gringohombre Posted March 3, 2016 Report Share Posted March 3, 2016 I am registered at the VA in Phoenix and have a situation that I am trying to take care of as best as possible. I know that I need a hip replacement. Had a dislocated hip years ago and was told that it would progress to this point. As you might know the Phoenix facility is a mess and i have been trying to set up everything to make it happen in one trip. Lots of luck! they are saying that I need to set up a consult with my primary physician and she will set up a consult with the orthopedic dept. and they will check me out and schedule the surgery. This is at best 2 trips and maybe 3. I have offered to get any MRI's, X-rays, blood tests, etc done here and sent there but they are not having any of this...it all has to take place there. My hip is giving me a lot of pain and even walking with a cane is a problem. There are programs with the VA called Travelling Vet and something called a Choice Card so maybe i will have better luck at another VA facility such as in Texas. Has anyone been faced with this type of situation and maybe have a suggestion? How about the American Legion here?. I am not a member but is there anyone there that can help with this situation? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Gracias. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wookie Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 Lakeside Medical takes Veterans insurance. As does at least one hospital in Guad. if you want to have it done here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gringohombre Posted March 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 37 minutes ago, Wookie said: Lakeside Medical takes Veterans insurance. As does at least one hospital in Guad. if you want to have it done here. Thank you for that, but this only applies to service connected disabilities which i do not have I just have the normal VA health care coverage earned by my 4 years of service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wookie Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 Sorry, I didn't realize this as we have friends that are covered for everything and do not have service connected disabilities. However, I understand they have something called tricare which apparently is different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwh05 Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 I have traveled from here at Lakeside to Texas for appointments with the VA. If you are not 100% disabled or totally indigent you will have to pay a copay for each visit. If you could get several things accomplished in one day you only pay 1 copay. Then, if you have prescriptions you will have a copay on those, too. I was never able to schedule several appointments in one day. Then there is the housing situation. If you don't have a place to stay, friends or family, near the VA facility then you will need a motel room. The cheapest I found was about $60 per night. There were times I would go up there and have to stay several nights because of scheduling problems or recovery times. McAllen is the nearest facility. They have a nice, new clinic which I swear was built with the money from my copays. It is not easy to get around in McAllen. A taxi will cost you a minimum of $14 per trip to the clinic. Then there is another $14 to get back to the motel. I got wise and finally started renting a car because by time I paid a taxi for each outing I could have paid for the rental. All this is considering you are not driving from here to McAllen. I always found it less expensive to take a bus to McAllen and rent a car. The bus, with INAPAM discount is less than $120 round trip. You will pay at least $100 in tolls if you drive. There is still the chance that the VA will not approve your hip replacement. A friend needed to have some disc (4) replaced in his neck. He was not able to get this done at the VA. He signed up for Seguro Popular (sp) and had the surgery done here. That procedure cost him $1200 out of pocket. He had spent a lot more than that, going to McAllen and San Antonio, with all the costs mentioned above before getting the surgery done here. I was a member of the American Legion here. At that time they did not have a service officer. I have heard they have a guy now who is pretty good dealing with the bureaucracy at the VA. It may be worth a try. I personally do not use the VA anymore. I have found that my IMSS coverage is better than the VA. I have bladder cancer which the VA denies was caused by agent orange. IMSS is doing the same thing for me that the VA was doing but without the cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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