‘Mission Act’ came about in the timeframe in question. I believe they cut me off hoping the new payer “TriWest” under the new ‘Mission Act’ was going to pick up the bill.
PLEASE NOTE that I must be seen by a credible endocrinologist every six months and the fact that I have told them of that need. The reason for the six month interval is the fact that I am on a critical medication that I must have and cannot do without or I die. It is a Class 3 controlled substance. Federal law mandates a new prescription be written every six months.
I firmly believe corruption is in play. ”
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What I would like from the corrupt and incompetent v.a. system of evil and rotten people who treat Veterans like crap:
Stop being ‘Bitchy, rude and disrespectful towards patients.’
Start being ‘Kind, considerate and thoughtful towards patients.’
Also know as – ‘Compassion’
Nuf sed.
or
Fin
Temporary Disability Retirement List, otherwise known a TDRL. The federal government has been screwing Veterans over for decades and no pne will pick the topic up and go all the way.
Benjamin,
On top of the scandals, alerts and alarms that we desperately need to know about, we need a few solutions to our small annoying problems. This would take some research, but if you started a series of isolated articles that explain in detail, in small words and straight to the point:
* the VA disability system, itself;
* the VA disability process, go thru each level and explain in detail:
* go thru each body system starting with the head, all the way down to the feet:
a) what the VA considers a disability for each part, for example, the head (scalp, head injuries, eyes, ear, nose, throat, mental disabilities, ect);
b) what symptoms the VA is looking for;
c) how the veteran can get these symptoms documented on their VA medical records;
d) what to bring to VA exams;
e) what tests the Veterans can demand be done to document these disabilities;
f) how Veterans can keep their symptoms documents, order and keep records, ect;
These articles with references where Veterans can find this information for themselves, have to be singular, not all thrown together, but concentrated into one detailed article for each.
This is all stuff I had to learn by myself in the seven years of hell, fighting with the VA for my benefits, but I eventually got them. I think the first and biggest mistake veterans and their families make is trusting that the government, military or the VA is going to do all these things for them, they’re not. You have to understand that the VA does not want to give you your benefits and they are counting on you to trust them every step of the way. The VA reps will not help you much, trust me, they’re not on your side either. Anyone with a job at the VA will not keep it very long if they help veterans get their disability compensation and they want to keep their jobs. The only reason I understood most of these things is because I am a retired nurse and combat medic, which put me in a unique position to know and understand medical records, medical terms, medical tests and so forth. You have to be that expert for them. I could dedicate an entire article just to migraines, which is what you should do for each body part and each disability for that body part: This article should give detailed info, tests needed, symptoms, what needs to be documented, what the VA wants, what records you need to bring for this disability to the VA’s version of an exam, ect…. The problem with all VA articles people write, is that its too general. They try to cram all the different info into one article and that’s just confusing. I don’t have the time to dedicate to this and I don’t have a website, but you do. Use it wisely and God bless you.,
Remember: the way to eat an elephant… is one bite at a time.
To: Sandy Hale, disabled combat medic, retired nurse
I suffered migraine headaches since birth and military service made them far worse. I was on every different kind of medicine that supposedly helped with them. I would have to be hospitalized because they were so bad.
I was on Sumatriptan Self-Injections costing the v.a. about $2,000.00 a month.
I did research on an ailment the v.,a, REFUSES to help me with and discovered something that would help and has. But, I came to realize that it also cured my migraine headaches and all headaches for that matter – even the handover kind.
It is completely natural and is something your body needs and can only be gotten/ consumed from foods. Ii is not very expensive and can even be bought at WALMART.
I take 1 – 500 mg capsule of this powder twice a day as close to 12 hours apart every day. For the first 3 months sometimes I could tell a migraine was coming on so I would take an extra capsule besides my usual dosage and the migraine would be gone after 15 minutes or less. Now, I very rarely have to take an extra and it has been 6 years since I started. (2013)
If I stop taking this supplement (prophylaxis) I could suffer a life-threatening migraine headache.
I currently have a 20 year supply and am planning to by an additional 30 year supply when I get more money.
So, when I told the v.a. about my discovery they scoffed and belittled me. But, they love the fact that I am saving them over $24,000.00 annually and much more due to v.a. – E.R. visits.
There are cures out there but the v.a. refuses to use alternative medicine.
I also accidentally cured the herpes I contracted while active duty military while trying to cure something else.
I have cured my gout.
I have cured the back pain I have suffered from active duty military while working on heavy equipment.
I can deal with pain more effectively and volunteered to help other Veteran patients through the pain clinics but the v.a. doesn’t want me to.
We are up against not only corrupt individuals but I have come to the conclusion that if someone walks in off the street looking for a janitorial job and the v.a. has a doctor slot open then that person becomes a doctor instantly. They are THAT stupid!!!
Here is an excerpt of a letter I wrote to my congressperson about the corruption and lack of decent care:
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I will not tolerate being disrespected or abused. Not providing decent care is a valid form of abuse. Ignorant and incompetent medical staff with an attitude of a “Just shut up and do as you are told” mentality is a form of mental abuse. Physical abuse due to lack of adequate medical care is harmful and deadly and has proven to be so in the past at your facility and the Denver facility.
I have had to do a lot of research on-line to figure out what my past and current providers were incapable of helping me with. A perfect example of deadly ignorance, incompetence and neglect was in March 1998 when I went in to see my provider, Dr. Lower, about extreme diarrhea. He wanted a stool sample but nobody could figure out how it was ordered. I kept complaining of the same problem for 5 months. After 5 months I went in to see my provider and had lost considerable weight while feeling like I was near death. He ordered labs and a stool sample. I went to the lab and after they took blood they said I was finished. I stated that I was not leaving the lab until someone gave me the stool sample kit required to harvest a sample at my home. The young lab tech said that there was not a request in the computer so it would not be done. I insisted that she contact the head of the lab and ask why. The person in charge told her that the request is hand carried by the patient to the lab on a yellow cardboard document that is given to the patient at the clinic checkout counter. I returned to the counter immediately and asked. The clerk said she had no idea what I was talking about. I asked her to retrieve the documents I gave her from the doctor and after looking she said there was no such request. I asked her to contact the supervisor of the office and when she did the supervisor stated that the form in question was right there next to her monitor and needed to be completed from the information from the doctor’s notes. The training session began. I received my document and went to the lab where another training session took place for the lab collection crew so they could learn how to process the form correctly. I went home and followed the instructions for a proper stool sample and turned in the package the next day around 9 am. Later that afternoon (a Friday) my provider called me at home and stated that I had severe food poisoning from salmonella and I had better get there right away so as to receive the antibiotics needed to take care of this illness. After taking the required dosage for the period of time required I became very ill. I went in to see my provider and he said that I had suffered a severe side effect of the medication. I had severe thrush. He recommended to me that I buy and consume yogurt with active probiotics to alleviate the symptoms and return my system back to normal. My system did no such thing. I suffered severe diarrhea for the next 10 years without help from my providers until one day I went in and saw Nurse Practitioner Enlow. She looked at my prescriptions and identified several known to cause loose stools. After adjusting my diet and eliminating the ‘nasty’ medications over a few months my bowel movements returned closer to normal.
After asking questions (my investigation) about what happened I found out that the provider was required to fill out the form and hand it to me, the patient, directly while stating that it must be hand carried by the patient to the laboratory in order to receive the stool sample kit. This was delegated to the nurse who re-delegated the responsibility to the check-out clerk who has absolutely no medical training whatsoever. I nearly died due to gross incompetence of the medical staff and lack of proper training by those that could help me with this particular illness. When bringing it to the patient advocates’ attention he was flabbergasted and apologized.
Another incident of gross incompetence more recently involved Gayla Jean Herbel who nearly killed me with her stupidity. I was referred to her by my primary care provider Dr. Willis. He said she was a new provider specializing in endocrinology. After my initial visit with her I came to the conclusion that she was a total fraud in the medical practice having no knowledge at all of the physiological processes of the human body.
The referral to her was for high HCT related to my Testosterone medication. She abruptly discontinued my medication without mentioning it during our initial visit. After having labs drawn that she requested she accused me of falsifying my lab results by not putting on the medication for “a couple of days” before blood was drawn. PLEASE NOTE that since I was already on the medication and had been for the last 18 years she failed to request the required LH (Luteinizing Hormone) to show evidence of a non-functioning pituitary gland that I told her about during our initial visit but she rejected.
She stated in my records that she was waiting for my gonads to ‘wake up’ since I had been on the medication so long. If she wanted to check that and if she was indeed a credible endocrinologist then she would have known to test the LH at the first draw in order for the whole testing to be conclusive. After being without testosterone medication for 5 months and too low on thyroid medication due to the incompetence of the Denver endocrinology clinic I nearly died from metabolic syndrome which Herbel failed to recognize. She also put a standing order in my file that no provider was authorized to help me with my endocrine needs. One provider stepped in ordering the LH and testosterone labs after 5 months and realized after seeing the results that she was a total fraud. I was quickly put back on the medication and I feel that that saved my life. What Herbel did to me was absolutely abusive and deadly! It affected me both physically and mentally.
The incident that happened at the Denver VAMC endocrinology clinic in 2012 caused me severe harm in the fact that Margaret Wierman, the head of endocrinology, reduced my thyroid medication from 175 mcg that I had been on since my pituitary macro-adenoma resection Transsphenoidal approach surgery while active duty military in 1996. I was put on that high of a dose initially due to the fact that I was that deficient. She based the reduction only on the TSH result. When I told her the fact that I had pituitary damage and that other lab results must be considered she yelled, “JUST SHUT UP AND DO AS YOU ARE TOLD!!!” with a very angry facial expression. That was very disturbing to me to say the least. She did this at a lesson involving students from UC Health as part of the clinic instruction ultimately teaching them the wrong way to diagnose medication reduction of thyroid medicine in a patient. I was on the lower dose for 2 years that caused severe weight gain and extreme lethargy and depression along with all the other symptoms of extremely low thyroid. PLEASE NOTE that she reduced me from 175 mcg to 150 mcg, a 25 mcg reduction, in one step without follow-up. The next level down from 175 mcg is 162 mcg. Follow-up is critical when changing the dosage of Synthroid medication due to it being so dangerous if not prescribed and monitored correctly. It can cause the patient severe harm and even death if not properly prescribed and monitored. There was no follow-up at all for 2 years! Also, extremely abusive and dangerous to the patient!!!
One incident with a nurse at the Cheyenne VAMC primary care clinic involved getting my required every two week testosterone shot. She did not retract the piston of the syringe after stabbing to check for the possibility of hitting a vein which would inject dangerous medication directly into the blood stream that could harm or even kill a patient. Thus, she injected the testosterone directly into a vein and I could feel the medication moving through my veins through my whole body. It was very scary. And, painful.
Another incident was for the same injection but a different day and a different nurse improperly injecting the testosterone shot causing me severe harm. I pulled my trousers down the required amount for the administration of such an injection. The nurse grabbed my trousers and pulled them down abruptly much farther and then stabbed me with the syringe into the sciatic nerve on my right side. The pain was ‘off the scale’, let’s say a 20 on a scale of 1-10, and I was crippled for at least 12 months.
Neither one of those nurses was qualified to administer that particular injection and caused me great harm.
If I were to list all of the incidents that have happened over the period of 22 plus years at your facility this document quite possibly would be at least 50 pages long. When do I get to tell my stories to someone who ‘gives a damn’? And, actually correct these types of problems? I repeat, providers being ‘bitchy, rude and disrespectful’ will not be tolerated and are extremely harmful to my mental well being that is the subject matter of this correspondence.
My mental health providers were ordered to ignore my medical abuse complaints. They said so.
When will the madness stop?
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What is the supplement that you take? You never mentioned it.
@M dv
Active compounds oxidize, whether in a package, capsule, powder, etc . . .
If it’s readily available, no need to get more than a year supply at one time. Even if you’ve a dehumidifying cabinet.
No.offense, its that I’ve been doing vitamins, supplements and nootropics since 1975.
To: ANutterVet
CORRECTION: “handover” is supposed to be ‘hangover’. Oops. Sorry.
How much money do you have? heehee . . . isn’t that how it works? heehee
The target is – (drum roll) Nitric Oxide
Nitric Oxide by itself is extremely dangerous with severe side effects. It is injected into your vein when you go to the E.R. for a heart attack along with a cocktail of other ‘helpers’ of the situation.
Nitric Oxide is produced in the liver for use by the body to dilate blood vessels throughout the body so the blood can flow more smoothly.
Eating food with – L-Arginine – is digested and then the liver converts it to the Nitric Oxide the body needs which is the most optimal way to get the Nitric Oxide. If your body produces it then it is safer and more easily used by your body.
One extreme side effect of Nitric Oxide noted by E.R. personnel especially in male patients (because it was so obvious) was an severe erection. Thus, the doctors mentioned it to the pharm companies so they invented Viagra. Viagra is very dangerous so L-Arginine is the absolute safest way to get what the body needs.
I wish I could make money off my discovery and have tried but the pharm companies rejected it due to the fact that they are making copious amounts of money from their fraudulent cures.
I mentioned it to my doctor that I cured my migraine headaches and he asked how. I said, “How much money do you have?” and he looked puzzled. I stated, “Isn’t that how it works?” He giggled and said, “Unfortunately . . . yes.” “No, really, how did you do it?” I leaned closer like I was telling a secret (which I was) and said, “Nitric Oxide.” He had a shocked look on his face (that a patient would know this) and stated, “That makes perfect sense.” “But, that is a very dangerous way to dose it.” I stated, “L-ARGININE.” He looked puzzled again. So, I had to explain to the doctor how it worked. He was shocked that it was so simple . . . and completely natural.
I am a Genius Level 3 but cannot make any money from my discoveries due to the absolutely astounding corruption in the scientific and medical fields. And, severe medical problems from active duty military service during 3 wars, several skirmishes and 2 deployments to hostile zones.
BTW, the herpes cure is from an ancient North American medicine that is over 30,000 years old and only in the North American continent. It is not L-Arginine.
My gout was cured by drinking a cup of Black Cherry juice every morning and doing simple calisthenics before getting out of bed every morning. Moving your body before you get out of bed loosens the joints and straightens the spine so you feel like getting up. I have been doing it for 3 years now and my back pain that was severely disabling is nearly gone.
I hope I have helped you. I am not a doctor. Just a victim of horrible healthcare by stupid people at the v.a..
I am considered to be uninsurable by health insurance companies due to injuries suffered while active duty military for over 20 years starting at age 18 during the VietNam war.
Please see my others posts.
I know all about L-Arginine; taken daily. With other supplements, L-Arginine can be used in a coctail for other ailments as well. Comes in powder form as well.
If your buying in bulk for as many years as you say, then L-Arginine should be protected from being oxidized.
Depending on the source, it’s not expensive. I buy it by the pound.
Been doing supplementation since 1975.
I’m so sorry that you have had to go through this and if anyone thinks you are making it up, I guarantee you are not! I’ve also treated myself for the last 4 years for Lyme, co-infections, chronic fatigue, etc. because the VA denies there is anything wrong with me after refusing me treatment for Anaplasmosis for 6 months which destroyed my immune system. I paid out of pocket for some testing and have EBV and herpes which I’m sure I got in the military. If you would share your cure I’d really appreciate it! And L-Arginine helps the mitochondria provide energy to the body as well. I thank God for helping me find alternative methods of treating my symptoms because otherwise I wouldn’t be here if I depended on the VA! God Bless you!
To: T Allen
The accidental cure for herpes was discovered by me when I was trying to dissolve a golfball size tumor the v.a. caused in my cranium that destroyed my right frontal lobe of my brain. I am so lucky I can still take care of myself and driver a vehicle.
It is called – wait for it – – – – – Black Salve Tablets
There are instructions that come with them so you need to follow those or it can cause you harm or kill you.
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To: ANutterVet
Buy and read a book called “The Arginine Solution”
Doctors want it banned and the printed copies burned because it has way too much information in it to help people help themselves.
I was originally trying to help my kidney problem that the v.a. flat REFUSES to send me to a credible Nephrologist so I can get the help I need. L-Arginine did help me with the kidney problem to alleviate some symptoms but is not the cure.
M dv,
I do about the same here. L-Arginine, Black Cherry concentrate, alkaline water for gout too, etc. Mindful and easy with movement when first awake, make sure everything is in place then motivate if possible. I enjoy, like, and need the little tips I find here from you, others, and Nutter. I am not a genius just research things well enough I think. CBD and all that is useless in my state, for me it is, and does nothing for anyone I know of for chronic pain issues. Nothing seems to help that much with multiple chronic pain issues head to toe. Short list being migraine, arthritis, artificial implants put in wrong (feet), spine, neck and other issues. Wanted to try Kratom but they made that illegal here fast too and pain meds are impossible to get locally. As is even finding health care because of ID politics, VA, health care association’s networking…bottom to top.
I’ve improved greatly leaving the VA and other ways created some burdens or access to some goodies I could once get at the VA. Not having to travel hundreds of miles a month for care or ten minute check-ups, sneaky blood screens, helped greatly. So did stopping their head meds for pain and other combinations of meds that just ruined me to giving me NAFLD. Plus regardless of how well I washed my hands, took care, about every trip to the VA left me drained and with flu like symptoms to the sinus issue going nuts.
Oh well, thanks and have good one.
Yes eating red cherries does help gout.
Personally I am struggling with the VA to get an increase for an ankle injury in 1986. I was discharged with 10% and 31 years a botched surgery later I’m 20%. They make a custom brace for me to walk, they remodeled my bathroom and provide a ramp so I don’t fall like before, but still no increase. I have chronic pain and I have other injuries from falling due to my ankle but I am stuck.
You may be expecting too much from the VA. Sometimes nobody can alleviate all the pain that in injury deals you. It sounds like they have been trying to help you, but they do not have a “magic wand” for all your health problems. My experience is that if they know how to fix something, they do not hesitate. But, not all things can be fixed. In the meantime don’t do anything to antagonize your providers. As I sometimes do, I sit in waiting rooms waiting to see my doc and I am amazed by all the bitching and open complaining I hear. Nealy all of it sounds petty to me. I promise you this behavior does not bode well for getting prompt courteous service from your health care team. Once they brand you as a chronic complainer who treats the staff like shit, you are pretty much hosed.
I don’t have any expectations of my pain being relived at this point. What I would like is even a slight increase in my rating. I am currently 100% but 70% payable.
Harrison Balze,
While I’m waiting at my VHA clinic, I hear vets bitching about the poor healthcare they’re receiving. At which time I pull out my phone and show them this and other websites.
I don’t give a rat’s ass on what vha employees feel. Most are incompetent assholes anyway!
Harrison; the VA doesn’t hesitate. BULLSHIT!!!
Well, Harrison, the VA flipped a 360 when Obama took office. Harrison, the VA brings it on themselves. The veteran patients do not generate the complaints. There always has to be a problematic source for a complaint to even intially originate against. It does not come out of thin air. There has to be reasons. Harrison, I do not expect anything from the VA. This is why. They go on ? fishing expeditions and never reel in the fish to catch the fish of truth. Reason why I say this is they deny the truth and they do not recognize the truth when it is slapping them right in the face. Because they wallow so in nontruths. They do not think for themselves. They really do not. They have been brainwashed for so long and told what to do and how to do that they cannot think for themselves. For example, VA employees even physicians continuously say they can’t retire because they will not know what to do if they retire. They say they do not know what they will do with their time. Loss of being told what to do is frightening for them. All the orders have come down from the top for so long and there are so many laws and regulations that people who work in the federal government are lost when it comes to thinking for themselves. Their negligence most of the time is intentional. I do believe they are even told how to generate the medical errors. This is why I say this. Because the same exact medical errors happen to different veterans. I do not care what the VA does. Do you know why I say this? The system is too lost for it’s own good and I personally cannot correct it. I was slammed by them so in the last 10 years that such actions by them contributed to my just leaving the VA totally which has turned out to be the best thing that has happened to me since the Navy exited me. A leap of health due to my own accord. Taking care of myself by straightening up behind them. Yet, VA blames all on vets when discrepancies originated with the VA itself. VA employees initially when hired into the VA all have good intentions to make a difference in the veteran community. However though, not too long after they are hired, they become part of the problem instead of the solution. They get sucked up into the politics of the federal government. A government that exists to serve itself. Many people cannot see that big government invites problems and corruption. Claims, medical procedures, and all pass through too many hands for any type of accountability to come to the surface. Here is another topic to look into. Why does the VA engage in so many fishing expeditions? Why is it they are always looking to slam everyone? Why can’t they ever acknowledge the truth? Oh, yes, why is it put out there that vets have to have permission from VA when vets are in many cases are already doing what should have been done by VA employees? ???
Harrison Balze (pronounced – Balls) Really? is that your last name or are you a troll? Because your “don’t rock the boat ” philosophy is not what these combat veterans want to hear. We don’t have to “suck it up” anymore. We earned our medical care and we deserve the best, and we don’t want to be told to settle for the incompetent VA and its inexperienced students, residents and interns that practice on us like laboratory rats and guinea pigs, and incompetent VA doctors who can’t get a job anywhere else and aren’t good enough to go into private practice. The VA system is rotten to the core and you want us to just ACCEPT it, shut up and be happy. No sir, Mr. Balls, I , for one will not. I won’t stop bitching or complaining until all my battle buddies recieve the medical care and compensation they earned. You, sir, have your opinion, and I have mine.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone.
Merry Christmas to everyone. ?????
The way I see it God gave us all a brain to
take care of ourselves. ?God will hold people accountable most importantly referring to these power abusers. Ben, you say Director Streitberger is someone a person can sit to have a beer with. Ben, do you realize this would be the most dishonest moment of all moments? The conversation would be full of bullshit. Ben, I do not have any faith even in Mr. Streitberger. I am sure though the Supreme Court welcomes more legal cases to decide on. Ben, the VA causes the bullshit: and, then blames the veterans for the bullshit caused. Steamrolling forward. ???
Benjamin, provide more information step by step that would enhance veterans to become more able to stand up to fight for themselves. Resources, legal process…. because the service officers are in bed with the VA in my opinion.
And their not wearing protection. Therefore, sexual DISEASE spreaders. They need to be reported to the CDC.
Or, eyes taped open, arms secured in the back, strapped against wall, and shot for acts of, and supportng Treason (if it were legal).
People most certainly are not the way they used to be. I am attaching this statement to most to include the VA and the DAV. I share kindness to many to whom I run into even if it is opening the door for someone or picking up some item that someone dropped to the ground accidentally. And, my list goes on. Benjamin, the VA is not about Alternative Care or Exercise Physiology or Athletic Training or living the GOOD LIFE. Yes, there are such things as I have described. And, I am not about them. Yes, there are some decent VA employees who do their best but the system sucks them up into not doing their best. I will end with this. I just had a guy in passing say to me in the post office that people today rarely show any acts of kindness. God Bless America. Few and far between. Best, ????
Merry Christmas Lem… ????
I want to know if any investigations have been done on the Home Loan Guaranty and why the VA is leaving people homeless instead of siding with Fraudulent lenders That don’t follow the VA Loan procedures…the VA says it will fight for our homes….”it literally does fight for our homes and puts them in the Auction block”.
Benjamin, your prayer did not come soon enough. I am not sure your meeting with Mr. Steitberger was that effective. VR&E is not about the truth. Ben, they are still up to no good. VR&E questionnaire is not in my opinion asking the correct questions. All answers could be my answers to mark and then some; and, of which have the same priority and of which are happening at the same time.
Only a couple pertain to me. The rest of the survey is a waste. The questionaire asks questions so they can only receive the answers they want to read and retrieve, Ben, which are not the truth. Ben, relate it to an interview of a Democrat and a Republican. Relate it to a poll in which they only ask certain questions to Democrats with claiming the results are for the whole country. Relate it to research to where the stats are fixed for the outcome that they want. Ben, here you have the current VR&E. I chose not to answer the questionaire because once again it does not define the situation due to the questions asked. Maybe one day they will focus on opportunity of equality instead of equality of outcome. Plus, focus on all the facts and the truth.
Hard to even care…. back at my residence… been out of town….
Ben, I join you in prayer to pray the VA will start to crawl step by step to implement the accountable, the positive, and the healing modalities that of which are so desperately needed. ????
Benjamin, I most definitely need to express my utmost appreciation for the research, the journalism, and above all, the honorable efforts that you dedicate to the lawful advocacy for and among the veteran community. ????
Thank you Ben. ???