Valley VA doctors optimistic about new health care program
Daily ItemSep 02, 2018
The VA Choice program allowed veterans to use their local doctors if they lived more than 40 miles from a
Companion has treated veterans since 2009, but admitted he is getting rid of his VA Choice patients. The program ends
"Veterans Choice has been the law the last three years and at times it has been a problem for the vets getting their medications," Companion said. "Under the new
Acupuncturist Trey Casimir, of
Casimir said he was contacted by the
"I treated half a dozen people over the course of two or three years," he said. "It's a big bureaucracy and the wheels move slowly but the people gave me accurate information. I submitted my claims. I got paid.
"Things tended to move a little bit slowly when I was dealing directly with the
Then along came Health Net in 2016, which had a contract with the
"I had trouble being paid," he said. Veterans would have their appointments made by Health Net, and sometimes they weren't informed of the date.
It took months and many phone calls, many not returned, to get through to Health Net.
"It took me going to my Congressman,
Now he's back in business and, like Companion, hopes the new program will be more efficient. But as of this week, few details are known about
"We just found out about it ourselves," Casimir said.
The armed forces are at the cutting edge of things that will help veterans, Casimir noted, and they have been utilizing acupuncture for more than a dozen years.
They have also been training medics in battlefield acupuncture, which is using very simple points in the ear to keep a person calm if they are injured. And they found that it is as effective as giving them morphine, with fewer complications afterward.
Persons who have more severe injuries turn to expert practitioners like Casimir.
"I would love to be an in-house provider and go to
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