VETERAN’S ADMINISTRATION PART 2
Yesterday I told the story of how I escaped the Army, never to return. And then on Wednesday I did. I did because I had learned, I thought, that the State Veteran’s Home in nearby Black Mountain offers very good end of life care and I don’t have any longterm health insurance. I want to drop dead looking at the sunset and not in a longterm health care setting, but I am aware that if by bad luck I can’t drop dead suddenly and linger on year after year that I will not only bankrupt myself but can be a great burden to my family. I want to avoid this. The Veteran’s Home in Black Mountain, if I can get on the waiting list, will be much less expensive and won’t bankrupt me. I can molder away unnoticed.
So my first step was to get admitted to the Veteran’s Administration health care system and then after that to see if I could be put on the waiting list for the Black Mountain Veteran’s Home in the unfortunate possibility that I would need long term care.
I had tried once before about six years ago to be admitted to the VA system. The person who interviewed me had just been promoted from working in the hospital kitchen and didn’t seem to know what he was doing. He turned me down for having too much income.
But when I tried again with a more experienced interviewer two weeks ago I just squeaked in under the wire, just above the poverty level. I was photographed and am now the proud owner of a Veteran’s Admistration official card that looks just like a driver’s license.
And on Wednesday I had my first yearly visit with a very pleasant nurse and doctor who wrote down all my health information. I learned that I may get some drugs cheaper at the VA than on Medicare Part D and that I can get free eye exams and glasses and a free hearing test and hearing aid. But what I want is to get on the list for longterm care.
BILLYBABA’S WANDERING 