Care for all Veterans is not what you think. [View all]

[slater71]

I am a USAF veteran serving during the Viet Nam war. I was not in country but did serve four years during the war. I joined the VA back in 2000 but later after 9/11 I stepped back due to vets coming back from the middle east. I was still registered with them but did not use them. Fast forward to 2017 and I retired 1/1/18 from my job I am short 6 months from being 65. So I decided to go up to the local clinic to see if I could get coverage for the six months.
I met with a guy who checked my status and he said yes I was in the system. This was in October of 2017. He said just make a primary appointment and your good. He saw my cap and said I see you are a Viet Nam veteran. I said no, "I am a Viet Nam era veteran. I was not in country." He said "Oh, you were not in country." He than said did I ever fill out a household income form? I said no. He said well you will the first of the year. I asked him what is the household earning threshold and he asked me my zip code and he said the max income was 35,000 dollars.
I than asked him so what does this mean? Will I have to pay a higher deductible? I knew I would have to pay a deductible, but that was ok. He said do you make more than that? I said yes. He than said that I do not qualify for care because I am over the house hold income limit. I said you have got to be fuckin kidding me. He said sorry, that is the rule.
So the next time you hear a politician say we have to take care of our veterans, call them a fuckin liar for me. Thank you.