PSA for veterans (1 Viewer)

[NCCommish]

So this is for veterans who may be uninsured currently and ineligible for things like Medicaid or Medicare. If you do have either of those I think you can still get some level of help not sure how much though. And of course retirees have their own thing.

During my health issues I found that I could get health insurance through the VA. And given my income level(no Chet bucks here) it came with very low co-pays and no premiums. Now there are some hoops to jump through for care but once you do that it works pretty nicely. In fact my cataract surgeries are fully covered all I'm paying for are the eye drops. The surgery cost right at 10k per eye and I'm paying 24.00 for eye drops. I would likely still be suffering if I hadn't found this resource as I don't have 10k laying around.

Now I'm pretty sure you have to be honorably discharged as part of the qualifications and you do have to do enrollment either online or locally with the VA. It took about 4 weeks for my approval to come through. 

I just wanted to put this out there because I had no idea and I wish someone had told me before now.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Thank you @NCCommish for your service.

Thank you to all the other vets. I am enterally grateful for your sacrifice no matter how small or large you believe your contribution to have been or is. 
 

Thank you. God bless you and Merry Christmas.

 

[NCCommish]

Thank you @NCCommish for your service.

Thank you to all the other vets. I am enterally grateful for your sacrifice no matter how small or large you believe your contribution to have been or is. 
 

Thank you. God bless you and Merry Christmas.

Thanks. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

 

[CGRdrJoe]

i try and tell every vet to go to the VA with their dd214 to get a rating no matter what, the benefits are there for a reason and there is nothing bad that can happen 

 

[NCCommish]

i try and tell every vet to go to the VA with their dd214 to get a rating no matter what, the benefits are there for a reason and there is nothing bad that can happen 

As part of the process I mentioned I had tinnitus and they scheduled a hearing exam. Ended up getting a 10 percent disability. Which gave me a small check each month but more importantly moved me up a couple levels with the insurance stuff. Cut my copays and my prescription costs. Plus enabled some other benefits. Definitely worth doing.

 

[NCCommish]

There is another reason to apply. If you get a rating with a service connected disability even 0%, you can use your VHIC(a VA community care ID card) to access your local base. You can use most of the facilities on base. With a few exceptions. Also your VHIC can take the place of REAL ID for anywhere that is necessary. 

 

[CGRdrJoe]

As part of the process I mentioned I had tinnitus and they scheduled a hearing exam. Ended up getting a 10 percent disability. Which gave me a small check each month but more importantly moved me up a couple levels with the insurance stuff. Cut my copays and my prescription costs. Plus enabled some other benefits. Definitely worth doing.

also a lot of colleges waive tuition costs for dependents of veterans, you only need a 1% rating. VA home loans as well

 

[Zow]

I did a lot of work with veterans courts. Veterans court is basically an alternative form of probation or supervision for a veteran charged with or convicted of a crime. However, instead of traditional sentences, veterans go through a much more rehabilitative process that is non-adversarial. Put differently, the judge, defense attorney, probation, prosecutor, etc are all on the same “team” working to get the veterans back on his or her feet. Oftentimes this does include things like drug/alcohol testing, some incarceration, etc but a significant component is also connecting veterans to services. Services include but aren’t limited to coordinating healthcare, inpatient and out of patient care for substance addiction and/or mental health issues, housing, transportation, education, and ensuring the veteran is receiving correct and earned benefits (we once fought to get a veteran over 50k in compensation he was owed from the federal government).  Generally veterans needs to have been honorably discharged, and it helps a lot if the veteran is service connected or has a disability from service, but there are still a wide range of services available if one knows where to look or who to talk to. 
 

Point being, as part of my work, I have a general understanding of the system (note: I’m not a veteran and don’t have any magic pull, I just was the defense attorney primarily involved in starting up one of the larger vet courts) and through my time developed several good connections. So, if there are any veterans on here who need help with services, feel free to pm me and I’ll do the best I can. 

 

[DallasDMac]

The surgery cost right at 10k per eye and I'm paying 24.00 for eye drops. I would likely still be suffering if I hadn't found this resource as I don't have 10k laying around.

How is cataract surgery costing 10k an eye?? Is it for an IC procedure or something?

 

[Tom Servo]

Thanks @NCCommish for the PSA.

 

[NCCommish]

How is cataract surgery costing 10k an eye?? Is it for an IC procedure or something?

I don't know what an IC procedure is. This does take place in a surgical center. That part is 3 to 4k of the cost. There is anesthesia involved. I went with the less expensive doctor.  The first Opthamologist I talked to, and the one the VA would have used had I not insisted on the one we went with, quoted up to 20k per eye starting out at 10k. But I didn't like them because they were only concerned with the money not me as a patient. And when the staff acts that way then you know the doctor is where that comes from. The practice I went with does a lot of charity work and you can just tell the difference. They're the ones who actually pointed me in the right direction to get these VA benefits.

 

[DallasDMac]

I don't know what an IC procedure is. This does take place in a surgical center. That part is 3 to 4k of the cost. There is anesthesia involved. I went with the less expensive doctor.  The first Opthamologist I talked to, and the one the VA would have used had I not insisted on the one we went with, quoted up to 20k per eye starting out at 10k. But I didn't like them because they were only concerned with the money not me as a patient. And when the staff acts that way then you know the doctor is where that comes from. The practice I went with does a lot of charity work and you can just tell the difference. They're the ones who actually pointed me in the right direction to get these VA benefits.

Sorry, I meant ICL, Implantable Contact Lens. I just had an appointment and was quoted $9400 for both eyes at a specialty place. It really is the Mercedes of eye procedures, and therefore not covered by insurance. So I was just trying to figure out what could possibly cost $10k PER EYE. That $9400 was for the entire package.

 

[NCCommish]

Sorry, I meant ICL, Implantable Contact Lens. I just had an appointment and was quoted $9400 for both eyes at a specialty place. It really is the Mercedes of eye procedures, and therefore not covered by insurance. So I was just trying to figure out what could possibly cost $10k PER EYE. That $9400 was for the entire package.

Well I did get a new lens that is how you fix cataracts. I don't know if its the same as what you are talking about or not. I do know it is supposed to make my intermediate and distance vision better and it does filter UV. And it may be that cataract surgery is more because all insurance covers it as medically necessary so they charge more.

 

[DallasDMac]

Well I did get a new lens that is how you fix cataracts. I don't know if its the same as what you are talking about or not. I do know it is supposed to make my intermediate and distance vision better and it does filter UV. And it may be that cataract surgery is more because all insurance covers it as medically necessary so they charge more.

Medical necessity is definitely the key. That's why ICL is NOT covered. Most insurance covers cataract removal and a general lense insertion. ICL involves basically a personalized, prescription lense and some extra laser stuff. I honestly didn't know the pace I went did ICL, or what that even was. I thought I was just going to a "good" cataract procedure place. I about shat myself when when they quoted the $9400. That ended the discussion fairly quickly.

 

[simsarge]

There's a bunch of money grabbing #### house lawyers out there looking to "help" veterans. There are some good tho, his video is from a large law firm that does a lot of military disability work. They have many videos on a bunch of subjects. this one is on benefits disabled veterans are entitled too.

 

[NCCommish]

Medical necessity is definitely the key. That's why ICL is NOT covered. Most insurance covers cataract removal and a general lense insertion. ICL involves basically a personalized, prescription lense and some extra laser stuff. I honestly didn't know the pace I went did ICL, or what that even was. I thought I was just going to a "good" cataract procedure place. I about shat myself when when they quoted the $9400. That ended the discussion fairly quickly.

Both visual and dental insurance suck for the most part. Especially given the cost of everything to do with them.

 

[NCCommish]

There's a bunch of money grabbing #### house lawyers out there looking to "help" veterans. There are some good tho, his video is from a large law firm that does a lot of military disability work. They have many videos on a bunch of subjects. this one is on benefits disabled veterans are entitled too.

Always got to watch for scammers. 

 

[NCCommish]

A little off topic but cataract surgery is big business. Over 400k people have the procedure every year in the US. That makes this at least a 4 billion dollar plus industry. And based on what I saw my doctor did 8-10 that day. So around 100k gross for around 3 hours of work given the actual procedure takes around 20 minutes.

 

[top dog]

Good info NC. I'm currently sitting at the VA hostpital with my father. He has to start undergoing some treatments. The process here is generally much slower than other hospital experiences I've dealt with but I've never been anything less than very happy with the quality of care my father has received here. I also really like how nice everyone is here. "Thank you for your service sir" everywhere. The nurses and staff have the patience of angels. I've seen so many of these guys all the same way.. Can't hear.. grumpy... and MANY times a bit inappropriate in their comments. The staff here has always handled every situation I've seen here awesomely. Can't say enough good things about the VA.

 

[NCCommish]

Good info NC. I'm currently sitting at the VA hostpital with my father. He has to start undergoing some treatments. The process here is generally much slower than other hospital experiences I've dealt with but I've never been anything less than very happy with the quality of care my father has received here. I also really like how nice everyone is here. "Thank you for your service sir" everywhere. The nurses and staff have the patience of angels. I've seen so many of these guys all the same way.. Can't hear.. grumpy... and MANY times a bit inappropriate in their comments. The staff here has always handled every situation I've seen here awesomely. Can't say enough good things about the VA.

First let me say I hope everything goes great for your father and that he has a speedy and trouble free recovery.

Yeah the wheels turn a little slower at the VA but what I like is that so many people there are either former military or military spouses and so they get "it". You can just feel that they genuinely want to help and understand some of the unique issues that vets have.

 

[(HULK)]

i try and tell every vet to go to the VA with their dd214 to get a rating no matter what, the benefits are there for a reason and there is nothing bad that can happen

I'm trying to get ahold of my old sick call records and having a heck of a time finding them, each office sends me to another. I've been out 19 years and will need them to establish some service connections for issues I have. I wish I had done this when I got out. My knees have been banged up since I was in and I never did a claim because I could manage. Now, 19 years later, managing is getting tough and I want to get them covered for when they're going to have to be replaced in the next couple years.

 

[(HULK)]

i try and tell every vet to go to the VA with their dd214 to get a rating no matter what, the benefits are there for a reason and there is nothing bad that can happen

As part of the process I mentioned I had tinnitus and they scheduled a hearing exam. Ended up getting a 10 percent disability. Which gave me a small check each month but more importantly moved me up a couple levels with the insurance stuff. Cut my copays and my prescription costs. Plus enabled some other benefits. Definitely worth doing.

If you get to 50% disability, you get full insurance for free for life. They can add a bunch of things together to get you there. Might be worth looking at your old records and seeing there are any potential connections to what you're going through presently.