Army vet billed $3,000 for war wounds

He served the nation but his private health insurance took care of most of the bill instead of the VA. Think about that as you remember that President Obama was thinking of having private insurance pay for care. The VA wasn't paying and if he did not have a private insurance company pay, he would have had to pay the bill and then fight the VA. Think about that. While President Obama dropped thinking of private insurance getting involved, in this case they did what the government should have done.

You can close your eyes all you want about what is going on but since the VA is backlogged of claims, according to Veterans for Common Sense 900,000 claims, you would also be ignoring the fact they need treatment even while the claim is tied up. Their wounds do not fall asleep while they wait. Their PTSD does not hibernate while they wait to have the "service connected" stamp of approval from the VA on their claim. Either they are having to pay for their treatment or they are seeking private health providers to take care of them. In most cases, if it has to do with service to this nation, private insurance companies can refuse to pay stating it is the responsibility of the government. None of this is new.

In the 90's while my husband's claim was being denied and appealed he needed treatment for PTSD. Until the VA doctor put in his file it was because of Vietnam, the private insurance we had covered treatment in private practice but that stopped as soon as the VA doctor said it was service connected. The claim was denied and he needed help so the VA took our tax refund year after year to pay for his treatment. Why? Because we couldn't afford to pay because he had PTSD and because we were paying for private health insurance!

This is still happening to them when claims are denied that should have been approved and the VA takes care of their wounds as well as compensating them for lost incomes. If no one is taking responsibility for any of this, they have to. Can't you image how you would feel knowing you were wounded while serving your country and then forced to pay for it?

Army vet billed $3,000 for war wounds
Story Highlights
Wounded soldier gets billed $3,000 for wounds suffered in Iraq

"I put my life on the line ... and they're not going to take care of my medical bills?"

Army Sgt. Erik Roberts was wounded in April 2006; he's had 13 surgeries on his leg

Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio urged the VA to act; VA agrees to pay bill
by Wayne Drash
CNN

(CNN) -- Erik Roberts, an Army sergeant who was wounded in Iraq, underwent his 13th surgery recently to save his right leg from amputation. Imagine his shock when he got a bill for $3,000 for his treatment.

But in December, he says, a golf ball-sized lump appeared on his wounded leg. He says he went to a Veterans Affairs hospital and was told not to worry about it.

A few days later, he says, he went to the emergency room after the lump flared up more. A doctor there, he says, told him that the leg was badly infected and that it might have to be amputated.

Desperate for help, his mother contacted the Army surgeon who had saved her son's life two years earlier. That doctor referred him to Obremskey, the Vanderbilt surgeon.

The Robertses say the VA did not approve of them going outside the system. Erik Roberts says he had no choice -- it was have surgery or potentially lose his leg.

"I thought my leg was more important than the usual bureaucratic mess," he said.

His leg was saved. The $3,000 billed to Roberts wasn't for the surgery itself. It's a portion of the bill for six weeks of daily antibiotics to prevent the infection from coming back. His private insurance plan picked up the majority of the $90,000 in costs. click link for more