OEF and OIF veterans not using free healthcare?

Like many veterans my husband and his Dad came home from serving the country and wanted that to be the end of war. His Dad didn't go to the VA after WWII because "that was for guys who needed it like amputees." His thought was that he could work, so he pushed past whatever problems he had. He had a Purple Heart and Bronze Star. My husband came home from Vietnam feeling the same way. Like his Dad, he earned a Bronze Star but there was no award for what else came home with him. He went to work just like all the others.

Now Vietnam veterans are finally seeking what they earned so many years ago. It is understandable how they feel considering the lack of support and information on turning to the VA for their healthcare. No excuses now with this generation of veterans living off of trilobites of data at their fingers reach. For these veterans there is information overload but much of it is useless. They don't know where to look.

When a benefit they earned by serving this country is not being used by all of them, it is not from lack of the veteran searching or even needing, but a lack of the VA fully adapting to keep them informed. It is also the failure of the VA when they do not publicize the things they do get right. This is one of them. Free healthcare for 5 years for them and their families.

I know it doesn't make it right when a claim is tied up and they have no income to support their families because of the enormous backlog but at least they can see a doctor while they fight to see the government honor their end of the deal with them. But a small medical issue today can turn into a huge one if not found early. They should all go!

Veterans passing up free health care
Thousands of uninsured Ohioans may qualify for VA coverage
By Cornelius Frolik, Staff Writer
Updated 12:22 AM Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Veterans who were recently discharged from the military after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are generally eligible for VA health care for a period of five years, while other veterans may be eligible based on service connection, their incomes or other criteria, Larson said.

About 52,000 military veterans in Ohio younger than 65 either do not have health insurance or are not enrolled in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs health care system, leaving many of them and their families with unmet medical needs or leading them to forgo care because of costs, according to new research examining census data and other studies.

Veterans without insurance may be unemployed, unable to afford private coverage or unaware of VA-care eligibility.

“There are a lot of options available to veterans concerning health care,” said Mike McKinney of the Ohio Department of Veterans Services.

“The vast majority of our veterans from the last 10 years should be covered,” McKinney said.

The Washington-based Urban Institute reported that one in 10 veterans in Ohio younger than 65 and an additional 35,000 military spouses and children — or about 7 percent of the total 504,855 military family members in Ohio — are uninsured. The report analyzed state survey data for 2009 and 2010.

Uninsured veterans typically have poor access to health care, and they are less likely than their insured counterparts to visit a doctor regularly and seek out important preventive care.

Military officials are urging veterans to explore their options with the VA health care system to determine whether it can serve their needs.
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