Comments for Bill Anderson's Blog

Comment on VA Healthcare or Medicare by Bill A

Bill A — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 17:24:43 +0000

Emergency medical care is the key. An ambulance would transport you to the nearest hospital. You need to check with them to see if they would accept VA as a payment alternative. Most hospitals automatically go for Medicare, as VA involves a lot more paperwork and is slower paying.

Comment on VA Healthcare or Medicare by Ron Myers

Ron Myers — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 23:47:23 +0000

I am 65 and in VA priority group 1.
There is VA clinic within 5 miles and a VA hospital within 10 miles.
The VA hospital will not accept a patient via ambulance.
I currently have Medicare parts A & B and a Kaiser Senior HMO at $95 a month.
Would I do better to dump the Kaiser and the Part B, either or both?

Comment on VA Healthcare or Medicare by Bill A

Bill A — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 19:00:09 +0000

If you are in a low priority group with a nearby VA clinic, VA may be the way to go. I lived in a rural area of Montana, and it was a lot closer to drive to a Medicare doctor than the VA clinic. Plus, VA decided to put me in a higher priority group, where the copay was higher than the Medicare copay. Now, that I am living in Costa Rica, I am back to just Medicare Part A.

Comment on VA Healthcare or Medicare by John

John — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:23:08 +0000

Well, it appears that being rated at 100% by the VA and have been receiving Social Security Disability now for a year. I just received notice from Medicare that I am now eligible. Yes, it is a dilemma trying to determine your choices. For vets in this situation, it is my opinion to take the no-cost Part-A Medicare and use your VA for all you can, provided you are close enough to a VA facility & like your doctors. Understand that if you are enrolled in the VA Healthcare System, and you are in need on life threatening medical care, you can go to any hospital. You must notify the VA immediately of where you are. They are to transport you to the nearest VA facility as soon as you are stable. It appears to me, those Vets in this position just don’t need anything but the free Part-A. Just my 2¢ worth.

Comment on VA Healthcare or Medicare by Zack

Zack — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 20:25:00 +0000

From what I have gathered from reading what folks have said here, does it make any sense to sign up for Medicare part b if a VA clinic is nearby, and you are in a lower priority group? I just sent in my application to the VA for benefits so don’t yet know what priority group I’m in but will likely be higher rather than lower. I just turned 65 in October so have 3 months to sign up for part b of Medicare, but not sure what I should do. I also have Cigna insurance from my previous employer, but now Cigna tells me they will only cover the amount they would of had to pay for a recent doctor’s visit as if I already did have the part b, which means they don’t cover much. I mean, at $110 a month, thats $1300 a year-yikes. This stinks.
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Comment on VA Healthcare or Medicare by Bill A

Bill A — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 12:29:47 +0000

The Medicare web site has links to insurance programs for each state. I maintained a supplement plan for emergencies, as the ambulance takes to you to a hospital and not a VA clinic.

Comment on VA Healthcare or Medicare by Bill A

Bill A — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 12:25:07 +0000

When I asked Beartooth Hospital in Red Lodge, their comment was that they automatically bill medicare, and only bill VA at the patients request. I suspect that you may have to argue with hospital billing. You can also request a reduction in the bill due to your father’s limited income.

Comment on VA Healthcare or Medicare by Cheryl W

Cheryl W — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 18:40:25 +0000

Recently we thought my father was having a stroke and ended up in a non-va hospital. the hospital never contacted the VA and we wanted to leave the non-va hospital to take him to the VA but ER doctor who was very upset said he could die and needed to be admitted. My father never provided Medicare information but the hospital billed medicare and now the VA said he is not eligible for any coverage because Medicare paid a portion of the bill. My father is now facing $1500 in medical bills for this hospital. Can we appeal? Has anyone done this before? I feel that had the hospital contacted the VA immediately the VA would have arranged transportation to the VA and cover the ER charges.

Comment on VA Healthcare or Medicare by Rick in Arizona

Rick in Arizona — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 20:56:31 +0000

This is a great Blog with lots of info! I recently had this same discussion at our VA satelite facility. My situation, Age 65, have medicare original (A only) and VA, priority group 2. When I ask about VA Vs Medicare part B the physician said to think about a high deductable emergency hospitalization insurance policy to cover situations where you might find your self needing emergency care and did not have access to a VA facility.

Then if you found yourself in that situation and ended up spending time in an ER facility for ‘xx’ days, your only debt would be the deductible, and not the entire bill. I have ask a couple of people that have ‘catastrophic’ hospitalization ins and they said, its only ~$300/yr. That’s better than $115/mo for B I would think.

The other thing I heard about Part B (from a tax specialists) was that it was scheduled to go way up in 2013 but I have not confirmed that yet. Bottom line, since I am still employed and hopefully should be until age 66 next year I have some time to think about it. Medicare doesn’t start the clock on choosing part B if you have employee healthcare coverage…

Rick

Comment on VA Healthcare or Medicare by Bill A

Bill A — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 16:45:53 +0000

I have only been to the VA Clinic in Billings, MT. A brand new clinic. I have never experienced a VA Hospital, so cannot comment about them. The Doctors at the clinic were great. At the same time, I completely trust the Doctor that I have seen for years. He still does my annual Medicare checkup. Not a great answer, but it reflects my situation.