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WA, USA
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Posted: 4/17/2024 5:25:47 PM EDT
[Last Edit: 21usernamechecksout]
[#1]
The billions and trillions of dollars the Govt just give away in foreign aid and BS proxy wars is money that SHOULD be going to the vets. (VA) 1, for sacrificing their health, 2 for being brave enough to join .
Imo if you want incentivse recruiting you better make it worth the squeeze to our best and brightest. |
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Posted: 4/17/2024 5:33:30 PM EDT
[Last Edit: CarmelBytheSea]
[#2]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By GenYRevolverGuy: I have two 0% conditions. I doubt I'll do anything with them, but they occasionally annoy me, and at least they're on paper. I have a couple of conditions that have actual values. One of those is definitely getting worse. I don't want to go back and play VA games for re-evaluation, but I might have to in the next year or three. I had zero input into my records the Army and VA did whatever they decided to do and I got notified after the fact and didn’t know there was any other way. For all my time in surgeries and V.A. appointments I guess what little I assumed I knew wasn’t even the case. Thread definitely has me thinking of a lot of questions both personal and otherwise plus for some topics I’m slow learner my brain is odd some stuff I can quickly grasp but other things it’s like I have an 85 IQ or zero awareness until multiple times hearing or seeing it over and over till my lightbulb finally goes on |
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AK, USA
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Posted: 4/17/2024 5:34:09 PM EDT
[#3]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By CTM1: My aunt is pissed because the VA will not do anything for my uncle who is in a special home for Parkinson's ($10K a month). According to her they said just because he served in the AF over seas he was not in a combat zone during war time thus he is not entitled to assistance. Another friend started receiving a disability check at age 89 after claiming hearing damage from his time in the Navy during Korea, He claims his hearing was damaged from sitting between two engines on some small boat during his last few months of service. He said he wanted out of the Navy so he never made a claim. He hit up the VA at age 89 with his claim, he offered no proof that he suffered this hearing damage from his service, just his word. Well his trip to the VA and some testing resulted in new hearing aids, a back check for several thousand, and a monthly check for over $1,000. He did not live more than a year after receiving the benefits but apparently he left decades of disability money on the table. I just do not understand how the system allows for such a payment decades later, especially given he spent a lifetime after his service not protecting his own hearing. He operated equipment and shot all sorts of guns without hearing protection. To me it would be like someone saying my service in the military gave me lung cancer but the VA discarding the fact that person spent a lifetime smoking and did not start smoking until after they left the military. That's the rub when it comes to the VA. We all know the grifters exist but the system is so hard to navigate I have to hand it to them. I'm playing the VA game now and it's very discouraging. There's a process and rules to everything and it takes a really long time. Just when I thought I had things going the right way last month. I was told not so fast. |
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NM, USA
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Posted: 4/17/2024 5:34:38 PM EDT
[Last Edit: stickfigure]
[#4]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Airborne11B: In that case, I completely agree - just because you served doesn't mean you're entitled to shit. I think MOS should also favor heavily into it - being combat arms even dudes who never deployed, training takes it's toll and breaks people. But understanding your core argument - I agree with that, you shouldn't get free health care just because. If the military caused it to be broken, hell yeah - but in that case, no, you don't deserve shit. Unless you were drafted, then it's a tad bit different. And there's a ton of fucking shit bags who never did shit in the military, never deployed, never did a single fucking thing - but still somehow get 100% and it annoys the shit out of me. I'm torn on the MOS or in AF terms AFSC. There are different dangers in so many jobs. Sure combat MOS seems simple enough, it's war. But then you mention training, wear and tear, heavy lifting but then you also get fucked up shit. Like LO (low observable) paint specialists, or high energy emissions workers who get cancers and radiation injuries. Our first instinct is to think of the guys who got shot and blown up, not necessarily the guys who were getting drenched in Agent Orange and died of cancer or had severe complications for the rest of their lives because of different injuries. They paid a different price with their bodies too. |
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Posted: 4/17/2024 5:42:43 PM EDT
[#5]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By ramairthree: But, in the last several years I have come across veterans and non veterans who are: pissed/mad that just any veteran can’t use, say the ER, clinics, and hospital on a military base when this was always clearly a retiree benefit Expect the VA to cover all their primary care, non .mil related stuff like having babies, all the regular aging stuff, all the self inflicted stuff like COPD, accidents, etc. when this was all clearly an expectation of service connected or 100% Thought all their prescriptions would be free for life for regular aging, inherited stuff, etc. If you have never heard the often touted and very incorrect phrase 'free medical for life', you have either been living under a rock bigger than Mount Everest, are deliberately trolling, or are flat out lying. Possibly all three. I call bullshit. |
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CA, USA
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Posted: 4/17/2024 5:43:01 PM EDT
[#6]
I've never used the VA for healthcare, and don't know any vets such as OP is describing.
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Posted: 4/17/2024 5:48:02 PM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By SiVisPacem: Here's how VA math works: Veteran GI Joe starts out as a 100% person. Joe is rated 30% service connected for the condition which caused him to be put out of the Army. Joe is now 70% a person (100-30%). Joe gets rated 20% for an additional condition. That 20% is multiplied by the 70% of Joe's remaining personage, giving him 14%. The VA adds 30% and 14% to now rate Joe 40%, because they round numbers. 70%-14% is 56%, though, making Joe a 56% person. Joe gets rated 10% for something else. 10% of 56% is 5.6%, which is added to Joe's already existing 44%, making Joe 49.6% disabled, which is rounded up to a 50% service connected rating, but leaving Joe a 50.4% person (56-5.6). Joe gets another 10% rating. 10% of 50.4% is 5.04%. 5.04% added to 49.6% equals 54.64%, which is rounded down to a 50% service-connected rating-so Joe's rating hasn't changed at all due to the last condition being rated service-connected. 5.04% is subtracted from 50.4%, leaving Joe a 45.36% person for any additional ratings. ---------- Let's say Joe gets two 50% ratings. To most people, 50% + 50% equals 100%. But not to the VA. It equals 80%. 100%-50% rating=50% remaining. The next 50% rating is not 50% of the initial 100%, it's 50% of the remaining 50%, or 25%. 50% + 25% = 75%, or, actually 80% since the VA rounds. Going need to read this 3 times |
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Posted: 4/17/2024 5:50:43 PM EDT
[#8]
I know most states have perks for service connected disabilities.
Example TN This will be vague but it's easy to find at state sites, I won't go through the different ratings and such, I have only been rated 3 months. So if service connected disability is related to a combat situation $10 gets you a hunt/fish license that covers everything except certain special areas which is cheap, never used them in the past, so I got my $10 100 year expiration dated license with deer and beer tags via email. I am not 100% or even close BUT I got a handycap placard that is PERMANENT, I have used it once when my knee was swollen and sore to walk, I am helping a few other TN Vet's with this process since I was the 1st to ever apply for it....I had to go way up the state revenue chain only because know one knew what to do.(civilians have to renew every year or two) Since I am not 100% I can not get State issued handycap tags, BUT since I have the permanent state status, if I have personalized license plates and the vehicle is in my name I get a small wheelchair to put on my plate. If 100% they offer some tax benefits, tags, license and title fees free and depending on income property tax breaks. Even additional school benefits... Also some weird camping, state park perks.. |
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Posted: 4/17/2024 5:58:52 PM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By CTM1: My aunt is pissed because the VA will not do anything for my uncle who is in a special home for Parkinson's ($10K a month). According to her they said just because he served in the AF over seas he was not in a combat zone during war time thus he is not entitled to assistance. Another friend started receiving a disability check at age 89 after claiming hearing damage from his time in the Navy during Korea, He claims his hearing was damaged from sitting between two engines on some small boat during his last few months of service. He said he wanted out of the Navy so he never made a claim. He hit up the VA at age 89 with his claim, he offered no proof that he suffered this hearing damage from his service, just his word. Well his trip to the VA and some testing resulted in new hearing aids, a back check for several thousand, and a monthly check for over $1,000. He did not live more than a year after receiving the benefits but apparently he left decades of disability money on the table. I just do not understand how the system allows for such a payment decades later, especially given he spent a lifetime after his service not protecting his own hearing. He operated equipment and shot all sorts of guns without hearing protection. To me it would be like someone saying my service in the military gave me lung cancer but the VA discarding the fact that person spent a lifetime smoking and did not start smoking until after they left the military. If he was drawing more than $1,000 a month, it was for more than hearing loss. Recurrent tinnitus only gets a 10% rating and a 10% rating currently only gets $171.23 a month. He would have to had serious hearing issues, such as hearing impairment with vertigo at least once a month for him to get over $1,000 just for hearing problems. Chances are, he didn't share all of his medical history with you, just the part about why he went to the VA in the first place. As for proof, there are some conditions which are presumptive. For example, if you were deployed to the Middle East during the GWOT or Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, certain types of cancer are automatically considered service-related due to exposure to toxic chemicals, such as burn pits, Agent Orange, or just the nasty ass air in those parts of the world. You may have exacerbated it because you chose to smoke, but the VA is required by law to assume responsibility for it because the government sent you to nasty ass places. I imagine a sailor whose records show he held a rating which would put him in close proximity to engines during the 1950's would be presumed to have been exposed to loud ass engines in a confined space. |
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:00:54 PM EDT
[#10]
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:03:39 PM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By CarmelBytheSea: Now I’m wondering about other things - example Arlington has requirements other federal cemtaries do not but retiree used to qualify but as far as I know no longer does Retirees still can be buried at Arlington.  Attached File |
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WA, USA
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:03:42 PM EDT
[Last Edit: 2T2_Crash]
[#12]
VA is being used to treat illegals and to push the DEI agenda but yeah, lets cry and try to play internet Blue Falcon because your “fellow” veterans are using it for health treatment you don’t agree with.
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:10:33 PM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Cypher15: I agree with the VA going away and vouchers. The gov should only sign a check for market rate care for those that have served. DOUBLY so for those wounded or otherwise injured while serving. Hell, also make it so that voucher can pay for health insurance of the service member. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Cypher15: Originally Posted By Scratch45: The VA should not exist. They should get a discount, or voucher, or have fees waived (in some cases) through the traditional medical practice. Change my mind My wife, an AF retiree and RN at the VA, totally agrees that the medical side of the VA should be dissolved, even though it means she would lose her job. A strange thing occurs though when she mentions the “veterans choice” program to Vets. Very few ever choose to go into the community for care. |
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:12:16 PM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By CarmelBytheSea: Wild Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By CarmelBytheSea: Originally Posted By GenYRevolverGuy: Individual conditions are rated based on a severity/impact matrix. There are situations where the VA will say a veteran has X condition, that condition is service connected, but the severity of the condition is so mild that they say it doesn't impact the veteran's day to day life, so it gets rated at 0%. What this means is that the condition gets all the care of any other service connected issue, and the rating for the condition can be escalated if it worsens, but the vet doesn't receive compensation for it. Then there's the matter of VA math. If a vet has a 20% condition and two 10% conditions, they don't get a 40% rating. That rating might only be 30% or 20% because... reasons. There might be some guys out there that only have 0% conditions, or maybe there's a guy with one that has a 10%er, but is still rated at 0% overall for some reason. Wild Yup. I believe that if all my disability ratings are added up I'm at something like 240%. In addition to those injuries that I have ratings there are associated injuries that I get a 0% rating. For example I have TBI for which IIRC got a 70% rating. Subsequent to that injury I also have Jacksonian seizures but they're not bad enough to effect my daily life so no rating. It's good that they're noted though because when I do start drooling it's open up treatment a bit quicker. The VA also looks at "systems". In my case my right leg from hip down is pretty fucked. Ankle surgeries, blown out knee and total hip replacement. These injuries each were rated at like 20 or 30% each but because they're all on one leg the total disability rating was 30%. |
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:13:37 PM EDT
[#15]
I thought you had to have a certain service connected disability rating to qualify for free medical services.
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OH, USA
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:13:43 PM EDT
[#16]
IDK...
I've been fighting since my 2012 ETS over my fucked spine from parachute jumps-getting nowhere despite everything documented. A guy I use to work with got diabetes while he was in and instantly received 100%. |
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:15:27 PM EDT
[#17]
Probably the same time they collected there Retirement and 100% Disability on the way home from a full time construction job. Tax free of course.
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:16:55 PM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By OneRanger: IDK... I've been fighting since my 2012 ETS over my fucked spine from parachute jumps-getting nowhere despite everything documented. A guy I use to work with got diabetes while he was in and instantly received 100%. Your coworker got type 2 diabetes in the military and requires insulin more than once a day? wtf? |
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:18:20 PM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By exDefensorMilitas: You should ask the poster here that thinks the VA should cover his potential cancer treatment from smoking while in the service, that he picked up while in the service. Do you mean the same cigarettes that came with C Rations and you deposited in the ashtray of a Huey dashboard? |
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:21:31 PM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By OneRanger: IDK... I've been fighting since my 2012 ETS over my fucked spine from parachute jumps-getting nowhere despite everything documented. A guy I use to work with got diabetes while he was in and instantly received 100%. My wife knows of “vet” that received a substantial disability rating due to PTSD due to his exposure to something I believe they call the “bone yard”. Could be wrong on the name. This was after only 3 weeks of basic training. It’s a simulation where they use mangled dummies, mannequins and the like to simulate what combat might be like. Explosions, MG fire and things like that. No real bodies or blood. PTSD. Yup. |
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:22:02 PM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By CarmelBytheSea: Are you former POW, PH recipient or as I learned in this thread 10 minutes ago - 0 percent rating? 10% Explosions and machine guns are hell on the ears… |
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:22:24 PM EDT
[#22]
Originally Posted By ramairthree: I’m not talking about the 100% rated ones, be it legit or sketchy. I mean in general. When I was a little kid in the 70s there were a ton of veterans. Guys in their 50s that had been in WWII. Korean War vets. Dudes in their 20s that had been in VN. And a shit load of draftee and volunteer peacetime types. Even one or two old timers with pre WWII service. They would go a couple of hours away for VA care once in a while for stuff from their service time bugging them, like the hip with shrapnel in it, gut problems from when they were shot, getting some new hearing aids, etc. And on occasion some old guy with no family going off to one of their rest homes. Now, a benefit of retiring from military service is tricare medical coverage. And it has copays, caps, etc. Even then dental and eye are kind of weak. I’m not talking about retirees. I mean people that did like 3 years in Germany in the late 70s, or were in for 9 months in 1982 before a general discharge, etc. that weight 300 pounds and have heart failure, diabetes, and dialysis, Or have severe COPD or lung cancer, or whatever having an expectation of all medical care for life from the VA. That say stuff like “my only insurance is the VA”, or “I get all my care from the VA”. Is it urban vs rural, black vs white, north vs south, crushing life vs suck at life, male vs female, …? A lot of these people are old so it doesn’t just seem young vs old. Although young seem more prone for working the 100% lottery than old. I’m not looking for argument or debate. Just what you have seen or think. It was very clear when I enlisted in the 80s that lifelong medical care for everything and anything for life was not part of the deal, but others assume it is. The people you describe, while they may expect VA care, are NOT actually entitled to it unless they have a service related injury that they can prove is service related. I suspect that the constant radio and TV adds from ambulance chasing lawyers has somehow convinced them that they are entitled to benefits that they are not. Just like people hurt themselves and are encouraged to sue someone because a lawyer tells them they can get paid. There are currently 20+ million people that are in this country illegally drawing benefits because they were told that somehow they are entitled to it. Our gov loves to hand out money to anyone and everyone except those that actually earned it. |
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:26:18 PM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By cycletool: My wife knows of “vet” that received a substantial disability rating due to PTSD due to his exposure to something I believe they call the “bone yard”. Could be wrong on the name. This was after only 3 weeks of basic training. It’s a simulation where they use mangled dummies, mannequins and the like to simulate what combat might be like. Explosions, MG fire and things like that. No real bodies or blood. PTSD. Yup. You don't get veteran status with 3 weeks at basic. |
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:26:50 PM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By SiVisPacem: If he was drawing more than $1,000 a month, it was for more than hearing loss. Recurrent tinnitus only gets a 10% rating and a 10% rating currently only gets $171.23 a month. He would have to had serious hearing issues, such as hearing impairment with vertigo at least once a month for him to get over $1,000 just for hearing problems. Chances are, he didn't share all of his medical history with you, just the part about why he went to the VA in the first place. As for proof, there are some conditions which are presumptive. For example, if you were deployed to the Middle East during the GWOT or Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, certain types of cancer are automatically considered service-related due to exposure to toxic chemicals, such as burn pits, Agent Orange, or just the nasty ass air in those parts of the world. You may have exacerbated it because you chose to smoke, but the VA is required by law to assume responsibility for it because the government sent you to nasty ass places. I imagine a sailor whose records show he held a rating which would put him in close proximity to engines during the 1950's would be presumed to have been exposed to loud ass engines in a confined space. Dad died last October of lung cancer. The VA sent us a check for $2000 saying it was service connected. We were quite surprised. |
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:28:46 PM EDT
[#25]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By TaskForce: You don't get veteran status with 3 weeks at basic. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By TaskForce: Originally Posted By cycletool: My wife knows of “vet” that received a substantial disability rating due to PTSD due to his exposure to something I believe they call the “bone yard”. Could be wrong on the name. This was after only 3 weeks of basic training. It’s a simulation where they use mangled dummies, mannequins and the like to simulate what combat might be like. Explosions, MG fire and things like that. No real bodies or blood. PTSD. Yup. You don't get veteran status with 3 weeks at basic. Agreed. That’s why it’s in quotes. But he does receive care at the “Veterans Administration” as a vet due to the service connection. |
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VA, USA
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:28:51 PM EDT
[#26]
If you have an Honorable Discharge and a DD214, you are a veteran whether you ever had combat of not. You are eligible for all veterans' benefits. I never used any of it, always being gainfully employed with company health care. then I turned 65 and started on Medicare. I don't really have any thoughts on the VA system except to say that it is obvious that millions of veterans have had the need for their services and veterans continue to need the VA. As times change, it may become passe' but for the present it is a very busy group.
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USA
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:32:52 PM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By CTM1: My aunt is pissed because the VA will not do anything for my uncle who is in a special home for Parkinson's ($10K a month). According to her they said just because he served in the AF over seas he was not in a combat zone during war time thus he is not entitled to assistance. Another friend started receiving a disability check at age 89 after claiming hearing damage from his time in the Navy during Korea, He claims his hearing was damaged from sitting between two engines on some small boat during his last few months of service. He said he wanted out of the Navy so he never made a claim. He hit up the VA at age 89 with his claim, he offered no proof that he suffered this hearing damage from his service, just his word. Well his trip to the VA and some testing resulted in new hearing aids, a back check for several thousand, and a monthly check for over $1,000. He did not live more than a year after receiving the benefits but apparently he left decades of disability money on the table. I just do not understand how the system allows for such a payment decades later, especially given he spent a lifetime after his service not protecting his own hearing. He operated equipment and shot all sorts of guns without hearing protection. To me it would be like someone saying my service in the military gave me lung cancer but the VA discarding the fact that person spent a lifetime smoking and did not start smoking until after they left the military. Seems fair to say it's more likely than not that someone who served on a ship in Korea probably sustained some hearing damage in service. Compounding that damage with poor decisions later on isn't relevant. If your goal is to improve the process then complaining about an 89 year old getting a few months of small disability payments isn't a great argument to start with. |
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USA
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:33:27 PM EDT
[#28]
Those guys were trying to get care from the VA but were turned away. Just look at the guys that were exposed to agent orange. They had many claims denied until just a couple years ago.
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:35:38 PM EDT
[#29]
I generally agree. I do think if you get full retirement 20 years you ahoukd get coverage for life. But a guy that was in for 2 years should be getting cancer treatment covered by the va when he is 50 unless it was a result of some exposure. Also I see vets competing to get 80%,90%, 100% disability.
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:38:33 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Bye_Felicia]
[#30]
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:41:48 PM EDT
[Last Edit: pdm]
[#31]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By OneRanger: IDK... I've been fighting since my 2012 ETS over my fucked spine from parachute jumps-getting nowhere despite everything documented. A guy I use to work with got diabetes while he was in and instantly received 100%. Keep plugging along. When I retired I did the normal retirement physical, got every noted and then applied for VA disability. Never heard anything back from them so I thought that's just the way it is. Besides I was extremely busy with activities down range so it just wasn't something I thought about. About 10 years after the fact I went in for my right hip, was told I need surgery and on a whim I contacted DAV to see if I had any VA benefits and what they might be able to do. Long story short the DAV dude is like "holy shit man you filed 10 years ago and they never gave you a rating". Turns out the VA just forgot about me….sort of an indicator of just how fucked up they are. DAV got everything sorted out and I also got some lump sum checks for back pay…about $70K IIRC. If you're not using DAV or AMVETS you should. Also, nothing wrong with contacting you veterans rep in your congressman's office and ask them to investigate. The bottom line is this. The VA wants you dead. They want you dropped from the rolls so operate under the premise that they will fuck you any chance they get. Plan and act accordingly. |
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:41:51 PM EDT
[#32]
Id happily pay the man who dedicated his life to the military. Tje sorry ass shitstains on welfare and milking disability and illegals are fucking bullshit and the people responsible for floating the dead weight need their asses beat .
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:42:11 PM EDT
[#33]
Well if it's in the contract why would you pay more for private care? I don't see it as freeloading if the government agreed to it to sign them up.
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WV, USA
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:53:35 PM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By 9mmprn: Of the thousands of things our .gov does that one could be annoyed about OP picks this "issue" to be butt hurt about. |
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:54:15 PM EDT
[#35]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By FreefallRet: Prices are not that great, tax free is the best part. When I get a new TV I have it delivered as shipping is free and it's tax free. AAFES online shopping is the ticket |
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:54:51 PM EDT
[#36]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By BooJangles: Funny how a bunch of them will shit on "the poors" for being on welfare, but scream that they are owed life long healthcare from the government because they spent 4 years state side and never saw combat. If you get injured on the job, your injury should be taken care of. Got the betus because you are a fat lazy slob, you should pay your own way then. If it is part of the deal they agreed to, as offered by the government, then they are owed it. Period. There's nothing to discuss concerning them. If you want to re-write the G.I. Bill and the benefits provided by the government given as part of your enlistment contract, that is an entirely different conversation. |
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NC, USA
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:55:22 PM EDT
[#37]
Is this one of those moments where “The recruiting office was open to everyone” applies? Tricare is paid for by the individual once out of service. Be that retired or did one enlistment.
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NC, USA
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:56:26 PM EDT
[#38]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By alligator94: To be fair in this thread I learned that the VA budget is almost 400 billion a year. Others have pointed out that veterans could get better care and save the tax payers almost 200 billion if instead of the VA they went to normal health care/insurance funded by the gov. From a numbers perspective it's a big issue. However, no one wants the bad optics of "targeting wounded vets" so the government program continues to grow. You wouldn't save $200B by transferring over to private insurance. You are leaving out the VA compensation that disabled veterans get. |
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OH, USA
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:56:57 PM EDT
[#39]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By TaskForce: Your coworker got type 2 diabetes in the military and requires insulin more than once a day? wtf? Idk what type, but he wore one of those automatic insulin injectors. He was medically discharged due to his condition-I guess genetics pay. |
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Posted: 4/17/2024 6:57:20 PM EDT
[#40]
I’ve never used the va. I have tricare. I’ll use a private doctor first.
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Posted: 4/17/2024 7:01:50 PM EDT
[#41]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By exDefensorMilitas: You should ask the poster here that thinks the VA should cover his potential cancer treatment from smoking while in the service, that he picked up while in the service. Why? The military is very much anti-smoking and tells people not to smoke. Has been that way since the 1970’s. You continue to smoke in spite of being told it’s unhealthy, how is that on the taxpayer? |
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OH, USA
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Posted: 4/17/2024 7:02:48 PM EDT
[#42]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By pdm: Keep plugging along. When I retired I did the normal retirement physical, got every noted and then applied for VA disability. Never heard anything back from them so I thought that's just the way it is. Besides I was extremely busy with activities down range so it just wasn't something I thought about. About 10 years after the fact I went in for my right hip, was told I need surgery and on a whim I contacted DAV to see if I had any VA benefits and what they might be able to do. Long story short the DAV dude is like "holy shit man you filed 10 years ago and they never gave you a rating". Turns out the VA just forgot about me….sort of an indicator of just how fucked up they are. DAV got everything sorted out and I also got some lump sum checks for back pay…about $70K IIRC. If you're not using DAV or AMVETS you should. Also, nothing wrong with contacting you veterans rep in your congressman's office and ask them to investigate. The bottom line is this. The VA wants you dead. They want you dropped from the rolls so operate under the premise that they will fuck you any chance they get. Plan and act accordingly. Don't get me started on the DAV MFer at the Columbus VA med center-total joke. I finally hired Ree Medical about 7-8 months ago thanks to a Garand Thumb video. I've had a great experience with them thus far, and currently awaiting final review from the VA. |
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Posted: 4/17/2024 7:06:53 PM EDT
[#43]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By OneRanger: Idk what type, but he wore one of those automatic insulin injectors. He was medically discharged due to his condition-I guess genetics pay. That's wild. |
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OK, USA
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Posted: 4/17/2024 7:09:17 PM EDT
[#44]
When you sign and do your duty for the country no matter how much you disagree with the administration and come back from combat alive but injured in the line of duty you should get compensated for the years and pain and suffering you endure with less life than normal because of the hazardous duties and chemicals you are exposed to. People that join and are not hurt are few. You think getting va compensation is easy you are delusional. They reject legitimate claims every day. VA is inept and wrong on so many levels. Just because you play call of duty don't make you a soldier. What veterans have seen and done are more unbelievable than you can imagine. We wouldn't believe it either but we were there and did and saw
Things. |
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Posted: 4/17/2024 7:13:13 PM EDT
[#45]
I haven't read all the replies. But here's a data point.
I enlisted in '96. Did four years and got out in 2000. No major injuries. No rating. Going through the enlistment process I was guaranteed Army College Fund + MGIB, Airborne slot, and MOS. It was implied that VA healthcare would be available when I got out. All of that was true. After I got my DD214 I went to the regional VA hospital and did enrollment there. I qualified but was at the top co-pay tier. I've done all of my primary care services at the VA. Dental and vision I pay out of pocket locally. VA copay was $35 per visit with $15 per 90 day script. Now get this...some law passed in the past few years where my copay is now $0 since I have tribal enrollment. 
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NC, USA
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Posted: 4/17/2024 7:15:52 PM EDT
[#46]
I go out of the Navy in the 80's with Asthma rated at 10%.
The Asthma medicine the military tore my stomach up and messed up my heart rate. Not bad enough to get a rating (0%), but bad enough to be service connected. As years went by, my asthma got slowly worse and I took oral steroids 2-3 times a year. I could have upped my rating to 30%, but felt that since the VA paid for my college, and I was working with the DOD as an engineer, I got what I deserved. Fast forward another 20 years later, and my asthma got really bad. I also developed swallowing issues from the stomach issues, had triple bypass surgery. The worsened asthma and the swallowing problem requires daily low dose steroids (inhaled and swallowed). I developed sleep apnea after my asthma got worse. Fast forward 8 more years and the steroid use caused cataracts, diabetes, small blood vessel obstruction as well as a few other conditions. All from a mild case of asthma developed from an exposure during a two year time period in the peace time navy, after 5 years in the Marine Corps reserve. That said, I still pay $800 a month for my retired DOD civilian health insurance for myself, my wife and my dependants. The VA gets reimbursed from my insurance for most of my care they give me. I keep both private and VA doctors as they each provide different advantages. For example, I went into the hospital for my heart. When I got out, I called the VA to see if the VA my VA heart doctor could see me and run some tests. Had to leave a message and they got back with me two days later and said he could see me the next week. In the meantime, I called my private heart doctor who saw me and ran the tests that day and the next. Yes it cost me a few hundred in co-pays, but it was worth it to be able to be seen that day. There is NO way I would rely on only the VA for medical care. |
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USA
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Posted: 4/17/2024 7:19:35 PM EDT
[#47]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By MilitaryJoe: I just had some parts replaced in my ankle last month at the V.A hospital. Was injured in service. Also in the past had some shoulder, neck and hand surgeries all at the V.A and all due to injuries I received in the military. Physical therapy too. Guess I should have just not went in and drank water and drove on huh? Just fuck me for getting injured and needing after care I guess. Maybe i'm just to woke lol. Were you drafted, or did you voluntarily sign up? Are you a woman who thinks she should get alimony for life after a divorce? You signed up for a physical job. You got coverage while you worked. Why do you expect more? You worked and got coverage. You no longer do the job, but still want benefits. That definitely falls under the woke umbrella. So the only thing left for you to trot out is appeal to emotion. “I served my country!” Sorry, invading other countries, by the order or devil worshipping liars, isn’t serving our country. |
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Posted: 4/17/2024 7:21:10 PM EDT
[#48]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By CTM1: My aunt is pissed because the VA will not do anything for my uncle who is in a special home for Parkinson's ($10K a month). According to her they said just because he served in the AF over seas he was not in a combat zone during war time thus he is not entitled to assistance. Another friend started receiving a disability check at age 89 after claiming hearing damage from his time in the Navy during Korea, He claims his hearing was damaged from sitting between two engines on some small boat during his last few months of service. He said he wanted out of the Navy so he never made a claim. He hit up the VA at age 89 with his claim, he offered no proof that he suffered this hearing damage from his service, just his word. Well his trip to the VA and some testing resulted in new hearing aids, a back check for several thousand, and a monthly check for over $1,000. He did not live more than a year after receiving the benefits but apparently he left decades of disability money on the table. I just do not understand how the system allows for such a payment decades later, especially given he spent a lifetime after his service not protecting his own hearing. He operated equipment and shot all sorts of guns without hearing protection. To me it would be like someone saying my service in the military gave me lung cancer but the VA discarding the fact that person spent a lifetime smoking and did not start smoking until after they left the military. This not possible. Hearing loss is a 0% rating. Tinnitus is 10% or $171.23 per month. He only gets back pay from the time he filed an intent to file. That could have been about a year. There is more to the story. |
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VA, USA
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Posted: 4/17/2024 7:21:17 PM EDT
[Last Edit: TYCOM]
[#49]
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is requesting a total of $369.3 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2025, a 9.8 percent increase above FY 2024 estimated levels. The FY 2025 budget provides robust funding for the Secretary’s top priorities. This includes 134 billion in discretionary funding and resources for health care, benefits and national cemeteries. Additionally, there is $235.3 billion in mandatory funding, an increase of $41.8 billion or 21.6 percent, above 2024 for benefit programs, inclusive of Compensation and Pensions, Readjustment Benefits, Housing and Insurance, and continued funding for the Toxic Exposures Fund.
So: Benefits/Pension payments: $ 235.3 Billion Healthcare: $ 134 Billion So turns out, Healthcare is not that expensive with the VA. The monthly checks is the majority of the budget. Now for my personal gripe with VA. When I got out of the Navy, I got an "early out" bonus of $15k. $5k went to taxes so I got $10k cash. Before I got a cent of disability pay, I had to pay back not only the $10k cash but also the $5k I already paid to the IRS. TYCOM |
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USA
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Posted: 4/17/2024 7:21:24 PM EDT
[#50]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By FreefallRet: When they stop giving lazy ass fuckers medicade and welfare then we can talk about what kind care and money our veterans deserve. What you are seeing is a reduced veteran population with the same number of VA clinics open. On top of caring for veterans they need people using these clinics to keep them open. To do this veterans get increased care and benefits. No veterans being treated, no clinics and VA employees losing their job. If a clinic goes away it may not come back, next war might have tremendous casualties. We need VA clinics to be in operation just in case. People that don't like it, the military has jobs available. If the VA has issues we can always end welfare to keep them going. Veterans earned their benefit's unlike immigrants and most welfare recipients. If I had my way disabled combat vets wouldn't pay taxes or property tax. This |
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