Funny how things work. Speaking with a vet friend, I’m a Viet Nam vet, he thought I should be receiving VA medical benefits and was surprised I was not — for over 50 years!! Oh my gosh, so I applied and was accepted as a disabled vet, but not for IBD. Here was another place to explore for a GI doctor. But wait, there’s more …… I had to learn the difference between insurance and benefits, interesting synergy. I needed to learn how to work with both systems to increase my chances of healing without each side being offended.
Initially, I found the VA could provide medications at a significant savings, if the VA doctors agreed with the civilian doctors. A challenge I could work with since it added to the effectiveness of my plan.
To begin this I needed a VA primary care doctor and one was assigned immediately. Following my initial visit in November, I made an appointment with the GI department although their first time was in late February, way outside my timeline.