Disturbing News From Vets Administration

If you take the King's schilling, he gets to call the tune ....


I left the Army half deaf (8" guns and big diesels will do that) and though several VA Benefit guys have tried to get me to sign up for free or subsidized hearing aids ....... No. Thank. You. I have had all the voluntary dealings with Uncle Sam I care to have ..... "But you earned that!" Yep. .... and I don't intend to depend on anything that is provided by an organization that can't possibly pay it's bills. If I don't have it, I won't miss it when they don't deliver on their promises .....and I don't see how they can.

Besides, I'd be paying for the stuff anyhow, in time wasted filling out forms and such...... somebody else probably needs that tax money more than I do, too.
 
I don't think this is new. In MA, the gun question is part of the standard set of questions doctors ask everyone when they select a new primary. Granted, it's only one question and not several like what the VA seems to be doing. "Do you have firearms in the house?", followed by "Do you have any pets in the house?". Neither of which I felt was their business. I asked the doctor why he was asking these questions and the response was because the data was for the insurance companies working with the HMOs. I don't think he was lying to me, but at the same time I don't think he knew for sure either.
 
Clyde and Dadams,

It's way easier and less stressful just to go to a private doctor. I never saw the allure of the VA, looks all feel good on the VA website and stuff. The system is clogged with guys that have high disability ratings but nothing wrong with them. They need to clear out the riffraff and treat the guys that deserve it.

Jimbob, love the quote.


And to reiterate, I was going at the request of the VA for their gulf war studies as by shear chance and dumb luck I was at several locations of chemical weapons release. I was not there for treatment but was prescribed medications nevertheless, and more was sent by mail.

But, in the few years that I was going, not once was asked about firearms ownership. Maybe if I had continued my questioning of the doctor, they might have asked.
 
UtopiaTexasG19 said:
Free speech is still ok where I live. Telling someone to watch what they are saying sounds like a another government fear program. Anyway, Most every VET I know is pro-gun and everyone around them knows it. We should honor their service to our country, not tell them to cower in the shadows. I would tell the Doctor to go and screw himself. This is just my opinion and we all know what that's worth.
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Are you a veteran? If not, I respectfully suggest that you not express opinions that do not contribute to meaningful discussion.

Those of us who ARE veterans know that the VA healthcare system has already been pushing to classify as many people as possible with PTSD. The next step will be for the VA and the .gov to declare that anyone with PTSD is mentally unfit to possess firearms. Some of us depend on the VA healthcare system for ... health care. This is especially true of those with disability ratings. If the VA is, in fact, setting out to disqualify those veterans who decline to answer questions about firearms, it's a serious issue for the veterans who rely on the VA for medical care. Advising us to just tell the doctor to commit an impossible sexual maneuver is not at all helpful to anyone.

It's not a question of whether or not we're "pro-gun." It's a question of to what extent the VA healthcare system is going to blackmail us over firearms ownership.
 
i'm an Army retiree with Tricare For Life and a disabled vet rated at 80 percent. Went back to the VA for my healthcare starting in 2010. The VA today is a class act: i've never had better treatment anywhere. i'm on some very expensive meds for service connected ailments: The VA furnishes those meds free of charge.

No medical person at the VA or anywhere else has ever asked me about guns. i know numerous young disabled veterans, some diagnosed with PTSD: No one at the VA has ever asked them any questions about guns either.

Yeah, the VA is swamped with young disabled vets who have spent multiple combat tours overseas. There is a long waiting list for appointments with specialist doctors.
 
ClydeFrog said:
I'd add that if you are a veteran & get VA treatment, if you have a complaint or dispute, go to the Veteran's rep office.
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If you are referring to what my VA hospital calls the "Patient Advocate Office," you'd be wasting your time. I had a complaint a couple or three years ago. I stopped by the PA office and made a verbal report. Nothing happened. Six months later I wrote a letter. They claimed they never received it. So I hand-carried a copy of the letter and ensured that it WAS delivered. Another six months went by. On my next visit I stopped and asked. I was told that, "due to the nature of [my] issue" it had been referred to a higher level.

Four months later, still nothing. I stopped in again and asked, and got the same story about "referred to a higher level." I finally gave up and called my U.S. Representative's office. That got action -- but not "results." I was invited to sit down with the assistant head of the hospital, who informed me that the doctor I was complaining about was highly qualified and that the VA only gets the best doctors available. The fact that this doctor had prescribed a medication which he personally knew I was allergic to was, apparently, not important.

Bottom line -- the Patient "Advocate" office is NOT there to advocate for the patients. They are there to bury and delay complaints until the patient dies or gives up.
 
Pittsburgh VA Healthcare System; recent event(s)....

I 100% disagree.
You may have a bad incident but other VAMCs or clinics may have different outcomes.
In the system where I worked; Pittsburgh PA, there was a break-out of Legionaires disease. Several older veterans at the UD(University Drive) location died. It was bad. Several OIG investigations & elected officials really cracked down on that scandal.
As I said, if you have major problems, go to the media or the VA's OIG.

CF
PS: A 083/police officer co-worker I had also worked as a sales clerk part-time for a gun shop. He was a USMC(military police) veteran & later left federal service to take a law enforcement LT position. He could shoot 300/300 with a 10mm Glock 20 pistol, too. ;)
 
I was in the army for a long time. I've had tri-care and I've seen the VA hospitals.

There is no way the VA system can come close to civilian medicine, I'm sorry to those guys who love it but ill keep my civilian doctors and private insurance. I can see a specialist on Monday if I want. Government healthcare is for the birds. This isn't really the place to discuss this, but if any doctors ever ask about firearm ownership, I'll post it.
 
So far my experience has been VA medical where I live is generally ok. I have however encountered administrative people not related to medical who couldn't hold a job at a fast food restaurant... Reading news papers, magazines and looking at me like I was a disease for walking in without an appointment... If it was up to me Id send people to pretend to be customers and see what kind of professionalism they get... Lots of these people need to be fired and barred from ever working for the government again.

No, no ones ever asked me about my firearms and if they do they wont like the answer...
 
I have doubts about this post & the details. I'm not calling the forum member a liar, I just think there are 2 sides to the story & there may be more to it.

I worked as a VA employee in the late 1990s(NTE position, GS-04). I worked in the VA police & security service. I saw firsthand how veterans with firearms & concealed weapons were treated.
I also get VA medical services & use a local VA medical center where I now live.
The Dept of Veterans Affairs is not perfect. There are a lot of clock-watchers & slackers there. Many of the medical doctors are sub-standard or looking to hold a public service job until they move into a higher paying slot. A few are just bottom of the barrel scumbags filling VA positions that no one wants.
I made a formal complaint to a program manager about a "psychologist" I was mandated to see. This pant-load nitwit was so off track I said he should get a psych eval! That VA doctor was removed from my treatment team.
My state passed new laws that prevent medical doctors from prying into firearms ownership or weapons unless they are not allowed to own-use firearms by law. That's fair & prudent. I'm not sure if it applys to the US Dept of Veterans Affairs. That's federal property.

I'd add that if you are a veteran & get VA treatment, if you have a complaint or dispute, go to the Veteran's rep office. They act as a advocate for the veteran & insure SOPs or standards are met. If the problem is serious, go to the OIG; office of the inspector general or the local media.
VA managers & SES(senior executives) grade do not like bad PR or problems.
The VA isn't perfect but there are resources available to resolve complaints.
Clyde
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@ClydeFrog

I have to agree with ClydeFrog. I too am not calling anyone a liar in the least as I think very highly of the members of this board.

I've had my experiences with the VA too and I've never been in a position where firearms were discussed. I sort of handle the affairs of my cousin who lost a leg in Iraq and is suffering from extreme PTSD.

No doubt there is red tape and extremely frustrating hoops to jump through not to mention several incompetent Shrinks. It took us some time to finally get one that actually had some clue as to what he was doing and talking about.

All that aside, and I'm trying to think back as well as I can, and I can't remember that form of "Gun ownership interrogation" ever taking place. So I too would be interested in both sides of this argument also.
 
Inside The Delta Force, CSM Eric Haney....

A former US Army Ranger & member of the elite Delta Force(SFOD-1), Command Sgt Major Eric Haney, wrote a non fiction book about his military service after he retired. Haney later became a military advisor on the CBS action series; The Unit.
In his book, CSM Haney wrote that a US Army psychitrist was so slanted & unstable he was later cut from the special operations command due to several complaints about his conduct.
The medical officer's function was to screen applicants for the Delta Force selection.

Not all govt agencies are perfect or are run smoothly. I saw a lot of fraud/waste/abuse when I was on active duty.
Clyde
 
I have doubts about this post & the details
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+1. Smells like very bad swiss cheese (holes all over) to me.

I retired several years ago and no question about guns (or ownership of guns) through a multitude of different VA health appointments. I'll raise the "brown stuff" flag on this thread unless it comes directly from the VA member with more details.
 
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I used to work for the US Dept. of Veterans Affairs; I determined the disabled percentage, thus deciding how much money Veteran's received in benefits. I only made it 8 months; The VA is a massive joke, our veterans deserve better.
 
Does the vet have a history of depression or PTSD? Suicide is much higher for vets than the average population. Maybe the Doc was just concerned and told a little white lie about "why" he was asking
 
To clarify one issue, and a question Mike Irwin asked: a VA physician or administrator CANNOT disqualify your eligibility for care if you refuse to answer a question. You have no legal obligation to answer a question on firearms ownership during a medical history inside the VA or out of it. A VA patient's eligibility for care is assessed on several criteria which together assign a priority level. The criteria do not include answering questions such as those identified. OTOH, financial status can be related to priority, so you may have to reveal fiscal status - but not gun ownership.
 
Like TennJed said, if a patient complains about depression he/she should expect those questions from any doctor, VA or not. That is why I am always careful what I say around medical providers. Even if the questions are not asked, who knows what they write in their notes.

Having said that, I was at the VA just this past Friday and there were no questions about firearms. I have always been satisfied with the treatment I have received from any VA clinic/hospital I have been to.

Bob
 
I just had one dealing with VA here in Colorado Springs and since we have Ft Carson plus Peterson AF and some other bases and returning combat vet's have lot to deal with. I think the VA trying to understand more on the mental problems from PTSD.

I've met thru the archery shop few vet's on the WW program are being treated for PTSD got their disability % for that. Only complain I ever heard from those guys is how long it took. I'm sure they may of been asked some question that may be questionable to some who hasn't been thru that.
 
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