Kagen testifies on plan to help rural veterans obtain care
Families also could qualify for counseling
Green Bay Press GazettePress-Gazette Washington bureau
WASHINGTON — Rural veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder should get federal help to pay for private care if Veterans Affairs facilities are too far away, U.S. Rep. Steve Kagen testified Thursday.
Under his proposal, veterans who live 30 or more miles from a VA medical facility would have the option of getting more readily accessible care for problems such as combat stress and drug and alcohol abuse. Families also would be able to use federal vouchers for mental health counseling if a health professional concluded it would help in a veteran’s treatment.
Read the full article at greenbaypressgazette.com
All across American, there are empty buildings, Mom and Pop type shops in towns, along with wounded veterans needing to be cared for. The excuse is that the VA hospitals and clinics were built for "need" and they are in the cities with higher populations.
The problem is, the veterans come from these tiny towns, entering into the National Guard, Reserves and military units. They did not make the nation wait for a more convenient time for them to deploy. They went when and were the nation said they were needed to go. So why can't the government do the same for them?
They are no less wounded than others living in the "right area" where care is not too far away from them. They are no less worthy of having their wounds treated than someone living in cities. They are however more neglected than other veterans. In a time when the government is talking about building hospitals and clinics, that they should have been doing six years ago, there is suffering going on right now.
Veterans from across the country have to wait to be diagnosed, wait to be seen, wait to be treated and receive the added burden of having their claims tied up for months, or in most cases years. In the time between a wound being received, a claim filed and compensation granted, there is usually no income for them. They are no longer paid by the Department of Defense and their wounds are no longer treated by them either. They are not approved by the VA for compensation until their claim has been processed. Would you want to have to wait for your disability check because you can't work? Does your mortgage company want to wait or your landlord? Food bills, heat and electricity, gas for transportation do not wait either.
The very least that can be done right now is to use some of the already empty buildings for clinics and veteran's centers. Get them staffed by veterans who are aware of the unique problems veterans have. Stop excusing what has not been done and replace it with what can be done today, not just years from now.
Thank you for your blog; it was eloquently put. I thought I was alone dealing with getting help for my husband, medically retired National Guardsman, who is not only suffering with depression but severe pain and unimaginable disability. He has undergone five (5) spinal surgeries over a few years, one of which resulted in his spinal cord being damaged. He was on Active Duty-Title 10.
ReplyDeleteI wrote to the Governor about fixing the problem. I got a call back from someone at Magigan Army Hospital at Ft. Lewis, WA who gave me a number to call. Well, needless to say this led to about a dozen long distance calls which all led to a string of dead-ends and no mental health care for my husband. Glad that fella at Madigan feels he 'fixed' our problem.
Oh, just in case you were wondering what you get at the end of waiting years for the VA to process your claim (even with LOD form).... it's a 0% rating; collections for thousands of dollars; car repossession; $80,000 owed in back child support; living with your mother-in-law because you can't afford a place; suspended driver's license; AND an ex-wife that doesn't let you talk to your children because you 'have to be lying about being disabled or you would be getting a check... Get a job!'
Oh and so many other perks to being an unrecognized (0% rating) disabled veteran of this war.
Yep... it's an 'Army of One'.
My profound apologies for what you and your family is going through, especially your husband. I wish I could say you were alone but you have way too much company. This is happening all over the country, and the rest of the world. You'd think we would just be better at dealing with all of it but we are as lousy as the rest of the nations when it comes to taking care of those who defend their nations.
ReplyDeleteThe fact is, we were never very good at it. My husband came back in 1971 from Vietnam with mild PTSD he thought he'd get over. Back then they didn't even really know what it was. It took until 1990 to have him diagnosed, and that was when I already fully understood what was wrong with him, another three years to get him to go to a veterans center, followed by the VA. They tied up his claim for 6 years, taking our tax refund every year to pay for his treatment because our health insurance wouldn't cover it once the VA diagnosed it as combat related PTSD. We almost lost everything as well, but you already did. Things have only gotten worse because now there are a lot more needing care and no one was ready for it. That's the part that pisses me off the most. They knew this was coming but took no action to prepare for any of it. There are now less doctors and nurses than there were after the Gulf War. The VA cut staff and their budget in 2005. The list goes on and so does the suffering. Families like your's are known to people who have been staying on top of it, but to the rest of the country, they haven't a single clue.
I have a suggestion. A few weeks ago, Ed Schultz on Air America was ranting about Bill O'Reilly claiming there were no homeless veterans. A Marine called in saying he was a homeless veteran. This caused a woman in Florida to make some calls within minutes to a chain of her friends, all Marine Moms and they ended up getting help for him all the way in Colorado. This was only the first good part of this story.
It brought to light the suffering the men and women who were willing to serve are going through. I don't know if you're a Democrat or Republican or vote at all, but you are a military wife with a wounded husband and suffering family. Call in his show on Monday and tell him your story as well. The point is, you and your family are homeless. Not as bad off as some families who are in fact sleeping in shelters but without your family standing behind you, you would be one of them sleeping under overpasses. You need to get your story out so that people will be just as outraged as I have been all these years. People care but they only do when they know what's happening. The entire country is united behind those who serve no matter how they feel about Iraq and they will stand behind you. Just tell them you need help and you'll get it. They will put the pressure on your congressman to get you some help or they will step up all by themselves if not. Trust the heart of this nation for you and your family and put this into their hands.
If you need to vent in private email me anytime.
Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
One more thought. I'm on several other blogs and sites. I'm posting your story on them as well and putting your comment as a post header. This should get you some attention for what you and your family are going through if nothing else. Hang in there, help is on the way.
ReplyDelete