One morning I woke up to a phone call. I felt very much "cloak and dagger" when the voice on the other line said "I'm having trouble at the hospital and someone told me to call this number. Do I have the right person?" The wise guy side of me wanted to respond with "who are you looking for," or better still, "is this for pick-up or delivery?" But I knew exactly why he was calling.
My wife and I have been through a very ugly medical situation with our army hospital. Only strong expletives could accurately describe how I feel. So I knew this caller had heard something about us.
He went on to describe how the doctor he saw told him that "back pain is normal in the army," and "you'll just have to learn to live with it." And that was it. When the first doctor left the hospital for another assignment this soldier got another doctor. Instead of a real second opinion the second doctor just said "well if you've already been seen there is nothing more I can do for you." And now, because of his intense pain, he will be separated from the army.
Second opinions are hard to come by in the army. If a soldier is fortunate enough to be granted one the second doc will often just defer to the opinion of the first doc. It's just easier that way. It separates soldiers faster and is cheaper. The misconception that "the VA will take care of disabled vets," must be the only threads left holding these doctors' consciences together.
check out this site if you think the VA is doing its job: www.dav.org
I've been out for over 8 months and I still haven't seen a dime from VA for some of my well-documented disabilities.
In a nutshell on claims: I developed acid reflux during service. The VA considered that condition "service connected," which means the VA will assume responsibility for treating my indigestion at VA clinics and the VA pays for my antacid meds.
However, the VA claims that my bone spurs and joint degeneration in my neck (from wearing a Kevlar Helmet and Body Armor) is not service connected. I guess back pain just happens!?!?
It does according to the VA.
Disability ratings are based on two measures: subjective pain scale (1-10) and objective range of motion.
In the civilian world doctors use objective functional assessments to determine the effects of a patient's disability. These examinations often span a period of time (at least 2 days) and monitor many motions and actions on each day. Using this method gives and accurate description of how a patient's disability affects their activities of daily living (ADLs).
But the Army won't use this method!!
WHY is the easy question, at least it seems to be -- MONEY. A functional assessment would likely show higher disability ratings for veterans and that would increase VA spending greatly. The VA budget is a joke already. The VA will fight increasing disability ratings as long as it can. The current payments for disability is already sad as it is.
Check it out here: http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/Rates/comp01.htm
As you can see, a lone veteran who is 100% disabled gets $2,393.00 per month. That is tax free, but how far can that really go? That's $28,716 a year. Increases to that come at Congress's leisure.
Is that really the best
Where else can this disabled vet get money?
Hopefully the Army retired them from active duty -- not a guarantee. A young soldier with 4 years of active duty service can get $514 a month for being considered 30% or more disabled by the Army. There is some fuzzy math that goes into these calculations but now this disabled vet is up to $29,230 a year.
Some perks come with this: guaranteed medical treatment, but how much does a disabled vet trust the Army's medical system. PX and Commissary privileges as a retiree but if the vet wants to get away from the seedy Army town this means little to nothing.
And that is sad considering all that this person sacrificed.
In all of my anger at the Army's medical system I remind myself that my personal experience wasn't too bad. I had a great surgeon who I trusted and fixed my shoulders very well. I just can't do certain Army tasks now. (But who really should carry an 80 lb. pack!?!?) I loved the physically demanding environment of the Infantry, my body just couldn't hang together any more.
I also had cartilage removed from my knee -- I was rucking (back-packing) exactly 6 weeks later. For those of you familiar with the Sapper School road march course at Ft. Leonard Wood, MO, I finished it in 2:45 (2nd place) only 2 and a half months out from surgery. Those docs did a great job!!
- Ragin' Ranger Out
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment