Govt Health Care Part 2

I for one really don't mind sitting in a waiting room surrounded with a bunch of old guys that love to talk about their time in the service.  If you are qualified for VA services you probably don't mind too much.  Here is a short example of the headaches of Government Health Care.


I think I ended yesterday bu sharing with you that I had Malaria in 1968 and was put in the VA Hospital for three weeks or so.  Whatever they did cured me of the current symptoms and prevented any recurrences.  For that I am grateful.   Near the end of my Hospital stay, I mentioned that I had a high frequency hearing loss and wondered how bad it really was.   They scheduled me for a hearing test and as I supposed, I did in fact not hear much at the top end of the hearing scale.  The guy there told me that I would eventually need hearing aids and later on in life I should have my ears tested.  About three weeks I got a report from the VA saying that my claim for compensation was denied because there was no clear cause that the partial hearing loss was service connected.  No big deal at that time.


A couple of months ago, my wife who had been patient all these years started to mumble.  Her patience wore thin when my response was typically , "HUH?" She encouraged me to go to the VA and have it checked.  I went there and found that there was no way to have a simple hearing test, I had to enroll for their services.  I am now a category 6 patient.  That means that if a girl scout in Des Moines  stubs her toe, she is a higher priority.  They will treat me but charge my health care provider.   In August, I will carry only Medicare and TriCare and the VA cannot charge those government agencies for services provided.   

This round of enrollment with the VA required that I go over to have a physical and each year I will have a follow up visit.  I am not sure I care to do that but I have a year to think about it.

Let me say that I am currently cared for by a great Doctor and the hospitals here in Topeka are the greatest. I hope to live a long life and continue to have excellent health care.  I am concerned that budget cuts in the future will inhibit the health care I get just when I am at an age to need more.  

But the good news is that I don't mind sitting around in a waiting room full of old guys that like to tell war stories and have time to kill.

MUD