HRT from the VA or private

[soon2b]

I can go to the VA. I also have private insurance for a few years now because I was not in the mood to deal with the VA. I am going to start HRT soon and have been thinking about the pros and cons of using the VA or a regular Dr thru insurance.
The biggest pro to the VA is that I will not have co-pays. I also have flex medical so I kind of get my own money back. The con is they are new to this and I am not sure how lengthy their process is or if they actually have the experience.
I will need to find a Dr using my BCBS insurance, because i will definately not be usig my current Dr anymore.
My second counseling session is tomorrow and I did not ask for a letter and probably will wait a few more sessions or let her know that I may be wanting one in the future.

Could some of you nice ladies with experience in these areas enlighten me a little please. Maybe share why you use one and not the other.

[Jessika]

Hi there,
I'm a retired Vet and use VA for my HRT. There is a Co-pay with VA for the Meds, no idea who told you otherwise, but it is pretty cheap. Like $8 per 30 day supply of E and Spiro.

I get a 3 month supply for both and it costs me $48. So a Years supply of E and Spiro cost me $192. Not bad at all.

If you are really getting VA Meds for free, I want the information please. PM me. Thanks

[Deborah]

If you are retired you can get them for free if you use mail order and TRICARE.


Sapere Aude

[Jessika]

Source please? I'm looking online and can't find it. 

[Martine A.]

Hi. What is VA? 

[Hannah.Emma]

VA - Veterans Affairs

I use the VA as well for my HRT and its awesome.  Only took like 6 months to get started....of course everyone is different.

[Devlyn]

And now, a shameless plug for our veterans thread, Roll Call!  

[Deborah]

Source of TRICARE?  I used it for HRT two weeks ago at Walmart.  You can sign up for mail order at TRICARE Express Scripts.  You can also check the formulary to verify what is covered.  Estrogen, spironolactone, and progesterone are all covered with a prescription.  No further letters or documentation is required.


Sapere Aude

[soon2b]

And now, a shameless plug for our veterans thread, Roll Call!  

Re-plug lol

Thanks ladies, yep tricare.mil use the menu on the sidebar for pharmacy and the prices for generic etc are listed.
Think I will go to a public Dr and after things are rolling transfer the script over if I can do so without a bunch of hoop jumping. Basically just want to get going without a bunch of hassle I just like looking at all options

Beth

[Sunhawk]

There is a co-pay if you are less than 50% I think it is. I'm currently at 60% service connected and have never had a co-pay.

The process for me was I asked to talk to a mental health provider at my CBOC. Then when I got to that appointment I told her that I needed to see a theripist with experience with gender issues and was refered to a gender theripist in the Minneapolis VAMC.

In the initial session with him we talked about what I wanted out of our time and went over informed consent for starting HRT. We then had a 2nd session 2 weeks later to make sure I hadn't changed my mind (as if) and he put in the referral and recommendation for hrt. I then had labs done for baseline hormone levels at my CBOC and my Rx was received in the mail within the week.

[soon2b]

Thanks a lot Sunhawk for the breakdown of your process. Clears things up pretty good for me

Beth