187penguin

187penguin t1_j5uowy3 wrote

Reply to comment by heresmyownthrowaway in All U.S. veterans in suicidal crisis are now eligible for free care at any VA or private facility -- Veterans do not have to be enrolled in the VA system to be eligible for the free emergency mental health care. by StcStasi

I began my process about 2 months ago. Stuff might have changed. If nothing else, tell him just go to the VA website and “start a claim” and put tinnitus. I promise you he has it. We all got it. It’s an automatic 10%

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187penguin t1_j5umtt1 wrote

Reply to comment by WarmOutOfTheDryer in All U.S. veterans in suicidal crisis are now eligible for free care at any VA or private facility -- Veterans do not have to be enrolled in the VA system to be eligible for the free emergency mental health care. by StcStasi

I was told all you have to do is claim your tinnitus and you will be given an auto 10%. And trust me… ALL us vets have it. Apparently many people have had success with this.

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187penguin t1_j5rv5nu wrote

Reply to comment by babsrambler in All U.S. veterans in suicidal crisis are now eligible for free care at any VA or private facility -- Veterans do not have to be enrolled in the VA system to be eligible for the free emergency mental health care. by StcStasi

I kinda think they are. I was honorably discharged and don’t have any type of disability rating. All I did was show up at the enrollment office at the VA and said I wanted to apply for healthcare. They sat me down, confirmed my service record, took my picture for an ID card, and assigned me to a PCP & scheduled my first appointment and lab work. They were super friendly and helpful. I was in and out in about 20 minutes. I was surprised because I had been discharged over 10 years prior, but apparently there is no limit on when you can claim medical benefits. I had my lab work and appointment. The staff was incredibly friendly, and the first thing they did was enroll me in a VA messaging app and give me direct points of contact for everyone dealing directly with my health care. I can directly message my doctor, or anyone on his staff 24/7 and get a response typically same day. The nurse was very kind and asked me ALOT of question, many of them were mental health related. It got a little intense, but everything was very tactful and respectful. Then when I went in to see the doctor for my initial annual physical. I was in there with him for nearly an hour. He is a very kind man and wanted to know absolutely everything I was willing to tell him. Never felt rushed and he gave me his full attention the whole time.

My biggest problem is knee pain (I was a 19D SAW gunner). They ordered about a dozen X-rays and gave me 2 prescriptions for topical pain medications, some knee compression sleeves and a TENS unit and referred me to physical therapy, along with scheduling my next annual checkup and bloodwork. The whole thing took about 4 hours with labs, X-rays and all. After I do the 2 months of PT, they will send me for an MRI and refer me to an orthopedic surgeon if PT isn’t cutting it.

Everything so far has been $0. Oh and they STRONGLY encouraged me to file a disability claim. I have some major reservations about that, but they told me that filing for VA disability is not exactly how it sounds. I’m not interested in scamming the system when I have wounded friends that are dependent on that system. They told me it’s not like being a Social Security disability moocher or anything like that. They put me into contact with a veterans advocate that will basically handle the whole process for me.

I see a lot of other redditors making snide remarks about veterans care, but I’m guessing most have zero recent first-hand experience. I know from talking to the old-timers that the VA was terrible years back, but so far I’ve been really impressed and wish I had done this sooner.

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