The Veterans Administration is Broken.

http://www.ibtimes.com/va-broken-death-medical-mistreatment-claims-backlogs-neglect-veterans-affairs-hospitals-clinics


Tom W writes:

After my recent trip to the Battle Creek VA hospital, I fully agree with the article above.
The VA has just priced itself out of my health care market, and the only health care I can get now, is the local emergency room.   In April 2010, I had a massive heart attack. Ended up with a triple bypass and 4 stints put in. I get Social Security disability of 1287 a month but Defaulted Student loans take 15 percent garnishment leaving me just 1,077 a month to live on.

I get HUD VASH section 8 housing. I get State help paying my 100 dollar monthly medicare copay, and 17 dollars a month in food stamps on an EBT card.

I have a 15 year old car with PL PD insurance and a perfect driving record, but the PLPD (state minimums) still cost me nearly 90 dollars a month.

After I get done paying my housing, car insurance, electric bill, phone bill and internet bill, I usually have about 450 dollars left to Put 1 tank of gas into my car, pay for laundry, and the rest goes to food.

Until recently, I was given travel pay by the VA. But my collecting 1287 puts me over the limit for the VA.  Then Thursday the 20th that changed.. They gave me pay for one visit I had on the 9th, but denied me travel pay for that visit on the 20th to see the specialist.

Battle creek is 85 miles from Sparta, where I live. And Ann Arbor is 150 miles one way.  And with out travel pay there is no way I can go there.

So they want me to catch a shuttle in Grand rapids the day before my appointment. Go down to Battle Creek, spend the night there, go on to Ann Arbor, then catch a shuttle the next day to return to BC and again spend another night before getting back to Grand Rapids. In other words, 5 days for a 4 hour appointment; is  NOT ACCEPTABLE. But that is what they are doing.

I don't have enough money to put food on my table 4 weeks out of the month and those assholes at the VA want me to wast 4 days traveling time, without giving me a place to sleep at night, nor without feeding me the 4 travel days?  You can see they have just effectively kicked me out of VA care.

No man or woman who is a veteran should have to deal with this, or be treated like this.. but we are.

I get 1 tank of gas a month in my budget. It will take 1 tank to go to Battle Creek and back. It will take 2 tanks to go to Ann Arbor and back,  and at 4 dollars a gallon that's near 72 dollars a tank. I don't have that kind of money to spend on going to Ann Arbor or Battle Creek.

If the VA won't give me travel pay then they need to treat me locally. since they will not, I will have to wait to go to the Emergency room then the VA will have to deal with it. Shitty way to run a doctors office, if ya ask me.