May 12May 12 17 minutes ago, Paul852 said:So what's the "good deal"?ah, now you did it, you cornered him with logic.
May 12May 12 1 hour ago, Paul852 said:So what's the "good deal"?I just want to know why they drew him like Flash Gordon
May 12May 12 2 hours ago, Mike31mt said:Well my point is pretty much what I said in my first post prior to all the emotional name calling. If Trump doesn't destroy the VA it will destroy itself eventually.We can take care of our veterans in better, more cost effective and efficient ways that don't require insane levels of bureaucracy and overhead.The VA is the country's largest healthcare system. Is that the purpose of our government? Do we want the fed to run one of the largest healthcare organizations in the world?Its model is super old and outdated.The EHR system they use is like playing f'ing Oregon Trail, it looks like a dos system from 1987 and theyve been trying for years and spending oodles of money but they can't kill it.To think you're going to roll into a local VA and get care for an advanced neurological disorder is a joke. First off, most VAs done even offer those complexities. And most VAs can't keep those types of physicians because of pay and the archaic systems they use and the fact that many centers ask them to chart themselves. You may have a specialist once or twice a month and they rotate into the VA, almost as a charity.Thus, most veterans would still have to hop on a plane or drive for hours to get that type of specialized care. And to argue that the Johns Hopkins and Cedars Sinais of the world can't provide that type of care is laughable.The VAMCs are arranged as a spoke and wheel, with each spoke clustered arbitrarily into VISNs (like district offices) which make absolutely no sense and only add useless bureaucracy for no reason at all. No-value-added administrstors who could literally be fired tomorrow with no ill effect. Go read the 80 billion pages of the VAAR for a laugh.Not to mention the VA owns countless dinosaur medical centers that are 100 years old and falling apart, or on Indian burial grounds or historic sites, or just legit high dollar real estate areas that could be sold and developed for better use.Healthcare is moving towards outpatient care and not huge centers in the middle of nowhere. Again, most don't even offer the complexity where you would want or need to drive hours to get.The VA is required to provide a market assessment every three years. Inevitably it recommends a bunch of centers to be closed and then all the politicians lose their mind and the report is inevitably ignored and no changes made.And before you say "let's just build new modern centers" go look at the Denver VA project and see what that looks like.Case and point, look at what should be the flagship VA in D.C. It's an absolute mess and should be nuked from orbit. That's right in downtown DC and it's a total disaster and has been for years.But no I'm just an ignoramus, I don't know anything.The type of vitriolic response to my post is why the VA will die a slow death. It's third rail and people hear "veteran" and start squawking.I’m a professional lurker so this’ll be my one and only post. You said in an earlier post you know more about the VA than the average person. I worked at the VA for over a decade (VBA/claims). Was hired as a GS 9 and left as a GS 13. Working sc disabilityCompensation claims (and pension) is an exhausting, stressful, tireless job. About 1/3 of the VSRs don’t make it their first year. They’re on a points/quality system. What that means is just to keep their job they have to process a certain amount of claims per day. Among the hundreds a month they process 3 to 5 will get pulled for a quality review. They’re required to have a 95% quality rate just to meet the basic standard. One error takes a claim from 100% to 75%. The usual errors called have no direct impact on the Veterans claim or their benefit they’re for system compliance which is usually dumb crap like flashes and indicators that are incorrect (or so they say). The VA uses the manual rewrite (their SOP aka their interpretation of 38 CFR). It’s confusing and hard to navigate. I took a job in the private sector making almost double I did at the VA and don’t miss the stress of working claims. I still have a lot of friends that work at the VA and they said the PACT act implementation has been a nightmare.About 5 years ago I was having some neurological issues. I have private insurance so I went to my doc who referred me to 5 neurologists to get some tests done. Earliest appointment I could get was 2-3 months out. I contacted the VAMC, they scheduled me for a CAAT scan the same week. There were no major issues but to be on the safe side scheduled me for an MRI two weeks later. Test results were fine but the neurologist scheduled another mri on a precise location just to be sure. I’ve had nothing but billing Issues and crappy co-pays using BCBS so I now get the majority of my care through the VA. I was really skeptical because of all the nightmare stories I heard but they’ve been incredible. And before you ask no I dont have a hook up that got me in faster I called the hospital and outpatient clinic to make my appointments. The best part is I also have an app where I can message my doc with questions or get a quick prescription refill without a face to face consult . The system is far from perfect but it’s been my best option. For all the Vets who post here thank you for your service 🇺🇸
May 12May 12 Maga doesn't care if people lose their health insurance and die in the street. House Republicans unveil Medicaid cuts that Democrats warn will leave millions without care
May 12May 12 Nothing like the Convicted Felon committing a crime from the Oval Office after accepting a New Plane that is surely bugged by China.
May 12May 12 Just now, Arthur Jackson said:Yikes what happened Cecily? ☹️She just looks better than Trump's nominee does.
May 12May 12 1 minute ago, jsdarkstar said:She just looks better than Trump's nominee does.whatever dude 😃seek help
May 12May 12 1 hour ago, jsdarkstar said:Maga doesn't care if people lose their health insurance and die in the street.House Republicans unveil Medicaid cuts that Democrats warn will leave millions without care
May 12May 12 On 5/9/2025 at 2:04 AM, Diehardfan said:@Alpha_TATErSaw a moose post and though of our convo. Big SOBs.amazing animals.
May 12May 12 31 minutes ago, Alpha_TATEr said:amazing animals.Yep, unless you piss one off or walk around a corner and see a mom and her calf. As I was slowly backing away this dumb guy in his 40s (should know better) ran towards them after I warned him. Freaking idiot.
May 12May 12 2 hours ago, Nice Work Pal said:I’m a professional lurker so this’ll be my one and only post. You said in an earlier post you know more about the VA than the average person.I worked at the VA for over a decade (VBA/claims). Was hired as a GS 9 and left as a GS 13. Working sc disabilityCompensation claims (and pension) is an exhausting, stressful, tireless job. About 1/3 of the VSRs don’t make it their first year. They’re on a points/quality system.What that means is just to keep their job they have to process a certain amount of claims per day. Among the hundreds a month they process 3 to 5 will get pulled for a quality review. They’re required to have a 95% quality rate just to meet the basic standard. One error takes a claim from 100% to 75%. The usual errors called have no direct impact on the Veterans claim or their benefit they’re for system compliance which is usually dumb crap like flashes and indicators that are incorrect (or so they say). The VA uses the manual rewrite (their SOP aka their interpretation of 38 CFR). It’s confusing and hard to navigate.I took a job in the private sector making almost double I did at the VA and don’t miss the stress of working claims. I still have a lot of friends that work at the VA and they said the PACT act implementation has been a nightmare.About 5 years ago I was having some neurological issues. I have private insurance so I went to my doc who referred me to 5 neurologists to get some tests done. Earliest appointment I could get was 2-3 months out. I contacted the VAMC, they scheduled me for a CAAT scan the same week. There were no major issues but to be on the safe side scheduled me for an MRI two weeks later. Test results were fine but the neurologist scheduled another mri on a precise location just to be sure. I’ve had nothing but billing Issues and crappy co-pays using BCBS so I now get the majority of my care through the VA. I was really skeptical because of all the nightmare stories I heard but they’ve been incredible. And before you ask no I dont have a hook up that got me in faster I called the hospital and outpatient clinic to make my appointments.The best part is I also have an app where I can message my doc with questions or get a quick prescription refill without a face to face consult . The system is far from perfect but it’s been my best option.For all the Vets who post here thank you for your service 🇺🇸Thanks for this reply, I was only on the VHA side (for many years) so I appreciate the added context. Of course people forget all about the appointment scandal, and I know there was a huge push to clean that up so I'm glad to hear it's getting better, or at least was in your case.
May 12May 12 4 hours ago, DrPhilly said:He’s a professional nurseWrong, not a murse. I wouldn't last a day doing their job to be honest
May 12May 12 15 hours ago, barho said:Tell me I’m wrong…..Jimmy Carter, James Buchanan and Joe Biden say you're wrong
May 12May 12 Just now, Procus said:Jimmy Carter, James Buchanan and Joe Biden say you're wrongDamn, you already concede he's 4th worst, huh? I'm sure we can move him up a bit.
May 12May 12 2 minutes ago, Paul852 said:Damn, you already concede he's 4th worst, huh? I'm sure we can move him up a bit.imagine thinking 4th worst was a flex.
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