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Good news for anyone who was screwed out of/still waiting on ER reimbursement. In brief, most vets with Social Security benefits are opted into Medicare whether they know it or not. The hospital then uses your VA ID like an insurance card and bills Medicare for what they'll cover. Prior to 2009, the regs stated that if your care was covered "in whole or in part" by any payor, the VA was not liable for reimbursement. Removing that "in part"...uh... part means the VA is liable for anything Medicare didn't cover.
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Apr 13, 2016 16:18
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| # ¿ May 2, 2024 18:44 |
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I'll do some digging on these disability questions, and in the meantime, share this with your lady vet friends. Non-lady vets can apply too, but right now they want more even demographics THANKS OBAMA. 
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Apr 26, 2016 17:09
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Sarah, I'm so sorry they're loving around with you, and you're not alone. Half the vets have had their opiates, benzos, or any other controlled substance cut off cold turkey. One had been on opiates for a decade because his spine is crumbling and they can't fix it because his seizures tear apart any stabilized vertebrae. He was housebound in agony for months before he saved up enough to see a pain specialist out of pocket. His file now has the big fat DRUG-SEEKING label because he complained to his primary and the patient advocate. I've seen others who have been made dependent on sleep meds, either by their condition or because VA docs were candymen not long ago, get cut off and go days without sleep, jumping at every sound and about to cry with exhaustion. Any complaints, even up to the rat-faced Secretary, have been met with form letters about new VAMC policy and contraindications. In actuality, as I've mentioned before, the VA sees patients as statistics rather than individuals, and one of McDonald's initiatives is to bring down the number of scheduled drugs prescribed. It doesn't matter if you're physically dependent, or it's the only thing that helps — if their bar graph doesn't show numbers going down from 2015-2016, they will face sanctions. Of course that's not spelled out as clearly in the documentation, but if you're paying attention, it's obvious. I'm glad you got the pharmacy to act. I've also been witness to complaints being met with the other fun label of NON-COMPLIANT. I hope your situation doesn't stay bad, and that they don't pull this poo poo on you again.
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May 13, 2016 06:58
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Sarah posted:So now after reading your post, I've probably been marked as a drug seeker because I'd like to actually walk places and go do things and not be in pain. Oh yeah and sleep, I'd actually like to sleep. Ugh, I'm so very sorry. They've become so ridiculous about pain meds; Vietnam vets are even getting cut off after nearly 50 years on opiates so they "don't get addicted," and one of my guys was taken off lorazepam, the only thing that helped his anxiety in public spaces, because (as the Chief of the Mental Health wing here put it) "if you stay on that stuff now, then fifty, sixty years down the line you'll be on a much higher dose." Not like 50-60 years of agoraphobic panic isn't going to gently caress up his life well before that. I get frothing mad about this, and even Congresspeople aren't willing to fight it because then they worry they'll be seen as pro-drug, or contributing to more overdose deaths. They want all vets to bootstrap their way out of pain, even if those boots are full of plantar fasciitis and it makes you vomit in pain to pull them up.
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May 13, 2016 19:10
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