The VA is not paying the doctor, so they will not see me.
The war is over for us...yet we are dying fighting for some quality of life. Our government is ok with this it seems.
I'm rushed in, the doctor just has time to check my labs and medication. He no longer has a stethoscope or hardly even looks at me. I feel that I am bothering if I ask questions or complain of any ailments. Then I wait another year for my next twenty minutes.
Three years ago I tried to get just a simple eye exam. I submitted the paperwork at a VA facility. 10 days later I received a letter from the VA office telling me that I made too much money and didn't qualify for assistance. I'm done with the VA.
I have dealt with unbelievable malpractice at my local VA. All offices refuse to speak to me; I cannot get service for health issues either.
I hurt my hip and my shoulder in August. I have been to my doctor three times. He said all he can do is put me on a waiting list for MRI with pain meds for five days only. My appointment to see PT is Oct 31st. I am in pain now! Something has to change.
All I want now is the Veterans Administration to own up to my reality of the damage they did to me and give me a 100% rating so that my wife and I can start living a better life than the struggle we’ve had to go through since 2008.
If we the people don't come together as ONE to fix the VA and our mistreated veterans, we will never fix the VA and the care of veterans who protect the principles of our oath in the Constitution, which protects us all.
My VA isn't always perfect, but it certainly saved my life and the life of many of my friends.
I am rated at 100% and I go to my local VA. I receive great care and have not had to wait for my appointments. Always under 30 days for me.
In the long run everything worked out okay -- but I have to believe if I were able to go to a local urgent care clinic it may have saved the VA money and have gotten me care quicker. I have heard a lot of horror stories about the VA, but I am okay with it and I do feel like the people that work there are wonderful. I wonder about the upper level administration though.
My carpal tunnel is getting worse and Tricare won't help "because the problem was turned over to the VA." So I can't get to the VA, the Tricare Dr. won't help, and the numbness in my left shoulder and arm is getting worse. This is how veterans are being treated!
I have had nothing but problems and substandard care with the VA. I'm very frustrated. If I shared it all here, it would take all day.
Although I am over 60 miles from the VA Medical Centers I will not use the Choice program for two reasons. Number one, I prefer to stick with my VA providers and not see numerous other providers. Number two, I am concerned that since I have Medicare Part A and no other coverage, I may end up being charged for part of my care which I could not afford.
My fiance visited our local VA to ask for help post-retirement with mental health issues after he retired with 20 years in the Marine Corps. He told them that he knew there was a problem and he needed help right away. They scheduled a follow up a month out...then he ended up in the ER 2 weeks later.
When it comes to Compensation and Pension claims, unfortunately, delay and deny is the rule which is followed.
I think that too many Vets think they are the only one in line -- remember, it's a big system with millions of patients.
We live 39 miles from the nearest VA and they are splitting hairs over one mile, so I can't get the veterans choice. We're always fighting with that VA. Right now, they have not seen me in over 8 months.
After reading those horror stories about the VA, I certainly am glad I signed up for TRICARE Prime for the 12 months prior to becoming eligible for MEDICARE and TRICARE for life. I've had some health problems and have found numerous physicians in my area that accept both. Guess I lucked out.
I tried to get an appointment to get my tooth pulled -- I called and left messages at the for three days in a row before they called me back. I went in in late July and was seen for a walk-in appointment after hours of waiting. The dentist confirmed that I needed to have a root-canal on my upper tooth and have my lower tooth pulled. They gave me an appointment for OCTOBER to have my lower tooth pulled. That is over three months with a tooth ache.
The clinic was dark, no lights, no receptionist, nobody. We wandered around for awhile until finally someone came out from the back and asked if they could help. They sent us to another clinic to make the appointment, as his primary was on vacation and apparently everyone else in the "white clinic" was also gone.
I have received outstanding care at my local VA. The doctors, nurses and other staff have been great. But on one occasion I had to go to a different VA hospital for a second opinion. Not all VA hospitals are are as good as my usual VA. The other was a nightmare.
My VA could not see me for 2 plus months and does not offer state of the art treatment. I chose treatment through the Choice Act and was diagnosed with and treated for prostate cancer. The local VA patient advocate was of absolutely no help. Choice Act fought me ever step of the way, but after 24 phone calls and 20 hours plus of my time, I got the Choice Act to pay for my treatment.
I do not fault the caregivers in the VA system AT ALL for anything. They absolutely do the best they can with what they have, and they do it with genuine heartfelt concern for our (the veterans') well being. The system is letting them down as much as it is us.
My appointment with the VA is today, I was going to try to get my Choice Card active, but my appointment was for a Dr. that doesn't work for the VA. I can't activate Choice Card myself. The VA has sabotaged my medical diagnosis, and made everything I have to do nearly, if not, impossible. That's just today.
In early 2015, I went to a VA clinic on a Friday with a bad cough and fever. I was told to go home and take Robitussen. I asked for Tami-Flu and was told my temperature wasn't high enough. On Monday, I went to a hospital emergency room and was diagnosed with pneumonia.
I use my VA for all my medical concerns -- I've had better care there than with any private hospital. I rate my VA and its employees a 10+. It's time we had some positive reaction -- it's not all negative.
Since 2008 I have been seeing a Primary Care Doctor at the VA -- the routine is fast: give blood, and see the Doctor 2 hours later. When we meet, he reviews the blood work, and tells me his findings, and how I am doing on the inside, from blood test. After, he gives me a 5 minute exam, the basics. We talk, discuss health, VA, and other matters. I have found him to be friendly, informative, caring, supportive, and a pleasure to work with.
I'm currently 60 percent disabled -- for years I didn't know that I could get my rating re-evaluated. No one at the VA tells you this information, you just have to discover it on your own.
My father passed away April 2011. He was a multiple-amputee Vietnam vet. According to my mother, the VA hospital in California he went to was very good. I am grateful for that. In August 2016, two letters addressed to him came regarding two follow-up appointments in November--at a VA clinic in NORTH CAROLINA.
Our home loan was granted through VA and so now, in all their wisdom, they will wind up paying for a guaranteed home loan for a home no longer being lived in by the vet. Their decision-making process leaves a lot to be desired.
I am concerned about the waste we have at the VA. I use a VA-issued cane. I went to the Department that handles equipment to see if I can get a new grip for my cane and I was told that they had to order a whole new cane -- that they do not have a grip to replace it. I declined the new cane, so I went to a Bicycle store and bought a grip for $2.99.
My trouble with VA started in day one. The local VA service organization made many errors on my FDC. My local VA rejected my FDC. I sought help from Congressman Jeff Miller, who got my application back on track.
I was diagnosed with MS in 2009 was medically retired in 2013. I was forgotten for 2 years by the VA -- they put in a request then didn't do anything for it.
It took three months to see the endocrinologist, but she confirmed that yes, the tumor in my pituitary gland is causing Cushings Disease and that tumor needs to come out. That was May, and it is now mid-September and I still haven't had the tumor removed.
I'm a Combat Vet and the past 3 years I have tried to get into the VA program because I have been diagnosed with 4 health issues related to Agent Orange. They tell me my yearly income is too much and I am not eligible for to receive treatment or get help. I didn't realize there were other qualifications I needed to meet. Once a VET, always a Vet. I served my country-- why can't my Country serve me?
Fellow Vets!!! Pain level number 6 or better is the key. They do little until then. Do not forget to use your congressional representative the first time you get messed with. Look in phonebook under US Govt. or web search.
I waited months to get in to see a specialist, who then referred me to another specialist, which was another couple months wait. I absolutely could not wait for treatment and I was forced to go to civilian doctors to get care/medication. I racked up $29,874 dollars in medical bills--out of pocket costs. I drained my savings and charged up my Visa. I submitted claims for reimbursement and they were "lost" SIX times.
To get service was the hardest part in the start for care. My VA said I did not qualify for care. I went down there with my 100% rating papers to show them I qualify. Their answer was that the system hasn't been updated (???) -- I said this has been my rating for two years. They copied papers and gave me an appointment. Since then all has been fine.
My VA has the worst care for Veterans, but are quick to call the police if you speak out. The director is more worried about the year-end reports than he is about veterans health. If I file a report/ complaint with a Congressman, they say it's a medical issue and that there is nothing they can do. The VA's ball ...The VA's rules.
Almost 2 years ago I got involved with a diabetic drug study and part of the initial exam was an EKG. After looking at it, the nurse coordinating the study asked when I had my heart attack. News to me! So I went to my VA PCP and asked about it, and was told I hadn't had one.
I went to a state veterans officer who was very helpful, but she basically told me the only way to complete your claim is to wait around for their arbitrarily scheduled appointment and show up, or they will continue to ignore and deny your claim. So far she has been right!
By a stroke of luck I had no infections and no complications, I got lucky. But if they did that to me, how many others have they done it too as well?
In the end, I saw a spinal surgeon and gave him the MRI disc and he said I should have had surgery a long time ago. In July, I had the discs replaced by the local surgeon and now I am able to function again, drive and type this message, which before would have caused me great pain. And I never saw nor was I ever examined by anyone at my local VA.
If the VA can't even accomplish that most basic business practice, answering a phone, how does it ever expect to accomplish it's PRIMARY mission, providing timely safe and effective medical services to Veterans?
A doctor friend told me, "After Med School if you can't get placed, the VA will take you."
I was under the assumption that things at the VA would be fixed after all of this time. Why must the veterans that gave so much for the protection of this great country be treated like the scum of the Earth? I’m sure that veterans of other countries are treated in a much better way.
It took a couple months to receive orientation and see a primary. I was just trying to get in the system, no pressing medical concern at the time. Very slow process nonetheless.
I'm wrongly accused of cocaine use, deprived my pain meds, denied the right to change Doctors and now my benefits are at risk if I don't make an appointment with this verbally abusive Doctor! This no way to treat any veteran!
I have worked since I was 15 years old and paid into the SS system. I am at risk of losing my home and most of all my life. The treatment I am receiving is causing my health to deteriorate. My stress and anxiety levels are such that I am in a panic most of the time wondering if I can make it each day.
I had eye surgery on my right eye in 2005, for a cataract, and they left a piece of glass/ plastic in my eye for five years. I told them there was something in my eye after the surgery, but they told me it was the lens they had put in my eye. I fought infection in both eyes for five long years, until they did surgery and got the glass/ plastic out. Then my eyes got better. I filed a claim, but they put me off and I couldn't get any help from anyone.
I was diagnosed as having elbow bursitis before I left the Army, and is a service-connected disability now. I tried to get an appointment to see my VA provider and was told that it would be 9 months before I could get in.
The medical opinions of the Doctors are not my gripe. They may be correct. However, the way that my situation was handled, from the miscommunication between facilities, the delays, the disregard for my personal situation, is nothing short of appalling.
Without the transplant, I'd have been dead 2.5 years ago. The VA saved my life. I have found every caregiver there to range from good to superb. I still go to physical therapy three times a week, and frequents appointments for the complications that go with the deal. I have never had trouble getting a timely appointment.
Many times I have sat in clinics at my VA and watched vets stand in line while the employees ignored them and visited and gossiped -- or the phone was ringing off the hook and no one could be bothered to answer it. I wish VA staff could be held accountable up to the highest management level.
One of the things I notice while waiting to see the doctor, is the vets get together and start all the negative talk and bad-mouthing the VA system. By the time they get to see the doctor, they are so angry at the VA system they start on the doctor.
The VA misdiagnosed my husband's Sleep Apnea (we have just now figured this out).
The non-VA doctor I went to see agreed I needed the pain medications I had been prescribed but told me he would need a letter from the VA admitting they preferred he manage my pain. Of course, the VA will never admit sending me outside the system for treatment of my pain. Now I am made to look like a drug seeker, but am in reality just another vet allowed to suffer by a poorly run, uncaring Veteran's Administration.
The last message I left took me a week to get a return call, and that was only because I also sent an email via myhealthyvet. The answer I was given: based on the symptoms you are describing you need to go to an emergency room. Why thank you! -- a week later. Thankfully I have access to a non-VA provider and had already been seen by the time the VA nurse decided to call me back.
I have been using my local VA, and I have never had any issues as of now. Doctors are awesome and staff are not superficial (they are not "aww-ing you" - or the "I am sorry this happened to you" in a polite way). Most of them are wonderful and very helpful....as of now.
I realize that there are certain procedures that must be followed in order to get Community Based Care. But my family members and I did EVERYTHING that we were supposed to do.
I don't understand why getting my meds for the pain is like pulling teeth. Almost every month I have to go without them because all the red tape.
After years of enduring neck pain & simply learning to deal w/ it, I filed a claim for it & the knee issue that plagued me since my Active Duty time. I submitted a stack of paperwork probably about 2-3 inches high, which apparently was submitted in vain. The Veteran's Advocate didn't offer much help beyond submitting the claim.
My late husband fought for 38 years to get hearing aids, denied, even though his records say he had hearing loss after 'Nam.
I thought I had bronchitis, so I called the nurse line at 8am. I was in the doctor's office at 10am.
I am now being held accountable for bills relating to my surgery because the VA claims that the costs are not related to my service-connected disability. I'm trying to get people involved that can help but so far it's been fruitless. I shouldn't have to pay anything, but that's the VA.
10 years ago my VA psychologist told me I had PTSD from my Air Force service. I never asked to be evaluated for PTSD, but during one of my visits he started asking questions from a list and advised me I definitely had it. Under his guidance, he had me file for PTSD benefits. Big surprise, I was turned down almost immediately by VA. I appealed, and my case sat on someone's desk for 7 years.
I started going to my psychical therapy appointments and I started receiving bills. The VA refused to pay for the therapy sessions even though I was told they would be free for me.
My primary care has been with the V.A. since 1993 and was always good up until 2012, when things started getting back logged.
The VA simply chooses to deny my claims as valid, while simultaneously denying me a regular Primary Care Physician...until as recently as weeks ago.
I have never had a poor experience with the VA system to date. All positive and professional.
My opinion is that the VA offers substandard care to those of us that served our country for 20 plus years.
The worst story is in 2007 while I was in the hospital getting part of my colon out (an operation I don't think I even needed) someone at the VA submitted a request for increased benefits in my name with incomplete name, wrong SSN, a scribble for a signature, wrong information, etc. After I got it clear to all the bureaucrats I didn't submit this, it has been ignored -- though I've complained since.
I am a Veteran and I am being seen at the VA. I have received nothing but the best care from my VA. Doctors, NP, Nurses seem to do the little extra that make this VA superb. I have consider moving but because of the wonderful care I am receiving from my VA it changes my mind every time.
I have been trying to talk to the nurse for 5 months. I can't get her to return my calls to even set up an appointment for a Shingles vaccination. She cancelled my appointment to do blood testing because she was going to be out of the office the day it was scheduled. Now all I get is one message to call her back then she was on vacation, then she wasn't in the office that day. She just refuses to return my calls.
Long story short, if the VA hadn't refused to examine me I probably would have been diagnosed and treated many, many years earlier.
I continue to be confounded by the VA rushing to write up every single physical condition as a psych consult, and can only guess just how old I will have to be before the VA claims office can finally accurately get me rated for full disability.
I retired in 2012 and had to file an appeal with the VA for benefits. It is now 2016 and my appeal is still in limbo every time I call. I'm told that it could take another 240 days.
At the VA in Arizona, I went in for routine Diabetes eye exams, and they found blocked blood vessels in right eye. They said I showed signs of blocked arteries and would schedule further testing. That phone call didn't come until 2 years later when the scandal started, then my phone was ringing off the hook. The surgery went well, but the patient rooms were so filthy, I've seen dog kennels cleaner than these rooms. That probably explains why I went home with eye infections. I refuse to ever go back to that VA.
Some respect and appreciation for my sacrifice, as opposed to attitude and condensation would be refreshing.
I have been blessed to have superb private medical care during my career but when I moved to Alabama I decided to use the VA Healthcare system. So I went to the clinic and met a primary care physician who actually looked at his watch and asked how much longer I was going to be describing my medical issues as he had other patients. This has NEVER happened to me in the private system.
I live 110 miles from my VA. According to their new policy it says if a veteran lives over 40 miles from the VA center they will be able to have an appointment with a non-VA physician within the city. When I applied to have a physician they told me I do not qualify because I am within 40 miles of a VA Medical Center.
A few years ago I reported concerns of patient care and safety at the small VA hospital where I worked. In response, VA began cancelling my consults for care related to my service-connected disability.
I wanted to get hearing aids and new glasses. The hearing aids work fine, but the glasses took eight weeks to receive in the mail, had flimsy frames and no scratch resistant coating. Within two weeks, the glasses were pretty much unusable. I had to go to Costco to get a decent pair of scratch resistant coated glasses.
After my move, I went to a Florida facility to see when I could be able to see an MD for continued care, etc. I was told there were not any of my medical records there, therefore I would not be able to secure an MD for my care.This went on and on for 17 months. Towards the end of this time period, I finally was able to make telephone contact with a retired Army colonel at a Florida VA facility. I explained my situation and he said he would look into it. I FINALLY received a call from this colonel a week or so later and he told me that he had located my medical records in Georgia. In some VA employee's "in-box" for apparently months and months!!!
I am a Marine Corps veteran and in the last two years the care I have received from the VA leaves a lot to be desired. I have orders from my doctor and by the time they get to the VAMC, they are not what my doctor ordered. E.g., x-rays for my shoulder. I have […]
Recently I called for medication which I need for diabetes and for my usual diabetic shoes. The answer for my shoes which I have been getting for about eight years was ‘we don’t think you qualify.’ In all the years I have been going to the VA…I don’t understand why they don’t read your files.
Well, I finally got to see a doctor at another local VA, and guess what they found? I was having terrible pain because I had a 7mm stone that was causing me to faint from the pain. They had to do emergency surgery to get it out because it was too large to pass.
We have a primary care Doctor at a clinic in a good size town in California. Due to my husband's declining health, I need to make numerous appointments. There is always a long wait. Even to get through to the call center has often taken 2-3 days! Now, here is what bothers me. THE CLINIC IS ALWAYS REALLY EMPTY!
It took over 6 months to get my first appointment despite being in pain. When my provider recommended minor surgery, they put me in the "Choice Program." You know, the one for veterans who have to wait more than 30 days? It took almost 120 days in the "Choice Program" to be seen by a Doctor the VA picked.
The lady said the next available one was November. I said I already had one for July. She said that I did not. I said that I wanted to permission to see a local doctor because I had heard I could if I could not get an appointment within 30 days. The lady on the phone said that to get permission to see a local doctor I had to see the VA doctor and get that info in my records first. So that meant I had to wait till November to get an appointment to see a local doctor. How twisted is that?
I have been getting treatment from the VA Hospital Wisconsin. For my disabilities, agent orange they do twice a year checkups with blood analysis, bladder cancer now every six months and eye exam yearly. The service is very good, and follow up is excellent. Completely satisfied.
I have found the new VA to be more responsive, more accommodating and more competent in the last four years. I receive regular plus intermittent care there, and I am quite satisfied with the results.
I have been receiving treatment since November 2015 at a VA hospital in Ohio, after a diagnosis of colon cancer. The hospital is clean, modern and well-equipped. The staff I've interacted with, without exception, have been helpful, friendly and professional.
As I got out of the Air Force, I knew I would be telling my story to who knows how many therapists from the VA. No one is really scheduled to be your certain therapists. They don’t have the proper people in leadership positions in order to ensure veterans receive the healthcare they need.
Have been trying to get physical therapy for 9 months. VA making a mockery of the Choice Program. Their indifference is appalling and self-serving.
I was previous enrolled in an aquatic therapy physical therapy program at the VA, but as of November 2015, the pool was closed due to an unsafe chlorine odor. The staff at the VA had been aware of the issue for nearly four years and the pool had undergone frequent temporary closures during that time. Now that the pool reopened in May of 2016, I am unable to get my therapy restarted.
I am a veteran, and I currently work at a VA hospital as a manager. I am dealing with a union and supervisors who are preventing me from holding my employees accountable and who are now going to counter my actions. There are not enough resources, legal counsel, or people willing to help those fighting for accountability from within.
Scheduling at these larger VA facilities is a pain and requires longer drives. Can’t I just be examined near my home?
I was injured by an IED in Afghanistan, and came home only to encounter a new battle to get proper care from the Department of Veterans Affairs. At the Minneapolis VA, I was seen by an unqualified VA physician who failed to diagnose my traumatic brain injury. It took the VA eight years to diagnose my injury.
I always say that nobody treats veterans worse than the VA. I am a patient in the VA system and I cringe with every interaction I face with the VA, knowing it is going to result in unnecessary stress and will most likely lead to a dead-end. What's not broken with the VA system? That is what I would like to know.
While I continued to follow-up, I was not able to see a doctor for 12 weeks...and when I finally was seen, it was by an outside practice provided by the Veterans Choice program!
I was medically discharged from the Army with a disability rating in 2008. After my discharge, I waited two months for my first appointment at the VA, where I was denied my first disability claim due to a lack of “medical evidence" of my disability.
Sometimes it's been really good care but there's been more than one awful experience.
In my experience, good people don’t stay long at the VA due to the culture. The unions have ruined the VA and there is a culture of recycled incompetence.