Re: [“Home From War, Vets Battle for Housing, Health Care,” March 20 – April 2]:

First and foremost, it should be noted that enrollees for VA Health Care can be seen by a primary care provider the same day they enroll for care, or within a period of time to be specified by them.

Health care coverage for any Iraq or Afghan returnee is an automatic entitlement for which they have qualified by virtue of their service to their country. They do not have to “prove” anything whatsoever, to anyone. VA Health Care providers stand ready to serve them.

Compensation benefit checks — an open-ended monthly check to compensate for a service-related disability — are something else. Compensation checks, whether they are issued by the Department of Defense, VA or the Social Security Administration, must be awarded based upon the filing of a claim, and the appropriate physical examinations to support them. There will be, inherent in the application and exam process, a delay between the time of application and the award of benefits.

In my view, the process will never be responsive enough to provide instantaneous support for someone who has no other means. That said, the process is, by nature, reactionary. Designed to be fiscally sound, and a means of basic support (not a windfall), there are many steps to the process. It just seems inherently disingenuous to call a group of applications awaiting disposition a “backlog.”  

Also important to keep in mind is the fact that compensation processes, rating schedules, payment amounts and cost of living increases are all dictated and mandated by Congress, not by VA, the Department of Defense or the Social Security Administration.

Why do I care about all this misinformation? Because as a service-connected disabled Marine veteran who waited 25 years to finally seek VA health care, I know only too well how false rumors and bad information can play on the fears of returning service members, sometimes delaying, for years, the health care they need, deserve and have earned.

I have been there and I plan to be here for my fellow veterans for as long as God is willing to keep me going.

James E. Connell, III

Director of Community & Government Relations, Bronx VA Hospital