TriWest health care Veterans

[Steve Donlon]

A shout out to all the TriWest Health Care Doctors, Thanks for your service. I got a statement from TriWest and the hospital billed them for $3500 for an aortic heart valve, the valve only , and they paid $800. The doctors get paid up to 140% less than a doctor getting paid by Medicare. Not that many doctors will do business with Veteran heath care providers. So the ones that do, get my respect and thanks.

 

[CJ6]

The VA here in Minnesota will not deal with Mayo clinics , so what needs to be done outside of the VA system goes to Olmstead Medical in my area. Top notch care from both VA and Olmstead.

 

[MGYSGT]

I have Tri-Care for Life and Medicare and am very pleased with the service. Wife has had Cancer 3 times (all different) and between the two I paid for nothing. The Mayo in Phoenix took our Tri-Care for life and Medicare. I won't say what the bill was for the three, but I would be living in a box if not for them..

 

[Steel Mover]

My daughter and her husband, both USAF folks have tricare and it is a goat roping of a circle jerk. Different doctors at every appointment, and referrals, around and around. Must depend on the location.

 

[TIMO]

My daughter and her husband, both USAF folks have tricare and it is a goat roping of a circle jerk. Different doctors at every appointment, and referrals, around and around. Must depend on the location.

Sounds like Humana Military (Tri-Care East)

Just my .02

Tim

 

[Steve Donlon]

My daughter and her husband, both USAF folks have tricare and it is a goat roping of a circle jerk. Different doctors at every appointment, and referrals, around and around. Must depend on the location.

That's not good. The TriCare system started about ten years ago in PHX and has been getting better all the time. It was like you describe in the beginning but now it will let you choose any doctor that is willing to be part of the program. We are lucky to be able to make the chose and hope they let you make the same decision. Sounds like you might have to take action because the point of the program is to be able for you to do that. When it first started, you had live at least 100 miles from the nearest VA hospital, so we did not have to drive so far . I don't know if it's still like that.

 

[Steve Donlon]

I have Tri-Care for Life and Medicare and am very pleased with the service. Wife has had Cancer 3 times (all different) and between the two I paid for nothing. The Mayo in Phoenix took our Tri-Care for life and Medicare. I won't say what the bill was for the three, but I would be living in a box if not for them..

That's a great place.

 

[ISS]

Amen! for Tri-West here in Idaho. The total for spinal surgery to repair a Compression Fracture of L3 in my back, and spinal fusion of C-2-3-4 in my neck was over $200,000 and I did not have to pay one-cent.
I'd be another Vet living in a cardboard box without them. God Bless them all.
I was lucky, my Neuro Surgeon is a marvelous Christian woman and takes a Vet once a quarter a year on a permanent basis (four years and counting).

Like everything in this world since the Fall, no one and nothing is perfect; but I have zero complaints about the VA care I have received since being rated.

 

[PhilC]

My experience with Tri-Care for life in the Tri-West region is not positive. Thank God I have Medicare!!

 

[charlie b]

Tricare works.....if the doctor will sign up for it. Many I have dealt with will not. Until I qualified for Medicare I paid for a lot of services out of pocket. The good part is you get some great discounts when you pay direct. My dermatologist appt would be billed at over $500 per visit and up to $1000. When paid out of pocket it was less than $150. Got similar discounts for lab work. When I asked, the Dr said paying direct avoided all the cost of paperwork required by insurance and government.

Once we got into Medicare we were golden. Tricare for life as a supplemental has been great and the prescription service is beyond compare. Well worth the 20 years I had to put in for it.