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Anyone impressed with VA health care since Trump came into office? I'm hearing good things.

It all depends on the area one is at from my perusings online in different sites. Different locales can be night and day. I believe the corruption in our Government is so vast and so imbedded it would be like walking uphill in the sand to conquer it in one term. I have gone through 3 Doctors in 5 years, and I had to reinvent the wheel with each one. Frustrating, but my needs pale in comparison to many Vets!

I can't say that I have seen anything attributable to the Trump administration one way or another.

Like most govt. programs, VA is all about hype and acronyms. The program that will let you see a private doctor has been worthless to me, and one of my local docs said he won't accept VA patients, too much hassle getting paid, and little. That said, I have been pretty happy with the VA. In my experience the providers, doctors and nurses, etc., have been great. The system, the bureaucracy, not so much.

Paul

It appears that Dr visits and basic wellness checks (physicals) are OK through the VA. I have no health issues except hearing loss which I know is military related and I'm not complaining. I know a couple of guys that are older than me that like the VA. I know a couple of guys younger than me that like the VA.

My, experience here is as good as when I had private health care/insurance.

I have been using a satellite clinic in Hot Springs, Ar. since 2012. The clinic is 37 miles from my door and the VA hospital in Little Rock is about 90 miles from my door. Since I live more than 40 miles from the VA hospital I can request local private specialist care through my primary care provider at the VA H.S. clinic.

VA picks up the tab for my local Chiropractor, recently had Lithoscopy (spelling) by private doctor at private hospital, VA picked up the tab.

As mentioned above not all VA clinics/hospitals are the same.

Better because of Trump? Ain't no worse.

jme

My experience has been positive, also. We have a major VA hospital complex in Salt Lake City and a satellite clinic here in Ogden. I am always amazed by the number of bent, broken, and terribly ill veterans I see in either facility. For some, VA is their only source of care. They deserve every bit of attention and care that they get. We owe them.

My dad has been going since my mom passed away, 2008 and I have been impressed by his experiences.

No waiting, they found skin cancer on his arm during a routine physical and did his cataract surgery. Follow ups were flawless and he has had the same eye doctor for 3 or 4 visits.

I wish I was a veteran. For the record The local VA here wasn’t always so good but they have done a ton of work to the place and most of their doctors are affiliated with Yale New Haven Hospital.

Daughter works for VA as a RN. She's worked at two different VA clinics in different states so far over the past few years. She says from her experience there definitely is a very noticeable difference in quality of care, organization, skill and attitudes of personnel between the first clinic she worked at and the one she works at now, with the first clinic being quite a bit the better of the two.

My father was using the VA system only for hearing aids, with very good service, until last spring. Then he was hospitalized with a blood infection and complications for about 6 weeks. When released he was essentially bedridden (he regained some mobility after awhile). I contacted the VA to see about their home care program.

The day after he was released he got the first evaluation visit from a VA Nurse. He was assigned a primary care manager from the VA, so gave up his general practioner, but kept all of his existing specialists coordinated thru VA. The VA nurse practioner, nurses, and physical therapist all started regular home visits. He continued appts with his specialists as needed, and was very pleased with the setup. Once the VA picked up primary care they also provided any supplies and equipment needed at home, including a hospital bed and a stairlift.

His out of pocket health care expenses pretty much disappeared. He was already on medicare with a decent supplement insurance. Once VA was his primary the non-VA specialists continued billing his Medicare and VA paid anything his insurance didn't cover.

Unfortunately he passed away earlier this spring. 96 yrs old, WWII 10th Mtn Div veteran, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, CIB.

I have been on the VA roster for 10 years and have seen several changes for the better since Trump but can't say if I can attribute it to his administration. I have had two emergencies in the last two years and both were handled professionally and both were referred a to and handled by outside hospitals. The VA made sure both outside hospitals services were followed up and my after care is being taken care of nicely.
What they now call their Community Care is being handled quite good in my area, and although there are some questions about who is going to do what. So far they have worked out positively for me.
The worst part about going for appointments now, is now due to the Covid 19, the waiting rooms are kept mostly empty and I don't get to sit around and bullshit with all of those old farts. Kind of like hanging around here .

The VA in Iron Mountain Mi. where I am patient has improved 100% since Trump has been in office.I have no problem getting referrals to outside the plan Doctors for specialties they can`t handle and are picking up the Tab.My Doc there said he will do anything that I need to have taken care of.Not so in the past.Huntz

My one and only experience with VA has been very positive. The nearest VA facility is 60 miles from my home, and after getting a hearing loss evaluation there and being given free hearing aids and all the consumables they require such as batteries, a chronic ear/sinus infection I've had for years was referred to a private ENT doc closer to home. A procedure called a "balloon rhinoplasty" was done, and the problem that several previous private practitioners had tried to treat was gone. No charge to me for either procedure, and the hearing aids I received are much better quality than my wife's $5K ones. I used to think that a VA hospital was where homeless veterans went to die, but so far, I'm very impressed.

I can say it is top notch in Reno NV. No problem here!

Step dad says Helena is aok.

All the above is what I'm hearing.

Like almost everything else, this Covidiocy has thrown a kink in the VA system, too. I can't get in-person visits except for lab work but when I needed my hearing aids re-programmed they had me drive down, park in front of the door, and the doctor came out to give curb service. I can't even get a car hop at Sonic any more, yet here was a full-fledged Doctor doing it.

Wow, the more I hear the more I'm thinking I need to get on board. I have medicare A/B and a supplement. Never considered the VA option. It would save me 3600 + per year. Plus the hearing aids I was told I needed.

I was basically blown off by the VA from from end of Service in 2011 until 2016. A dedicated young Veteran's Service Officer (VSO) took my case back tot eh VA and they finally addressed it and admitted that they had ignored me since 1996. Change had started to affect the VA as they had taken a lot of heat from the few bad actors.

I went back to the VA last year and I cannot begin to explain how much better the claims process has been. The Va has subcontracted with civilian medical professionals to address the overload or bottleneck of cases.

I still have had issues with individuals and contrary personalities but that is no longer the whole of my VA experience.

I was told by the VA that with my pension and SS I didn't qualify.

Good luck.....

F the va....