Hero Getting Screwed?Found
this at
InDC Journal via
Schadenfreude:
War hero turned away by VA
Vernon Baker battled Nazis to win the Medal of Honor. Now, at 85, he’s battling red tape.
Baker, purportedly the only living black Medal of Honor winner from World War II, needed emergency surgery in September to remove a malignant tumor from his brain.
Healthy for much of his life, the Idaho resident had overlooked the need to enroll for Veterans Affairs and Medicare benefits. When his medical bills arrived, Baker and his wife were surprised to learn the government did not intend to help pay them.
Patients must enroll with the Department of Veterans Affairs to receive benefits, and cannot be reimbursed for costs incurred before their enrollment, said Roxanne Sisemore, spokeswoman for VA.
And although some Medicare coverage kicks in automatically when a person reaches retirement age, coverage to pay doctors’ bills also requires enrollment, said Peter Ashkenaz, a Medicare spokesman.
Residents of St. Maries, Idaho, are organizing a fund-raiser to pay thousands of dollars in medical bills Baker already owes.
Neighbor Marilyn Fletcher is organizing the March 19 fund-raiser.
Baker earned the Medal of Honor, according to Army records, for his courage and leadership in 1944.I am trying to contact Mrs Fletcher to find out if there is a bank account set up for this purpose and will update when I have more information.
