A Conservative View

VETERANS ADMINISTRATION FAILURES.

To hopefully get more Americans to demand that our veterans are treated at least as well as illegal aliens please share this with everyone. I wanted to re=blog this article after my latest article was published.

If every politician in Washington was required to have read this article and letter from Bob Kustermann that was published eleven months ago, Bob might still be alive. How we treat our veterans is inhumane at best. I followed this article with another plea titled “What has happened to America”on September 17, 2015 and it appears that no one really cares if we just let these brave Americans just die and go away.

In Bob’s last visit to the VA last month he was deathly ill and while they were arguing on what to do he checked himself out and went home to die at 69 waiting to start dialysis as his kidneys were failing. I wonder how many thousand times this happens every day? The saddest part of this story is that no one really seem to care. Is there anyone in America who knows how to get the attention of someone who will do something to shut down the Veterans hospitals and at least treat our veterans equally as we treat illegal aliens free.

I have some 550 people who read this blog and If they all send it to people on their mail list maybe a copy will find one of the people running for President. Maybe if FOX news and Megan Kelly would ask this question in one of the debates instead of trying to defeat Donald Trump with “Gotcha” questions it would get exposure from the biased media. If we had a media that cared this issue would have been fixed a long time ago. Two people commented on the original article. One was my son and the other was a friend from Melbourne Australia. Please read the following and help slow down this tragedy. C Brewer 

AMERICAN VETERANS CARE – RED TAPE AND DISCRIMINATION! Published March 25, 2015

I sincerely hope this article makes you sick. The only people we have treated worse than the Indians, including illegal aliens, are our military veterans. I am extremely qualified to state the facts and verify the specific facts documented in the letter I ask to post as I am a veteran of the military. I am not a veteran of any combat or foreign service although I have likely visited and worked in more foreign countries, thirty-two to be specific, than 96% of every lobbyist, Congressman or the White House “Kingdom”. I volunteered and with my parents approval, I joined the US Navy Reserve in 1947 when I was 17. The Korean War seemed imminent and I volunteered for active duty in April 1948 and was honorably discharged on August 30, 1952. I had to serve an additional year as all enlistments were extended during the Korean war.

I only asked one time for any federal veteran benefit, some help with some uninsured drugs, and it was denied because I was earning more than the current poverty level. I did earn a military funeral but I have ask my wife not to even notify anyone from our government except my Federal Entitlement benefit that used to be called Social Security so they will not harass her. Writing this blog demands that I read facts and when I read a copy of this letter in our weekly local Sabine County Reporter, it disturbed me deeply. To even think we treat our veterans worse than illegal aliens is unbelievable. In essence an eligible veteran is treated worse by our government than the Democrats and illiterates (some are not both), who never worked or intend to work and draw welfare.

Even Medicaid is more responsive as the new VA Choice Card. The fact that all doctors in rural areas are not qualified is just another bureaucratic waste of time and money. The fact that our only hospital director or Board had no information is just another way to deny veterans benefits equal to aliens. They should be given the same benefits as I receive with Medicare and the government should pay their deductibles and premiums that I have to pay. Shut down the Veterans hospitals or make them available to everyone. Set the veterans free from oppression.

Please read this and pass this on to everyone you know. The really sad part is that the media, including Fox, has reported this change as an added benefit to our veterans. For Gods sakes how can what this letter describes be viewed as an improvement of any kind.

Bob Kustermann  is a good friend on mine along with all of the other veterans in Sabine County Texas.

Dear Sir,

I am writing to ask for your help with the new VA Choice Card. I received mine about a month and a half ago and called the number that was on the card to make sure I was qualified for this benefit, which it turns out, I am.

I live in Hemphill, Texas with the nearest VA clinic in Lufkin, Texas, approximately 60 miles away. The information I received indicated that if you live more than 40 miles from the nearest VA clinic or your VA appointment was more than 30 days away, you could see a local doctor.  The VA also indicated that our local hospital, Sabine County Hospital, and local doctors are currently eligible to participate. 

When I first called, the VA asked for my information and said for me to call back in 7 days  to see if I was qualified.  The VA then informed me that if I needed an appointment with a local doctor to call them back and the VA would set up the appointment.  The VA then informed me it would take another 7 days to get this appointment approved, taking 14 days from the initial call to just schedule the appointment, not yet seeing a doctor for treatment.

One of my concerns is that I am required to have a physical exam twice a year.  In order to accomplish this I must travel the 60 miles to the Lufkin VA clinic two weeks in advance of my physical exam for blood work, and of course the 60 mile return trip, for a five-minute lab test.  I then have to make the 120 mile round trip two weeks later for the physical exam.  Many of the veterans I help in Sabine County cannot either physically make the trip to Lufkin or cannot financially afford the trip.

I recently was granted the opportunity to make a presentation on the VA Choice Card to our local Hospital Board.  Hospital Administrator Diana Taylor informed me that she has placed several phone calls and sent two emails to the VA within the past month requesting forms and other information to become eligible to participate in the program, but has received no response.

It is my understanding that there is only one local doctor that is eligible to participate in the program, but getting in to see him is a very lengthy process requiring the veteran to phone the VA and request an appointment with the local doctor; the veteran is then required to call the VA back in 5 to 7 days to find out when the appointment is scheduled with the local doctor; the appointment will likely be scheduled around 7 days away, with the total days spent now at 12 to 13 days; if a prescription is written by the doctor, it takes another 7 to 10 days to receive the medicine in the mail, making the total time thus far 19 to 23 days.

Common sense tells me that if a veteran has to wait up to 2 weeks for an appointment and 3 weeks before receiving medicine from the onset of their condition, the likelihood of the condition worsening, or become fatal, is a real possibility, requiring additional, and likely, more intense medical care.

The bureaucratic strings attached to the VA Choice Card are NOT helping veterans, but merely painting over and covering up systemic problems in a widely documented troubled agency.

Any assistance you can provide, not only to me but to all veterans to expedite their receipt of quality healthcare will be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Robert Kustermann

PO Box 74

Hemphill TX 75948

I ask that you send a copy of this letter to every Congress Person, Governor, State Representative and Senator if you can get their address. Knowing Bob for many years and the hundreds of hours of community service he and many other veterans provide are vital for our rural County. My personal thanks to them all for all of their service. 

Goodbye old friend, Sabine County Texas will miss your always smiling face and your willingness to give far more to help your fellow-man than you ever received. This old man will never forget you. You suffered far beyond normal and sadly forgotten by your own country. It appears to me that our Veterans Administration administers euthanasia successfully by just ignoring our veterans condition. If a regular hospital did this it would be called murder. C Brewer February 10, 2016

VETERANS CARE REVISITED!

AMERICAN VETERANS CARE – RED TAPE AND DISCRIMINATION! Published March 25, 2015

If every politician in Washington was required to have read this article and letter from Bob Kustermann that was published eleven months ago, Bob might still be alive. How we treat our veterans is inhumane at best. I followed this article with another plea titled “What has happened to America”on September 17, 2015 and it appears that no one really cares if we just let these brave Americans just die and go away.

In Bob’s last visit to the VA last month he was deathly ill and while they were arguing on what to do he checked himself out and went home to die at 69 waiting to start dialysis as his kidneys were failing. I wonder how many thousand times this happens every day? The saddest part of this story is that no one really seem to care. Is there anyone in America who knows how to get the attention of someone who will do something to shut down the Veterans hospitals and at least treat our veterans equally as we treat illegal aliens free.

I have some 550 people who read this blog and If they all send it to people on their mail list maybe a copy will find one of the people running for President. Maybe if FOX news and Megan Kelly would ask this question in one of the debates instead of trying to defeat Donald Trump with “Gotcha” questions it would get exposure from the biased media. If we had a media that cared this issue would have been fixed a long time ago. Two people commented on the original article. One was my son and the other was a friend from Melbourne Australia. Please read the following and help slow down this tragedy. C Brewer 

I sincerely hope this article makes you sick. The only people we have treated worse than the Indians, including illegal aliens, are our military veterans. I am extremely qualified to state the facts and verify the specific facts documented in the letter I ask to post as I am a veteran of the military. I am not a veteran of any combat or foreign service although I have likely visited and worked in more foreign countries, thirty-two to be specific, than 96% of every lobbyist, Congressman or the White House “Kingdom”. I volunteered and with my parents approval, I joined the US Navy Reserve in 1947 when I was 17. The Korean War seemed imminent and I volunteered for active duty in April 1948 and was honorably discharged on August 30, 1952. I had to serve an additional year as all enlistments were extended during the Korean war.

I only ask one time for any federal veteran benefit, some help with some uninsured drugs, and it was denied because I was earning more than the current poverty level. I did earn a military funeral but I have ask my wife not to even notify anyone from our government except my Federal Entitlement benefit that used to be called Social Security so they will not harass her. Writing this blog demands that I read facts and when I read a copy of this letter in our weekly local Sabine County Reporter, it disturbed me deeply. To even think we treat our veterans worse than illegal aliens is unbelievable. In essence an eligible veteran is treated worse by our government than the Democrats and illiterates (some are not both), who never worked or intend to work and draw welfare.

Even Medicaid is more responsive as the new VA Choice Card. The fact that all doctors in rural areas are not qualified is just another bureaucratic waste of time and money. The fact that our only hospital director or Board had no information is just another way to deny veterans benefits equal to aliens. They should be given the same benefits as I receive with Medicare and the government should pay their deductibles and premiums that I have to pay. Shut down the Veterans hospitals or make them available to everyone. Set the veterans free from oppression.

Please read this and pass this on to everyone you know. The really sad part is that the media, including Fox, has reported this change as an added benefit to our veterans. For Gods sakes how can what this letter describes be viewed as an improvement of any kind.

Bob Kustermann  is a good friend on mine along with all of the other veterans in Sabine County Texas.

Dear Sir,

I am writing to ask for your help with the new VA Choice Card. I received mine about a month and a half ago and called the number that was on the card to make sure I was qualified for this benefit, which it turns out, I am.

I live in Hemphill, Texas with the nearest VA clinic in Lufkin, Texas, approximately 60 miles away. The information I received indicated that if you live more than 40 miles from the nearest VA clinic or your VA appointment was more than 30 days away, you could see a local doctor.  The VA also indicated that our local hospital, Sabine County Hospital, and local doctors are currently eligible to participate. 

When I first called, the VA asked for my information and said for me to call back in 7 days  to see if I was qualified.  The VA then informed me that if I needed an appointment with a local doctor to call them back and the VA would set up the appointment.  The VA then informed me it would take another 7 days to get this appointment approved, taking 14 days from the initial call to just schedule the appointment, not yet seeing a doctor for treatment.

One of my concerns is that I am required to have a physical exam twice a year.  In order to accomplish this I must travel the 60 miles to the Lufkin VA clinic two weeks in advance of my physical exam for blood work, and of course the 60 mile return trip, for a five-minute lab test.  I then have to make the 120 mile round trip two weeks later for the physical exam.  Many of the veterans I help in Sabine County cannot either physically make the trip to Lufkin or cannot financially afford the trip.

I recently was granted the opportunity to make a presentation on the VA Choice Card to our local Hospital Board.  Hospital Administrator Diana Taylor informed me that she has placed several phone calls and sent two emails to the VA within the past month requesting forms and other information to become eligible to participate in the program, but has received no response.

It is my understanding that there is only one local doctor that is eligible to participate in the program, but getting in to see him is a very lengthy process requiring the veteran to phone the VA and request an appointment with the local doctor; the veteran is then required to call the VA back in 5 to 7 days to find out when the appointment is scheduled with the local doctor; the appointment will likely be scheduled around 7 days away, with the total days spent now at 12 to 13 days; if a prescription is written by the doctor, it takes another 7 to 10 days to receive the medicine in the mail, making the total time thus far 19 to 23 days.

Common sense tells me that if a veteran has to wait up to 2 weeks for an appointment and 3 weeks before receiving medicine from the onset of their condition, the likelihood of the condition worsening, or become fatal, is a real possibility, requiring additional, and likely, more intense medical care.

The bureaucratic strings attached to the VA Choice Card are NOT helping veterans, but merely painting over and covering up systemic problems in a widely documented troubled agency.

Any assistance you can provide, not only to me but to all veterans to expedite their receipt of quality healthcare will be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Robert Kustermann

PO Box 74

Hemphill TX 75948

I ask that you send a copy of this letter to every Congress Person, Governor, State Representative and Senator if you can get their address. Knowing Bob for many years and the hundreds of hours of community service he and many other veterans provide are vital for our rural County. My personal thanks to them all for all of their service. 

Goodbye old friend, Sabine County Texas will miss your always smiling face and your willingness to give far more to help your fellow-man than you ever received. This old man will never forget you. You suffered far beyond normal and sadly forgotten by your own country. It appears to me that our Veterans Administration administers euthanasia successfully by just ignoring our veterans condition. If a regular hospital did this it would be called murder. C Brewer February 10, 2016

Clyde Brewer