Posted on Aug 9, 2024
‘I Had a Body Part Repossessed’: Post-9/11 Amputee Vets Say VA Care Is Failing Them
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Posted in these groups: 
Disabled Veterans
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Disabled Veterans Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Posted 4 mo ago
Responses: 4
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From Utah to Tennessee to North Carolina, they say they are all experiencing similar frustrations with the dense bureaucracy and gaps in care for prosthetics and accessibility equipment provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Restivo has relied on duct tape and loaner legs since last year, awaiting repairs to a chip malfunction in his main prosthetic. Vendela bummed rides for months to the high school where he coaches football until a VA contractor finally installed the retrofits to help him drive his new truck. Brown was shocked when a vendor repossessed an ankle joint that improved his mobility
because he said the VA hadn’t paid the bill.
All three say it’s maddening being forced to repeatedly prove why they need the parts and spare prosthetics to live with comfort and mobility.
Restivo has relied on duct tape and loaner legs since last year, awaiting repairs to a chip malfunction in his main prosthetic. Vendela bummed rides for months to the high school where he coaches football until a VA contractor finally installed the retrofits to help him drive his new truck. Brown was shocked when a vendor repossessed an ankle joint that improved his mobility
because he said the VA hadn’t paid the bill.
All three say it’s maddening being forced to repeatedly prove why they need the parts and spare prosthetics to live with comfort and mobility.
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Cpl Vic Burk
Lt Col Charlie Brown That's just great. The V. A. doesn't pay the bill and the vendor repossess the ankle joint. Out of compassion if nothing else the vendor should have let him keep it and and re-submitted the claim to the V.A.
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Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen
Cpl Vic Burk While I totally agree we also must understand that compassion is not anything associated with medical vendors. They are one of the most dog-eat-dog money hungry industries out there.
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Cpl Vic Burk
Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen - You ain't kidding there Colonel. Hospitals will take the last cent a person has and then some if they can.
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Just another horror story from the VA. Sadly it's not new and not isolated.
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MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D.
All I can say is, I've been blessed to live in areas where I've gotten outstanding support from VA--with the exception of the SF Bay Area and Philadelphia . . .
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Lt Col Charlie Brown
Gentlemen, our Washington DC VA is so bad no one wants to use it. I won't even go there as a volunteer.
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This absolutely angers me and it's a prime reason for me to avoid any VA medical services.
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