Veteran Could Get Stuck with $30,000 VA Choice Bill

OK, I follow entirely, here's the thing...once thus far, I needed to use it for an open non-claustrophobic MRI on my right shoulder for a rotator-cuff tear. Now, fortuitously, I'd gone to the internist by the VA hospital by us, who did the gatekeeper thing to go to ortho, the internist thing is apparently requisite for VA Choice, one can't go to a walk-in clinic of any kind, which, while obviously somewhat irksome is, nonetheless, entirely comprehensible. I'm obviously glad I saw the piece, as we do need to use the program for me for other things, stuff that, given that I'd been very seriously clinically trained before my total perm disability, I know I need, and know precisely what to ask for. If he was allowed, in the notes on him, to get the injections mentioned, I see no inherent reason why he shouldn't have them paid for, esp. for a rated condition, certainly. That being said, I obviously trust that notion about as far as I can throw it, for the simple reason that the world isn't an ideal place. Most vets, esp. those who haven't been clinically trained, and/or also haven't also trained at VA hospitals, which, most certainly, I also did before my disability, several in fact, for a fairly protracted period, generally, I've found, have pretty much zero clue what is involved with insurances, or the whole concept of coordination of benefits (COB), which is integral to VA Choice. Clearly, for what we're gonna be needing for me soon, those other goodies I'd mentioned, I obviously won't be doing any of it, given that piece, until I'd have it all, positively, 100% for certain, in writing, in advance, as a good deal of what we need for me is quite highly specialized. Fortuitously, the one we want me to see outside has done a VA patient before, though he'd never heard of VA Choice, for the simple reason that most non-VA clinicians generally rarely run into it, typically, they only see routine plans, wither government and/or private, also, most clinicians, myself included, loathe insurance garbage with a veritable passion. In the case of my wife and myself, I've had to absorb most of the procedural garbage about just about every plan conceivable at this point, incl. ICD and CPT codes, appeals, blah, blah, blah, yakkity-yak, on and on, drivel after drivel, purely by dint of sheer anecdotal exposure. As such, at this point, I can pretty much recite all that boilerplate drivel garbage practically in my sleep, for the simple reason that my wife is an orthopedic trainwreck, and we're not exactly much better off for moi (that's French for me, obviously); consequently, I've had to learn what to do, who to call, where they are, how to get the right phones, yada, yada, yada...it is a good piece, and was quite worth reading though, certainly, nonetheless, if any of you wanna yak about the whole thing, no problemo, the thing is, I can only explain it from the user standpoint, as, due to the whole total perm disability thing, that's what we are, she and I, obviously, we can only use the VA Choice for me, of course, she's not eligible, she was never in at all, she gets CHAPMVA, not TRICARE, hope that was at least of some use and/or interest, OK?