WTF is up with the VA!!

[capnswervon]

This is a post that just went on PAFOA, and is going on BF as well.

OK,
My Father is a Vietnam Veteran and is on full disability thru the VA. He had been the Commander of Post 29 Vietnam Veterans based out of Port Carbon for 12 years, and was instrumental in the building of the Schuylkill County Vietnam Veterans memorial in Schuylkill Haven as well as bringing the "Moving Wall" to the County twice. His post under his command has instituted innumerable community programs with the County Schools and the elderly.

In Vietnam, he was in the Army Combat Engineer clearing land from DeNang north.....He actually tells the story of when the DeNang base had a really nice Miniature Golf Course...before it got Bombed to shit. Plenty of pictures of the huey's dumping Agent Orange right over their heads. Well, anyway, he has had chronic blood disorders and circulation problems for the past 30+ years, and only applied for any form of disability about 4 years ago. He has never smoked in his life, and is not a drinker. He has worked his entire life and paid for additional Blue Cross / Blue Shield. Well on August 23rd, he had his second stroke. The first one was on the right side of his brain, and after some time, ended up only rendering his left arm pretty much inoperable. This one got the Left side, and has affected his speech, swallowing, mind, and the rest of the right side of his body. He is still in the Pottsville Hospital as we speak.

Well, on the 6th of September, his wife gets a letter from Blue Cross / Blue Shield telling her that his insurance has run out, and as of the 7th, there will be no coverage for his hospital stay. The first thing that we thought of was the VA....I mean he is on 100% disability for Christ's sake. The social worker at the Pottsville hospital made the call out to Lebanon, and was told that they had no room for him. Well, in talking with the insurance company, we got them to extend his stay in the Rehab ward for at total of 14 days, which ended last Sunday. But, they said that he would not be covered for the 3 additional days that they had him sitting up in the general population waiting for the doctor's orders to move him down to Rehab.

As of last Monday, Medicare approved him for an additional 18 days, but will not pay for any of the actual doctor's bills, just the hospital stay. We have been incurring the additional cost since then. Now, keep in mind, he is making improvements, but in no way can come home yet. He is getting great care in Pottsville, and we feel that is where he should be.

As of this morning, the doctor feels that he should be strong enough to come home next Monday October 1st. There are a few things that he will need in order to live at home such as a wheelchair, and a walker with a platform on it for his left arm. The social worker called the VA today to request this equipment...and once again we were told to go pound sand! Now I am pissed....in a big way!

From what I have found out, he is entitled to re-imbursement of out of pocket medical bills and they should be helping with the required equipment for the home. I mean they have helped him with special shoes, glasses, and prescriptions in the past! Now, when he needs it the most, they are just turning their backs on Him.

I have the names of some people out there in Lebanon that are patient advocates, and I am going to be there on their doorstep tomorrow morning with as many files as I can gather. I told Dad this evening that I was going to "rattle some cages" tomorrow morning and he smiled. That is the way that he would have done it.

By the way..... On some advice that I received, I contacted Tim Holden (D) via e-mail two weeks ago. He is the Senator up in Schuylkill County, and my Father has shared a stage with him on numerous occasions at parades and dedications. I wrote a letter explaining the situation with some of the info from the top of this post in the hope that he would remember my Father and his civic duties in the County. Well, I have not received even a follow up e-mail from this piece of shit saying that he received my letter. I hate the Democrats and their Gun Grabbing mob as much as the rest of you, however, due to the history, I went to him. What really pisses me off is this. If he was an Illegal immigrant working on a farm in Hazleton under the table, we the Tax Payers would be footing the bill. He was a hard working / tax paying / Community serving man that served his County with honor, and the very organization that was put in place to watch out for his rights is telling him to suck it up.

Well, rant off, and heading to bed......busy day tomorrow of dealing with the VA!! Anyone that might have any insight or info can pm me or post here, and I will update the thread as time goes on.

Thanks for reading,

Robert Koch

A.K.A The Capn'

[KPierce]

Man that just pisses me off to hear it Bro. It seems anymore that more we as citizens try to give the less we are entitled to anything at all. THe saddest thing of all is that the people who make these types of decisions are beurocrats. ANd unfortunately most of them couldn't give a shit less what happens to someone until it impacts them in some personal way, and that's the really sad part of it all.
I hope that the advocates can do something for your dad. Unfortunately I really don't have anything constructive to post. I have no experience with the VA. But I do wish the best for you and your family and have hope that you will be able to secure the help you need. Afterall it should have been offered, at least in my book.

[Sinatra877]

This Post is much longer than the average bear because it is a very touchy subject too me.

SO PLEASE BE PATIENT AND READ IT!

JK still hasn't read my book plotline because he's impatient. Right JKroner? Monkey Boy.

VA benefits saved my life after my back quit on me. I am also not a Vietnam Veteran. My Father was one. Thankfully he is living a full rich life not far from me with my mother without complications in his health from Military Service. Even though he served in the US Navy as a electronic warfare Officer, he had to make some interesting night jumps along the Cambodian border and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail to fix those thousands of thousands of "McNamara's Sniffers". Those were the missile shaped probes with antennae sticking out the rear of them that looked like the local flora & fauna. Thankfully, he says he and a few other junior officers were protected by their BUD/S-SEAL Teams. Eventually he became qualified for the Trident's himself. The "Commander" was disappointed that my earliest inclination for military service was when I was recommended for appointment into West Point. Had I been accepted, I would have been the graduate class of 1990. I graduated H.S. in 1986. So contrary to popular belief, I am not an old man chronologically, I just feel 70 years old.

My competitor from my state was the Great Grandson of a West Point General Officer from WWII and Korea. It was his lineage and even though he got it. I had no scruples. I was an active kid in Army ROTC and a Boy Scout but my grades just weren't up to the West Point standard. This guy deserved it and his familiy has paid a lot of "sweat equity" for him to be there. Who was I to get in his way? Besides, the Citadel and VMI offered me a appointment and minor scholarship for my shooting abilities. I was recently named the 1986 National Championship of three position Olympic Freestyle. Yes...that was my Varsity sport three stars too. I don't run well, so if you do run from me...you only died tired.

Instead, I broke from "Officer" family traditions and I wanted to learn as a enlisted man first to understand what it would be like as an enlistedman before I earned my commission. Being a "mustang" Officer appealed to my sense of logic. I never regretted my decision but my career was cut short from my own wounds. I was proud to serve and make global history in my own way. Those were my arrogantly cocky years. Anyway, I'm on a tangent. Please express too your honorable Father that his service will never be forgotten by this former Soldier. I know, I understand and even though I will never know the horrors of the Vietnam War, I do know the hardships of what it's like to serve. Have his memories preserved in a audio file and/or film. Too many aging vets of all Wars are dying off especially WWII Veterans at @3,500 a day. My Father is 65 now and he'll only get older. It would be a shame if all those individual histories fade away from the fighting generation today and the future generations too come. Thank him for me. He is a hero too me. All veterans older and younger too me are heros. From the guy up in Iraq getting pinged at everyday or that young soldier in Ft. Benning that is staying in a fighting position during a Field Exercise. All soldier's sacrifice. That's why they call it the Service. OK. Enough of this...let's get into the brass tacks.

This is what I found out very early serving as Doctors & Dentists...the ones on Active Duty other than Walter Reed or very large, very "public" hospitals were the infamous graduates of the Medical School of Grenada Class of 1983 or the No-Particular Medical School of Manila. Plus they were the graduates of the lower half of the class. Why go into the Service as an O-3 (Officer Pay Grade-Third Rank of @$3200 a month Army-Captain, Marine Captain, Navy Lieutenant or USAF-Captain) when you could intern at a real hospital for eight times the money? Think about it. Who would honestly do it with that skillset in the Military, unless their either very patriotic or graduated at the lower half of the class. I found the Active Duty Doctors were very poor but the Reserve/NG Doctors are very good due to the fact that most of them are in private practice. Active Duty Specialist Doctors are very good too. The latter two are very good at what they do. I should know. After a very busy nine years in the Infantry and High-Speed units, I spent about one year in Active Duty in hospitals and convelescent leave.

In contrast, VA doctors are very good. They also have specialists in the VA and they have civilian practice on the side. It's a good cash cow for them and their checks are guaranteed by the US Government.

OK. Brass Tacks time.

The primary reason I started to look for my VA medical benefits was to attain some disability compensation due to my numerous injuries. As I was looking on how to do it, a few older Veterans that live nearby along with their sexy Daughters or Granddaughters...told me about some Veteran Organizations that could be a lot of help. So I researched a few areas first.

Veteran's of Foriegn Wars, the VFW. The American Legion are the two largest, nationally known Veteran's Orginizations. They do help Veteran's but for the most part, I see those guys as more as a drinking club. It's kind of like a Mooseclub that has a lot of Veterans' in them telling war stories at a table.

I was then told by a lot of Veterans that the place to go to get your benefits is definitely not the VA!

These Veteran's I spoke with had to fight tooth and nail to get their benefits and knew the scoop. They told me the place that can streamline and cut out most of the paperwork was the DAV (Disabled American Veterans). They even have trained personnel to start the paperwork. One Vet told me that over the past forty years the VA is becoming a facsmile of a hardline HMO program.

Basically, the VA tries to holdback claims or scrutinize claims to keep the organization in black. They don't want to pay out unless you know the back doors. VA representatives know the back doors and even though they do help Veteran's everyday, I'm sure they scrutinize the claims with a fine tooth comb.

In contrast, DAV is a government endorsed organization that has trained Vets whom also know the back door. DAV is comprised of what? Former Military members that have gotten claim work processed and it is done correctly and efficiently. I was just any old Veteran who didn't know the effects of aging and pain when I got out and I had a retired Lawyer do my paperwork so that helped out alot.

I can't say what you'll get or exactly what you are looking for. I know your Dad is a 100% disabled veteran and you're looking into compensation for hospital bills. Benefits were also extended to service connected disabilities spouses and children. As only a 60% disabled vet, I can fully understand the frustrations with the VA. In my humble opinion, the VA is not the source to go to for benefits. If your Dad joins, he can get a life membership rather cheaply and the DAV Vets will do anything possible to get what you're looking for. Since the War started, many, many Vets are returning home and are taxing the VA's limited resources. There are so many Veteran Warfighters out there that are joining DAV and many other organizations.

I urge you just to go speak to a DAV representative. Even if you don't join, I'm sure they'll still help. I have researched some websites for you. Your Dad is a Vietnam Veteran and they have their own websites and organizations that can help you or point you in the right direction. Here are those websites and others you may wish to tap for services and advice.
http://www.vva.org/ Vietnam Veterans of America

http://www.amvets.org/ American Veterans

http://www.dav.org/ Disabled American Veterans

http://www.va.gov/ Veteran's Adminstration

Just because I don't lean towards them, they do have some helpful links in case you haven't tried.

Good Luck in your endeavors Cap'n!

[capnswervon]

Sinatra,
Thanks for your response. He is a member of the AMVETS, Joint Vets, VFW, and American Legion. I am off to the land of Lebanon soon, so I will keep you guys updated.

The Capn'

[capnswervon]

Thanks for all the kind words guys! I went down to Lebanon yesterday, and spoke with the Benefits counselor. By the line at the door, I could tell he was a busy man. After waiting about an hour or so, I had the opportunity to explain the situation, and he agreed that it was ridiculous. He gave me all of the names and locations of the different departments that I needed to see and I think I found them all. So, I found out that his case was incorrectly entered into the "system", and we now have to go through all of the submission of forms and follow up. They don't think that they will have the equipment by Monday, but I have the name of the "Patient Advocate" that I am going to call today to see if I can get this expedited. I feel that it is the typical "Squeaky Wheel Get the Grease" situation. Hey I don't care how squeaky I need to be as long as my Pop gets the things he deserves.
I will post as things progress.

The Capn'

[Sinatra877]

You could always just call the DAV rep in your area. It couldn't hurt. Maybe they'll think of something that the VA can't do for you.

BTW: Don't tell Toecutter you went to Lebanon, PA. You know how those Marines get. He may think you're a Lebanese collaborator.

[capnswervon]

Haha! It is funny that you say that Sinatra. When I was 5 or 6, my Mom worked for a guy from Lebanon...that was when all of the bad shit was going down in LEBANON....you know bombing and such. I remember asking my Mom to be careful down there! Haha, she laughed and explained the difference. The nievety of youth!!

I will look out for the mighty ToeCutter! I actually found another loophole to side step his non-helpful VA primary care physician this afternoon. I was able to get the equipment ready without dragging my Father down to Lebanon like they wanted on Friday the 5th.....4 days after he is supposed to come home. I should hopefully be able to pick it up for him on Friday afternoon, or on Monday morning and have it at his house by the time he arrives. I am keeping my fingers crossed. I will tell you, I am learning the true advantages of getting in touch with the right people. I actually feel that I have two guys on my Father's side down there that are helping push things through. I will update as things progress.

The Capn'