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babsrambler t1_j5q2tnu wrote

Why are all Vets not eligible for free care at all VA facilities all the time?

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ogkingofnowhere t1_j5q46om wrote

Cause we have the "support our troops" party, that cuts them off at the knees when they come home and are no longer serving

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RGB3x3 t1_j5tb72h wrote

If you don't lose your legs in wartime, you'll lose them when you get home.

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[deleted] t1_j5tgrvx wrote

[deleted]

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Redthemagnificent t1_j5tv660 wrote

Yeah it's not that the dems to such a great job either. But Republicans in particular have this reputation because they always go on and on about vets and the military. Then when it comes time to actually do something about it, the party as a whole seems to (usually) drag their feet.

More money for the military industrial complex? No worries. Better care for vets? Well hold on now, we have other priorities first.

It's pretty clear that it's more of a talking point that it is a real issue for many Republican politicians. But yeah it's not all on one party for sure

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P_K148 t1_j5qewmy wrote

You can thank the Reagan administration for that one. Google "Reagan VA cuts" and you will see hundreds of articles explaining how the precedent Reagan set affects the VA and its lack of accessibility today.

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mekareami t1_j5re24h wrote

He also closed many many psychiatric facilities and just put the folks that were housed there out on the street. He made the wandering crazy homeless person the norm in many cities IMO.

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Clever_Mercury t1_j5run57 wrote

Yup. He also reinforced an enormous number of drug laws and classifications that made it almost impossible to do medical research for these patients.

If it wasn't a pharmaceutical that could be prescribed to rich white people and turn a company a profit, they didn't want to hear about it. Nixon started that, Regan accelerated it.

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shitposts_over_9000 t1_j5tgnua wrote

Reagan put the system out of it's misery, the deinstitutionalization movement is what killed it and that began decades before.

When you give schizophrenics the 'right' to decide to AMA themselves, big surprise: it turns out a lot of them eventually have an episode and do exactly that.

As soon as the legal criteria for an indefinite involuntary hold was changed from being unable to make decisions for yourself to an immediate physical risk to themselves or others the state hospital system was dead as enough Chlorpromazine will eliminate that risk in nearly anyone and as it wears off they have plenty of time to AMA before they recover enough to pose a risk.

Funding for programs like the state hospital system is always proportional to the demand and after the activists won the right for the mentally ill to make bad decisions the demand dried right up to the point that it was difficult for the few patients in some facilities cognizant enough to realize they really needed to stay because the facilities lost all of their economies of scale.

Deinstitutionalization as a concept only works is you assume the mentally ill will never make a decision during a crisis and will put the community's well being above their own. Those are very big asks in any population let alone the mentally ill.

Legally where we are since right before Reagan took office is at best catch and release. You can get a 72hr hold, but it is almost impossible to get longer or release conditional on continuing medication until they have committed a serious crime.

Since 80-90% are just going to AMA anyway it is extremely difficult to justify more than 10% of the spend we had on the 1970s which was already a severe reduction from what we had been investing a few decades before.

If it hadn't been Reagan it would have happened itself after a longer period of substandard care as the funding ran out on its own.

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187penguin t1_j5rv5nu wrote

I kinda think they are. I was honorably discharged and don’t have any type of disability rating. All I did was show up at the enrollment office at the VA and said I wanted to apply for healthcare. They sat me down, confirmed my service record, took my picture for an ID card, and assigned me to a PCP & scheduled my first appointment and lab work. They were super friendly and helpful. I was in and out in about 20 minutes. I was surprised because I had been discharged over 10 years prior, but apparently there is no limit on when you can claim medical benefits. I had my lab work and appointment. The staff was incredibly friendly, and the first thing they did was enroll me in a VA messaging app and give me direct points of contact for everyone dealing directly with my health care. I can directly message my doctor, or anyone on his staff 24/7 and get a response typically same day. The nurse was very kind and asked me ALOT of question, many of them were mental health related. It got a little intense, but everything was very tactful and respectful. Then when I went in to see the doctor for my initial annual physical. I was in there with him for nearly an hour. He is a very kind man and wanted to know absolutely everything I was willing to tell him. Never felt rushed and he gave me his full attention the whole time.

My biggest problem is knee pain (I was a 19D SAW gunner). They ordered about a dozen X-rays and gave me 2 prescriptions for topical pain medications, some knee compression sleeves and a TENS unit and referred me to physical therapy, along with scheduling my next annual checkup and bloodwork. The whole thing took about 4 hours with labs, X-rays and all. After I do the 2 months of PT, they will send me for an MRI and refer me to an orthopedic surgeon if PT isn’t cutting it.

Everything so far has been $0. Oh and they STRONGLY encouraged me to file a disability claim. I have some major reservations about that, but they told me that filing for VA disability is not exactly how it sounds. I’m not interested in scamming the system when I have wounded friends that are dependent on that system. They told me it’s not like being a Social Security disability moocher or anything like that. They put me into contact with a veterans advocate that will basically handle the whole process for me.

I see a lot of other redditors making snide remarks about veterans care, but I’m guessing most have zero recent first-hand experience. I know from talking to the old-timers that the VA was terrible years back, but so far I’ve been really impressed and wish I had done this sooner.

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cocaineandwaffles1 t1_j5s4bx8 wrote

Bro get that rating. My knees hurt after just a short and easy run (2-3 miles at maybe a 9 minute pace). My stomach will randomly decide to just immediately shit out what I eat. And my shoulder hurts after just turning a screw driver a few times. I’m still young, I’m still fit, not overweight, but I still have these issues. These issues will be a factor I have to consider when I get out, go to school, and even after I get my degree and work the job I want. So you got me fucked up if you expect me to not go after the proper rating I deserve for these issues the military gave me, and you should feel the same way for yourself. I understand the reservations you’re having because you have friends who have their injuries from being deployed, but get that rating. Use that money to open a savings account for your kids or nieces or nephews. Use it to make monthly donations to charities that actually help vets. Fuck toss it to homeless that claim to be veterans. You don’t have to spend that money on yourself and you’re not taking any money from anyone else who has a VA disability rating.

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Pethoarder4life t1_j5td7ks wrote

It really, really depends on location. I've been working with a family member for years with his VA and it's a shit show. He needs a social worker right now and I was calling to get access for him. It took me between five and ten phone calls over the span of a week to finally get transferred to the right department only to be told the waiting list is massive.

The worst part was the first phone call. He acted really friendly, but proceeded to lecture me on how the VA never denies any veteran. It took me 20 minutes to get the guy to answer one fucking question because he wanted to get whatever his speech was all the way out. After I finally got the appointment scheduled at the end of the week, it turned out every single thing that first person told me was completely incorrect and was the reason it took as long as it did to get information.

I had quite a few colleagues working mental health at the VA in the early '00s. By 2008 all of them had their jobs removed by the VA they were working at because of budget cuts. It was so sad knowing thousands of vets lost mental health care.

I hope the new policies continue to grow and help, but it's really heartbreaking seeing so many people suffer.

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Chicero t1_j5tmg6q wrote

I worked with a VA outpatient clinic at a previous job. This sounds exactly right to me. They actually receive funding based off number of vets, not amount of care, so they’ll do whatever they can to help you sign up. They’re usually a small doctors office and maybe some therapist offices, but at least that gets you in the door in your area.

But bigger stuff that you need to get into the main hospital, I believe that’s where there is still a major backlog of patients. Covid didn’t help I know that.

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187penguin t1_j5ul7hl wrote

I signed up at the main hospital in Temple, TX if that helps

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Ihavntgotaclue t1_j5r9zif wrote

If they didn't receive a dishonorable discharge, they can go. Now, the care they will get, that all depends on the quality of the VA facility. They are not all the same.

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anomaly0617 t1_j5rlfkn wrote

You don’t have to get a dishonorable discharge to be ineligible. There’s (at least) two ways you can be ineligible:

  1. you received a discharge like a “general under honorable” discharge. This means you did nothing illegal, but for one reason or another you needed out before your contract was up. The military, especially the navy, drums people out of the service with these all the time, and they didn’t do anything wrong - just ended up in a situation where they were no longer able to serve in their role.

  2. When you go to the VA, they have to “attach” you to a program. So, for instance, you were stationed in the Southeast Asia region between date X and date Y.” If they cannot find a “program” that you qualify for, you get no benefits.

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daveashaw t1_j5rtf5h wrote

Right. This is an enormous issue because many who develop psych issues in the military wind up with general discharges, so the ones who have the greatest need for those services are cut off from them.

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Ihavntgotaclue t1_j5rnzpz wrote

I was not aware of those stipulations. I always thought it was just, (only) dishonorable = no assistance. I appreciate the education on the topic. Thank you.

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heresmyownthrowaway t1_j5s5huk wrote

I always thought you needed at least ~25% disability to get full coverage or retired along with being honorably discharged, no one really tells you that but I believe my nurse explained it to me at the VA.

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WarmOutOfTheDryer t1_j5tc9he wrote

At mine, it's 10%. The only source for that is that I'm 10% disabled and get care though, so maybe I'm just really lucky?

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187penguin t1_j5umtt1 wrote

I was told all you have to do is claim your tinnitus and you will be given an auto 10%. And trust me… ALL us vets have it. Apparently many people have had success with this.

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187penguin t1_j5ummmw wrote

I’m 0% and they took and are treating me for $0

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heresmyownthrowaway t1_j5unf8x wrote

Dang that’s wild, I actually remembered my buddy saying he didn’t have VA care because he had 0% even with honorable. They should probably put that info out there better haha

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187penguin t1_j5uowy3 wrote

I began my process about 2 months ago. Stuff might have changed. If nothing else, tell him just go to the VA website and “start a claim” and put tinnitus. I promise you he has it. We all got it. It’s an automatic 10%

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WarmOutOfTheDryer t1_j5tbwjw wrote

Where I'm at you also have to have a disability rating, be poor enough to be eligible for food stamps, an actual combat vet, or a retiree.

I slip in under that first one.

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