Deplorable state of the Los Angeles Veterans Administration system – please share

I have been dealing with the VA systems since my discharge from the Marine Corps back in 1999. There have been ups and downs, and I must say the Los Angeles system is horrific. I will be providing a phone number at the end of this rant that I urge you to call to verify, and I hope that phone gets a lot of rings.

Back in June of 2017 I got violently sick on night. I call that night “Vomit Fest 2017” and it was not a lot of fun. It got to the point of needing to wake my wife up as I wanted to get to an emergency room. I called the toll free number on the back of my VA card to talk to an advice nurse as the closest VA facility is almost 50 miles from where I live. The nurse told me to get to the closest emergency room that I could get to.

When I arrived at the ER they took all my information for billing. I gave them my VA information and I thought everything was going to be ok.

Fast forward a few months and I get a bill from the hospital. After going through a lot of red tape and hold times, I thought it would be best for my credit to just pay the bill and file a claim with the VA. I called the number on the back of my VA card again, and they gave me all the information to send in the claim.

Fast forward a few more weeks, and no news from the VA. I called that same number and was told I need to call the local VA facility for an update on the claim.

THIS is where it gets annoying. There are a lot of Veterans out there in far worse shape than I am. I am not a combat Veteran, and feel for those of us that did go through that ordeal and might be receiving similar treatment to what I am getting.

That brings us to the phone number. I was told to call (818) 891-7711 and dial extension 38100. The phone call will go through a lot of prompts when you dial, but you can just dial the 38100 if you wish. Remember, I am just trying to get reimbursed for the $850 I shelled out for my emergency room visit. When you dial the 38100 the voice will tell you a lot of things…..for this, call this number, for that dial that number. At the end of the message the voice will tell you NOT to leave a voicemail as the voicemail WILL NOT BE RETURNED.

Really? People at the VA are too bothered to return a voicemail? This is how Veterans are being treated? Please share this post so the word will spread.

Thank you

 

My buddy is always complaining about the VA here too.

 

Go to the news media. Make a huge public stink, that will be harder for them to ignore. Local investigative news stations love to stir the pot.

 

Veterans Affairs has an Inspector General for redress issues like this brother, get a hold of the MEDCOM Pacific IG office and make a complaint/issue and see what they can do for you boss. Sorry they are being such a PITA, have a lot of buddies dealing with this BS, some places are better than others...not looking forward to dealing with them when I retire in a year, luckily I will be with in 10 miles of 4 military instillation hospitals and will not have to use VA hospitals. I currently work in an IG office man if you need some numbers or anything PM me but a google search should get you what you need.

 

A buddy of mine in NC had to go to a local emergency room and ended up staying for a while after having an emergency procedure done. Long story short the VA (being his only insurance) completely denied his claim because there was a VA hospital about an hour away that they say he should have went to it instead of his local emergency room. He was left with over $20k in medical bills and the cold shoulder from the VA. Last I talked to him he was trying to get a patient advocate and a lawyer to see about getting the claim re-opened. It's wrecked his credit and caused he and his family a metric fuck ton of un-needed stress.

 

Update

Yesterday, yes January 16th 2018, I got a letter from the VA dated December 29th, 2017 saying they did pay my medical expenses. Yes, four months after the due date. Glad I paid it. The letter went on to say the payment was made in November of 2017.

Now I get to deal with the hospital for my refund of what I paid.

What a circle jerk.

 

What a pain, glad it all got sorted out but it should never be such a pain to do so. Now that you have proof of how long it took, you should document it and turn it in. You can still make a stink about the process.

 

This is such crap. I’ve had lots of veterans go to our local VA only to be sent to my hospital because they can’t help them. I hate hearing the red tape y’all have to go through.


I got a letter yesterday from the VA for my grandfather. It was one of those forms for taxes showing you’ve had health insurance for the entire year. My grandfather has been deceased since 2002!

 

My dad is a Vietnam vet and he is fortunate enough to be a teamster as well. So he hasn't had too much trouble with his VA needs, as he primarily goes through Kaiser for his medical care, since the union provides that.

According to my pops, the VA is severely understaffed and that is a big reason why care is so crappy. It really is a department that should have as much funding as necessary and then some, to care for our veterans. Especially those that only have the VA as their sole care.