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Keyser Soze

On 3/24/17 10:35 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 3/24/2017 10:15 AM, Keyser Soze wrote:
On 3/24/17 10:03 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 3/24/2017 9:44 AM, Keyser Soze wrote:
On 3/24/17 7:51 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 3/23/2017 2:23 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 10:42:59 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

11:39 AMKeyser Soze
- show quoted text -
I'm sure Fretwell will be delighted to serve as your medical
advisor,
and at no co$t either, except perhaps your life.
....
Can't be much worse than the people who get payed well to perform
unnecessary procedures.

In just about any other context, Harry would be complaining about the
"pay for service" model of American health care. It is amazing how he
can work both sides of the table so well but I guess it is natural
for
a person who pimps government unions.

A few months ago (at the recommendation of a couple of veteran
friends)
I applied for health care services through the VA. I haven't had a
primary care physician for a while (he unfortunately died at a young
age
of leukemia) so I was basically starting from scratch.

Turns out *all* vets are eligible for health care through the VA as
long
as they served at least 24 months and have an honorable discharge.
There is a means test of sorts but some forms of income are not
considered, nor are your bank accounts and your income only
contributes
to the determination of what priority classification you are eligible
for. There are 8 classifications, 1 being the highest, 8 the lowest.
You could be a multi billionaire but if you are an honorably
discharged
vet, you will still qualify, although probably in the lowest (8)
priority classification.

So, the VA sent me a letter welcoming me and sent a booklet that is
personalized for what types of services, hospitalization, checkups,
tests, etc. that I am eligible for. In total, I have better
coverage by
far than I had under the Blue Cross policy that we used to pay
$1,400 a
month for. I even have coverage for nursing home expenses and/or full
time home nursing services if the day ever comes that I need them.

The VA assigned a primary care physician in a VA clinic that is
about 5
miles from my house. I've had three appointments so far, including
full
blood work, colon-rectal cancer tests and other tests to establish a
baseline. The doc spent over an hour with me at the first appointment
getting background data, etc. BTW ... related to a recent thread here
... one of the questions was if I had guns in the house and, if so,
are
they secure.

Anyway, the only thing wrong with me is slightly elevated blood
pressure. Doc said it's not "horrible" but prescribed some meds to
get
it a bit lower. I don't like taking meds and I know that once I get
more physically active once the cold and snow stops my BP will drop
but
in the meantime I'll take the meds.

My only out of pocket cost is an $8 co-payment for a 90 day supply of
the pills. If I need to be hospitalized for some reason there is a
$97
per day co-payment for the first 21 days. After that, there is no
payments by me. No co-payments for doc visits, checkups, tests, etc.

The VA is totally independent from Medicare and the VA does not charge
Medicare for services. I am seriously thinking about dropping Part B
and it's cost and dropping the gap insurance policy I have for Part B
through Tufts. I don't need them if I use the VA for health care
which
will save me about $350 a month.

Bottom line is: The VA isn't a health insurance program. It's a
health
care program. The Boston area VA (which governs the facilities I use)
is the highest rated VA health car are in the nation. So far, I have
been very impressed.

So, shifting the burden is ok for a Republican, even a wealthy one.
Figures.

Using benefits that the government says I earned is "shifting the
burden" in your eyes? I figured this would **** you off.

No, it just illustrates something else that is wrong with our health
care system. If you suffered a serious battle injury or debilitating
injury while in the service, I see nothing wrong with providing you with
good healthcare at no cost for the recovery, even a lifelong recovery,
for that problem or problems. Why should the VA pay for treatment of
your HBP, especially since any sort of means test would indicate you can
afford to buy private health insurance or pay for a private doctor
without any difficulty.

Truthfully, I always thought you had to have a major service related
disability or be a retired "lifer" in order to qualify for VA health
care. Apparently for many years that was true. However the policy
changed when the VA/TriCare system was reorganized many years ago. The
VA now encourages vets to apply.

There *is* a means test however I still qualify for certain health care
services, more so than I expected. I had a minor, service related
injury however I don't think it factored into what category I was placed
because it is not a disability in any way.

I had two reasons to post about this. One was to let other vets know
who may not realize that they are eligible.

The second reason was because I knew it would **** you off.

It doesn't "**** me off." It just points out yet another inequity in our
health care system.