General Seriously Over The Va

[Sweetpea76]

Are any of your combat vet sufferers here in the US dealing with the new "temporary" benefit where they can see a civilian doc, but if and only if they jump through flaming hoops first? You, know, just until the VA "catches up", then they can stop seeing the civilian docs and go back to VA care. :mad:

So what, is he supposed to start all over with a new therapist, get comfortable with them, then have to stop seeing them when the VA decides... only to go back to getting appointments at the VA facility once a month, or whatever?

They seriously need to sedate me when I go in with him to deal with those idiots, and I'm the healthy one.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

I'm not dealing with any of the same struggles, but I just want to wish you the best! My mom had to deal with the VA for my grandfather, and I know how much of a nightmare it was for her. I can only imagine how hard it would be to have to switch treatment mid-course! Our vets deserve better care than this, as its not right to be yo-yo'ing them around.

 

[scout86]

It sounds stupid. It sounds typical. On a positive note, with their level of organization, they'll probably NEVER get "caught up" and, even if they did, they probably won't manage to track people down to send them back to the VA from their private therapists. It shouldn't BE that complicated. I'm sorry that it is.

 

[kny]

There's an article in the NYTimes today about how bad the VA is and I was just reading it before coming to this forum and seeing your post. Just want to say I'm sorry you're dealing with all that.

 

[Mishap]

It sounds stupid. It sounds typical. On a positive note, with their level of organization, they'll probably NEVER get "caught up" and, even if they did, they probably won't manage to track people down to send them back to the VA from their private therapists. It shouldn't BE that complicated. I'm sorry that it is.

I'm with @scout86 If they ever catch up, I'll be shocked. My uncle is a disabled Veteran. I think the only person that gets angrier than I do when talking about the VA is Jon Stewart. At least he can do it on a larger platform.

I'm sorry you're dealing with this. It's wrong. In so many ways. Our Veterans deserve so much more. Their families deserve so much more. I'm sorry our country has let you down.

 

[somerandomguy]

I have actually worked for the VA. It's even more messed up than people think. I wish you the best.

 

[Sweetpea76]

I have never dealt with more rude and unhelpful people in all my life. I cannot believe the way they talk to my vet when he is not being belligerent or hostile at all in the least bit. He was an officer, and I was a squared away Army wife from back in the day, and we absolutely understand the whole "run around" game when it comes to paperwork and red tape. You don't get mad about it, you just go and find the form you're missing. This isn't that. If it was just paperwork hassles we could handle it. The VA attitude is "we can't help you... tough shit."

These young men are being sent over there, and coming home broken. The whole purpose of the VA's existence is to take care of them. They have to actually do that. Don't fight a war if you can't take care of the damages you cause afterwards. These guys aren't disposable. If an eighteen or twenty year old is crippled for life, that means you need to take care of him for the next 80 years of his natural life. It is infuriating.

My vet Is polytrauma, with multiple physical injuries, TBI and PTSD. Don't tell him "tough shit" when he needs medical care, then turn around and thank him for his service.

 

[Mishap]

Amen, Sister! We live near two Marine Corps bases and while we're closer to the one that doesn't send out troops so we don't hear a lot of the Vets coming home, it trickles down from the neighboring town. A friend of mine was going through trying to get her disability benefits from the VA when we worked together and I was just appalled at what she went through, and hers was "easy" compared to most.

I'm sorry you and your husband have to deal with this nonsense. If it were me, I'm afraid I'd quickly reach the point of not being able to be polite.

 

[Sweetpea76]

It's hard not to blow your stack, for sure. He is laid back guy by nature, and is usually calm when dealing with them, but between the cognitive problems he has and the short fuse from the PTSD, there have been times when I have had to kind of usher him out of there before things got ugly. He's on a cane and all, but 6'2" and 250 pounds of pissed off combat vet is still a handful to get back into the car. I usually save my ranting and bitching for when he is out of earshot. No entity that is designed to "help" should cause these kinds of reactions.

 

[Mishap]

Every once in a while I'd let him go off on them. Maybe not productive but it'd make me feel better :D. Call him your secret weapon.

 

[Sighs]

@sweetpea - Hope things have improved for you!

Sorry to hear in the US you are being messed around by your own VA. I only have good things to say about our VA here in Australia.

 

[Sweetpea76]

I'm glad somebody is taking care of their Vets. He's eligible for Tricare for Life (a different insurance option) because of his disabilities, and right now we are trying to determine how it will stack up versus the VA... it's a total pain in the ass trying to decipher this mess.