Americans regard them as heroes and protectors of our freedom, yet many believe the care and treatment of United States service men and women when they return home is questionable.
Most recently, there were allegations that the Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals manipulated their records to cover up treatment delays.
Matthew Gilbert, a Hoosier resident and honorably discharged from the U.S. Army in the late ‘60s, knows firsthand how veterans are treated.
“Veterans are treated poorly, but the whites are treated better than the Blacks. And compared to traditional health care, it’s not the same,” said Gilbert, who receives health care in Indiana, but has had to go to a VA hospital in Illinois because his local facility couldn’t treat the issue. “A lot of the doctors are medical students. I know you got to start somewhere, but they’re not always accurate. And I believe those medications are a lower grade than regular medications.”
Julie Webb, public affairs officer for the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center is aware of the current issues plaguing Veterans Affairs, however, she maintains that in Indiana it is on the up and up.
“We make sure veterans get quality care in a timely fashion,” said Webb. “We routinely monitor our current status to see what wait times are, see if we’ve got any delays or bottlenecks and if we find anything, we take aggressive action to ensure timely, quality care is provided.”
She adds that Indiana veterans’ mental health care and homeless outreach is satisfactory. The local VA offers same-day and 24-hour mental health care if needed and has strong partnerships with community providers found through the Veterans Crisis Line. Their homeless program emphasizes housing first and also helps those at risk of being homeless.
“We partner quite a bit with community agencies to provide services and we’ve actually increased the amount of services available to veterans,” said Webb.
Indiana may be actively working to help its veterans and their issues, however Odysseas Papadimitriou, CEO of WalletHub.com, a personal finance social network, said Indiana could stand to use more federal dollars to better serve its veterans.
“(Based on our studies) it seems as if the federal Veterans Administration is not investing in Indiana proportionately to the number of veterans it has,” said Papadimitriou.
A recent WalletHub study found that Indiana ranks 49 on the Worst States for Military Retirees list. The best states include Wyoming, New Hampshire, Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska.
The study compared the 50 states as well as the District of Columbia in terms of 18 key metrics – ranging from taxes on military benefits to veteran job opportunities and census data to data from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics – which collectively speak to the economic environment, health care services and overall quality of life in each area.
“A lot of states don’t tax military pensions. Indiana doesn’t fully tax it so there are deductions and benefits. In terms of veteran-owned businesses on a per-capita basis, Indiana ranks 42 and the same goes for veterans job opportunities, the state ranks 43. So those are other metrics that are holding Indiana back,” said Papadimitriou.
Another disadvantage is the number of veterans benefits administration facilities and health facilities for the number of veterans Indiana has. To put this into perspective, Papadimitriou said Virginia has the most veterans on a per capita basis, yet Wyoming has 10 times more VA health facilities.
Gilbert is currently awaiting benefits compensation from veterans’ affairs. After waiting four months in a Colorado hospital, in 1966 he received surgery on a stomach ulcer.
“You didn’t ask questions like you do now and you couldn’t go anywhere to get another opinion because you’re property of the government. They had a lot of control of you then,” said Gilbert.
As a result of the surgery, he now has dumping syndrome. He said after years of fighting, the compensation process began in 2011, however he has yet to receive any benefits.
Papadimitriou said it’s important to note that a wide number of veterans are in their early 40s – young enough to continue working and contribute to the local community as a productive civilian.
“Some of veterans issues can be solved on the state and local level, such as the job opportunities and helping employers understand the value these brave men and women bring to the table. Some of these issues stem from the fact that there needs to be a proportionate allocation of resources based on need rather than (political) influence,” said Papadimitriou.
For more information, call the Veterans Crisis line at 1-800-273-8255; the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center at (317) 554-0000 or visit indianapolis.va.gov; or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs at 1-877-222-VETS (8387) or VA.gov.
