Okay, what does war have to do with health? Simple, the men that are coming home will need health care and deserve that care. It is assumed that if you serve the country, the country does owe you for the injury that you occur, be it physical or mental.
I have worked in the VA, Veterans Administration, in the very office that determines if a man gets disability and medical care. What the government does to men, who did nothing but put their lives on the line for it, is disturbing. In every bureaucracy there is copious amounts of paperwork to fill out.
Some of our service men get frustrated with the paperwork, and they abandon the idea of getting help. If the man gets through the paperwork, then they have to hope the government has kept all of the records needed for the evaluation. After the evaluation, if the veteran qualifies, the VA will pay for a percentage of disability and cover the medical, but not before the acceptance. The process can take years and families suffer because the veteran is suffering.
In the office I worked in, I shredded copies of paperwork and cut up dental records. I was told these were not needed anymore. At the time I was working for the government I was only a work study. I was trying to use my father's benefits to get an education, so I never questioned what I was told to do.
The Veteran's Administration is simply underfunded currently. This administration determines eligibility and manages health care for our war veterans. This government office needs more funding.
Where is the money going to come from, to help our veterans get the help they need?
The war in Iraq is producing this future and current problem. This is not the veteran's fault, they deserve our respect and what was promised to them when they return.
