VIP FAQ
What is Veterans In Pain VIP?
Veterans In Pain VIP facilitates Regenerative and Alternative medical solutions for Veterans suffering from chronic pain, by connecting civilian physicians with our country’s Heroes, nationwide.
VIP Is:
📍A GuideStar Platinum-Certified Nonprofit
📍Certified Resource of DOD Sanctioned National Resource Directory
📍Certified-Resource of Wounded Warrior Project
📍Regenerative Medicine Foundation, Member
📍Interventional OrthoBiologics Foundation IOF, Endorsed
📍American Academy/Association of Orthopedic Medicine, Endorsed
📍Regenexx Physician Network - Endorsed
How and Why Was VIP Established?
After Micaela Bensko battled a devastating chronic pain disease of the spinal cord, it was Regenerative Medicine which changed the life. Having been Vice President of her family’s nonprofit Rebuilding America’s Warriors RAW (pro bono reconstructive procedures for combat-wounded Veterans) Bensko became keenly aware of how few therapeutic pain solutions were accessible to Veterans, and branched off to establish Veteran In Pain VIP. Since its inception in 2018, VIP has developed a national network of over 200 VIP Physicians, and facilitated millions of dollars in value of services to hundreds of United States Veterans who had otherwise lost hope.
- Origin Video https://youtu.be/pvyXthwPSAQ
- Awareness Building
https://youtube.com/channel/UCSUa6LnxOBHTOKambEvEy7g
- The Gulf War Advocate Podcast Interview:
What Type of Pain Conditions Does VIP Address?
- Degenerative Joint Disease - Shoulders, Knees, hips, feet
- Degenerative Disc Disease of the spine
- TBI
- PTSD
- Erectile Dysfunction related to Spine Injury
- Systemic Toxicity
What Kind of Therapy Does VIP Facilitate?
- Injectable Regenerative Solutions
PRP Platelet Rich Plasma
BMA(C) Bone Marrow Aspirate
- SGB Stellate Ganglion Block
- Intensive HBOT Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy programs
- Intensive IV Ketamine Therapy
- Plant-Based Therapy
- Peptides
- CBD
- Various Therapeutic Device Options
What Are VIP’s Applicant Requirements
- V.I.P. Veteran Application Form
- V.I.P. Waiver of Liability
- Submission of DD214
- Submission of Drivers Lisence
- Access to MRI’s of areas of concern, conducted within the previous 9-12 months
- Veteran is Officially Cancer Free for at least one year.
- Veteran is devoid of Heart Disease
- Veteran is free of anticoagulants
- Annual Household Income
- *We do NOT discriminate as to pre or post 9/11, by Disability Rating, armed forces, or whether one is combat-wounded.
What Percentage of Donations Go Directly to the Program?
Veterans In Pain VIP is an all-volunteer organization. No individual receives payment or a salary. Only a small portion goes toward website maintenance, online administrative programs, office supplies, and apps we utilize to make our facilitations possible.
What Do the Rest of the Donations Go Toward?
Although VIP Physicians volunteer their services at no cost to our Veterans, there are often hard costs associated with treatment such as OR fees, medical supplies, Nursing Assistance, etc. as well as travel and accommodations for those needing to travel for treatment, and associated costs.
When our funding levels allow, VIP covers the above for Veterans in need of fiscal support. However, without funding, these costs become the burden of the Veteran.
How Can a Physician Apply to our VIP Family of Physicians?
Please visit the following link:
https://veteransinpain.org/physician-entry-form
Is Treatment through VIP Pro Bono?
VIP facilities access to otherwise costly medical solutions which are often cash-based and outside of Insurance coverage eligibility. Therapies facilitated through VIP are provided at a 70% - 100% reduction in usual and customary costs. Any remaining hard costs are covered by the Veteran, unless VIP has the funding levels to do so on the Veteran’s behalf.
What Do You Mean by “Hard Costs”?
VIP Physicians volunteer their services such as consultation and the act of conducting the actual procedure(s) or therapy. “Hard costs” are any costs necessary for treatment to occur.
If VIP funding levels allow, VIP works to cover these costs on behalf of the Veteran.
Another way to help reduce certain hard costs, is to provide the Physician’s office with your insurance information, for any items eligible for insurance coverage, and would be processed as “insurance-only”.
Hard Cost Example:
Normally the cost of a BMAC procedure to address a Degenerative Disc of the spine would begin at approximately $12,000 cash.
Through VIP:
Operating Room Fee $1,600
Nursing Assistant Fee $600
BMAC Kit approximately $500 or Free if donated
Total:
$2,700 approximately a 73% reduction in usual cost.
Hard costs vary with every procedure according to the complexity and needs of each case.
Additional forms of facilitated therapies are also pro bono or discounted.
How Can We Reduce My Treatment’s Hard Costs?
Please visit our Veteran Resources page https://veteransinpain.org/veteran-resources
Through PRP / BMA(C) Kit Donations
Another way to reduce Veteran-costs is through donation of the kits required for PRP and BMA(C) procedures. These are generously donated to qualifying cases by EmCyte Corporation. The Physician’s office is to reach out to MBensko@VeteransInPain.org and we will connect them directly with EmCyte for this request.
Injectable Product Needs
For Injectable product needs, we work diligently to facilitate such requests pro bono, at-cost, or discounted.
What Does the Veteran Application Process Look Like?
Each VIP Veteran Applicant conducts a 3- Step entry process including the Application, Waiver, and Step 3 Intake Call for a comprehensive review of their case and candidacy for the Regenerative and Interventional solutions we facilitate.
Step 1: “V.I.P. Veteran Entry Form" at: https://form.jotform.com/83447588257169
Step 2: “Veterans In Pain (V.I.P.) Waiver of Liability" at: https://form.jotform.com/200095106365044
Step 3: Schedule Phone Intake Session
www.Calendly.com/vetsinpain/veteran
What Do You Discuss During the Veteran’s Step 3 Intake Call?
The Intake Call is to ensure each Veteran is well prepared for a Regenerative-based consultation by
- conducting a comprehensive and personalized review of the Veteran’s case history
- triage conditions
- explanation of the soft-tissue and inflammatory origin of chronic pain and degenerative conditions
- imaging requirements
- overview of available pre and post adjunct therapies / support measures and lifestyle guidance for optimal results
- the complexities and origin of chronic pain
- additional Interventional options available through our program for PTSD, TBI such as Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Ketamine, Peptides, Stellate Ganglion Blocks, and more
- the VIP Physician Workflow
- a grounding perspective on our treatment directives for optimal post-procedure results.
- and more.
What is the Veteran/Physician Workflow Like?
In a nutshell:
- VIP emails a VIP Veteran Case Summary to the Physician or specialist who accepts or denies the case
- The Veteran is notified of their Physician-match and schedules their Consultation
- If the Veteran is Approved for procedure(s), the office is to notify VIP of any Kit(s) or Injectable product(s) requests and VIP will attempt to have these donated or provided at a reduced cost.
- Procedure date is scheduled
VIP Physicians volunteer their consultations and their services at no cost to the Veteran, while VIP or the Veteran covers hard-costs, depending on our current funding levels.
I am a Veteran Matched with a VIP Physician, Now What?
Once you have been scheduled for a Consultation:
Make sure your MRI Imaging in accessible formats. If it is a local in-person consult this would be a CD/disc. If your physician match is out of state, your consultation may then be by Tele-health for which we request you either fedex a disc of your images to the physician’s office ahead of time, or upload the MRI imaging to a shareable Dropbox folder or upload them to your myhealthevet account for link sharing.
If you have been approved for a procedure by your VIP Physician, do not schedule any procedure until:
you have confirmed exactly what, if any, hard costs might be included. Often times there are no hard costs. Other times, especially with Bone Marrow Aspirate procedures, there may be a need for an operating room setting for sterility purposes. Ask yourself if you can cover these costs.
If funding levels allow , Veterans In Pain VIP may cover such expenses. If lack of funding levels prevents us from doing so, please refer to our Veteran Resources page at https://veteransinpain.org/veteran-resources highlighting trusted nonprofits to which you may apply for funding.
In Summary
Please be aware of ALL potential hard costs of your procedure(s) PRIOR to scheduling the actual procedure date.
- procedure hard costs
- hotel costs
- meal costs
- travel costs
Travel
Pro bono air travel is available through our partners at Veterans Airlift Command. You may apply at www.veteransairlift.org VAC facilitates longer-haul flights via volunteer private pilots for VIP Veterans to and from treatment.
For shorter West regional flights we refer to Angle Flight West www.AngelFlightWest.org
Applying for Travel
Know the following before filling out the Flight application form
- you MUST mention you are a VIP Veteran to qualify for flights
- your departure and return dates
- your actual procedure date / time
- VIP Physician’s name, number, and office address
- weight and height for each passenger (each Veteran may bring a companion)
- DOB for each passenger
- the nearest private air field to your home, and to the VIP Physician’s office
- service animals are allowed
- Angel Flight West requires a medical form to be signed by your own personal physician to clear you medically for travel
VIP SOCIAL MEDIA
T @Veteransinpain
FB @VetsInPain
IG @VeteransInPainVIP
Informative Links
📍Veterans In Pain VIP Origin Story
📍 What Determines the Efficacy of a Regenerative Procedure
https://veteransinpain.org/blog/f/what-determines-the-efficacy-of-an-orthobiologic-protocol
Our VIP Regenerative Procedure Directives
www.veteransinpain.org/treatment-directives
What is PRP?
What is BMAC?
https://veteransinpain.org/blog/f/what-is-bmac
Sound-Derived PTSD & Stem Cells
What is Hyperbaric Therapy? VIP facilitates HBO Therapy through various solution partners around the country from 40-60 day Pro Bono residential programs:
Interview with VIP Director of Oxygen Therapies, and Founder of Healing AZ Veterans, Neurologist, Dr Carol Henricks
Veteran-Friendly Discounted HBOT Facilities:
HBOT 101
A Deep Dive into HBOT Therapy by Micaela Bensko
What is Ketamine Therapy?
Our Veterans & Ketamine
https://veteransinpain.org/blog/f/our-veterans-and-ketamine
Ketamine 101
An Interview with Dr Stephen Reichbach
Ayahuasca and Veterans
Interview with Jesse Gould of Heroic Hearts Project
A Moment with VIP Physician John Ferrell of ROSM
Stellate Ganglion Block for PTSD - A Veteran’s Story by James Roberg, with premiere expert in SGB, Dr James Lynch
https://veteransinpain.org/blog/f/a-veteran’s-sgb-story
VIP Virtual Pain Coaching with Override, founded by 9th Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and VIP Advisory Council Member, Dr David Shulkin
Press Release:
https://veteransinpain.org/blog/f/vip-override-accessible-pain-coaching
Discounted CBD Solutions through our Partnership with Kuribl
How to Manage Systemic Inflammation from Chronic Pain
https://veteransinpain.org/blog/f/how-to-manage-systemic-inflammation-of-chronic-pain
How to Obtain MRI Imagery / Reports
https://veteransinpain.org/mri-411
Obtaining MRI / Reports via MyHealtheVet
https://veteransinpain.org/blog/f/how-to-obtain-imageryreports-on-myhealthevet
Cervical Spine Tool: VIP Partners with Cervigard, the Kessler Foundation-Backed Therapeutic Cervical Spine Correction Tool
https://veteransinpain.org/blog/f/veterans-in-pain-vip-partners-with-kessler--backed-cervigard
VIP Cervigard Veteran
https://veteransinpain.org/blog/f/cervigard-case-of-the-month
EmCyte Donates PRP/BMAC Kits Helping to Eliminate Hard Costs for VIP Veterans
EmCyte & Gulf Coast Biologics Partner with Veterans In Pain VIP
Pro Bono Private Pilot Air Transportation is Provided for VIP Veterans via Veterans Airlift Command
Residential Substance Abuse and Mental Health Support Program Tactical Recovery
https://veteransinpain.org/blog/f/substance-abuse-mental-health-with-tactical-recovery
Peptide Therapies
Dr Kent Holtorf of Holtorf Medical Group leads our Peptides division, providing discounted IV and Peptide therapies for VIP Veterans
