Following the links that Sarah sent me, I learned that I must take Medicare Part B if I want to retain Tricare. That being said, when I turn 65, Tricare becomes Tricare for Life and I no longer have to pay for it (approximately $25 per month) but then I get to pay for Medicare Part B which I understand is $134 per month. Medical Insurance of any kind gets you coming or going.
It is what it is. Nothing is free and even though you've earned something or were promised healthcare for life when I joined the military in 1972, government will find a way to reneg on promises.
Thank you Sarah for the links.
Thom
Sent: Saturday, January 7, 2017 3:55 PM
To: TSP_Strategy@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [TSP_Strategy] Re: VA and healthcare-my personal experience
Well, I thought I was doing it one-on-one. Sorry folks.
Sent: Saturday, January 7, 2017 3:53 PM
To: Nelson Garcia it2garcia@yahoo.com [TSP_Strategy]
Subject: [TSP_Strategy] VA and healthcare-my personal experience
Hi Nelson,
I've had experience with the VA and I do go there every 18 months so I stay empaneled. But the truth is their rationed healthcare is not for me. After I retired from the military, it took them 6 months to get me in for a physical, they lost my records, and said I was pre-diabetic. (There's no such thing as pre-diabetic). One year later, they diagnosed me with Type II Diabetes. I later found out that had they made the diagnosis in the first year, it would have been automatically service connected at 30%. They started treating my diabetes with one metformin daily and 50 test strips per 90 days. I say their healthcare is rationed because common meds for Type II Diabetes is 2 per day, test every day and 2-3 days each week 2 hours after eating. I started seeing a specialist outside the VA system after hearing a presentation about diabetes and learned much about the disease.
In short, I don't trust the VA to do what's necessary and best to manage my health care and that's why I purchased the BCBS from my federal job and carried it into retirement. The VA may be free for us veterans but it's only worth what we pay for it. I did put in a claim to get my diabetes service connected and after 6 long years of appeals and finally going before an ALJ with documentation from a specialist who reviewed my military medical records and provided a letter estimating I was diabetic long before I retired, I was finally granted that 30% disability and making it service connected. It was a very frustrating 6 years trying to work with the VA.
I worked with my doctor, her boss, the chief of the pharmacy, and the head of the VA in Alaska. None of them could do anything to improve my care. It was written in their rules.
So I continue to see my specialist that has helped me maintain my diabetes under excellent control and feel I'm being very well taken care of.
Your experience may be different than mine and I hope it is. The best thing anyone can do for themselves is education and read as much as you can find about anything a doctor says you have. Then compare your notes and ask questions with your doctor. But taking care of yourself is most important.
Thanks for your note on TSP Strategy. I'm doing this one-on-one to keep from adding off topic conversations in that community. Thank you again for your note.
Thom
Posted by: Thom Jennings <akthom@hotmail.com>
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