I went with 4 fellow vets to the VA center in Denver to obtain a Veterans ID card. This card establishes that you are a vet and is good for discounts at local stores

After much confusion (this place is HUGE) we were feeling like we were back in the service. Lines were the order of the day and the place was full of vets from the last wars. We were 5th in line to speak to a lady that said all we had to do was fill some forms. 6 sheets of them and we must file a claim to be on record. WHAT!

 

 

We took our 6 sheets to a coffee shop and started. They wanted SO much info and every financial and personal info I have. NOT gonna do it! I don't trust the VA with all my info for a simple little card. I can understand it if I was in need of a medical claim.

 

 

I gave up and tossed the forms. Then I was informed that in CO, if you take your

 

DD 214 to the license bureau they will put that info on you license. Much simpler and makes much more sense.

 

 

Going to that facility was an eye opener to me. People of all ages, colors, and wars all in one place for one reason. I'm sure there were a fair share of benefit seekers that were there to collect for any thing they could. One of the guys that came with me could easily afford hearing aids, but knew if he filled out all the forms, he could get them free. He bragged about it.

 

 

I was in the heavy artillery and we fired over 8000 rounds all without hearing protection. I paid for my hearing aids.

 

And everyone wonders why I'm not an Obamacare fan. The VA of today is what government healthcare of tomorrow will look like.

I'm with you on that Ron. It's ridiculous what they put our vets through.

When I got out I used the VA for the first couple years of my civilian life since I was not receiving any health care benefits from my day job at the time (health care bene's from a day job was a privilege, not a right) so I paid for a type of catastrophic plan for my wife since she was not eligible to receive VA bene's and I used our VA for my own medical issues which were virtually none but for the occasional check up, it got us by.

 

But I remember the process being pretty streamlined but I think that was because I applied at the VA within one month of my discharge. I go back every three years to re-register and it's streamlined if you are in the system, it's just basically a check in. I don't use the VA because we have our own insurance now. But I maintain the status just in case, you never know.

 

 

My experience does not reflect what our vets are going through now, waiting for months for treatment is unforgivable. And to have some wait so long, they die, is evil. We owe them, and you better.

 

 

When you say the license bureau, are you talking your state issued driver license? I'll have to check into that, might be easier then driving out to our local VA one hour away.

 

Pennsylvania just started the process of Veteran identification on your drivers license. At renewal, show your DD-214 and they will add it to your license.

Got my VA card a few weeks ago from the local clinic. No problem. Took all of 15 minutes with a very pleasant lady who asked a few questions and submitted the info on line. The card arrived in the mail about a week later. However, I had been in the system for several years already.

 

The very distressing problems with the VA hospitals don't seemed to have affected the operations of the local clinics. I've had no problems getting appointments and care...of course, that care is minimal at the clinics. So far, my medical needs haven't really required any more. Just BP and GERD medications.

 

 

Several years ago though, I decided, for various reasons, to schedule a routine colonoscopy with the infamous VA hospital in Phoenix. I'd had two previous ones done by a private group. I was impressed with the prep leading up to the procedure. Very nice nurses and intake was quick. However the procedure it's self was awfully painful. I swear the old doc used a surplus WWll bomb sight. What was worse, 3 years later, when the private concern did the next one, they informed me that either I had extremely fast growing polyps or that the VA procedure had not been adequate. Subsequent procedures confirmed the latter.

 

 

One more anecdote and I'm done. This experience is what prompted me to get the VA card. Several weeks ago, I found myself in Tucson for a few days and had not packed enough of the BP meds. Tucson's VA hospital is in a different system from the one in Phoenix who supervises the clinic I use. I went over there to try to get a couple more pills to tide me over. Man-o-man what a bureaucratic mess! I had to re-register for the Tucson system even though they found me in the over all data base. Re-registering meant visiting two more officials in two separate buildings which were so far apart that I had to get a shuttle each way. That campus is HUGE! Then, when I finally got registered, I had to wait in line to request the meds and then wait in line to pick them up in yet another building. Had I had the card, most of the BS could have been avoided. As it was, I spent 5 hours dealing with bureaucrats and moving between buildings....for five little pills.

 

 

If the VA is really a taste of Obummercare, I pity those who must deal with it.