Veterans/VA Med ... liveaboard in transit

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by SURV69

Fatherchronica:

I have been told by the VA that I can never get more than
90 days supply of most meds and only 30 days of rat poison ...
I have a hunch it's all talk and varies considering the
circumstance ... but the VA won't "say" that.



Jackheape:

you're right about the adminstrative staff. Aside
from one nurse, my problems have always been admin staff.

Ohio has a great plan and since my total income is
under poverty, they'll pay part "B", plus supplemental ...

This way, I won't have to worry about if the the deduction
from my pension would be 100% or just 5% of the costs.

I would tend to stay in the VA, but the medicare would
reduce the VA's deny, deny, deny attitude's effect on
my medical costs ... at least they would be a backup.

It was also no fun fighting them to get my
gall-bladder(3 year fight with lots ,,, and lots of gall-bladder attacks)
... it literally exploded during the laproscopic procedure(took almost 6
hours to clean up the bits and pieces).

I also had a heart attack about 6 months after they took
me off all my heart medicines, over my objection(Isosorbide,
Clopidagrel & metoprolo tartrate), I'm back on all of them plus
rat poison now. In a way, they caused my Heart Attack, then refused payment ...


Cadence:
Not really. The trailer I'm living in
costs about $600 a month(all associated bills)
... acutally, with frozen(broken pipes the last month+),
I still pay the monthly bill, but must buy water too.

In a marina, in Ohio for 6 months I pay $1600,
with water & electric included( ... about $270
per month ... a difference of $300+ per month.
There are many, considerably cheaper marinas too.


All other costs are rather static.

Away from the trailer, I have no bills, other
than cell phone, boat insurance(cheap), and
car insurance(cheap)

alcodiersel:

I never considered the DAV, since ... although I "re"
fractured my back(fell off the top of the inlined ladder),
in the AF, my claim was not successful. So ... am I a
disabled American vet? I always thought no.

I appreciate all this information, but spring is here, my heart appears to be doing much better and I want to do something that will become more unlikely, more unrealistic, each year that passes.

Move south. I think the next post is about marina cost in Charleston, SC.

If noting else it is warmer. I'd move to someplace like Venice Fl. south if the kids were not here. Kids right pushing 48 and 57. Someone will have to care for their mom.

I didn't mean to sound demeaning. We live comfortably on SS. Of course we don't owe a penny. For that matter we add to the savings. With three sources of income?

[CC45]

Hi, i'm a war vet, I live on a 30' sea ray. I have 3 dogs and a roommate. This boat has 2 state rooms, aft and forward, separate head/shower combo, galley, dinette. I pay 425.00 for my slip and roughly winter electric, 89.00 per month tops, for all ac electric. I pay no water, sewage, garbage. The main septic line is in front of my boat and they have the pump out equipment right there. I have no va disability as they say, no copay. No supplemental income. I do have SSD pays, 1203.00 monthly, Medicare A/B and joined up for Prescription D. My state pays all monthly premiums for both. My meds from the va i use to pay over 12.50 up to 24.00 and with my Plan D, i pay no more than 2.95 for each. I use to pay over 125.00 to my va's dr's visit plus my meds and with my medicare and Prescription plan D, i pay less than 60.00 per visit. By not going to my va and taking all that crap that made my mental harder, i don't see them. So by living on my boat, been doing this since 1995. My mental status is great, I did have a heart attack around 1998, and not one since. I don't get into any type of high stress situation's, Va was always a high stress dealing with the staff and just being BS all the time. I wouldn't give up this life for nothing.. I was told that if you tell your dr's that your heading over there, you can call them ahead of time and have a appointment made. Your prescriptions you can get almost any wheres. I live in Wa state in the PNW. I do get to keep over 200.00 a month and i save it on my boat, not in my checking or savings. Don't listen to what other persons negatives are, go by what makes you feel better and cheaper living cost's and keep that extra money in your pockets.

[mcdermitt]

I am close to 80 and go to the Birmingham al via great weekend place next door to UAB medical school they are affiliated with the via in south along. I do not know what cost of for boats in mobile but sure us warmer than Ohio. You can go to any via clinic anywhere in country just sit down and tell them I will leave after I see the doc.

[powsmias]

Originally Posted by SURV69

I'm retired. get my SS, a small state pension and VA supplementary pension(non-service disability) ... I've been somewhat disabled since being about 13 years old ... Air Force said I never should've gotten in and got a 35-4 in 1971.

In the winter, I live in a mobile home, with freezing pipes, no refrigerator/freezer and high heating bills ... I muddle through, since it's only temporary(5-6 months), before launch time(Ohio), but in my older years, I hate winter, it's demoralizing to me and my physical & mental health suffers.

The cost of living in this trailer with the bills and everything included takes up almost all my sum of pensions ... hard to save money. Monetarily, I'm on the edge

On the boat, in summer, I have a much physical & mental better life and can save a substantial sum of money monthly. I feel re-invigorated and more financially fit. I have a fridge/freezer and feel secure in my cucoon(Bristol 29).

I want to liveaboard full-time. My medical care is VA., but VA medical clinics have given me a hard time(really, really hard time), for showing up at a clinic that was not my primary care ... they even gave me a hard time for showing for a procedure(scheduled by the Cleveland VA, to that clinic).

I'm a war-time veteran, and my care is financially based, for no co-pays($1071).

During the winter, I live like the pauper I'm supposed to be and have almost no excess money after bills and all ...During the summer, when I'm on my sailboat, I'm no longer live like a pauper ... I have some excess money.

When I ask a VA patient rep about VA care, the first impression I get, is that I'm doing something almost wrong or immoral ... almost like I have an obligation(or something), to live like the pauper I'm supposed to be.

I'd like to hear from veterans about how they resolve(or resolved), problems with VA care while transiting from one place to another on a nearly daily basis. I assume that if I find a nice marina in South Carolina(a little bit of winter doesn't bother me), and STAY PUT ... it's no problem, and I might stay put ... but I might not ... I hope to like a turtle, slowly going from place to place with my shell on my back.

I'm 66 and this "sojourn", is a part of my un-written bucket list ... something I've wanted to do for years ... I really want to do it and I want my medical care to kinda follow me not feel "guilty" about having too much fun.

Sorry about your trouble with the va mister, in '06 i spent 6 months in hospitals, nursing home from bike wreck. after it was almost all healed i went to va and best care was from them. you're doing something wrong to get that kind of treatment. i been on road on bike with stops in st pete, salina ks and nyc and always got treated well. if i didin't i'd probably get arrested but never had problem one with any va and upsets me about the press they get. we in same boat here, i snuck in in '72 with severe scoliosis nothing service connected . was from birth. you're gonna be ok with whatever place you go to, last thing i worry about is the va. all the best

[SURV69]

CC45:

I live 40miles 4080 feet from the closest corner of the VA property(straight-line measurement) ... during the summer I live about 65 miles from the VA center, but I don't think the VA here offers the option for closer care ... maybe it's something they don;t want us to know?

[SeaSon]

Maybe it's the VA in Ohio. The Cape Coral Fl clinic treats me like a king.

[Lepke]

I'm in the PNW and I'm a VN vet with service connected disabilities. My prescriptions are mailed to a commercial mailing company that has boxes. I maintain an account and I tell them were I am and they box and ship my mail, etc. The mail service also takes packages from all shippers.
I think I get good care from the VA. Vets I've talked to from the east or south east seem to think the care out here is much better. I've had no problem going to Portland, Seattle or Alaska VA hospitals and clinics.
Out here Kaiser is an option. For $41/month seniors with medicare.

[Mikhael]

I am a 100% disabled vet and I spend my summers on my boat. I am in the process of moving on full time and cruising. I have used the VA system for over 30 years and have had minimal issues. There are certain rules that must be obeyed in order for your care to run smoothly. Call ahead to make an appointment if possible, if not then call ahead and tell them that you are coming. Simply tell them that you are traveling. Period. Some personnel get nasty when you tell them you are living on a boat. They do not have a need to know. Find a good relative or friend and ask them if they can take on your mail. Minimize your mail by using online banking etc. There are places to park your boat and there are PLACES to park your boat. Search out and find the ones that you can afford and use those. Not the ones that are so expensive that they drain your bank account. You can find places in Texas and North Carolina for 300. to 600. a month. Do the homework there and you will be happy with the outcome. Good luck on your cruising. DO NOT let anyone out there tell you how to cruise or where to cruise. You earned that right by stepping to the front and guarding those who couldn't or wouldn't.

[a64pilot]

There are Marina's all over the Gulf States, except S Fl where you can live in a nice Marina with all the nice things for $300 or less a month, you pay electric.
I don't know, but bet you can get much cheaper in the fishing towns

[SURV69]

Lepke:

I'm, thankful to have the VA, and I always thought I good care, but in hindsite, it took from 2008 to 2012 or so for them to finally resolve my gall-bladder issue. In that time many doctors in the various hospitals(emergency situation), wondered why I had my gall-bladder ... one doctor(toward the end), went into an almost uncontrolled tirade against the VA over the condition of my gall-bladder ... when I got to the point where I was have many multiple gall-bladder attacks(in one day), the VA "finally", addressed it ... set up an appointment, and sent me home ... to return a few days later for the laproscopic operation. When it was done the gall-bladder was so full of stones that it virtually exploded during the operation and the doctors almost had to complete the operation with full cuts and all, but ended up spending about 4-5 hours "cleaning" the mess up(inside me).

This was totally uncalled for ... and I can't count the number of "emergencies" I endured in those 5 years ... many emergencies that the VA refused paying.

A little more than 2 years ago, my cardiologist(VA), took me off all my blood and heart meds ... even took my Nitro ... over my objections ... he said I don't need them anymore.

Well ... last year(March, in fact), I had an "incident", which caused me to get really bad cold sweats, complete body pain and black out on the pot(early AM), Some time later woke up, felt completely fine.

Went to a VA appointment(my clinic), at which I had a heart attack, and the VA called the ambulance to take me to the nearest(non VA), hospital.

I stayed in the heart attack for about 6 hours(enzymes continually rising), at which time they wanted to send me to the VA hosp ... no beds, so the emergencied me to a hospital in Akron, because of the rising enzymes(evidently a sign of an ongoing HA), after about 6 more hours of increasingly rising enzymes, a cardio team was called in(at 2am) to perform an emergency Stent operation. Evidently my VA stents(non-medicated) were so blocked that the team had to send a wire in to unclog the stents(I was awake for this), then placed new MEDICATED stents inside the non-medicated stents. I will say, these doctors did not speak well of the previous operation.

VA has denied virtually all the costs associated with this ... even the ambulance.

Now, I've noticed the VA is taking sometimes almost a month to send me meds and months(plural), to send me supplies ... and taking forever, with multiple inquiries, to complete orders to even begin the mailing process.

.... it's like "something", is going on ... and I don't know why ...

[icemate]

I am so lucky as I have a great Primary Care doctor. I have for the lasr 15 years. The first was someone other than American and I went straight to the administraters office and got a good doctor for my primary. He died and the same thing happened again. I now have a great doctor. You did not state if you use myhealthevet for you meds , appoinymn=ents, doctor messages. This is an important tool for us vets. Everything is logged so no one can say they didnt get asked for help. Are you 100% non service connected ? I am and under the amout I receive each month so all meds are free and all health care also. No co-pays but I have to be refered to another hospital for the VA to pay the bill. Do you get re-imbursed for your travel ? If hospital is over so many miles you can get mileage from VA. Go get yourself a good primary care doc and don't let the screw you. The Iceman

[WindwardPrinces]

Frankly, this thread bothers me.

My impression is that this isn't about the bureaucracy of the VA. It's about people who are trying to get coverage for non-service-related health care issues, when they don't qualify.

Plenty of people seem to succeed at that, and that seems to justify others trying to do that. The cost, of course, is that people with legitimate health care issues resulting from their service having to wait in line for their care. "It's the system, man. You just have to try and exploit that."

There are plenty of people with legitimate issues resulting from their service. I definitely think the VA should help them. Then there are people with issues that weren't a result of their service. Medicare or private health care takes care of them. In this case, the individual qualifies for medicare, so I don't understand why he wouldn't go that route.

If you want universal healthcare, then vote for it. If you think anyone who ever served a term in the military is entitled to free health care for life, then vote for that. I don't so much think the VA should get trashed when they're doing their jobs, though.

I invite discussion of this issue. If I'm wrong, please tell me why, as I'd like to correct my thinking on this issue. Please don't flame me, though. I support the military AND the VA. My spouse is Active Duty military, and deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. She retires next year after 30 years of service, and we'll be paying for Tricare for our health care. They certainly aren't offering us free care post-retirement.

I don't mean any disrespect to the OP, and I certainly am thankful for his service to our country. I'm just not sure I see how the VA owes him 100% healthcare for life. It may well be that I'm not understanding something. I also don't understand why Medicare wouldn't be the solution.

[Wind Souls]

Re Mikhael post:
Without being provocative, I am wondering how you can sail and cruise with a 100% disability? Of course, you can have a crew sail the boat and you can enjoy the cruise.
Interested and whatever your answer, I wish you well with all your sailing endeavors.

Win'Souls
True sailors never stop sailing, they just continue to sail from their Bay of Experience to their Sea of Dreams. (rg)

[Lepke]

SURV69: I have a friend that the Portland, OR VA removed his gall bladder. He went to the VA emergency room with intense pain and they figured it out quickly. It was removed that day. When I had an issue I called my primary care team, and they greased the ways. People were waiting when I got to the hospital.
Wind Souls: PTSD, hearing loss, mobility, etc., with other issues can make 100%. I have a power boat because I can't do halyards and sheets. My hands don't close all the way. And other issues. But I set things up so I can run and mostly solo the boat. Often I hire people to help or do some of the maintenance. By the time we get old (I'm 67) we've had a lifetime of learning how to use what we have left and still get enjoyment out of life.

[Wind Souls]

Lepke:
Your answer to my question is both informative and touching. Thank you.
As a 78 year old liker of the waves, I marvel at the driving force, not of the wind and waves, but the GUAG = (get up and go) of folks such as yourself, SURV69 and all the others both voiced here in this thread and those that have not yet represented themselves.
I have a lumbar back problem. The description list is detailed, but the bottom line says, loud and clear on a daily basis, chronic pain.
When I read all about what others are doing I can not help but ask, "What am I doing here?" and "Why can't I, if they can?"
Like tide and time wait for no man the question cycles on a daily basis. Love lost is never lost Love, which is why I continue to sail from my Bay of Experience to my Sea of Dreams.
Win'Souls
Richard