BajaNomad - Health Net of California offers cross-border plan

Health Net of California offers cross-border plan

elgatoloco - 11-18-2009 at 04:33 PM

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/nov/13/health-net-of...

noproblemo2 - 11-18-2009 at 04:59 PM

Very Interesting.....

Bajahowodd - 11-18-2009 at 05:16 PM

This falls into the same argument why Medicare should be extended to Mexico. Prices are much lower. Yet, in the field of general health care, the quality quite acceptable. Perhaps more US health carriers will follow the lead. Makes great sense.

Russ - 11-18-2009 at 06:51 PM

At $1300/mo and rising I had to drop my med coverage through Health Net. Best thing I ever did! Forced me to look into VA and so far I'm impressed. I recommend every vet apply/sign up. Even if you don't use the benefits They get $ for each person who's singed up. It helps all the vets. Of what I've been through so far it isn't even close to the VA many of us dealt with after Nam. I went to Long Beach and everyone I encountered had a really good attitude towards getting you everything that is available to vets. I'm going back early Dec. for the agent orange screening and will probably end up with a small check every month at the least.
+++++ Sorry to highjack this thread. I'll probably open another thread for the vets that live down here when I get back. We can help each other here.

DENNIS - 11-18-2009 at 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Russ
I'm going back early Dec. for the agent orange screening and will probably end up with a small check every month at the least.

Let's hope it's a small check, Russ. Seems the larger the check, the larger the problem. I know at least one 100%er from agent orange who seems to be OK but, I don't know how he could be. He is completely nuts as well. Maybe that's how he qualifies. Right around $2600 per month, tax free.

DENNIS - 11-18-2009 at 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajahowodd
This falls into the same argument why Medicare should be extended to Mexico. Prices are much lower. Yet, in the field of general health care, the quality quite acceptable. Perhaps more US health carriers will follow the lead. Makes great sense.

Medicare fraud is huge in the states. It would probably be more out of control cross border. Besides, the AMA wants your money.

BajaGringo - 11-18-2009 at 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Russ
At $1300/mo and rising I had to drop my med coverage through Health Net. Best thing I ever did! Forced me to look into VA and so far I'm impressed. I recommend every vet apply/sign up.

Thanks for sharing that Russ. I had heard less than flattering reports about the VA but I will admit that was from old shipmates who used the VA years ago. Maybe I should give them another look...

noproblemo2 - 11-18-2009 at 07:34 PM

Have a friend who uses the VA in La Jolla and swears it's really good care.

comitan - 11-18-2009 at 07:51 PM

I can't say enough about the VA La Jolla. They are the best and they care.

noproblemo2 - 11-18-2009 at 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by comitan
I can't say enough about the VA La Jolla. They are the best and they care.

Good to hear positive thing on the VA, our guys deserve it...

comitan - 11-18-2009 at 08:27 PM

soulpatch

The VA Hospital in La Jolla is a full service Hospital and if there's something that they can't take care of they will send you where it can be taken care. I have a Melanoma in my eye they sent me to Shiley Eye clinic which is one of the very best in the country.

bajalou - 11-18-2009 at 08:37 PM

I'm using the VA in Albuquerque and am very pleased with them. They also have a clinic in T or C I use for the primary care doctor. I'm happy with it.

DENNIS - 11-18-2009 at 08:39 PM

The VA has come a long way in recent years. The horror stories are a thing of the past.....I sincerly hope.

bajamigo - 11-18-2009 at 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by soulpatch
The VA is fine for routine and planned care. Just keep that in mind. Still a very good option.

I've had complicated but fixable heart problems in the past couple of years, and the care I received at UCSD in both Hillcrest and La Jolla was outstanding. That's the result, I believe, of their being a teaching hospital.

I've had to interact with more than a few UCSD doctors and, interestingly, what I found out over time is that just about all of them hold joint appointments at the VA in La Jolla. While I've had no personal experience with the place, I wouldn't hesitate to go to them for any condition.

arrowhead - 11-18-2009 at 09:39 PM

I had orthopedic surgery at the VA La Jolla about two years ago. Because the VA hospital is a training hospital for USD, the supervising surgeon was the number 1 orthopedics guy in all of San Diego. The doctor that does all the sports injuries for the professional athletes. I couldn't have been more happy with the results.

By the way, the VA is not accepting new patients unless they have a service-connected disability or meet the low-income tests. Everybody else is being wait-listed. I'd advise every veteran to at least apply and get on the list. The income requirements vary by your place of residence. In San Diego, a veteran (with zero service-connected disability) with one dependent can get into the VA with an annual income of less than about $50,000.

Bajahowodd - 11-19-2009 at 01:02 PM

What? Good government run healthcare?? :biggrin:

And actually, what with the huge number of vets returning from the present wars, it's obvious that additional funding is something no one should argue about.

k-rico - 11-19-2009 at 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajahowodd
What? Good government run healthcare?? :biggrin:

And actually, what with the huge number of vets returning from the present wars, it's obvious that additional funding is something no one should argue about.

noproblemo2 - 11-19-2009 at 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajahowodd
What? Good government run healthcare?? :biggrin:

And actually, what with the huge number of vets returning from the present wars, it's obvious that additional funding is something no one should argue about.

And I'll second that!!!!!!

pacside - 11-20-2009 at 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS
The VA has come a long way in recent years. The horror stories are a thing of the past.....I sincerly hope.

not quite DENNIS:

State consumer affairs department requests probe of Palo Alto VA

By Jessica Bernstein-Wax

Daily News Staff Writer
Posted: 11/14/2009 12:04:18 AM PST
Updated: 11/14/2009 12:04:19 AM PST

The state consumer affairs department has formally requested an investigation into the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, where 23 glaucoma patients experienced significant vision loss while receiving treatment.

California Department of Consumer Affairs Director Brian Stiger made the request in response to an administrative petition the California Academy of Eye Surgeons and Physicians, the American Glaucoma Society and the California Medical Association filed in September with his agency.

"As the events at the VA hospital do concern consumers, I am formally requesting that the Board of Optometry, together with the Medical Board of California, investigate the occurrences at the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Hospital regarding the eye care provided to veterans, including the role of optometrists and physicians in that care," Stiger wrote in a Nov. 10 letter addressed to Dr. James Ruben, president of the California Academy of Eye Surgeons and Physicians.

"To the extent permitted by existing state and federal law, I am also requesting that those boards make public the findings of the investigation," Stiger said.

However, Stiger rejected the medical groups' request that a new state law expanding optometrists' ability to treat glaucoma and prescribe medication be put on hold until the investigation concludes.

The VA initiated a probe earlier this year after ophthalmologists reported that a 62-year-old male veteran with glaucoma went blind
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while being treated in the optometry department.

At issue is whether the optometry department failed to follow VA policy requiring it to consult with medical doctors on glaucoma cases, possibly costing the 23 patients their vision, VA officials said at the time.

As part of the probe, the VA informed seven patients that doctors might have mismanaged their treatment. The VA has since made a similar disclosure to an eighth patient and has ordered the optometry department to report to ophthalmology, spokeswoman Kerri Childress said in September.

"It is understandable that people are concerned — we certainly were," Childress said in an e-mail Friday. "However, VA Palo Alto has made all the changes necessary to ensure our veterans with glaucoma receive the best care possible."

Ophthalmologists are physicians and medical school graduates, while optometrists earn their degrees after completing four years of optometry school and, in some cases, a residency. The two groups of eye doctors have been fighting over glaucoma certification requirements for California optometrists for years.

While ophthalmologists have historically treated glaucoma, optometrists now can do so in most states.

The latest California certification requirements, set in motion by the 2008 state Senate bill 1406, are still in the works, but the California Board of Optometry will likely enact them in January, Mona Maggio, executive officer of the board, said earlier this year. Ophthalmologists have complained that the requirements are "watered down," a charge the optometrists deny.

"It would be premature at this time to withdraw the department's findings in the absence of sufficient evidence establishing that the events at the VA hospital are substantially linked to the implementation of SB 1406," Stiger said in the letter.

However, Stiger later said he would ask the optometry board, which is part of his department, to "re-evaluate its decision to proceed with these regulations."

No one from the consumer affairs department could be reached for comment Friday because of a state-imposed furlough day.

Dr. Ruben, of the California Academy of Eye Surgeons and Physicians, said he is heartened by Stiger's request that the optometry "re-evaluate" its process in adopting clinical training regulations.

"I'm concerned about what happened at the VA but, moving forward, I'm more concerned about what the future holds for people with glaucoma in California," Ruben said. "The whole process needs to be revisited. We're not against optometrists treating glaucoma, but we do think there are certain minimum requirements that are necessary."

William Gould, an attorney for the California Optometric Association, described the petition as "an attempt by ophthalmology to derail the regulatory process" and noted that Stiger rejected most of the petitioners' requests.

Gould added that his group would welcome an investigation of the VA's optometry department.

"It would be helpful given the fact that we're not aware of adverse findings against the doctors," Gould said.

DENNIS - 11-20-2009 at 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by pacside

not quite DENNIS:

OUCH...Still room for improvement, I guess.
I've seen some real nonsense come out of the place. They change doctors a lot. Many of them will work for the VA as a second job and I'm assuming it's a lucrative deal for them.
I go through psychiatrists on a fairly regular basis. They just don't seem to last long.
Anyway, a new one I had a while back told me on our first appointment, "Now, I know you have problems but, if you don't want to talk about them, I don't want to hear about them." We got along just fine. He's gone too.

pacside - 11-20-2009 at 03:12 PM

:lol:

Russ - 11-20-2009 at 03:27 PM

Dennis ~ " Maybe that's how he qualifies. Right around $2600 per month, tax free. "
Must be nice :lol:

They're called "Dr. Giggles"

[Edited on 11-20-2009 by Russ]

DENNIS - 11-20-2009 at 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Russ
$2600 per month, tax free. "
Must be nice :lol:

$2673 to be exact and rising at the first of the year. What's even nicer is one can also get Social Security and other pensions at the same time. Doing taxes at the end of the year, the VA disability isn't even mentioned. It all helps.

Udo - 11-20-2009 at 08:29 PM

Does one have to pay a duty to Mexico for any health care provided in the U.S.??

fishingmako - 11-20-2009 at 10:19 PM

Russ, It is not easy as you think or someone has told you about AGENT ORANGE, just because you were exposed to AGENT ORANGE means absolutely nothing, you have to have one of the now (9) diseases caused by AGENT ORANGE, like spinabifida in your children, Prostate Cancer, etc. etc.
The Va watchdog is saying they are looking very close at people now, since these new wars people are saying PTSD, well the word has been on the streets about you can get monies easy by claiming this, well it is harder than people think? and they are catching all the BS people, I will say no more.