Veterans give VA mixed reviews on quality and accessibility

Interviews with veterans at the VA Lakeside Clinic in Chicago in mid-April produced mixed views about the quality and accessibility of VA medical services. 

Most wanted the option to receive care from private-sector providers when needed, even though surveys show veterans nationally express trust in VA medical services and increasingly are using them.

Some veterans interviewed said they choose to only receive care from VA providers, while others divide their care between the VA and community providers, even if that means paying more for non-VA care.

Darrell Benton, a Navy veteran who served in the first Gulf War, said he only uses the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center and the VA Lakeside Clinic because the physicians are knowledgeable about his service-related issues and disabilities.

“They hear what I’m saying when I tell them I’m in pain,” Benton said.

Howard Perkins, a Navy veteran who served from 1972 to 1982, said he has only used community providers when the VA referred him out for an MRI and an orthopedic boot. He’s generally been satisfied with the VA, except for once waiting  six weeks for treatment with a bladder infection.

“I raised a stink about that,” he said. “I would go outside for care, but I can’t afford it with the copays.”

Ray Rubio, a Navy veteran who served from 1988 to 1994, had the biggest beefs with VA care among those interviewed, and the strongest desire to access non-VA services. He said the VA failed to adequately treat his service-related knee condition, so he had to go outside for orthopedic surgery, which helped a great deal.

He also feels he’s received better, more modern insulin treatment for his diabetes outside the VA.

He would prefer to use private care but fears the VA will say he doesn’t qualify for the new Community Care program based on his drive time to a VA facility. Getting outside care on his own through his wife’s private insurance means higher out-of-pocket costs.

“I would like to use private care, but I’m entitled to VA care and I want to hold them accountable for providing it,” Rubio said. “This new law should allow veterans to get quality care on the outside.”

Juan Chamberlain, an Army veteran who served from 1979 to 1983, said he has received good emergency care at private hospitals near his home but would rather stay with the VA. “I feel at home here, around the guys I shared foxholes with,” he said. “I’m a veteran and this is where I belong.”

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