Welcome to Thunderdome

Yesterday I updated my info and got back into the system. When I last used the VA 15 years ago, it was terrible. Two month wait for appointments, for one thing. Surly caregivers. Overcrowded facility. At the time, the nearest VA facility was two hours away. Not practical.

Every summer I go to urgent care with poison ivy, pay $150 for someone to say, "Yeah you have poison ivy just like how you said," and prescribe me a tube hydrocortizone... so I figured fuck it... let's see how the VA is, now.

The nearest VA clinic is now 30 minutes away, and actually right along my commute to my kid's school... so there's a shitload of convenience. I parked in the front row nearest the door, walked in yesterday without an appointment and without my DD-214 (discharge papers), and within 30 minutes I was enrolled in their .gov online scheduling system, had updating my address and contact info, and had an appointment for a couple weeks to get all the "46 year old guy" tests that I should have started getting 10 years ago, cholesterol and shit.

I don't pay for any of it.

If I have to get a prescription, it's 5, 8, or 11 dollars, depending.

If I need emergency services and can't get to my home VA hospital (in Ann Arbor, Michigan), just call them from the hospital and let the VA know and they pay all the bills. Kind of a load off my mind, considering I travel around scuba diving and hiking and do generally dangerous activities, far from home.

Fuck Obamacare. Obamacare is a disaster. American health insurance is a disaster, wrought by Obamacare. Do 4 years in the military and never pay for health care again.

We have one of those fancy new healthcare programs where you pay for everything, unless you're dying.

I'm ready for socialized healthcare now.

TheCatt wrote: I'm ready for socialized healthcare now.

Apparently, I've now got it.

GORDON wrote:

TheCatt wrote: I'm ready for socialized healthcare now.

Apparently, I've now got it.

Yeah, I'm a bit jealous.

TheCatt wrote: We have one of those fancy new healthcare programs where you pay for everything, unless you're dying.

I'm ready for socialized healthcare now.

I'd find one of those GPs that don't take insurance. I worked with a guy that did that and his office visits were something like $75 or $80 bucks. I think he told my cowrker that he cut his staff by more than half when he did that because he only needed one bookkeeping person then rather than a small team to deal with insurance companies.

Vince wrote:

TheCatt wrote: We have one of those fancy new healthcare programs where you pay for everything, unless you're dying.

I'm ready for socialized healthcare now.

I'd find one of those GPs that don't take insurance. I worked with a guy that did that and his office visits were something like $75 or $80 bucks. I think he told my cowrker that he cut his staff by more than half when he did that because he only needed one bookkeeping person then rather than a small team to deal with insurance companies.

We've started looking for that, but there isn't a lot of that around here.

That's what I get for being happy I got something.... the whole government shuts down.

GORDON wrote: That's what I get for being happy I got something.... the whole government shuts down.

Hah. I was just wondering about that. A quick google says "vets are in trouble" and "VA can weather shutdown better than other departments" so who knows what's reality.

GORDON wrote: That's what I get for being happy I got something.... the whole government shuts down.

The shutdown is your fault.

Vince wrote:

GORDON wrote: That's what I get for being happy I got something.... the whole government shuts down.

The shutdown is your fault.

"The whole universe is against me."

Was he letting his donuts crumb all over the carpet?

Just following up on my flex, I have a routine 6-month appointment next week, and the doc wanted me to get labs (blood draws) done first. Without an appointment, I walked in and out of the local clinic this morning in under ten minutes.

That’s standard for Promedica too.