VA fails to explain denial

A letter for the many victims of the Montana veterans Choice Program. This program is highly promoted as helping and saving veterans lives. As a Choice Program Veteran, I did not expect a nine-month battle trying to get my life-threatening 911 emergency ambulance and hospital treatment paid. I encountered numerous phone conversations and phone transfers, document preparation, faxing, travel meetings with a Veterans Advocate and experienced the most sophisticated, diplomatic put-off-run-around. The VA still denied payment so after months of frustration I submitted my Veterans Choice Program situation to Senator Jon Tester on October 1, 2018. I faxed all documents and communicated with the Senator’s office and after a month an official response was received from the VA.

So, all you Montana Choice Program veterans who can’t get your emergency or medical treatments paid, this is why…

A law was passed, they don’t advertise or want you to know about. Most people just give up and pay and don’t make waves. Through this experience even veteran advocates, support people and support groups did not have answers or given answers for non-payments, just “denied, denied, denied.”

The Veterans Millennium Healthcare and Benefits Act signed by the president on November 30, 1999. This allows the VA to deny many payments, like my husbands, under its regulations. (1) My veteran husband is 81 and has Medicare as secondary insurance, payment denied. (2) My veteran husband’s emergency ambulance, hospitalization and treatment was necessary and life saving treatment, not service related treatment, payment denied. (3) There are many other deniable payment criteria to this law. Google it. You will be surprised.

Regards,

Mickey L. Murphy, Thompson Falls