VA benefits come down to geography for some

I don't like to post letters to the editor that I come across but this needs to be out there so that people stop assuming all veterans are treated equally. It doesn't happen. While they serve this one nation, when they are back on American soil, it depends on where they live if they are taken care of or not.

VA benefits come down to geography for some
Lake County Record-Bee - Lakeport,CA,USA
By Donna Christopher -- Letters to the Editor
Article Last Updated: 12/18/2008 07:01:07 PM PST


I am a veteran. I am an Army Veteran, thus making me a bit of a black sheep' in the family of Navy Veterans. But they still tolerate me, they're a good crew. It has been almost 34 years since I was Honorably Discharged. I did make use of my G.I. Bill educational benefits in the 1970s. I never had reason to apply for medical benefits through the Veterans Administration. My husband and I worked, had medical benefits and squirreled away money for retirement.

Well, as we all know, you make plans and Creator laughs. John is now eligible for Social Security. Our CalCobra came to an end and the only thing offered to me was a plan that cost $677.77 per month for the premium and a $4,500 out of pocket deductible at that point they would pay 70% of what they felt the charge should have been.

We tried to stay in that system but after six months found we were going broke very fast paying for a policy that really was of little use except as Catastrophic Insurance. $2,100 a month income doesn't stretch very far with Hubby's medical premiums running just over $500 a month, add the almost $700 per month to that it left us with about $900 a month to live on. Ketchup soup anyone?

I finally broke down and filed for medical benefits from the VA. That was this past July. Having heard nothing I contacted the clinic in Ukiah. That is when Allan gave me the bad news. The bad news comes in the form of a little gem called the Geographic Means Test, an Executive Order signed by George W. Bush in January 2003.

In a nutshell, if I lived in San Francisco, I would be eligible for the medical benefits promised to me through the Veterans Administration. But I live in Lake County and am therefore not eligible. I cannot even reapply until next August 2009. Apparently President Bush believes a promise is predicated upon where you live.

I was not asking for a hand out I made it very clear I would be most agreeable to paying a premium and a co-pay. I went looking for a hand-up, not hand out. Thanks Bush for the backhand to the face of a veteran who actually showed up for morning muster.

Donna Christopher

Lucerne