I know people think that Medicare For All will come in to save the day and universal healthcare will fix everything that is wrong with our healthcare system. What many don’t realize is that we already have gov’t healthcare on a smaller level that has failed, the Veterans Healthcare Administration.
This morning, I will have a dental implant procedure done that I have needed for a while. It was completely my fault on the dental care side but it was made worse looking for recourse through the VA system which pretends to help veterans. And I get it, my tooth was mostly my fault. But a lot of where I am was there’s too. Here’s the story.
My husband and I had Veterans Dental care we paid for through Metlife. It only pays for things like crowns, filings and cleanings. It was through our VA benefits and we were cool with that. But, when I went to have a root canal it wasn’t covered. Our dental credit card was maxed from my husband’s crown and I was hurting. I needed help.
I went to the root canal guy who want $1400. Then I had a thought. Why don’t I use my Va benefit since I am allowed dental? That seem all good until you realize that scheduling Va dental is a long drawn out process of paperwork and waiting. When I finally went to my appoint many months later, it was like I suspected; I need a root canal. I said let us get this scheduled. They had to send me right back to the original guy that wanted $1400. Oh Lord! I guess the Va does not have someone who does it or who could get to it quickly. Not in my area anyway.
I need other things done on other teeth so I was told the Va could pay for those and sent me to a dentist who did veterans in my area. To get the rest of my teeth looked at, this new dentist needed an updated xray. Because this was about 1 year at this point, the dentist and his assistant pulled up my new chart and my old one to see if their hunch was right. And it was!
I never needed a root canal. It was a small crack the first time that turned into a broken tooth. The time it took from the misdiagnosis by the Va dentist until I got to a civilian, I had to get the tooth extracted. The Va said they would pay for that but not a dental implant, they wanted to do a partial. My current dentist said that for my bone health an implant would be better. Asking strangers, many said a dental implant was better. And I know my sister had hers done.
So here I am almost two years later getting my dental implant. In that time, we paid off that credit card and several others. We also managed to pay off 4 big personal loans. I also been holding on to the money for this implant for dear life, so I never felt like I can’t afford something again.
Don’t worry. This story isn’t that bad. I had to pay some price for my lack of better oral hygiene and money management issues. Yes, I have to get surgery but some people have lost their lives. Bad Va Healthcare has made some veterans go crazy, go homeless or even kill themselves. I have not gone that far. It also hasn’t been a good journey. I use this story to tell people why I do not think universal healthcare is a great idea. The sad part is that this is just one of many of my own personal VA issues. I am sure there are thousands of more veterans who avoid the Va altogether.
Now, maybe I’d be getting this free with Medicare for all and have money to spare. Or maybe I would be on another waitlist long than the already 2 years I had to wait to get this done. Maybe I’d had better care if I went somewhere else or had better insurance. Who really knows? What I do know is that the Veterans Healthcare is an example of bad gov’t healthcare.
What I can tell you is that in my 10 years of dealing with the Va, I have sacrificed getting medical for free to go to better, more competent civilian clinics. This story is just one of many I have of my horrendous journey with the Va and why I know how frustrated many veterans are. And don’t let me get started on being a woman veteran or also being married to another veteran.
Now, I will admit that there are these VA’s that exist across America in which many veterans say they get AMAZING care. And I never once say those veterans are wrong. They just prove my point that the VA Healthcare system is not organized and connected in such a way that a Veteran getting good care in Baltimore (my sister) gets treat just as good as someone in Middle Georgia (me). The stories across the country are vastly differently and many horribly bad, even in D.C.
The veteran population in only 1% of the U.S. population and there are too many stories of suicides, death or negligence due to bad care. I don’t see how the U.S. gov’t can fail so small or on such a smaller scale that someone thinks the solution would be to give our gov’t control over everyone.
I have a whole lot of other bad healthcare stories both inside and outside of Uncle Sam’s control and beg people to reconsider universal healthcare. I implore our politicians to come up with something that can work for everyone and not drag people through many of the bad experiences I have had. If anything can be worth the pain I go through this morning, it would be that my issues would help stop the push for universal healthcare and at least fix the gov’t care we supposedly already have.
