VA Rating - One Key to Camping in Military Campgrounds

[zzotte]

Thank Woodbender for caring it’s a pleasure to know we still have great people in this world

Zzotte

[skypilot_1]

nancybninja
"However. That being said, VA outpatient clinics are entirely different. They see no walk-ins at all."

Sorry, but Im happy to say I've been seen at three VA outpatient clinics hundreds of miles from my home clinic in the past three winters.
We are snowbirds for 6 mos a year. Many transit vets at Patrick AFB famcamp use the Viera VA clinic. Check in for eligibility and seen within 30 mins. Same at Key West clinic as well.
I do understand that years gone by that was not possible before computerized med records. I also have Medicare and TFL and prefer to use the VA when possible. Just make sure they don't change your home clinic. Piece of cake now

And no...Im not overwhelming the system, as they like the body count.

[Barz]

Originally Posted by McRod

I am not the one advocating "get what your entitled to". I advocate, "get what you need."

There are more programs, resources and funding to support our Military than ever before. Both government and non-government programs.

But I know how important getting a DAV license placard to get front row parking at Walmart is to some people. Or in this case, being able to finally get to camp in a Famcamp. Congrats!

I suppose it's ok to misdirect your focus on me, it's not popular to call out vets. But that's what make us stronger because we keep each other in check. I wouldn't say that's calling people weak, but rather reminding them of our warrior ethos, part of which, is integrity.

Maybe this article will help you understand my position.

McRod, I agree with most everything you have posted and totally condone vets getting the help that they NEED. I am not a vet as my birthday came up 340 in the first draft lottery back in the 60's. I have the utmost respect and appreciation for their service to our country. However, my neighbor is a millionaire several times over. He was never in a war zone and has traveled the world multiple times. He enjoys bragging about "milking the system" and tells other vets to do the same. He has diabetes, a pacemaker, asthma and other ailments that he had a chiropractor document as caused during his time in the navy back in the late 50's. Consequently he gets maximum benefits from the VA including $3000 monthly! I might add he's getting 2 hearing aids although his hearing is far superior to mine. Unfortunately vets like him tarnish the sacrifices that other vets made and siphon off money that those less fortunate could really use......like the ones living under freeway overpasses. If you're a multi-millionaire......you don't need the assistance even though you might feel entitled to it. Let the VA help those truly in need.

[Mhom]

Just trying to get some discount, they just tell me I have to have 50% or more of disability. Nothing is wrong with me . My DD 214 said I am a honorable discharge. Serve your country and get nothing from the VA. All I used was for a correspondent course on old tube tv repair.

[Captn John]

Originally Posted by woodbender

I'll post what is common knowledge, apparently, but has come to my attention only since I started this thread.

Starting Jan 1, a Veteran with ANY VA rating is eligible to have base privileges including MWR. Up until then, it takes a 100% rating.

This link spells it out.

Unless a final change it is for vet and caregiver. Not family. Installations will open commissary and exchanges. IF any more is up to commanders. They also must have been to a PCP within the past 24 months.

You made it sound like hearing is easy. All had a baseline hearing at enlistment. Most recent have the same at discharge. If little or no change getting a rating later is difficult as normal aging.

You suggest the DAV, life member since 1968. Cleveland VSOs were great. SC and NC don't bother. should interview 3 before making a choice. My county SR VSO is one 0f the best in the state, not all county VSOs are accredited. Am Legion, VFW, and many other vet organizations have VSOs, they all will help and file claims at no cost to the vet.


If you really want to help those with questions suggest a VSO. Those that want questions answered online should go to https://vetsbenefits.net/ where current and retired VA employees volunteer. Unless you become a VSO you should only send vets to the experts. Incorrect info or incomplete info is worse than no info.

There are 3 separate divisions of the VA, cemetery, health care, and benefits. The only time they talk to each other is benefits will ask health care for treatment records.

I too am 100% P&T. Would have rather been able to retire and find a job.

[Oldcaster]

Originally Posted by nehog

For the last 20+ years, wars have been fought for one reason only: profit of the war machine. We have not been threatened or attacked, instead we have attacked and threatened many others. There is a reason that people hate us--we earned that hate by killing them, their children, their parents, their loved ones.
Tell Congress: no more wars.

(I'm a 100% disabled veteran who will die from the conditions that disable him.)

That sucks you had to kill children and parents, but don't lump me in when you state; "we"...

And not threatened or attacked???

Off topic much? But hey, never let a good discussion get in the way of a mindless political rant I guess.

[Captn John]

Originally Posted by jlwentworth

I served in a combat area and have effects from doing so. I find the whole process frustrating and disappointing. I have hearing loss in both ears and wear a hearing aid in one ear. I applied, did their testing, and had my claim rejected. They billed my insurance and I received a bill for my portion. I wasted a lot of time and money. I am then told that I can appeal the decline. I can go waste more time.
I find the whole thing to be a big lie. Why I should fight more to receive sub standard care that my tax dollars are being wasted on to provide is beyond me.
I doubt many really 100% disability, but that depends more upon the individual no matter what impact. If you have the time to fight the system and made out. Good for you I guess. We have lots of "citizens" make it by living off the government and believing they are owed something. I would rather pay a vet!

Congress mandated the VA collect from insurance of vets that have it. The vet is never charged the difference for hearing aids or glasses. Vets with a 50% or higher are never charged for HC but insurance will pay just a private hospital.

[Captn John]

Originally Posted by Steve 716

Thank you. I am a Viet Nam veteran and make use of the VA whenever needed. Help is there for medical issues regardless of if they are service connected or not. The VA helped me pay for college, for my first house, and provide my glasses. Medical care at the VA hospital in Charleston, SC saved my life. Things like camping at a base campground don't apply to me because I was four years and done but alot of benefits do apply.

One thing you may find is a problem is using a VA clinic away from your home region. I have been fulltiming for three years and half timed for eight years before that. My home region is Savannah, GA to the Charleston area. Regardless of whether I needed a simple flu shot or had a torn muscle in my back not one of the six clinics I have visited when traveling would see me. The reason is always that I am not in their computer and they refuse to add me and every year I have to travel back to Savannah to receive annual care. Still, the VA gets it right far more often than getting it wrong. One last thing. When staffers at my home region say "thank you for your service" they mean it.

All VAMC have a travel coordinator. I don't use mine but have been seen in several clinics far from Fayetteville. All will give you a 90 second form to complete. Approval in 15 - 30 minutes. Talk to your coordinator.

[Jeff6146]

Originally Posted by McRod

I am not the one advocating "get what your entitled to". I advocate, "get what you need."



There are more programs, resources and funding to support our Military than ever before. Both government and non-government programs.



But I know how important getting a DAV license placard to get front row parking at Walmart is to some people. Or in this case, being able to finally get to camp in a Famcamp. Congrats!



I suppose it's ok to misdirect your focus on me, it's not popular to call out vets. But that's what make us stronger because we keep each other in check. I wouldn't say that's calling people weak, but rather reminding them of our warrior ethos, part of which, is integrity.



Maybe this article will help you understand my position.

HA I need every damn cent I’m entitled to. Not a penny more, and damn sure not a penny less. It’s mine, I earned it, and I’m damn well taking it.

[helopilot880]

I have only recently filed with the VA for benefits and disability due to Agent Orange exposure. I have a question if it comes back under 100% can one still camp at military camp sites? And, do the military camp sites offer full hook-ups? Thanks. Never Forget.

[Bytesponge]

Originally Posted by TonyDi

THREAD WARNING ⚠️

Our community rules state: make a statement then move on.

Some members are bickering and have changed the thread.

Let’s get back topic and move on.

Thank you to those that posted within the guidelines.

Thanks for stepping in and keeping this thread from becoming a shouting match! Everyone is entitled to their opinion but their opinions should not take away from the original intent to inform deserving vets of Medical help available to them! I too am a Disabled vet of Vietnam era and was also a crew chief on C-130 A then B (1961-1965). I knew nothing about benefits until I exhausted my supply of money and talked to a fellow Vet that was working at the unemployment office in Texas when our company went broke.
I wasn't informed until then many years later after my hearing and vertigo was almost unbearable. My wife and I still speak dearly of this man who cared enough to help a fellow Vet.

Bytesponge

[nancybninja]

Originally Posted by skypilot_1

nancybninja
"However. That being said, VA outpatient clinics are entirely different. They see no walk-ins at all."

Sorry, but Im happy to say I've been seen at three VA outpatient clinics hundreds of miles from my home clinic in the past three winters.
We are snowbirds for 6 mos a year. Many transit vets at Patrick AFB famcamp use the Viera VA clinic. Check in for eligibility and seen within 30 mins. Same at Key West clinic as well.
I do understand that years gone by that was not possible before computerized med records. I also have Medicare and TFL and prefer to use the VA when possible. Just make sure they don't change your home clinic. Piece of cake now

And no...Im not overwhelming the system, as they like the body count.

That's wonderful!, I never knew that, that's why its so hard to stay on top of how things work! Always pays to go find out.


At my last VA, our travel coordinator position was unfilled for a couple years. I forgot about her, but it was great to have her.



Another thing I forgot to say, any VA Pharmacy, during business hours, should be able to to a 10 - 30 day refill for travelers. Helps if you're delayed during travel or lose your medication. They say NO controlled drugs, but I have seen them fill those too. I have also seen them fill those prescriptions on holidays, but the official position was business hours.



More than once, I saw people go up and talk to "somebody" in the Directors Office and come back with exactly what they needed. Much more effective than the window-dressing-only Patient Satisfaction Officer. Sorry, if you have that job, but that's how it appeared to us in the ER.


It shouldn't be that way but too many people complain to each other and the regular staff and not to the people that can actually have an impact. Such as the Director and our various elected officials.
I retired Feb 2018 and I really miss some of my vets.

[depler]

Woodbender, by starting this discussion thread you did a very good thing. The thread is now up to six pages and still growing. I haven’t read every post, but like most, I got triggered by some of the comments and felt the need to add my own hoping my experience might help others.

Full disclosure: I’m 85 years old, a USAF Korean War Vet, active during the years 1953 – 1958, retired 1971 (I think).

I enlisted, went through Radio Maintenance at Scott AFB, then answered the call for Aviation Cadets, to come out a single-engine jet pilot. Upon graduation in mid-1955, the Korean War was over, so I transitioned to a C-119 line-pilot for most of my tour. I didn’t go to Korea. No combat. Left active duty in 1958 to use the GI Bill to get an Electrical Engineering degree, then to get a low interest loan to buy my first house.

So essentially everything I am, everything I have, is due to my military service. I was able to take advantage of the multiple opportunities offered to make the most of my service time.

I was lucky, I walked away from all the crashes … I came out healthy. So I never considered applying for VA benefits. And I was always a little embarrassed when folks ‘thanked me for my service.’ Being old-school I just figured it was my American duty to serve. I think most of us from the WWII/Korean-War era thought that way. That was before the country started getting into police-force conflicts where winning wasn’t an option. Not sure I would have survived that mentality if called (I was susceptible to recall until 1971).

That’s one thing. The other is that I have extensive experience with different health care systems, from private, to Medicare, and lately the VA’s HealthCare system. Not so much for me, but rather for my wife. I was her 24/7 caregiver for her last 5 years and found it necessary to fight continuously with the Medicare bureaucracy. She passed in December 2017 after 63 years of marriage.

Shortly after that, in May 2018, I submitted a claim for VA disability and HealthCare benefits. The local VSO office did all the work and submitted the claim. I was approved for a 10% hearing disability. With a C-119 line-pilot's MOS, and a 1958 outprocessing physical showing some hearing loss, it was automatic. So now I receive $140/month, and an ID card that gives me access to VA benefits. I also dropped Medicare Part B, saving about $135/month. Medicare Part A (hospital), which costs nothing, is all that remains.

Having never been in combat, I’m still don’t feel right about accepting VA benefits. But when you’re older, having depleted your savings on healthcare for your wife, unable to financially recover due to the Fed’s zero interest rate policy (ZIRP), and with inflation increasing the price of everything … well, you tend to go into survival mode looking for any legal way to increase cash flow.

I now have hearing aids, eye glasses, and low-cost meds. All because the eligibility requirements for such VA services are practically automatic (it’s a military thing). If the nation ever goes to a national healthcare system, I hope they model it on the VA and not Medicare.

And then there's the camaraderie of your brothers and sisters in service. What's not to like?

[Nomonk]

Originally Posted by Dennistimer

I have a hearing disability, don't know where my "award" letter is, but it shows up every first of the month in my checking account; would that suffice in place of the letter to prove a disability? Mostly interested in the camping benefit.

Here is where you can get all your info:
https://www.ebenefits.va.gov/ebenefits/homepage