I thought that I would post what I found out about this subject recently. My father is a 80 yr old Korean Conflict veteran. He has a 100% service connected disability rating. I have been his guardian for close to 15 years and he has recieved great care from the VA in Arkansas until this year. It is not my intention to belitle the VA. There is a VA clinic in Manila that I was led to believe would provide similar services to my father as in the past and outsource when they could not. I was misled greatly. They said that they would only provide services directly related to his disability rating and no more; provided that the resources were available. Here in the US all of his medical needs were taken care of. My father has a suprapubic catherer which was surgically implanted before we left. We were given instructions that this was to remain in place until Oct 16 before it should be changed. We took my father to a renowned urologist in General Santos City and he could not believe what he was hearing with regard to the care instructions. He said it is standard practice to change the unit every week not every month as the VA prescribed. He showed us that the infection was already starting. My father had been hospitalized for 3 months because of reacurring infections resulting from the former catherer which was routinely changed monthly. He also told us that he just performed a procedure on a 101 yr old man that the VA refused to give to my father because of his age. Maybe the VA medical system is penny pinching at the expense of our veterans health. The bill from Dr. Mondero was just 850p which included removing surgical staples that he said was in much too long. Again we were just following the orders of the VA doctors.
So the lesson to be learned is that if you are depending on the VA for your medical care in the Philippines there are some dramatic differences. It is well worth checking that out before you move here. As for my father I have seen his health improve greatly since he now has better medical care and is off the excessive medication regimines of the past.
Live in the Philippines Forum » Living in the Philippines
US Veterans Medical Services
(6 posts)-
Tom Ramberg
MemberPosted 11 months ago # -
Danny
MemberThanks for that great info. I am a veteran with a 10% rating and will be needing meds while there for the most part.
I am sorry that your father was put through such poor care. I hope that he is back to his best now. Salute to your father.
Posted 11 months ago # -
The VA is screwed up everywhere... recently they mailed out 1,200 letters to people stating they had Lou Gar disease -- a simple clerical error? (Paper quoted below):
>> Former Air Force Reservist Gale Reid received a letter from the Veterans Affairs Department that told her that she had Lou Gehrig’s disease, and she immediately put herself through a battery of painful, expensive tests. Five days later, the VA said its “diagnosis” was a mistake.
The Montgomery, Ala., resident was among at least 1,200 veterans who received a letter about disability benefits for ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, even though they hadn’t been diagnosed with the illness, according to the National Gulf War Resource Center.<<
Can you imagine getting that letter by mistake?
Posted 11 months ago # -
Tom Ramberg
MemberActually yes I can because they have mistakenly diagnosed my father with terminal cancer only to reverse their opinion and have sent out letters stating that they may have given HIV to thousands of veterans.
My goal was not really to discredit the VA though. They have provided good service to my father for many years. I think that the task of taking care an ever increasing number of people with a limited budget is unimagineable logistically. My goal was to make veterans that are relocating; aware that they will not be eligible for the same services they had before. The VA in Manila stated that they would only provide services if they are directly related to the service connected disability and that medications are provided if they are available in their pharmacy. This is a far cry from the level of service that was provided for my father before.
I have decided that it is not worthwhile to fly my father to Manila only to be denied care so we have decided to use the doctors in the city near our home. At risk of sounding political one should not expect too much from socialized medicine.
Posted 11 months ago # -
paradise
MemberThanks for some great info, Tom. After reading comments from you and others, I think it best to remain in the states for five more years until my 100% is rated for 20 years. At this time, the VA cannot reduce my service connection or rating.
One question for you and anyone else, does the VA in Manila or any other pharmacy carry Vicatin or other high-powered drugs?
Most drugs either don't work for me, work for a day, week, a couple of months, several months, etc., and then stop working at all. Whatever answer I receive, I really have to seriously consider my move there.
I was hoping to move near the VA, now, I'm open to other areas where I can save for those I leave behind.
Thanks in advance!
Paradise
Posted 11 months ago # -
My Step father was in the old Houston VA facility in 1978 where he had two pig valves placed to remove two damaged valves in this heart. After the rolled him out of Heart surgery they misplaced him for 7 hours. For 7 hours they did not know where they had placed him.
They found him in the intestinal surgical ward. You would think that a man with fresh open heart surgical scares and no sighs of stomach surgery would have come to the attenshion of a doctor, nurse, or orderly within a 7 hour period? And it would not have had to be a Hospital wide search to realise the ward had one two many bodies on rolling gernies lining a wall. It make you wonder what type of care they were receiving after stomach and intestinal surgeries? Who was reading the charts and administering proper medications, switching out IV bottles, and checking for external and signs of internal bleeding?
The surgery was a success but he is lucky to have serviced the hospital.
Posted 11 months ago #
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