Kickoff, Hosts, And Mission

J Basser 0:09

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, veterans and all and families. I'm your host. My name is John Stacy. They call me Jay Basser. I've got my superstar co-host right beside me, Mr. Ray Copp, in the great state of uh either LC or Talabama, Tanlabama or whatever it is. And uh we are we are Jay Bassers Exposed Vet Productions. Uh we've been doing the show for quite a while, and we do a lot of stuff with uh VA claims and VA appeals and VA this, VA that, court cases and conditions. Today we're gonna mix it up a little bit. Ray and I are going to discuss something that every veteran needs to know, especially if you use a VA. Or if you're a veteran thinking of using the VA. We're gonna start off our series called Navigate the VA. But we're gonna make a couple announcements first. Uh Ray's got one he's gonna give out. Uh Ray, how you doing, bud?

ID.me Changes And Why It Matters

Guest 1:08

I'm doing good. How are you doing?

J Basser 1:12

I'm doing just fine. We were talking there before the show there, and uh you were discussing the situation with ID Me. Could you give an audience update on what they need to do?

Ray Cobb 1:23

Yeah, come October the 1st, all veterans that are going to use uh BA.gov needs to change from a couple of the others that they've had in the past that haven't worked very well to ID Me. I had to make that change, oh, I guess it was uh a couple of years ago. And uh uh it actually it's a lot better. Plus, ID Me has some other benefits to it. Uh for example, if you um well, go to Disney and you want a discount on your Disney tickets, and you tell them you're a veteran, they ask you to fill out the ID meet, and they identify you, and it identifies you as a veteran, and you get your discounts. A lot of motel reservations are using that. Um uh you order some of the department stores are using it now to identify veterans in order to give them their discount. So there's a lot of uh reasons to use ID meet or to get on it, but the main thing is that if you want to uh function and operate and maneuver through VA.gov, you're gonna need ID me.

J Basser 2:35

It also works with automobile discounts. You have to register online. You have to register online. Yeah, you gotta make an ID me account. And uh they have to verify, and you probably send the information to them, you know, who you are. And it's not hard to do, but I would do it. I mean, I've done I've had mine for years. Um, I've used their services a whole lot, and uh they have a lot of good discounts. You know, it's all over the place, but still it's a lot of good stuff. Thanks for that information where everybody needs to heed this and get her done because uh you can also use FVA.gov, you know, log on. And but uh he benefits the other one, the DS logon, I guess is going bye-bye per se, anyway.

Ray Cobb 3:19

Yeah, that's going it's yeah. After October the first.

Claims Backlog vs. Denials Reality Check

J Basser 3:30

Good thing about October 1st, Ray, is it's the new fiscal year. Maybe the VO get some money and start paying some of these claims, you reckon?

Ray Cobb 3:37

Well, I got an email this morning from the American Legion that said that the backlog of claims has been drastically reduced. Uh and uh 45%.

J Basser 3:55

Pardon they said about 45% that uh something that's Doug Collins came out with that yesterday too, talking about it. The Secretary of the VA. Uh they talked about the product.

Ray Cobb 4:09

What we don't know though is how many of those were actually what percentage of those were denied because they didn't spend enough time researching you know, or they didn't uh the bank themselves did not have the proper documentation turned in. So that that's that's what I on the wh whenever they start dwindling those numbers down quickly, the easiest way to dwindle those numbers down is by denial. Um it's easier and less worse than if they approved. So uh be interested to know at the 40 percent, 45 percent reduction, what percentage of those were denied and what percentage were granted?

J Basser 5:06

Well, you can really tell that we asked the question ourselves because in the groups we're doing, we the agents group and the VSO groups, they noticed a very strong uptick in the number of appeals, the number of denials that were just totally bogus. So what they're doing is they're overloading the DROs, the appeals process for the self-mill is getting full, and the BDA is probably getting racked pretty hard right now. And so basically it's robbing Peter to PayPal. And uh so they can say 45% all they want, but we asked the question is during the same time period that the appeal's been reduced to 45% of the backlog, what is the actual appeal percentage to the appeals versus the claims backlog? And I'm pretty sure it's gonna be even teeter-totter, you know what I mean?

Guest 6:05

Yeah.

J Basser 6:05

It's like ride the teeter totter. The claims on a teeter totter, the pills up in the air, the appeal's down a teeter-totter, the claims up in the air. So it's just and if you've got a lot of fat claims on the teeter-totter, the pills ain't getting off. Until the fat claims get off. So another thing you've got to remember is that.

Ray Cobb 6:20

But now we're at that point in in the year when when VA has gone to Congress to ask for more money to do stuff. And of course, the first thing Congress said is show us what you've done with the money we gave you last year. And so now they can come out and say, oh, well, we attached these backlogs and this back stuff, and we've done this and we've done that, and it looks good, but there's no proof of how much it's improved to veterans. Um, and that's a good way to balance the budget. Uh, you know, nothing looks worse than to go over the budget. Um, they'd rather be just a little few dollars short than to go over it. And uh, gosh, I can remember when I was in the government, uh, they came to me in uh I think it was August or September and told me to order all the film that I could order for X amount of dollars because they need to spend that dollars between then and and then uh September when they went to get the final amount for what to run the photo lab that I was in charge of uh come October. I bought I bought almost a year's supply of film there in in one month. We've got everything. Film, slides, everything, black and white, all of it. Uh because we had the money in the budget, we had to spend it, but they wanted us to spend it before the fiscal year was up.

J Basser 7:51

That's true. I mean, I remember back in the old days in the Navy with the ship was out to sea and it's last September and had to get on the one MC and everything you don't need throw it overboard. We're getting new stuff and we pull in.

Guest 8:06

Yeah. I heard that.

Enrolling In VA Healthcare The Right Way

J Basser 8:13

Well, let's navigate the VA. Um I start off by internally inside the VA. Um we do it this way. Uh I'll call myself Billy Bob or Pedro. I'm Billy Bob. Billy Bob is a veteran. And uh I get out of service and uh I don't have any health insurance after I get out, you know. If I don't work a temporary job, I get going. So I need health insurance. I need something something to do. So what do you do? You know you're gonna use the VA. So you go in the VA and what do you do? Well, first thing you do is you make sure you got your DD 214 with you and show your discharge because they're gonna look at your character discharge. You take out 214 over to eligibility in the eligibility office is I'm gonna go to eligibility and they'll put you in, show you where to go. They'll take you in the room, sit down, talk to you a minute, look at you, and look at your paperwork, see what group you fit in, where you at, what co-pays you gotta pay, and things like that. And then they'll enroll you in the system. You can do it online too, but it's better to walk in and do it. Um you need to get enrolled in the system first. Uh last week I enrolled a Korean veteran. He's 90 years old. And he's had a 10% disability ever since he got out back in the 50s. Actually, it's 20%, I'm sorry. He never used a VA. But um his life has changed. He was an educator, he was even a flex director of a major college. And he had his spouse pass away, and his doctors are passing away because he's 90 years old. And he needs some things to do with his ears and his eyes, and just you know, his hell. So we'll enroll him in the VA. And uh it's gonna take him a lot of money in the long run. So he's happy about it. We had to send his off, though, because it's some kind of extraordinary circumstance, they told me. And uh, but when we get back, we'll get him in there and get him signed up, you know, get him in and get him a carry. He lives way out in the middle of nowhere, so he, you know, his VA is gonna be probably a CBO clinic or something. And uh it's pretty cool. But always register and enroll in the VA health care. What's the next thing you do, Ray? Do they give you a primary care or what do they do?

Ray Cobb 10:47

Yeah, they do. And when you enroll, uh you do have to qualify. Now, your friend had a disability out there when he got out of the military, so he automatically qualifies. But there's a couple of different ways you have to qualify. Now, I do not know, I've never asked. If you came out of uh Iraq or Desert Storm, are you automatically qualified?

J Basser 11:12

Yeah, automatically.

Guest 11:13

Okay.

J Basser 11:13

I knew it was on and Korea World War II.

Ray Cobb 11:17

So now, okay, so if you served in country during that conflict, right? And that's what then you're entitled to be a medical.

J Basser 11:27

Uh they read the era. Yeah, it reads the era. Yeah, it reads the era. So if you're in during that time, I don't think it matters if you were overseas or not. The issue is uh back in the Vietnam era and things like that, you know, you they I guess they did more emphasis on combat and things like that in any country. But as far as the era itself, you can get in and see the VA. Uh a lot of peacetime vets cannot.

Ray Cobb 11:54

A peacetime vet they have to qualify from a hardship standpoint.

J Basser 12:00

And uh hardship or such neck disability.

Guest 12:03

Yeah.

Ray Cobb 12:04

So you get in, you sit down to the guy and talk to you.

J Basser 12:07

Even at zero.

Ray Cobb 12:08

And give him your DD two fourteen, and he does all those questions and sitting there on his computer, and there's you qualify. Well, the next thing and

Primary Care, Referrals, And Getting Seen

Ray Cobb 12:18

what they do here, I'm gonna assume around the country, it immediately assigns you to a primary care. In our case, uh we have a clinic near us here at Our Air Force Base, and if there is room there, we got a good doctor there, Dr. McDaniel, she's been there 20 plus years. Um you can actually they'll give you her name and a telephone number, and then you call and schedule your appointment. Or you may be assigned to a doctor at the nearest medical facility to you. Um either in our case, it's either here or it's Mercus Fox. So if Dr. McDaniels has no more availability for new patients, then they're assigned to primary care emergency. And that's usually 20K, B, or C.

J Basser 13:20

Well, if you're living in the bigger cities, if that works, um you can go into one of the major hospitals. Um it's like living in Murphy's borough or Nashville, close to it. Go in the elder building office and they'll when you get your primary care doctor assigned to you, then they'll try to make an appointment before an initial visit to your primary care doctor. You really don't have a choice as to who they assign you, you know, which, you know, but it gets your foot in the door. And there's special notes you need to know is uh when they make that appointment with your primary, they usually schedule, I don't know, 30 minutes to 45 minutes because there's a lot of stuff they got to do. Uh, you know, it's kind of like uh initial evaluation, I say, right? Um make sure you've got everything written down, you know, everything written down that you've got wrong with you, whatever you need help with. Um your VA primary care doctor is your most important doctor because the VA does nothing unless you got a referral. So if you need to go, uh, you know, of course, eyeglasses and hairin aids are provided to all veterans. So if you need hairin aid or eyeglasses, then your primary care has to write the referral into the clinics one time. And then they take over and do the you know subsequent examinations over the years. And you can go, you know, they'll write that up. Um if you need special care, say you got heart issues, they can do a referral to cardiology, they can do referrals to endocrinology, if you got diabetes or anything like that. But your primary care has to drive the truck. And then she can point the antenna at the other place. Okay, you need to go here. She'll put the referral in, and they'll call make you an appointment from the the place that you referred to. Which is a good thing. And a very important doctor, and it's important to get along with them. If they support you, you'll have a good, you know, it'll be good. You had problems getting referrals, Ray?

Ray Cobb 15:24

No, I really didn't, and that's another good point. When you're in there uh getting signed up, if you're over the age of 75, you need to ask, in my opinion, and you've got some medical problems, which I don't know too many people over 75 that don't, you need to ask for geriatrics. Geriattics is a special primary care clinic for aging veterans. And so if you fit into you've got to be 75 plus to get in there. So, like if you're 75, and like you said, you got diabetes, or you got a heart condition and you know it, uh, you've been treated on the outside port, then you need to tell them that and ask for geriatrics. And they try to get you into there. Now, to me, that's the best thing that ever happened to me because they pay a lot closer attention. Um and when they send you to one of those other clinics, those other clinics respond a lot quicker than trying to get you rushed in versus uh someone who's not in geriatrics. So it's kind of like a bonus

Geriatrics Clinic Advantages For Seniors

Ray Cobb 16:35

that they have that set up that uh they do for you. I you know uh I have I've been in geriatrics now two years. And they do they contact me and say, We notice you got this. Uh do you need this? Uh gotta I gotta answer an email later after we get off the show tonight. Um they want to know a device that's supposed to help with my knees and my lower back, a little pulsing device. They want my my first prescription is up, and they want to know how I'm doing and whether or not to refill it. Uh I understand this machine's quite expensive, over twelve hundred dollars if they bought it. And I think if you have to use it for six months and then they pay for it, then you get to keep it for for a long time. But I've got to do that tonight. That's a plus for pain management that you have a little better with in geriatrics than what I got when I was under a normal primary carido.

Guest 17:43

Okay.

J Basser 17:46

Well, I mean, that's good. That's really good. I mean, it's my primaries have been good to me. Uh well, let me take that back. I've had a couple of primaries. Uh, you know, because people change, they come and go. Uh doctors come and go. That's you know, it's a job to them. And uh, you know, they can get the VA for a couple years and they decided to go into private practice, they go ahead and go. Um, I've had a couple of good primary care doctors taking care of them pretty well. Uh both of them's gotten disabled and sick and had to retire. I had one that went to DC and I think she got cancer and passed away. Um I had one that left um kind of really didn't, I mean, they were just there. You ever seen people that are just there and not really, you know? And uh so I've had one really I've had one or two that really to, you know, cared about what my issues were, and which is pretty cool. And uh, you know, but they're very important if you make a good represent uh you have a good relationship with your primary care doctor, um build up a good rapport with them. Um they've only got a certain amount of time to see you during four-year appointments, and um, you know, just be straightforward with them and tell them, you know, what's wrong with you and things like that, you know, try to make their job easier. And uh if you're married, take your spouse with you, let them go with you, let them get to know the spouse a little bit, especially on the caregiver program. And uh let them get to know the spouse, because your spouse basically, yeah, especially if your spouse, you know, if you're a caregiver program, especially the paid caregiver program, your spouse has to communicate with your care team monthly. Is that what it is, right?

Guest 19:35

Well well, right.

J Basser 19:36

And uh so that'll be one adventure.

Ray Cobb 19:38

Yeah, quarterly, and then once a year they have to do an in-house visit, and twice a year you do a telephone call.

J Basser 19:48

Okay, so yeah, that's what you gotta look at too. But hey, your primary care doctor opens up doors for you. Um and you can do what you want to do, and but just make sure that you know your um oh important note uh for you that's out there that's got claims in the process and you would come to the VA. You got a claim in the system, say you got denied and you want to use a VA, you always use a VA. The regional offices, the people do the claims are under what we call the VBA, the Veterans Benefits Administration. Your health and your hospitals are under the VHA, the Veterans Health Administration. Okay, that's two different vehicles.

Ray Cobb 20:38

Okay, the two should never meet or one.

J Basser 20:43

That's right, they should never meet or talk. One is a truck on the left side, and the other one's a bus on the right side. Okay. If you're having problems at one,

VHA vs. VBA: Keep Them Separate

J Basser 20:55

and most likely the VBA, which most veterans are. Okay, you gotta realize the issue you're having is with them and not the VHA. I've seen a lot of vets walk into the VHA into the hospitals with an attitude because of a claim to VBA. Okay. And they're mad. Well, VA did this, VA did that. No, the VA didn't do this, and VA didn't do that. The regional office did this and did that. These people here have no idea. They're here to help you do your health care. And I've actually said a few things, you know, to vets about that over the history. I mean, you know, that's a pretty long history, but we're getting old. So don't let anger to the VVA effect of VHA, they're there to help you. And uh, you know, they're some of the best people in the world, actually. And uh I'm sure you've seen it too, right?

Ray Cobb 22:05

If you have a personality conflict with the primary care doctor, uh you don't think they're doing their job, you don't have to say it that way. But if you just write a letter said, I'd like to change my primary care, it seems like we have a personality conflict, they will change your primary care. Um, I haven't had to do that, but I've known others that definitely have. And uh so that being said, you know, know that you can do that. It is an avenue, it's not easy, and it may take a while because there may not be any openings with some of the other primary care.

J Basser 22:50

But, you know, if you Yeah, do you send it you send do you send the letter to the patient advocate? You send the letter to the patient advocate that it goes to?

Ray Cobb 22:59

Well, what I did um what I recommended someone else to do was to write the letter and turn it in to the primary care doctor, because she has to approve it. I mean, I might the case I'm talking about. She had to approve it. And then I also had the guy to take a copy of the letter down to the patient advocate. Now what that did, that meant that that doctor had to sit down on the phone or whatever, at least for a few minutes with a patient advocate and discuss your situation. And those patient advocates are pretty good. They can tell if that doctor has you know, there's some people that you just rub you the wrong way. And you know, you may be the one who loves the doctor.

Guest 23:53

Yeah.

Ray Cobb 23:54

So if you have that kind of situation, there is there is a solution, and that's what it is. That's a good point to the patient advocate. But what I recommended him do is first turn it in to the primary care and wait twenty-four hours and give it to the patient advocate.

How To Change Your Primary Care Doctor

Ray Cobb 24:15

For two reasons. Uh one, it meant that the doctor at least had the opportunity of 24-hour notice before the patient advocates called him. And number two, it makes it clear to everybody involved that there's a situation there. And uh gives the patient advocates a little more time to investigate, and what you may or may not know, this may not be the first time that doctors had a problem. You may have five or six or eight or ten times that people have asked. So you may not be the first time.

J Basser 24:53

Yeah, it could be a pattern.

Guest 24:55

Yeah.

Ray Cobb 24:55

So that that's a situation that the patient advocate seeing that may recognize it and may go ahead and and uh get that changed for you. And that's something you're not going to be able to find out.

Guest 25:13

That's a fact.

J Basser 25:14

That's factual, that's true. So basically, if you don't like your doctor, you don't get along with your doc, you can ask to change it. And uh you didn't you don't have to send it, all you gotta do is go on to your you can go on to the message center there and you can send the messages. You can actually upload that letter on the computer direct directly to your character group and the patient advocate. They can pull it right off. Say you just the cost of the stamp, which is about the cost of that way.

Ray Cobb 25:42

You can actually copy them both in at the same time or send it to both at the same time.

J Basser 25:47

Yeah.

Ray Cobb 25:49

That's what I do because uh you know I think it's just good business to give that uh that doctor uh an opportunity to at least be aware of what's coming.

J Basser 26:06

Well, with the cost of the stamping, yeah, with the cost with the cost of the stamping nowadays, it'd be cheaper to drive the letter over there and back. No, we update everything. Now, okay, say you go to a secondary or you know, specialty care. Okay, you know, that's your specialty care physician, it's your heart doctors, and that's your um podiatrists and people like that, you know. Um that's where your care really starts because you know they're the ones that, okay, you go to podiatrists and you got diabetes and you got a foot score, you know, they give you a pod risk score on your feet, and it's like two or three or whatever, then they say, well, you need shoes. So here's your prescriptions for shoes, you know. But that's how you get your shoes, your socks, your compression socks, or whatever you need. And uh they take care of you that way. As far as uh other things, like you know, it can be services, it can, you know, it don't have to be health care. Say, for example, you need certain things around the house to help you because you know you can't hang on to nothing or you wobble, you stumble. They can make an appointment with occupational therapy and they can read the notes and things like that. And they'll set you down in occupational therapy and try to help you as to what you know you need. They can give you roll doors, canes, aids to take a shower, shower chairs, anything like that to help you with. Okay. Um they can send you to physical therapy, you know, if you've got uh issues like knees or backs or whatever, and they help you that way, you know, schedule your session and make you feel better, and you know, maybe get you walking around again. Um they can send you to um different things. I mean, they you know, I mean it's it's it's just it's oh wide open. You can they can send you

Specialty Care, DME, And Home Safety

J Basser 28:10

prosthetics, you know, say you needed that blood pressure cup, things like that. Usually mine just brings one to me and gives it to me. Um then um there's also certain ways, like, for example, let's say you're wheelchair bound, but say you have mobility issues because of it has to be because of the service net condition. That's that's the bigger thing. They can write you a note to prosthetics and they can refer you to the hysogrant to have the stuff done to your house, like a shower and things like that. If you say you trip and fall a lot or your diabetes or whatever, then they can pay up to like sixty, nine hundred bucks to have a shower conversion done. They can lower your they can make it easier, make your doors wider and things like that in the house, up to that amount of money. And uh which you know, which all veterans qualify for as long as you know, as long as there's certain sex for what they need to be done. Or, you know, it's basically to make you safer inside the house. I'd use it, I'm sure Ray you use it, you use it too, haven't you? The histogram.

Ray Cobb 29:18

I had them to put a roll-in shower because I was uh I was using a walker at the time knowing I'd be going to the wheelchair. And um so yeah, they they put they came in and remodeled my shower, they widened the door. I had a 28-inch door, they widened it to 32 inch, they did my shower all time, and they redid the floor, they put me in a handicapped sink and a handicapped tool.

J Basser 29:46

Yep. I thought and rails. I put rails up on mine to help get up. If you need a rail, I got four rails just.

Ray Cobb 30:02

And I have a T-Shirt seat that lay that folds up against the wall, and then when I go in, I lower it down and I can sit there in the shower. But if someone else wants to use my shower, they don't have to sit down, they can use it stand.

J Basser 30:26

They look nice. They do look nice because I like antique wood. See, I mean, it's all good. They've got a lot of good things like it. As long as the system works. I mean, yeah, with any big government system, yeah, you're gonna have some issues, you're gonna have some cracks in the floor, you're gonna have a lot of red tape, you're gonna have all kinds of things like that, and you're gonna have hoops to jump through. Uh, you know, if you go to Walmart and see all this stuff, you know, you see the cracks and the hoops and things like that. If they're short, you know that we've got them all. So as long as you navigate it and keep in contact with your primary care team, you know, if they've assigned you to, you'll be okay. Uh let's often refer you to mental health. Uh say if you've got PTSD issues, I can refer you there, and you can be treated for that thing, you know, that stuff. Um which is not bad. I mean, you know, you have to agree to the treatment and things like that, which is, you know, you always want to try to keep that under control because you know, mental health is a big problem in this country right now. It is a bad problem. All you gotta do is watch the news and you can say, what in the world is going on here? You know, I mean, it's sad. But we're not gonna politicize this radio show by any means, or this podcast, or this video show. So we're gonna keep on going, right. Anyhow, they can refer you to mental health. Uh any service that he offers. Well, you know, another they can refer you to dental if go ahead, Ray.

Ray Cobb 32:00

Another good part about that mental health that that they do that I I think is is very important for a couple of guys that I've known. Um they had PTSD real quick that came back from over uh Iraq, Afghanistan, and they had mad case of PTSD. Now, because of their PTSD military connective, and they were 100%. And I don't know if you got to be 100 or 70 or if there's even the number. But they included their wife in a lot of the meetings and training for that veteran's PTSD. Now there's a lot of folks that can do that. You know, I mean, but but even though your wife doesn't isn't a veteran and doesn't do that or a part of it, the fact that she's your spouse and your caregiver, uh, even if you're not in the caregiver program, she's considered your caregiver, then they will include her in for uh a few things that may help her deal with you and help by doing that, that helps you. So they actually have some classes and some

Housing Grants And Real-World Upgrades

Ray Cobb 33:12

online clinics and things that they do from time to time. Um I've never watched any of them, I've never been in any of them, but uh the fact that they're just putting them out there, making them available to me is a is a positive sign.

J Basser 33:30

Well, you they need it. It's it's it it's a necessary situation as far as that goes. Um you guys, if if you're married and you're doing this and you've got PTSD and you're married, make sure your wife is a part of your treatment and help you because your wife's gonna be the person to help you. She's the one that spend the most time with you and she can do it. And uh, you know, you gotta appreciate what she does. Um there's nothing better than a military wife, guys. I mean, you know, especially Navy wives. Uh, you know, Daddy Hubby gets on the boat and goes gone to sea for six months, and the wife's running the whole, she's she's she does it all. She's mommy and daddy, and you know, she's the chef and she's the you know, everything. And uh, so there's some way to pay her back, it'd be amazing. Because uh just the sacrifices they make is unbelievable. You know, and uh then the vet gets out and gets buggered up and she's taking care of them again, so she's still sacrificing, right?

Guest 34:37

Yeah, yeah.

Ray Cobb 34:38

You know, maybe we can get her a little I forget what the reasoning was last Friday. I was looking some things up. And I looked at divorce rates, uh today's divorce rates for people who have been married between um up to the first 25 years. And I was amazed that the divorce rate today is 51 percent. You know, in other words, 25% of the people that get married or within the first 25 years of marriage, 51% of them get a divorce. And then when I looked up the mother, uh the divorce rate for veterans who have been on active duty in a in a war zone with PTSD is 78%.

Guest 35:38

That's the PTSD speaking.

Ray Cobb 35:40

Yeah, because it's hard to do.

J Basser 35:42

I'll tell you a true story.

Ray Cobb 35:44

I mean, uh you and I both have something will happen, and the the guy has a dream and you know jumps on top of his wife and starts hitting her or kicks her out of bed or or you know pushes her out of bed. Oh yeah, then uh that then come in and he falls out the other side, and you know, it's an ongoing thing.

J Basser 36:05

It doesn't go it's a realistic nightmare. That happens. That does happen. It does happen. A guy I used to work with, I worked for the Department of the Army after I got a service, and uh this guy hired him about the same time I did. And uh he was in Germany in the Army. He was a sergeant, super nice guy. I'm not gonna say any names though, but uh he was married to live in an apartment somewhere near an army base. I don't forget where it was at, but he decided he was gonna come home and surprise his wife. He'd been gone for about a year, and uh so he snuck in one afternoon, you know, got out and was on his way, walked up to his apartment, took out his key and opened the door, and his wife and a guy was sitting on the couch. Didn't notice the guy was wearing his clothes. A true story. And he asked him what was going on, and they had some words and a couple issues and things like that, you know. And the guy had moved into his apartment, taking his place, wearing his clothes, and driving his vehicle. It wasn't pretty. So uh that was one of the divorces there, right?

Guest 37:19

Yeah. Mm-hmm.

J Basser 37:27

You know, so it's uh of course, you know, you run across it in all walks of life. Anytime you put this many people together, you know, from all walks, you know, something's gotta give. There's gonna be some, there's gonna be a few bad eggs in the, you know. It's like a one potato. If you got the a bad potato in the bag, the whole bag's gonna be bad. You're gonna get rid of the one potato, you know it.

Guest 37:46

Yeah. You know, burn all that much.

J Basser 37:53

But you navigate that situation, you got your specialty care, you got this and this and that. Yeah, the VA does offer dental care to veterans that have a dental service connection with a dental issue, like say you uh um you said the wrong thing, and uh this big six foot ten-inch bolts of bank bust in the mouth and knocks knocks half your teeth

Mental Health, PTSD, And Family Support

J Basser 38:20

out. Or you have an injury, uh say you break your jaw or something like that, or you know, you bust up your teeth in the weather, there's something hits you, and they'll have they'll take care of that in, you know, they'll take care of that dental. Or if you are 100% permanent in total disability rating, or adjudicated to be unemployable under the TDIU restraints of the Title 38, part four, which means you can be 70 uh percent or whatever, whatever percent uh I think it's a one-surf disability uh or accommodation disability that that one is individual that keeps you from being unemployed and they pay it to 100% rates. You can also get dental. Uh if you're in special programs, you can get dental. If you're in VRE going to school, you can get dental and things like that, better than rehabilitation deployment. And that's another referral you can get to VRE. Um you know, they can do that. They can uh uh a lot of things. They can set you up an education program, say you want to do something different, you want to uh be beneficial, that's find you a position that is accommodating to your disabilities, you can go through that program and they'll either give an education or turn you for a job that you can do. If you're 100% permanent total and you try to do VRE.

Ray Cobb 39:51

They have a job placement program apart.

J Basser 39:53

Yeah, they have a fun job. Yep. And do. And also, if you're 100% in your permanent total, they've got a program that's aligned with VR and E, but it's called independent living. And what that does is uh they'll come in and they'll modify and they'll do some checks on you and see what you need uh in order to function well with home and the community. Uh you should be a lot better than what it is now, you know. Um I don't think you give away half million dollar greenhouse is the more rate. Or bass boats, you know, campers. Bass folks are campers, yeah. Yeah. So they do. I mean, they make your life independent, you know, help you live and things like that. Uh they will get you a computer and things like that. Like this call.

Ray Cobb 40:44

Yeah, let me give you an example. I've got two things. One right now. They came in, they knew that I was doing this show. They knew I also had a local radio show, and I had to look a lot of stuff off the computer. They also, because of their knowledge and resource, knew that I had a vision problem uh in my left eye from diabetes and have a 22,000 rating in my left eye. So they walked in and they looked at my little laptop and they looked over and they said, You need a big screen. I said, Okay. So they said they gave me a big screen monitor. Uh then they walked uh back into my bedroom and they said, Your doctor said because of your sleep acne, you need to sleep with your head half tilted up. I said, Yeah. Said, you don't have a tilt bed. No? Would you like one? Uh yeah. So they bought me a tilt bed and mattress. Then they walked down into my man cave and we're sitting down in the in the uh, once again, this is where they had uh the housing grant had actually built me a vertical platform lift and it converted my garage into a large den. We're sitting there and I got a picture that I made years ago of a bald eagle on the wall. And the lady looked at the eagle, she said, I bet you can't get anywhere near making that picture again, can you? I said, No. And she said, Would a telephoto lens help? Uh yeah, it'd help a lot. She says, uh, well pick out one and keep it around the $2,000 range. Well, I'm telling you guys, that was on a Tuesday. I told her what I needed on Thursday, and on Monday it was delivered. Can't beat it. And I've used it hundreds of times. So it's really allowed me to still continue photography, shooting elk and shooting buffalo and things that I wouldn't be able to really get close enough safely, being in a wheelchair, without a telephone. So that's what they want to try to do.

J Basser 43:03

That's a case go camera.

Ray Cobb 43:05

Yeah. So, you know, that's that's one of the things they try to do. So V

Dental Eligibility And Who Qualifies

Ray Cobb 43:10

RE, you gotta work with them, you gotta be patient. Uh they called me one day, and my private, this is back to our primary care. Uh they had contacted my primary care about something. I'm not sure what. But in the conversation, my medication came up, the type of medication I was on, which one has to be refrigerated. And I had told them to travel and would travel a lot. So she called me and and uh asked me about how we traveled. I said, Well, we we freeze ice packs and then we try to stay in a place that's got a freezer every night and refreeze them and whatever she would a refrigerator in your van help? Well, yeah. Well, why don't you go over to a truck stop and see if you can find one that plugs into a regular car cigarette lighter or whatever so that you can keep your medication because that that medication you own cost the VA a thousand dollars a week. I said, okay. Went over, did it, paid for it, get sent the receipt in. It was it's it was it was basically less than $250, and they reimbursed me. But that was something that they found that they did without me asking. They're all they were looking for things to make my life more comfortable. And I think if you if you have a good attitude.

J Basser 44:51

Unfortunately, mine was during COVID, and my interview was done by phone. And uh I didn't have quite the success that Ray had during his. But uh one good thing is I think you can do it again, right, Ray?

Ray Cobb 45:07

That's correct. Anytime your condition changes or worsens, or you figure out that you need something else, yes, you can go back and and and ask for it again.

J Basser 45:19

Um I'm gonna go back after the tilt bed and things like that.

Ray Cobb 45:24

They keep that file open for two years, and they're constantly checking for you to see how what they got you. Is it working? Is there anything else you need?

J Basser 45:34

Um I'm gonna reapply myself.

Ray Cobb 45:39

Um I think it was I forget which one of my doctors they put in my medical record that it would be helpful if I had a lift chair. Well, the VA does not give lift chairs. But V R and A does. So when she saw that in my medical records, she said, Would you like a lift chair? Well, yeah. So they got me a lift chair that has a header in it. It's got a massage, two massage type of massages, a wave and a pulse, and it lifts me almost straight up so I don't have to bend my knees or hurt my lower back. And it has definitely helped uh my uh being able to get around better. I mean, I still don't get around that great, but I'd have to think of what it was if I had to try to maneuver and pull myself up out of a chair.

J Basser 46:34

Pull yourself up.

Guest 46:35

I I would probably be on the floor half of the time.

J Basser 46:37

That's something else. Well, that's my issue. Um I get orthostatic a lot, things like that. If I get up too fast, it's like timber. You know, because I mean it's uh it gets pretty heavy, the blood pressure drops like that and things. So I'm gonna have to investigate that, Ray. See, you're you're teaching me something now. You know, and uh I'm serious.

Ray Cobb 47:00

I mean I think that yeah, that's a very important twenty three hundred dollars. You know, it wasn't cheap. You know, they they didn't they didn't cut corners.

VR&E And Independent Living Explained

Ray Cobb 47:10

You know, they told me where you could go to look and pick one out. I mean I got to all right.

J Basser 47:46

Well that's amazing. Really good. I mean, that's something people think I mean you gotta realize to be able to do this for you, and uh um, you know, I mean, no nobody else will. I mean, if you're you know, social security's not gonna do it, you might you might have you might have to fight and might get a scooter out of them or something like that, you know, or maybe a pair of diabetic shoes that might uh you know give you one pair and tell you to hop on one foot and tell you to hop on the next foot, you know, for the next couple days. And if you go to dietry and you got foot issues, then they can give you shoes too, two pairs a year. Socks. Uh if you got vascular problems like brackle veins or uh purple vascular disease, they give you uh compression sockings, socks, uh don't fix your feet, trim your toenails, do whatever it takes. You know. The podiatrists are pretty good, I like them. And uh, you know, and across the board, even with you know, Ray's that's pretty good. Ray's got a brain's got one that's really good. And uh, you know, he's an excellent, excellent podiatrist. I've heard nothing but raised views about this person. He's got more veterans in Tennessee than I know that, you know, to get to a higher level with their feet, you know, especially with diabetes. And that's something else they can refer you to. You can go to diabetes clinic, you can go to nutrition, they teach you how to cook, what to eat, and things like that. I've been through several classes, um uh a lot of things like that. And uh, but you know, again, your primary care is the one that's go ahead, Rick.

Guest 49:30

Yeah. Yeah, it's not everyone.

J Basser 50:23

Well, that is the vocational part, the vocational rehab part of the RE. Okay. The stuff Ray and I are talking about with the stuff inside the house, you know, with the beds and things like that. That's part of independent living. I want to make sure you live as comfortable as possible because you don't go out and go to work. You know, you can't. You know, you just build it to keep you from doing it, and they'll tell you that right now, that you know, well, you can't do this, but you have to, you know, they'll put you aside you in independent living and they'll do the evaluation. And uh that's a very long phone call or a very long visit because they're very thorough. That one gal was anyway. I think we had the same person, Ray. That country girl is real country country is corn. You remember her?

Guest 51:17

Yeah, so but other than that. Yeah.

J Basser 51:25

Well, this is a live show we're doing in uh I don't know, man. You off the close. You trip and fall, you'll be you you'll be close to Huntsville. You live you live close enough where uh where a tree falls in Atlanta, Alabama. I had another buddy, he leaves to live there and uh you know where Killen, Alabama is? Just north of Florence. Killing, Alabama. Colleen Killen, he used to live there. He used to come up to Lexington, Tennessee all the time. He liked to he was a fisherman. He'd go up there and he'd get his boat and stuff like that in Lexington and they'd go out and fish. He was a bad PTSD. Well, she got that when the plane crashed on top of you on an aircraft carrier, right? That's what happened to him. But uh next week is the first show of October. And uh, of course, after the first week, Miss Fangberg will be on, and uh she'll be doing uh uh I don't know really what our topic's gonna be yet. We'll advertise it when we get the information together. But she'll be going over something that we will be sure. And uh, she does the regulations beds and uh Bethany's accredited appeals agent, and she's a uh physician's assistant. She's owns the company Back for Vets. She's been doing it for years, so uh she has a lot of writing on this. She does a lot of you know educational stuff for the vets, helps them a lot, and uh we look forward to that show. I mean, she's been doing this for a while, and you can watch all of them on here. Uh

Practical Wins: Tech, Travel, And Comfort

J Basser 53:05

Ray does a radio show on Tuesdays on uh WZYX. Is that what it is? All right, it's uh Cowan, Tennessee. Uh you can go on the website. What's the website, Ray, for the for the for the ZYX? Okay, you go on there. This is Tuesday mornings. It's at 9 a.m. Central Time, so that's uh 10 o'clock Eastern. Um eight o'clock mountain, seven o'clock eastern, seven o'clock, seven o'clock California time, right?

Guest 53:48

Yep.

J Basser 53:50

So he always has a good guest on the show, very you know, well, that's you have to do that. I mean, that's you know, uh there comes a time when everybody really needs to do that, you know, because I mean you want to make it easier on, you know, your you the people, you know, that you love as possible. You know, the less burden you put on them, the the better off everybody is for that situation. I mean, face it guys, that we know, I mean I hate to say this, but this is only temporary. Life's only temporary. You know? Life is only temporary, you know, and you know, it's the longevity parts after that, so you know, we'll see.

Guest 56:31

But uh a lot of good points. Mm-hmm. That happens.

J Basser 57:40

I mean, mm-hmm, that we call it hit and run. It's like a hit and run. Uh um right now we're talking about meeting up in Ashton City, Tennessee here in a couple weeks, and maybe doing him one of his broadcasts from there here and uh um kind of a meeting with Mr. Cripps and uh the United States uh U.S. Veterans Alliance, that's what it is, right? That's James's group. And uh yeah, so uh but we'll we'll get more of that discussed here in here in the next week or so. But guys, I think that's all we've got, Brady. Man, we do appreciate you co-hosting. You've been a big help. Breath of fresh air, as always. And uh okay, and I want to thank our producer today. She's in here helping out, uh done a very good job. Uh

Diabetes, Podiatry, And Self-Management

J Basser 58:40

I have to give her a pay raise now if I can afford it. And with that, this will be this will be John. Yeah, this will be John Stacy, aka J Basher, on behalf of Mr. Ray Cobb, J Bashard Exposed Productions, live on YouTube right now, but it'll be posted to YouTube soon later this evening for the whole audience of the world to watch it again. They're all there. And with that, we'll be shutting it down for now. We'll see you next week, folks.