WEBVTT 00:00:04.850 --> 00:00:08.630 All across America and around the world, this 00:00:08.630 --> 00:00:14.990 is Veterans Radio. This is Veterans Radio. And 00:00:14.990 --> 00:00:19.050 now, your host for today's program, Dale Throneberry. 00:00:21.929 --> 00:00:25.210 Welcome to Veterans Radio. My name is Dale Throneberry, 00:00:25.269 --> 00:00:28.030 and we're really excited to have you here today. 00:00:28.530 --> 00:00:30.530 We're going to be talking about a number of different 00:00:30.530 --> 00:00:32.649 things. It is our benefits program, and we've 00:00:32.649 --> 00:00:37.090 got kind of a... mishmash of little stories that 00:00:37.090 --> 00:00:38.429 we're going to be talking about. We're going 00:00:38.429 --> 00:00:40.750 to be starting off talking about a fundraiser 00:00:40.750 --> 00:00:42.929 here on our local area. Then we're going to be 00:00:42.929 --> 00:00:45.929 talking about some VA healthcare issues that 00:00:45.929 --> 00:00:48.149 are going on out there. And then we're going 00:00:48.149 --> 00:00:50.869 to be bringing on our experts on the benefits 00:00:50.869 --> 00:00:53.890 side, the veteran healthcare programs out there. 00:00:54.270 --> 00:00:56.710 So stick around, make sure that you pay attention. 00:00:56.729 --> 00:00:59.609 And we've got a lot of things going, as I said, 00:00:59.750 --> 00:01:03.880 mentioning for you today to talk about. And before 00:01:03.880 --> 00:01:06.319 we can get started with the actual program, we 00:01:06.319 --> 00:01:08.439 have to thank our sponsors, because without our 00:01:08.439 --> 00:01:11.299 sponsors, we wouldn't even be here. So we wanted 00:01:11.299 --> 00:01:13.700 to make sure that we thank Legal Help for Veterans, 00:01:13.799 --> 00:01:16.599 Legal Help for Veterans Specializes in Veterans 00:01:16.599 --> 00:01:19.530 Disability Claims. give Legal Help a call at 00:01:19.530 --> 00:01:24.629 800 -693 -4800 or go to their website LegalHelpForVeterans 00:01:24.629 --> 00:01:27.790 .com. The National Veterans Business Development 00:01:27.790 --> 00:01:31.370 Council, better known as NVBDC, is the nation's 00:01:31.370 --> 00:01:33.709 leading third -party authority for certification 00:01:33.709 --> 00:01:36.390 of veteran -owned businesses. For more information, 00:01:36.430 --> 00:01:39.609 go to their website, NVBDC .org, or give them 00:01:39.609 --> 00:01:45.900 a call at 888 -237 -8433. PuroClean, known as 00:01:45.900 --> 00:01:49.120 the paramedics of property damage. Each PuroClean 00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:51.640 office is independently owned and operated. In 00:01:51.640 --> 00:01:54.079 fact, PuroClean is one of the nation's leading 00:01:54.079 --> 00:01:57.760 restorations franchises, and veterans get 25 00:01:57.760 --> 00:02:00.900 % off franchise fee. For more information, go 00:02:00.900 --> 00:02:04.579 to puroclean .com. The Charles S. Kettles VA 00:02:04.579 --> 00:02:07.519 Medical Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. For more 00:02:07.519 --> 00:02:10.300 information for them, go to va .gov slash Ann 00:02:10.300 --> 00:02:13.099 Arbor Health Care. And finally, the Irwin Prescor 00:02:13.099 --> 00:02:16.879 in America. and Legion Post 46, and the Vietnam 00:02:16.879 --> 00:02:19.139 Veterans of America, the Charles S. Kettles, 00:02:19.240 --> 00:02:22.979 Chapter 310, both of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Hey, 00:02:23.039 --> 00:02:25.520 if you'd like to support Veterans Radio, here's 00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:28.620 your chance. Please go to our website, veteransradio 00:02:28.620 --> 00:02:32.159 .org and click on the donate button. Just a reminder 00:02:32.159 --> 00:02:34.900 that Veterans Radio is produced by Veterans Radio 00:02:34.900 --> 00:02:39.280 America, a 501c3 non -profit corporation. So 00:02:39.280 --> 00:02:42.560 your donations would be tax deductible. Yay, 00:02:42.780 --> 00:02:45.539 right? All right, so thank you very much for 00:02:45.539 --> 00:02:48.379 your support. Moving right along. All right, 00:02:48.400 --> 00:02:51.840 there's an event coming up locally this coming 00:02:51.840 --> 00:02:56.000 Thursday, and it's all about a local resident. 00:02:56.840 --> 00:03:01.039 His name is Bob Arvin, and Bob was a West Point 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:05.270 graduate. went to Vietnam, earned a Silver Star 00:03:05.270 --> 00:03:08.650 and unfortunately was killed over there. So we're 00:03:08.650 --> 00:03:11.110 doing a fundraiser this week and I've got two 00:03:11.110 --> 00:03:13.469 people from the organization. Let me make sure 00:03:13.469 --> 00:03:15.849 I get this right. Number one is Rebecca Euford. 00:03:16.629 --> 00:03:19.830 She is the past president of the West Point Parents 00:03:19.830 --> 00:03:22.889 Club of Michigan. And there was a documentary 00:03:22.889 --> 00:03:25.830 made about Bob Arvin. It's called Where the Brave 00:03:25.830 --> 00:03:28.409 Dare to Tread. And the producer is joining us 00:03:28.409 --> 00:03:30.729 also, and that's Brian Krueger. So Rebecca, I'm 00:03:30.729 --> 00:03:32.530 going to start off with you. Welcome to Veterans 00:03:32.530 --> 00:03:35.009 Radio. Thank you. Thank you very much for the 00:03:35.009 --> 00:03:37.669 invitation to be here. OK, so tell me what's 00:03:37.669 --> 00:03:43.729 coming up. Yes, on Thursday at 6 o 'clock, we 00:03:43.729 --> 00:03:47.169 have a reception and then a screening of the 00:03:47.169 --> 00:03:48.810 documentary that Brian's going to get to tell 00:03:48.810 --> 00:03:55.860 you about. Bob Arvin who was an Ypsilanti hometown 00:03:55.860 --> 00:03:59.780 hero, grew up in Ypsilanti and valedictorian 00:03:59.780 --> 00:04:03.120 of his high school class and headed off to West 00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:06.000 Point where he had a very distinguished career, 00:04:06.919 --> 00:04:10.520 earned a lot of awards while he was there including 00:04:10.520 --> 00:04:14.659 being the first captain which is sort of the 00:04:14.659 --> 00:04:20.240 highest ranking cadet at West Point. He graduated 00:04:20.240 --> 00:04:26.100 in 1965 and had a very distinguished career, 00:04:26.360 --> 00:04:33.420 albeit short, in the United States Army. In the 00:04:33.420 --> 00:04:35.199 short amount of time that he served, he made 00:04:35.199 --> 00:04:39.899 such an impression that West Point has built 00:04:39.899 --> 00:04:43.459 and named its Cadet Physical Development Center, 00:04:43.839 --> 00:04:46.639 which is the largest building on post 500 ,000 00:04:46.639 --> 00:04:51.040 square feet. It's named after Bob Arvin. So this 00:04:51.040 --> 00:04:56.500 guy is a real hero to our nation as well as here 00:04:56.500 --> 00:05:00.639 in Michigan. And this is the 60th anniversary 00:05:00.639 --> 00:05:06.920 of his graduation from West Point. And although 00:05:06.920 --> 00:05:10.620 I never knew Bob Arvin, it has been my honor 00:05:10.620 --> 00:05:13.379 to get to know some of his remarkable classmates 00:05:13.379 --> 00:05:18.730 from West Point. And I just wanted to do what 00:05:18.730 --> 00:05:21.089 we could at the West Point Parent Club of Michigan 00:05:21.089 --> 00:05:25.589 to make sure this story is told again for another 00:05:25.589 --> 00:05:30.810 generation. Well, it's an amazing story. And 00:05:30.810 --> 00:05:34.509 the documentary was made by Brian Krueger. Brian, 00:05:34.629 --> 00:05:37.149 welcome to Veterans Radio. Thanks, Dale. Thanks 00:05:37.149 --> 00:05:39.449 for having me on the show. Thank you for being 00:05:39.449 --> 00:05:45.779 here. This guy is really a unique. Was a really 00:05:45.779 --> 00:05:49.420 unique young man In addition to being you know, 00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:52.939 a local hometown boy makes good kind of story 00:05:52.939 --> 00:05:59.000 As even as a result of his his dying the legacy 00:05:59.000 --> 00:06:01.500 has continued on and that's where you come in 00:06:01.500 --> 00:06:03.980 because can you tell me a little bit about What 00:06:03.980 --> 00:06:07.560 you know of Bob and also your documentary? Yeah, 00:06:07.560 --> 00:06:13.839 so I also grew up in Ypsilanti and lived in Ypsilanti 00:06:13.839 --> 00:06:16.920 up until 1977 when my family moved to Chelsea. 00:06:17.060 --> 00:06:20.920 So I went to the same high school as Bob, and 00:06:20.920 --> 00:06:24.639 10 years later, after coming back from Chelsea, 00:06:24.699 --> 00:06:26.579 going to Eastern Michigan and becoming a teacher, 00:06:26.620 --> 00:06:29.639 I taught at Ypsilanti High School as well. So 00:06:29.639 --> 00:06:32.879 I have that in common with Bob. And over the 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:37.439 years, when I started my company in Buddy Morehouse 00:06:37.439 --> 00:06:40.980 and I, my writer, we started to make documentaries. 00:06:42.120 --> 00:06:45.699 We were approached by Kirk Prophet and Roy Wilbanks 00:06:45.699 --> 00:06:49.180 and some others who, and Roy Wilbanks knew and 00:06:49.180 --> 00:06:52.779 wrestled with Bob Arvin at Ypsilanti High School 00:06:52.779 --> 00:06:56.620 and Tino Lambros and some of Bob's friends. And 00:06:56.620 --> 00:06:58.540 they approached me, they were part of the Bob 00:06:58.540 --> 00:07:01.319 Arvin Foundation, which for years had raised 00:07:01.319 --> 00:07:04.040 money for Bob Arvin, for the Bob Arvin Foundation 00:07:04.040 --> 00:07:07.339 to give scholarship money to deserving high school 00:07:07.339 --> 00:07:09.860 students in the area. It was really successful. 00:07:09.920 --> 00:07:13.699 Over 100 kids received scholarship money in Bob's 00:07:13.699 --> 00:07:18.439 honor. Anyway, Kurt approached me and Roy Wilbanks, 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:20.579 Tino Lambrose said, hey, you've been making a 00:07:20.579 --> 00:07:22.740 lot of documentaries, some about Ypsilanti and 00:07:22.740 --> 00:07:25.079 a lot about Michigan. Why don't you make something 00:07:25.079 --> 00:07:28.839 about Bob? And at the time, I was involved in 00:07:28.839 --> 00:07:32.980 a film about Art Daris, Pinky Daris, out in Hamtramck. 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:34.959 And I thought, well, let me revisit this when 00:07:34.959 --> 00:07:38.379 I'm done with this. And I revisited it. And I 00:07:38.379 --> 00:07:40.639 almost didn't start it until I started thinking 00:07:40.639 --> 00:07:43.139 about the fact that you start losing these guys. 00:07:43.420 --> 00:07:46.779 over the years. And these guys are starting to 00:07:46.779 --> 00:07:48.600 get on and age a little bit. And I started to 00:07:48.600 --> 00:07:50.980 look more and more into Bob's story. And if you 00:07:50.980 --> 00:07:53.060 peel back the onion in Ipsy, it doesn't take 00:07:53.060 --> 00:07:55.819 too many layers to find Bob's story. So I started 00:07:55.819 --> 00:07:59.939 in on that project. And I'm so glad I did. Because 00:07:59.939 --> 00:08:03.660 it was about, I think it was 2015 I started on 00:08:03.660 --> 00:08:05.620 the project. And when you make a documentary 00:08:05.620 --> 00:08:08.459 like this, you get really involved in the community. 00:08:08.699 --> 00:08:11.920 and the people of whoever the subject is you're 00:08:11.920 --> 00:08:15.100 doing the movie on. And it has been an absolute 00:08:15.100 --> 00:08:18.040 honor to be involved with the people from West 00:08:18.040 --> 00:08:21.980 Point, starting with Walter Orline, who's been 00:08:21.980 --> 00:08:24.620 a huge part of making all of this go forward. 00:08:25.899 --> 00:08:29.259 So we made this film and I made it. That's the 00:08:29.259 --> 00:08:31.839 most unique movie I've ever made. It's a lot 00:08:31.839 --> 00:08:33.740 of the documentaries I made. I've had I've had 00:08:33.740 --> 00:08:35.840 them on PBS before and I major league baseball 00:08:35.840 --> 00:08:39.149 network. This one was a little different. I crafted 00:08:39.149 --> 00:08:42.850 this film for two audiences specifically. The 00:08:42.850 --> 00:08:45.490 one audience was for all of my friends in Ypsilanti 00:08:45.490 --> 00:08:48.129 and all of Bob's friends in Ypsilanti who knew 00:08:48.129 --> 00:08:51.330 him as the class president, the nicest guy in 00:08:51.330 --> 00:08:54.370 class, the head of the debate team in drama club, 00:08:54.789 --> 00:08:57.850 quarterback of the football team, all around 00:08:57.850 --> 00:09:01.230 kid and valedictorian. They knew that story and 00:09:01.230 --> 00:09:04.009 they knew that Bob. Then they went off to West 00:09:04.009 --> 00:09:07.320 Point. And the guys in Ypsilanti didn't really 00:09:07.320 --> 00:09:10.460 know much about Bob and West Point and Vietnam 00:09:10.460 --> 00:09:13.789 until unfortunately he was killed in 1967. So 00:09:13.789 --> 00:09:15.970 I made it for the group of Ypsilanti people to 00:09:15.970 --> 00:09:20.750 know Bob, to appreciate Bob. But I also made 00:09:20.750 --> 00:09:22.570 it for the West Point guys. So when Bob gets 00:09:22.570 --> 00:09:24.649 to West Point, they knew that he came from this 00:09:24.649 --> 00:09:26.649 goofy town that some of them couldn't pronounce. 00:09:27.429 --> 00:09:29.529 So it says, what's Ypsilanti? So I sort of made 00:09:29.529 --> 00:09:32.710 it for the West Point guys to understand Bob's 00:09:32.710 --> 00:09:35.450 Ypsilanti years. And I made it for the Ypsilanti 00:09:35.450 --> 00:09:40.590 crowd to understand his West Point years. And 00:09:40.590 --> 00:09:43.279 it's worked really well on that level. However, 00:09:43.620 --> 00:09:46.159 we started showing it around to high schools 00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:49.360 and to some communities outside of Ypsilanti 00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:53.120 and the story resonated. So when the movie came 00:09:53.120 --> 00:09:57.279 out, we donated a DVD to every library in the 00:09:57.279 --> 00:10:00.059 state of Michigan, to every public library in 00:10:00.059 --> 00:10:02.419 the state of Michigan through generous foundations 00:10:02.419 --> 00:10:05.740 that were all spearheaded by Walter Orline. But 00:10:05.740 --> 00:10:09.600 over the years, and really in the past, unfortunately, 00:10:09.700 --> 00:10:12.519 five years or so. I always audit where my movies 00:10:12.519 --> 00:10:16.039 end up. The libraries had either lost the DVDs 00:10:16.039 --> 00:10:20.679 or they had been destroyed. Just DVDs, they can 00:10:20.679 --> 00:10:23.019 disappear, they can be wrecked and all. So I'm 00:10:23.019 --> 00:10:28.320 going back through to all 397 library organizations, 00:10:28.419 --> 00:10:31.320 and there's over 600 libraries, but a lot of 00:10:31.320 --> 00:10:35.120 them are parts of organizations. I want to go 00:10:35.120 --> 00:10:39.769 through and make it available for streaming to 00:10:39.769 --> 00:10:42.269 all libraries in perpetuity. So this will be 00:10:42.269 --> 00:10:44.789 something that won't go bad, and they can always 00:10:44.789 --> 00:10:46.950 use it. And whoever goes into whatever library 00:10:46.950 --> 00:10:49.210 in the state of Michigan, they too can learn 00:10:49.210 --> 00:10:52.929 the story of Captain C. Robert Arvin, Captain 00:10:52.929 --> 00:10:56.049 Bob Arvin. So that's what this fundraiser is 00:10:56.049 --> 00:10:59.149 for on Thursday, is to try to create awareness 00:10:59.149 --> 00:11:02.250 for folks who want to donate to that, to get 00:11:02.250 --> 00:11:05.190 this film in all of the public libraries in the 00:11:05.190 --> 00:11:07.230 state of Michigan. And it's not just the streaming 00:11:07.230 --> 00:11:11.129 of the film, but it's also ancillary products 00:11:11.129 --> 00:11:15.669 from the film, telegrams, images, letters that 00:11:15.669 --> 00:11:18.129 didn't make the film cut, but are also part of 00:11:18.129 --> 00:11:20.750 that package. And it's really just to try to 00:11:20.750 --> 00:11:24.529 get Bob Arvin's name always solidified in the 00:11:24.529 --> 00:11:27.149 minds and the hearts of people of not only Ypsilanti, 00:11:27.210 --> 00:11:29.549 but the state of Michigan. And unfortunately, 00:11:29.570 --> 00:11:31.750 I think if I stopped 100 people in Ypsilanti 00:11:31.750 --> 00:11:34.389 right now and asked them who Bob Arvin was, maybe 00:11:34.389 --> 00:11:38.279 if I got five people, to know who he was, I would 00:11:38.279 --> 00:11:40.740 be amazed. And I want to change that. So that's 00:11:40.740 --> 00:11:43.080 what this is about. Well, that's a great worthwhile 00:11:43.080 --> 00:11:46.919 thing. And for those of us that live in the area, 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:51.440 there was a VFW over there. It was a Bob Arvin 00:11:51.440 --> 00:11:56.039 VFW. But unfortunately, like many other veterans 00:11:56.039 --> 00:11:58.139 organizations, we're starting to lose our members 00:11:58.139 --> 00:12:02.899 really rapidly. And it was forced to close. But 00:12:02.899 --> 00:12:06.879 the film itself is beautiful. Brian, I just want 00:12:06.879 --> 00:12:09.980 to make sure that I got that out. He uses drones 00:12:09.980 --> 00:12:13.620 like you wouldn't believe. These things are so 00:12:13.620 --> 00:12:16.659 cool. I mean, wherever you are in the country, 00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:19.940 this is the point I'm trying to make here, is 00:12:19.940 --> 00:12:25.519 that Bob Arvin is the classic, you know, kid 00:12:25.519 --> 00:12:28.360 from high school that's successful and you know 00:12:28.360 --> 00:12:31.419 is the valedictorian the coat you know the quarterback 00:12:31.419 --> 00:12:33.840 all these other things goes off to west point 00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:36.799 does exactly the same thing he's the you know 00:12:36.799 --> 00:12:40.539 the head guy of his class now he's got a building 00:12:40.539 --> 00:12:42.860 them you get a building named after you at west 00:12:42.860 --> 00:12:44.659 point that means you did something really special 00:12:44.659 --> 00:12:46.559 yeah when all the other buildings are named after 00:12:46.559 --> 00:12:49.240 guys like purging and eisenhower and grant things 00:12:49.240 --> 00:12:51.799 like that and then you've got the the arvin building 00:12:51.799 --> 00:12:54.379 which is the largest building on campus that 00:12:54.379 --> 00:12:56.740 turns your head a bit, and that makes you say, 00:12:56.740 --> 00:12:59.799 who was this guy? And that's why I think it's 00:12:59.799 --> 00:13:01.600 important for people of Ypsilanti to know that 00:13:01.600 --> 00:13:05.840 as well. But you're right. I got to tell you 00:13:05.840 --> 00:13:10.000 though, as astonished I was about Bob and everywhere 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:14.440 I turned, and those guys would be about 80 years 00:13:14.440 --> 00:13:17.659 old now. And like a lot of West Point, Grads 00:13:17.659 --> 00:13:19.720 over the years. They end up being captains of 00:13:19.720 --> 00:13:21.539 industry, you know So I found a lot of them in 00:13:21.539 --> 00:13:24.139 fortune 500 companies in the c -suites and all 00:13:24.139 --> 00:13:27.919 and to a man and a woman they would say that 00:13:27.919 --> 00:13:32.240 had Bob lived it They are just completely convinced 00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:33.820 that he would have been president of the United 00:13:33.820 --> 00:13:38.480 States. He was that guy he had he not only Drew 00:13:38.480 --> 00:13:41.639 the respect of everyone but he respected everyone 00:13:41.639 --> 00:13:44.059 and and that's that's sometimes a really really 00:13:44.059 --> 00:13:46.620 hard combination to get But I'll tell you one 00:13:46.620 --> 00:13:50.399 more thing. As astonished as I was with Bob, 00:13:50.519 --> 00:13:53.460 when I got to West Point and I got to meet all 00:13:53.460 --> 00:13:55.440 the cadets, not all the cadets, but a lot of 00:13:55.440 --> 00:13:57.419 the cadets at West Point, my wife and I were 00:13:57.419 --> 00:13:59.340 honored to be able to watch some of the parades. 00:13:59.440 --> 00:14:02.159 We sat in the superintendent's suite and watched 00:14:02.159 --> 00:14:03.940 it in the morning and watched all these cadets. 00:14:04.279 --> 00:14:07.200 When I met all of the cadets that I met, they're 00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:10.980 like Bob. So while Bob was very, very exceptional, 00:14:11.700 --> 00:14:16.339 the cadets at West Point are amazingly amazingly 00:14:16.339 --> 00:14:18.299 exceptional. And if you don't walk out of there 00:14:18.299 --> 00:14:20.360 more patriotic than when you walked in, there's 00:14:20.360 --> 00:14:22.960 something wrong with you. Well, that's a point. 00:14:23.100 --> 00:14:26.100 So now we want everybody to walk into the theater 00:14:26.100 --> 00:14:29.639 on Thursday night, which is the 8th. And where 00:14:29.639 --> 00:14:31.440 is it going to be, Rebecca? Where is this being 00:14:31.440 --> 00:14:35.980 held? At the Canton Imagine Theater on Ford Road. 00:14:37.299 --> 00:14:42.139 Yeah, it's easy to find. Imagine with an E. Imagine 00:14:42.139 --> 00:14:48.250 theater. Yeah, and I want to say that that Arvin's 00:14:48.250 --> 00:14:51.389 inspiration, you know, I got connected to this 00:14:51.389 --> 00:14:53.610 also through Walter Orline a couple of years 00:14:53.610 --> 00:14:57.750 ago. I was working an event and Walter stepped 00:14:57.750 --> 00:15:02.649 in and was very, very supportive there. And really 00:15:02.649 --> 00:15:06.610 it was through getting to know some of Bob Arvin's 00:15:06.610 --> 00:15:08.409 remarkable classmates that I've been motivated 00:15:08.409 --> 00:15:11.860 to you know, try to get this going. But one thing 00:15:11.860 --> 00:15:14.159 that has never been seen before that we're going 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:17.320 to show at the very end of this is the connection 00:15:17.320 --> 00:15:22.620 to the Long Gray Line. If you have any experience 00:15:22.620 --> 00:15:26.960 with West Point, you know that once a cadet graduates, 00:15:27.039 --> 00:15:30.120 they enter the Long Gray Line. So I have a son 00:15:30.120 --> 00:15:33.460 who graduated in 2022. He's now a member of the 00:15:33.460 --> 00:15:39.809 Long Gray Line. And the current Michigan cadets 00:15:39.809 --> 00:15:44.070 have a message for everyone that will be attending 00:15:44.070 --> 00:15:48.509 on Thursday. So I think it's just a great sort 00:15:48.509 --> 00:15:52.029 of connection and shows really that Bob Arvin's 00:15:52.029 --> 00:15:56.389 spirit is still with us today and inspiring. 00:15:56.769 --> 00:16:00.870 Yeah. Okay. Well, I think that we couldn't promote 00:16:00.870 --> 00:16:03.029 it any more than that. So we encourage people 00:16:03.029 --> 00:16:05.549 from all over Southeast Michigan, Northern Ohio, 00:16:05.730 --> 00:16:07.889 wherever you are, to come on over to Canton, 00:16:07.889 --> 00:16:11.350 Michigan to the Imagine Theater at six o 'clock 00:16:11.350 --> 00:16:17.389 on Thursday, the eighth of May to see the documentary 00:16:17.389 --> 00:16:19.929 called Where the Brave Dare to Tread, the Bob 00:16:19.929 --> 00:16:22.289 Arvin story. And I want to thank you both very 00:16:22.289 --> 00:16:24.610 much for coming. And maybe I'll see you there 00:16:24.610 --> 00:16:27.259 Thursday night. Thank you, Dale. And also, if 00:16:27.259 --> 00:16:29.799 I could mention one more thing. If you can't 00:16:29.799 --> 00:16:32.409 make the film... or the screening, but you'd 00:16:32.409 --> 00:16:35.269 like to donate to this cause, you can go to bobarvin 00:16:35.269 --> 00:16:39.610 .org. It's a website and you can learn all about 00:16:39.610 --> 00:16:42.629 Bob there. The images, the story, when he was 00:16:42.629 --> 00:16:46.330 at Vietnam, before he was at Vietnam. It's an 00:16:46.330 --> 00:16:48.570 interesting website and you can also donate to 00:16:48.570 --> 00:16:51.450 the cause. There's a donate to libraries button 00:16:51.450 --> 00:16:53.669 on every page. Just scroll down and you'll find 00:16:53.669 --> 00:16:56.389 it and you can make a donation to this cause 00:16:56.389 --> 00:17:00.200 as well and that's bobarvin .org. Okay. Thank 00:17:00.200 --> 00:17:03.159 you both very much. Thank you. Thanks for having 00:17:03.159 --> 00:17:06.740 us. All right. We're going to take a real quick 00:17:06.740 --> 00:17:10.680 break right now and play our Medal of Honor segment. 00:17:10.779 --> 00:17:13.299 And then when we come back, we are going to be 00:17:13.299 --> 00:17:19.180 talking with Russell Lemuel or Suzanne Gordon. 00:17:19.240 --> 00:17:20.599 And they're going to be talking about what's 00:17:20.599 --> 00:17:24.019 going on between the VA and private health care. 00:17:24.299 --> 00:17:26.480 So that's our message next. So stick around. 00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:29.759 You're listening to Veterans Radio. The Medal 00:17:29.759 --> 00:17:31.859 of Honor is the highest award for valor in combat 00:17:31.859 --> 00:17:33.680 given a member of the Armed Forces of the United 00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:36.640 States. There had been over 3 ,400 recipients 00:17:36.640 --> 00:17:39.859 of the nation's highest award. This is one of 00:17:39.859 --> 00:17:42.819 them. Chaplain Joseph O 'Callaghan administered 00:17:42.819 --> 00:17:46.160 to the wounded and dying, led firefighting crews, 00:17:46.500 --> 00:17:48.559 and directed the jettisoning of live ammunition 00:17:48.559 --> 00:17:53.390 from his stricken ship. Details after this. If 00:17:53.390 --> 00:17:55.710 you have a VA claim denied by the Board of Veterans' 00:17:55.910 --> 00:17:58.049 Appeals, contact Legal Help for Veterans at 1 00:17:58.049 --> 00:18:02.369 -800 -693 -4800. They're experts in handling 00:18:02.369 --> 00:18:04.670 cases before the U .S. Court of Appeals for Veterans' 00:18:04.910 --> 00:18:08.849 claims. Their number again, 1 -800 -693 -4800. 00:18:09.450 --> 00:18:11.950 Why do I serve in the U .S. Navy? For freedom. 00:18:12.309 --> 00:18:14.849 Freedom of religion. What America stands for. 00:18:15.049 --> 00:18:17.470 Why do I serve in the U .S. Navy? For honor. 00:18:17.809 --> 00:18:20.099 Everybody. and watch out for everybody. Freedom 00:18:20.099 --> 00:18:23.619 to vote. Democracy. Freedom to go outside and 00:18:23.619 --> 00:18:25.980 play with my kids. I joined the Navy to serve 00:18:25.980 --> 00:18:28.599 my country. Every freedom that we have. The right 00:18:28.599 --> 00:18:31.079 to raise our kids in peace. My little brother. 00:18:31.319 --> 00:18:34.220 My wife. My kids. Our children's children. The 00:18:34.220 --> 00:18:36.859 United States Navy. It's not for ourselves alone 00:18:36.859 --> 00:18:39.779 that we serve. O 'Callaghan was serving as chaplain 00:18:39.779 --> 00:18:42.599 on board the USS Franklin when that vessel was 00:18:42.599 --> 00:18:44.720 fiercely attacked by enemy Japanese aircraft. 00:18:45.539 --> 00:18:47.779 Calmly braving the barriers of fire and twisted 00:18:47.779 --> 00:18:50.859 metal to aid his men and his ship, O 'Callaghan 00:18:50.859 --> 00:18:52.680 groped his way through smoke -filled quarters 00:18:52.680 --> 00:18:55.279 to the open flight deck and into the midst of 00:18:55.279 --> 00:18:57.839 violently exploding bombs, shells, rockets and 00:18:57.839 --> 00:19:01.059 other armament. With the ship rocked by incessant 00:19:01.059 --> 00:19:03.400 explosions, with debris and fragments raining 00:19:03.400 --> 00:19:05.900 down and fires raging in ever -increasing fury, 00:19:06.460 --> 00:19:08.839 he ministered to the wounded and dying, comforting 00:19:08.839 --> 00:19:11.819 and encouraging men of all faiths. He organized 00:19:11.819 --> 00:19:14.279 and led firefighting crews into the blazing inferno 00:19:14.279 --> 00:19:16.940 on the flight deck. He directed the jettisoning 00:19:16.940 --> 00:19:19.599 of live ammunition and the flooding of the magazine. 00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:23.279 He manned a hose to cool hot armed bombs rolling 00:19:23.279 --> 00:19:25.880 dangerously on the listing deck, continuing his 00:19:25.880 --> 00:19:28.339 efforts despite searing, suffocating smoke which 00:19:28.339 --> 00:19:31.440 forced men to fall back gasping. O 'Callaghan 00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:33.299 inspired the officers and men of the Franklin 00:19:33.299 --> 00:19:36.059 to fight heroically and with profound faith in 00:19:36.059 --> 00:19:38.500 the face of almost certain death and to return 00:19:38.500 --> 00:19:41.119 their stricken ship to port. The Medal of Honor 00:19:41.119 --> 00:19:44.720 series is a production of Veterans Radio. Military 00:19:44.720 --> 00:19:47.019 veterans touch everyone's life. I'm guessing 00:19:47.019 --> 00:19:49.619 right now you're thinking of a veteran, a close 00:19:49.619 --> 00:19:53.519 friend, relative. Maybe it's you. Even the toughest 00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:56.099 of us sometimes need help but don't know where 00:19:56.099 --> 00:19:58.660 to turn for support. You don't need special training 00:19:58.660 --> 00:20:00.960 to help a veteran in your life. We can all help 00:20:00.960 --> 00:20:03.180 someone going through a difficult time. Learn 00:20:03.180 --> 00:20:06.720 how you can be there for veterans. Visit veteranscrisisline 00:20:06.720 --> 00:20:10.839 .net. Veteranscrisisline .net. a message from 00:20:10.839 --> 00:20:17.140 the U .S. Department of Veterans Affairs. And 00:20:17.140 --> 00:20:20.220 we're back here on Veterans Radio. I don't know 00:20:20.220 --> 00:20:23.240 where all of you get your information about what's 00:20:23.240 --> 00:20:25.519 going on in the military or what's going on in 00:20:25.519 --> 00:20:30.140 the VA, but I get this feed every day, it seems 00:20:30.140 --> 00:20:33.460 like, from an organization called military .com. 00:20:33.940 --> 00:20:37.779 And there was an article in there just this last 00:20:37.779 --> 00:20:41.519 week that was talking about some of the problems 00:20:41.519 --> 00:20:45.059 that the VA is having, of course, with what's 00:20:45.059 --> 00:20:47.619 going on out there, because people don't really 00:20:47.619 --> 00:20:49.579 know exactly what is going to happen with the 00:20:49.579 --> 00:20:54.380 VA in the near future. But anyway, the issue 00:20:54.380 --> 00:20:57.920 was with the community health plan, where the 00:20:57.920 --> 00:21:02.220 director of the VA wants to, I don't know what 00:21:02.220 --> 00:21:04.960 you want to call it, shift more of the care for 00:21:04.960 --> 00:21:08.220 veterans into private networks. And so we brought 00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:11.220 two people on that wrote an article about this, 00:21:11.380 --> 00:21:14.460 and they are from the Veterans Healthcare Policy 00:21:14.460 --> 00:21:17.119 Institute, which is a nonpartisan think tank. 00:21:17.259 --> 00:21:20.099 We've got Suzanne Gordon, who is a senior policy 00:21:20.099 --> 00:21:23.559 analyst, and Russell, can you pronounce your 00:21:23.559 --> 00:21:27.559 last name, Russell? Happy to, it's Lemley. Lemley, 00:21:27.799 --> 00:21:30.279 okay, Russell Lemley, he's also a senior policy 00:21:30.279 --> 00:21:33.700 analyst. I want to welcome you both to the program, 00:21:33.859 --> 00:21:37.279 Suzanne and Russell. Well, we're delighted to 00:21:37.279 --> 00:21:41.380 be here. Thanks so much for the invite Okay So 00:21:41.380 --> 00:21:45.119 Suzanne, I wanted to ask you the about the article 00:21:45.119 --> 00:21:48.660 about what you feel like is happening at the 00:21:48.660 --> 00:21:53.779 VA now with their possible shift in care Well, 00:21:53.880 --> 00:21:56.380 I'm gonna I'm gonna bat that over to Russell 00:21:56.380 --> 00:21:59.119 and and then I'll I'll talk afterwards because 00:21:59.119 --> 00:22:03.559 I think he has led this project I'm looking at 00:22:03.529 --> 00:22:07.809 the argument that the VA Secretary Doug Collins 00:22:07.809 --> 00:22:11.609 is starting to make that the Veterans Community 00:22:11.609 --> 00:22:15.230 Care Program that was started by the VA Mission 00:22:15.230 --> 00:22:18.170 Act to outsource care to the private sector is 00:22:18.170 --> 00:22:21.930 now more cost -effective and often, and he would 00:22:21.930 --> 00:22:25.170 say, maybe even quality -effective than the VA. 00:22:25.630 --> 00:22:29.329 And I sort of think Russell should begin the 00:22:29.329 --> 00:22:32.779 conversation. I'll be glad to chime in. Even 00:22:32.779 --> 00:22:37.779 though my name is easier to pronounce. Yes, it 00:22:37.779 --> 00:22:40.220 is. Thank you. All right, Russell, let me tell 00:22:40.220 --> 00:22:43.140 the audience. Yeah, I think there's a couple 00:22:43.140 --> 00:22:45.720 ways to kind of dive into your question because 00:22:45.720 --> 00:22:50.079 one has to do with out of the attempt to create 00:22:50.079 --> 00:22:53.539 what are quote unquote more efficiencies at the 00:22:53.539 --> 00:22:59.079 VA. There's a plan. underway to cut 80 ,000 positions 00:22:59.079 --> 00:23:02.579 from the entire department, and we can assume 00:23:02.579 --> 00:23:05.299 tens of thousands of those in the Veterans Health 00:23:05.299 --> 00:23:08.220 Administration. The exact number of those hasn't 00:23:08.220 --> 00:23:12.500 been revealed yet, but 80 ,000 positions overall. 00:23:14.099 --> 00:23:16.519 So part of it is we can think what happens to 00:23:16.519 --> 00:23:20.319 care that's delivered after those cuts happen, 00:23:20.740 --> 00:23:23.339 and that's part of your question. And then there's 00:23:23.339 --> 00:23:26.359 other ways of thinking about the same issue, 00:23:26.640 --> 00:23:31.079 which is kind of the deliberate attempt to shift 00:23:31.079 --> 00:23:34.940 more of healthcare out of the VA and into the 00:23:34.940 --> 00:23:38.140 private sector, which is even independent of 00:23:38.140 --> 00:23:40.240 whether or not there is 80 ,000 positions cut 00:23:40.240 --> 00:23:42.960 or not, because Suzanne and I have been documenting 00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:47.640 this actually for going on nine years where we've 00:23:47.640 --> 00:23:52.119 seen a 15 to 20 percent increase in the private 00:23:52.119 --> 00:23:56.799 sector budget of handling kind of healthcare 00:23:56.799 --> 00:23:59.819 for veterans. And that increase has continued 00:23:59.819 --> 00:24:03.119 unabated really for many years. So this is just 00:24:03.119 --> 00:24:05.059 continuing a trend that's already been well underway. 00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:10.700 Well, the issue I guess that I got from your 00:24:10.700 --> 00:24:14.759 article in military .com was that the... you 00:24:14.759 --> 00:24:17.799 know, the Community Access Act is, you know, 00:24:17.799 --> 00:24:20.339 it's not a bad idea. It's for the veterans who 00:24:20.339 --> 00:24:24.220 cannot get to their local VA hospital, you know, 00:24:24.279 --> 00:24:26.299 all the time, because, you know, there aren't 00:24:26.299 --> 00:24:28.619 hundreds and hundreds of VA hospitals out there. 00:24:29.000 --> 00:24:31.000 But the thing that looks like what you're pointing 00:24:31.000 --> 00:24:34.019 out is that it actually is going to cost more. 00:24:34.500 --> 00:24:37.519 Right. Yeah. So they go to private physicians. 00:24:38.380 --> 00:24:40.680 Yeah, I totally agree with both parts of what 00:24:40.680 --> 00:24:44.269 you're saying. So we start acknowledging that 00:24:44.269 --> 00:24:47.250 community care is a necessary supplement to what 00:24:47.250 --> 00:24:50.289 the VA offers. What many people don't realize 00:24:50.289 --> 00:24:54.410 is that's been true for almost the entire history 00:24:54.410 --> 00:24:58.089 of the VA. It used to be called P -Basis before 00:24:58.089 --> 00:25:02.349 2014 and it morphed into being called Choice 00:25:02.349 --> 00:25:05.170 and then into what it's called now in terms of 00:25:05.170 --> 00:25:09.019 community care. So there's always been that option 00:25:09.019 --> 00:25:12.819 for veterans that live too far away or it would, 00:25:14.119 --> 00:25:17.079 a service that they need is not available, either 00:25:17.079 --> 00:25:20.059 at all or in a very timely way. What's happened 00:25:20.059 --> 00:25:26.180 instead is something in terms of the outsourcing 00:25:26.180 --> 00:25:30.000 and referral to the community, which is necessary, 00:25:30.359 --> 00:25:35.509 is beginning to... increase at such a rapid rate 00:25:35.509 --> 00:25:39.549 is that it essentially threatens the future of 00:25:39.549 --> 00:25:42.650 the VA as it now exists. And your second point, 00:25:42.730 --> 00:25:45.329 which is that it's been well documented that 00:25:45.329 --> 00:25:48.049 the quality of care that's offered in the VA 00:25:48.049 --> 00:25:51.029 is as good or better than what's offered in the 00:25:51.029 --> 00:25:53.529 community for the vast majority of conditions 00:25:53.529 --> 00:25:57.069 in which veterans are referred. If we look at 00:25:57.069 --> 00:26:00.609 the serious outcomes around 30 -day mortality, 00:26:01.599 --> 00:26:07.180 for veterans who are treated in community facilities 00:26:07.180 --> 00:26:10.140 versus VA is that the VA has come out better 00:26:10.140 --> 00:26:12.880 and that's well documented in the piece that 00:26:12.880 --> 00:26:17.460 you just cited. So the quality metrics is that 00:26:17.460 --> 00:26:20.059 the VA just as consistently as good or better 00:26:20.059 --> 00:26:24.839 and then if you look at cost is that over half 00:26:24.839 --> 00:26:29.059 a dozen different conditions from cardiac conditions 00:26:29.059 --> 00:26:33.920 and surgeries to insomnia and many other medical 00:26:33.920 --> 00:26:36.539 conditions is that when you do a head -to -head 00:26:36.539 --> 00:26:39.119 comparison, is that the cost in the community 00:26:39.119 --> 00:26:42.359 tends to be higher in part because there are 00:26:42.359 --> 00:26:48.039 more procedures and more appointments and more 00:26:48.039 --> 00:26:50.900 hospitalizations and so forth that are questionable 00:26:50.900 --> 00:26:53.140 in terms of whether they're needed. But since 00:26:53.140 --> 00:26:55.450 they are reimbursed, there's an incentive in 00:26:55.450 --> 00:26:58.309 the community to offer kind of more care that 00:26:58.309 --> 00:27:03.210 costs more. And can I ask, when they are reimbursed, 00:27:03.329 --> 00:27:05.769 I'm not familiar because I'm fortunate enough 00:27:05.769 --> 00:27:08.950 that I don't need to, you know, go outside the 00:27:08.950 --> 00:27:13.869 VA health care system at all. But is there anything 00:27:13.869 --> 00:27:17.990 that that limits what an outside physician can 00:27:17.990 --> 00:27:23.450 charge for whatever it is? Versus or is it or 00:27:23.450 --> 00:27:26.269 do they just submit their bill and there's no 00:27:26.269 --> 00:27:29.930 negotiation back and forth? You know the short 00:27:29.930 --> 00:27:32.509 answer for that and Suzanne obviously pick up 00:27:32.509 --> 00:27:37.230 to augment is that yes, there is definitely a 00:27:37.230 --> 00:27:42.890 a Cost that is already determined for a certain 00:27:42.890 --> 00:27:46.769 procedure what there is not a limit on though 00:27:46.769 --> 00:27:50.890 is what it is that you bill for, how many times 00:27:50.890 --> 00:27:53.490 you bill. In other words, that kind of utilization 00:27:53.490 --> 00:27:56.690 review is not contained, even though an individual 00:27:56.690 --> 00:27:59.769 procedure has a known reimbursement attached 00:27:59.769 --> 00:28:01.230 to it, which is, I think, what your question 00:28:01.230 --> 00:28:04.250 was. Yeah, it's sort of like, you know, if you 00:28:04.250 --> 00:28:07.890 go to the doctor and you have Blue Cross, Blue 00:28:07.890 --> 00:28:10.990 Cross will only pay the doctor X amount for whatever 00:28:10.990 --> 00:28:14.170 it is, that treatment. And I was wondering if 00:28:14.170 --> 00:28:18.019 the VA does the same thing. Yes, Suzanne, is 00:28:18.019 --> 00:28:20.359 there anything you want to add to that? Can you 00:28:20.359 --> 00:28:24.400 hear me? Yeah, we can. You're a little bit low. 00:28:25.920 --> 00:28:31.279 Yeah, I think there's a couple issues here that 00:28:31.279 --> 00:28:34.819 Russell was trying to articulate. So let me give 00:28:34.819 --> 00:28:40.359 you an example. Although there are limits to 00:28:40.359 --> 00:28:42.859 the rates that these private sector providers 00:28:42.859 --> 00:28:46.700 are paid, which is essentially Medicare rates, 00:28:46.970 --> 00:28:50.430 There's no real utilization review, as there 00:28:50.430 --> 00:28:54.309 are in other systems, of what they can recommend 00:28:54.309 --> 00:29:00.549 or what procedures they deliver. So, for example, 00:29:01.890 --> 00:29:05.109 you know, veterans, the biggest form of cancer 00:29:05.109 --> 00:29:09.009 that veterans have is prostate cancer. The standard 00:29:09.009 --> 00:29:13.029 of care for what is called clinically insignificant 00:29:13.029 --> 00:29:16.589 prostate cancer which is, you know, essentially 00:29:16.589 --> 00:29:18.569 prostate cancer that's not going to kill you. 00:29:18.630 --> 00:29:21.089 You're more likely to get hit by a bus or die 00:29:21.089 --> 00:29:24.329 of pneumonia than prostate cancer. The standard 00:29:24.329 --> 00:29:27.490 recommended treatment of care is what we call 00:29:27.490 --> 00:29:30.910 watchful waiting. That means you just monitor, 00:29:30.910 --> 00:29:36.309 you know, PSA levels and so forth. In the VA, 00:29:36.829 --> 00:29:39.509 studies have documented it's actually the only 00:29:39.509 --> 00:29:43.279 healthcare system in America that uses standard 00:29:43.279 --> 00:29:45.940 of care and if you are Joe Smith and you have 00:29:45.940 --> 00:29:50.099 prostate cancer because of Agent Orange or whatever, 00:29:51.480 --> 00:29:54.019 you know, and you go to the VA and it's clinically 00:29:54.019 --> 00:29:56.900 insignificant, they will monitor it. If you go 00:29:56.900 --> 00:29:59.500 to the private sector through the Veterans Community 00:29:59.500 --> 00:30:04.619 Care Program, they are much more likely to give 00:30:04.619 --> 00:30:08.680 you invasive radiation treatment or even surgery. 00:30:08.960 --> 00:30:12.779 Now, and that's not because it's better for you, 00:30:12.900 --> 00:30:15.640 it's because it's better for their bottom line. 00:30:16.059 --> 00:30:20.700 That is actually unethical and really a patient 00:30:20.700 --> 00:30:24.000 safety violation, but that is standard in the 00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:28.359 private sector because it's more lucrative. Ditto, 00:30:28.539 --> 00:30:35.880 if you go with a shoulder, knee, hip pain issue, 00:30:36.200 --> 00:30:40.519 you're much more likely to get expensive surgery 00:30:40.519 --> 00:30:43.900 than you are at the VA where you're more likely 00:30:43.900 --> 00:30:49.619 to get PT. And this is in part because there's 00:30:49.619 --> 00:30:53.819 no utilization review and because the financial 00:30:53.819 --> 00:30:57.700 incentives in the private sector are profit -driven, 00:30:57.920 --> 00:31:00.619 not mission -driven, and the financial incentives 00:31:00.619 --> 00:31:04.460 in the VA are mission driven, not profit driven. 00:31:04.740 --> 00:31:07.759 There's absolutely no reason for a surgeon in 00:31:07.759 --> 00:31:14.319 the VA, you know, who is paid by salary to recommend 00:31:14.319 --> 00:31:18.359 an unnecessary operation. It does not go, it 00:31:18.359 --> 00:31:22.480 does not enhance his income whatsoever. And I 00:31:22.480 --> 00:31:25.240 think veterans need to understand this, you know, 00:31:25.599 --> 00:31:28.720 because it's, you know, we have a tendency, I 00:31:28.720 --> 00:31:31.710 think, all of us to think the grass is greener 00:31:31.710 --> 00:31:37.329 somewhere else. And it's not, and very often, 00:31:37.809 --> 00:31:40.670 and while not every private sector provider does 00:31:40.670 --> 00:31:43.650 this, but there's just a financial incentive 00:31:43.650 --> 00:31:48.349 in the private sector to do more. You know, give 00:31:48.349 --> 00:31:51.250 you unnecessary treatments, unnecessary medication. 00:31:52.269 --> 00:31:56.609 Private sector cancer doctors mark up their chemotherapy 00:31:56.609 --> 00:32:00.190 drugs. They're allowed to. So if they have a 00:32:00.190 --> 00:32:03.089 financial incentive to give you that extra round 00:32:03.089 --> 00:32:06.410 of futile chemotherapy, because they make money 00:32:06.410 --> 00:32:09.009 not only for administering the drug, but from 00:32:09.009 --> 00:32:14.009 a markup for the drug. Well, you know, that's 00:32:14.009 --> 00:32:15.930 that's kind of discouraging when you when you 00:32:15.930 --> 00:32:18.549 think about that. But as you were talking to 00:32:18.549 --> 00:32:21.910 us, you know, at our particular VA, we have an 00:32:21.910 --> 00:32:25.470 agreement with the University of Michigan. You 00:32:25.470 --> 00:32:28.119 know, they they come and they they handle a lot 00:32:28.119 --> 00:32:31.140 of the specialties. And I know many VA hospitals 00:32:31.140 --> 00:32:39.359 work that way. So we don't get experimented on, 00:32:39.859 --> 00:32:42.900 I don't think. I never felt that way. The one 00:32:42.900 --> 00:32:46.460 thing about the VA healthcare system that I found 00:32:46.460 --> 00:32:50.619 is that it is so specific to the veteran community. 00:32:51.000 --> 00:32:54.200 you know, they know our tendencies, they know 00:32:54.200 --> 00:32:58.900 that many of us have very similar issues, whether 00:32:58.900 --> 00:33:02.079 they're results of injuries, you know, during 00:33:02.079 --> 00:33:05.319 combat or if they're post -traumatic stress disorders 00:33:05.319 --> 00:33:10.039 and so on and so forth, that maybe the outside 00:33:10.039 --> 00:33:13.519 world cannot, doesn't treat quite as effectively. 00:33:13.779 --> 00:33:18.200 Does that make sense? He's the one of you. Yeah, 00:33:18.259 --> 00:33:21.019 I mean, Russell can speak to this in mental health 00:33:21.019 --> 00:33:25.259 very adequate. I mean, effectively, I mean, if 00:33:25.259 --> 00:33:28.640 100 % of your patient population is veterans, 00:33:29.480 --> 00:33:32.000 then you're going to find out a lot about veterans 00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:35.240 in order to care for them. In the private sector, 00:33:35.240 --> 00:33:39.339 under the VCCP or any other plan, veterans would 00:33:39.339 --> 00:33:43.599 represent something like 3 % of the patient population 00:33:43.599 --> 00:33:47.630 of a one to actually probably one to 5 % of the 00:33:47.630 --> 00:33:50.390 patient population of an average like, you know, 00:33:50.690 --> 00:33:52.849 primary care doctor specialist. So that means 00:33:52.849 --> 00:33:57.150 that that oncologist or part doctor or primary 00:33:57.150 --> 00:33:59.509 care doctor might have five veteran patients 00:33:59.509 --> 00:34:04.029 or maybe 100 veteran patients out of 2100. And 00:34:04.029 --> 00:34:06.910 it's just, it doesn't make sense. They're very 00:34:06.910 --> 00:34:10.289 overburdened the way they are. And it just doesn't 00:34:10.289 --> 00:34:13.510 make sense for them to dedicate the hour after 00:34:13.510 --> 00:34:16.550 hour after hour that someone like Russell who 00:34:16.550 --> 00:34:19.389 worked in the VA taking care of veterans dedicated. 00:34:19.809 --> 00:34:23.429 I mean, for five patients or 100 patients, I 00:34:23.429 --> 00:34:26.889 mean, and I mean, I think Russell can talk really 00:34:26.889 --> 00:34:30.210 effectively about, you know, the mental health 00:34:30.210 --> 00:34:33.829 conditions that I think it's over 50 % of veterans 00:34:33.829 --> 00:34:39.710 have, and there's absolutely no requirement that. 00:34:39.840 --> 00:34:43.219 you know, non -VA mental health providers paid 00:34:43.219 --> 00:34:46.400 for by our tax dollars to take care of veterans. 00:34:46.800 --> 00:34:49.139 There's no requirement that they learn anything 00:34:49.139 --> 00:34:51.840 about, you know, veterans' mental health conditions, 00:34:51.860 --> 00:34:55.320 which, you know, Russell spent 37 years or 38 00:34:55.320 --> 00:34:59.000 years learning how to deal with. Well, that is 00:34:59.000 --> 00:35:01.039 true, because, Russell, I didn't get a chance 00:35:01.039 --> 00:35:03.179 to mention that you worked for the San Francisco 00:35:03.179 --> 00:35:06.699 VA health care system as a chief psychologist. 00:35:07.119 --> 00:35:10.090 So I guess you know a little bit about treating 00:35:10.090 --> 00:35:15.630 mental health issues for veterans. I guess I 00:35:15.630 --> 00:35:18.710 guess my question for the for the two of you 00:35:18.710 --> 00:35:21.289 could kind of wrap it up is that, you know, we 00:35:21.289 --> 00:35:24.630 really want to encourage our veterans to utilize 00:35:24.630 --> 00:35:27.869 the VA health system. Otherwise, they will find 00:35:27.869 --> 00:35:32.250 the powers that be will find ways of transforming 00:35:32.250 --> 00:35:42.190 it. Would you would you not agree to that? It's 00:35:42.190 --> 00:35:47.269 a qualified yes, of course, because for almost 00:35:47.269 --> 00:35:49.809 any condition, the VA is going to be as good 00:35:49.809 --> 00:35:51.409 or better. And the ones that you mentioned a 00:35:51.409 --> 00:35:53.489 few minutes ago that are very veteran -specific, 00:35:53.650 --> 00:35:56.349 the VA is unquestionably going to give you better 00:35:56.349 --> 00:36:00.090 care. It's going to be more evidence -based. 00:36:00.710 --> 00:36:05.170 It's a requirement in the VA system that every 00:36:05.170 --> 00:36:09.650 single VA medical center in large CBAC have staff 00:36:09.650 --> 00:36:14.389 who have had very sophisticated training in things 00:36:14.389 --> 00:36:16.409 like what you were saying in terms of PTSD that 00:36:16.409 --> 00:36:19.769 just doesn't exist elsewhere. So for many conditions, 00:36:20.969 --> 00:36:24.690 it's easy to say that it is worth waiting if 00:36:24.690 --> 00:36:28.329 you want the best care, but that's not always 00:36:28.329 --> 00:36:30.329 what is the most important to somebody. They 00:36:30.329 --> 00:36:32.429 may not want the best care or they may not want 00:36:32.429 --> 00:36:37.670 to wait. I think the... First part of your comment 00:36:37.670 --> 00:36:41.030 is in terms of if there's interest in saving 00:36:41.030 --> 00:36:44.449 The VA as a system and we should be thinking 00:36:44.449 --> 00:36:47.070 about that because it is in jeopardy There's 00:36:47.070 --> 00:36:49.630 a lot more than just going to get your care there. 00:36:49.630 --> 00:36:52.130 I mean there's ways in which you can have your 00:36:52.130 --> 00:36:59.530 voices heard in many respects to indicate that 00:37:00.510 --> 00:37:03.809 for you as an individual veteran that you already 00:37:03.809 --> 00:37:08.230 do rely on the VA and you don't want to see developments 00:37:08.230 --> 00:37:15.210 that are continuing really as we speak that could 00:37:15.210 --> 00:37:18.429 wind up with many inpatient and emergency room 00:37:18.429 --> 00:37:22.710 facilities defunded and that care really transferred 00:37:22.710 --> 00:37:25.969 automatically to the community because that becomes 00:37:25.969 --> 00:37:31.349 policy. This is a subject that I think I would 00:37:31.349 --> 00:37:33.150 really like to have you folks back on to talk 00:37:33.150 --> 00:37:37.050 about more again in the future. And I know that 00:37:37.050 --> 00:37:39.090 Russell, you have talked to my partner for a 00:37:39.090 --> 00:37:41.670 podcast coming up later on in the month. I'm 00:37:41.670 --> 00:37:45.550 not sure what your topic is, but because I think 00:37:45.550 --> 00:37:48.369 it's important. I don't see the VA actually eliminating 00:37:48.369 --> 00:37:52.429 80 ,000 jobs. I mean, they probably could find 00:37:52.429 --> 00:37:55.889 some waste in there. But, you know, sometimes 00:37:55.889 --> 00:37:58.110 these people just throw out numbers just to scare 00:37:58.110 --> 00:38:00.949 us, I think. but I don't think they're gonna 00:38:00.949 --> 00:38:03.989 get rid of that. Maybe I'm being very naive, 00:38:04.670 --> 00:38:07.909 but I think that... I think we've got to figure 00:38:07.909 --> 00:38:12.289 out how to support what is going on. Secretary 00:38:12.289 --> 00:38:14.650 Collins was in Michigan just last week and had 00:38:14.650 --> 00:38:17.829 brave reviews for all of the VA hospitals in 00:38:17.829 --> 00:38:20.409 Michigan and what we do and, you know, that we've 00:38:20.409 --> 00:38:22.869 got to, you know, maintain the strength of our 00:38:22.869 --> 00:38:26.710 VA healthcare system. So I don't know what exactly 00:38:26.710 --> 00:38:29.329 is going on out there, but I really do want to 00:38:29.329 --> 00:38:32.369 thank both of you, Suzanne Gordon and Russell 00:38:32.369 --> 00:38:37.369 Lemley, for being on Veterans Radio today. You 00:38:37.369 --> 00:38:39.429 know, keep up the good work. I mean, these are 00:38:39.429 --> 00:38:43.409 great articles and you guys are answering questions 00:38:43.409 --> 00:38:46.090 that I think many of us have. You both write 00:38:46.090 --> 00:38:49.130 for the Veterans Health Care Policy Institute. 00:38:49.329 --> 00:38:51.909 That's where I, there's some really great information 00:38:51.909 --> 00:38:55.869 on that website. I'm very delighted that you 00:38:55.869 --> 00:38:58.650 go to it and can recommend it. So thank you, 00:38:58.690 --> 00:39:01.989 Dale. Okay. Well, thank you both very much. Thank 00:39:01.989 --> 00:39:03.989 you, Susan. Thank you, Russell, for being on 00:39:03.989 --> 00:39:09.250 Veterans Radio. Thank you. Bye Okay, bye. Bye 00:39:09.250 --> 00:39:12.849 All right. Well, I know we didn't solve the world's 00:39:12.849 --> 00:39:14.949 problems there as far as the VA is concerned 00:39:14.949 --> 00:39:17.909 But I wanted to get that information out to you 00:39:17.909 --> 00:39:20.289 just to start thinking about it a little bit 00:39:20.289 --> 00:39:23.389 So we're gonna bring in our best our benefits 00:39:23.389 --> 00:39:26.670 expert here for the last 15 minutes of the program 00:39:27.739 --> 00:39:31.559 Carol Anne Falzone, retired Air Force Brigadier 00:39:31.559 --> 00:39:34.119 General. She also works with Legal Help for Veterans. 00:39:34.300 --> 00:39:36.119 I guess I got to throw that little disclaimer 00:39:36.119 --> 00:39:42.539 in there. But I find it interesting that we're 00:39:42.539 --> 00:39:44.519 talking about these issues. And I guess that's 00:39:44.519 --> 00:39:46.360 the thing is we got to talk about these issues. 00:39:46.840 --> 00:39:50.079 We can't just let people run roughshod over everything. 00:39:51.720 --> 00:39:55.440 No, I agree with you and that was extremely interesting 00:39:55.440 --> 00:39:58.219 and and Dale, you know me It was really hard 00:39:58.219 --> 00:40:01.280 for me to sit back and listen to this. So I have 00:40:01.280 --> 00:40:05.400 a few comments Number one. I'm glad that the 00:40:05.400 --> 00:40:08.920 VA is looking at and I think you're well aware 00:40:08.920 --> 00:40:14.030 of this when the VA contracts say with a company 00:40:14.030 --> 00:40:16.929 outside to get whether it's a blood pressure 00:40:16.929 --> 00:40:22.070 done or another check or a colonoscopy or something 00:40:22.070 --> 00:40:28.050 done on the outside as an exam to make it more 00:40:28.050 --> 00:40:32.230 efficient because they're so backed up in a community 00:40:32.230 --> 00:40:37.119 okay so they contract out for a procedure But 00:40:37.119 --> 00:40:39.719 we've also been saying our veterans have been 00:40:39.719 --> 00:40:43.039 calling us Which I'm very thankful for and we 00:40:43.039 --> 00:40:47.019 do report it back if they feel like the veteran 00:40:47.019 --> 00:40:52.320 got a poor exam We are asking them to notify 00:40:52.320 --> 00:40:56.980 us because that's a contracted facility that 00:40:56.980 --> 00:41:02.000 the VA is paying them money and so to the point 00:41:02.000 --> 00:41:07.199 to the previous guests if the VA has this contract 00:41:07.199 --> 00:41:11.119 and now you're doing the test over and over three 00:41:11.119 --> 00:41:15.400 times to get a poor exam, that's a waste of money. 00:41:15.780 --> 00:41:21.079 So that isn't very efficient at all. So when 00:41:21.079 --> 00:41:23.719 you brought up the University of Michigan, who 00:41:23.719 --> 00:41:29.920 is with U of M, I'd love the contracting out. 00:41:30.039 --> 00:41:34.440 for specialties that maybe the VA doesn't have 00:41:34.440 --> 00:41:39.599 the expertise. When I go see a physician, I want 00:41:39.599 --> 00:41:43.239 to know if I'm having a procedure that that physician 00:41:43.239 --> 00:41:47.219 who is caring for me has done it a thousand times 00:41:47.219 --> 00:41:50.159 versus you're exploring on me and you're doing 00:41:50.159 --> 00:41:54.239 it the second or third time. I understand students 00:41:54.239 --> 00:41:58.619 and residents need to gain knowledge and experience, 00:41:58.679 --> 00:42:03.210 but then do it with the expert, kind of do the 00:42:03.210 --> 00:42:06.789 teaching role. So there's several issues out 00:42:06.789 --> 00:42:10.190 there that I think it needs to be more efficient. 00:42:11.690 --> 00:42:16.369 But the main issue for me is to take care of 00:42:16.369 --> 00:42:19.949 our patients, our veterans, and to give quality 00:42:19.949 --> 00:42:25.449 care, to render quality care. And if you're having 00:42:25.449 --> 00:42:29.719 an emergency situation and where you live, I 00:42:29.719 --> 00:42:32.760 think the VA has done a great thing and we've 00:42:32.760 --> 00:42:35.079 talked about it. If you think you're having a 00:42:35.079 --> 00:42:40.179 heart attack and your nearest VA is an hour down 00:42:40.179 --> 00:42:43.099 the road, then you need to go the nearest facility 00:42:43.099 --> 00:42:46.280 to take care of you when you're having an emergency. 00:42:46.639 --> 00:42:50.599 So there's several issues we got to look at when 00:42:50.599 --> 00:42:55.119 we're going into the community. I like the community 00:42:55.119 --> 00:43:00.260 -based for the specialty. Services i'd like it 00:43:00.260 --> 00:43:04.840 for when you've got a veteran who is rural and 00:43:04.840 --> 00:43:09.000 you know you you can't get in as easily to the 00:43:09.000 --> 00:43:13.320 VA. So you know there's the pros and cons of 00:43:13.320 --> 00:43:16.119 this whole thing and i hope we don't throw the 00:43:16.119 --> 00:43:19.820 baby at with the bath water and we look at some 00:43:19.820 --> 00:43:23.820 of these issues and really see that we're delivering 00:43:23.820 --> 00:43:27.460 quality of care. Well, I agree with you, Carol 00:43:27.460 --> 00:43:30.380 Anne, on that. It's not that I disagree with 00:43:30.380 --> 00:43:34.360 it. I think the mission of the VA is to take 00:43:34.360 --> 00:43:37.780 care of the veteran community. And I don't want 00:43:37.780 --> 00:43:42.300 that to get lost in all of this budget cutting 00:43:42.300 --> 00:43:45.800 and everything else that's out there. And as 00:43:45.800 --> 00:43:50.820 I said, Secretary Collins was out. He was in 00:43:50.820 --> 00:43:54.460 Ann Arbor and Detroit. Battle Creek or something, 00:43:54.639 --> 00:43:56.800 you know just last week and you know, he was 00:43:56.800 --> 00:44:01.380 really touting what these facilities can do and 00:44:01.380 --> 00:44:05.300 you know, you know the Cardiacs enough that's 00:44:05.300 --> 00:44:08.440 going out there mental health, especially Yes, 00:44:08.719 --> 00:44:11.619 and you know and and also that I agree with you 00:44:11.619 --> 00:44:16.420 that We both have known Veterans who have been 00:44:16.420 --> 00:44:21.059 sent by the VA to an outside facility to the 00:44:21.059 --> 00:44:23.500 Cleveland Clinic, to the Mayo Clinic, to the 00:44:23.500 --> 00:44:26.420 University of Michigan, to the University of 00:44:26.420 --> 00:44:29.019 Texas, wherever, you know, wherever they can 00:44:29.019 --> 00:44:32.420 get the superior care. Right. And that's, you 00:44:32.420 --> 00:44:35.239 know, and that is I don't think that's going 00:44:35.239 --> 00:44:38.539 to go away. No, and I hope it doesn't, because 00:44:38.539 --> 00:44:41.280 you know what, Dale, the real critical thing 00:44:41.280 --> 00:44:45.880 is the VA is the leader in all the research that's 00:44:45.880 --> 00:44:49.800 going on. And when they send it to, you know, 00:44:50.380 --> 00:44:54.559 MD Anderson in Texas, say, for a certain cancer, 00:44:54.679 --> 00:45:00.159 or U of M, or another great facility, Cincinnati, 00:45:00.239 --> 00:45:04.059 a burn unit. We don't have a burn unit at the 00:45:04.059 --> 00:45:06.699 VA in Ann Arbor, but there's one at University 00:45:06.699 --> 00:45:10.320 of Michigan. There's one in Cincinnati renowned. 00:45:10.619 --> 00:45:14.960 So if those services could be given to our veterans, 00:45:15.400 --> 00:45:19.380 I think that is wonderful because in most of 00:45:19.380 --> 00:45:24.269 those, teaching facilities, they are doing research 00:45:24.269 --> 00:45:29.050 hand in hand with the VA. And I think your guests 00:45:29.050 --> 00:45:32.269 brought up something that I'm really firm on, 00:45:32.469 --> 00:45:36.750 and that is consistency. I want to see the same 00:45:36.750 --> 00:45:41.889 physician, I want to be able to them to monitor 00:45:41.889 --> 00:45:46.809 my care. And then follow up if you know, with 00:45:46.809 --> 00:45:50.579 my team at the VA, if I'm sent out, I think that 00:45:50.579 --> 00:45:54.619 communication is critical for a veteran's care. 00:45:55.599 --> 00:45:57.780 I think that's important for anybody's care, 00:45:58.099 --> 00:45:59.880 you know, is that you have a dependable, you 00:45:59.880 --> 00:46:02.139 don't see a different person every time you go 00:46:02.139 --> 00:46:06.659 in to see your primary care. Absolutely. Doctor, 00:46:06.900 --> 00:46:11.400 because you know, excuse me, you know, as much 00:46:11.400 --> 00:46:15.179 as we don't like to admit it, we feel much safer 00:46:15.179 --> 00:46:18.730 if it's the same person. Yes. you know, once 00:46:18.730 --> 00:46:22.070 we get that relationship going a little bit more, 00:46:22.889 --> 00:46:25.250 then when we go in and we not only do we tell 00:46:25.250 --> 00:46:27.570 him what our condition is, we can say, Oh, how 00:46:27.570 --> 00:46:31.309 are you doing? And, you know, it kind of brings 00:46:31.309 --> 00:46:34.369 it more into that whole community, which I think 00:46:34.369 --> 00:46:38.500 is so important. Well, you know it that one thing 00:46:38.500 --> 00:46:42.420 I saw earlier this week Dale Yeah, I've I've 00:46:42.420 --> 00:46:45.940 seen the number 80 ,000 thrown out now some have 00:46:45.940 --> 00:46:49.780 already left on taking the retirement But they've 00:46:49.780 --> 00:46:53.579 also seen the beautiful lift list of all those 00:46:53.579 --> 00:46:56.980 exempt and a lot of those are in the health care 00:46:56.980 --> 00:47:00.980 system Which I'm very thankful for your nurses 00:47:00.980 --> 00:47:04.659 your doctors your social workers your chaplains 00:47:04.659 --> 00:47:08.840 pivotal essential positions. And then the article 00:47:08.840 --> 00:47:13.000 alluded to, it's not going to take this 80 ,000 00:47:13.000 --> 00:47:16.980 from VHA, which is health care, 80 ,000 from 00:47:16.980 --> 00:47:20.400 VBA, which is benefits. And then they even brought 00:47:20.400 --> 00:47:24.340 up there is some trimming that has to go on, 00:47:24.380 --> 00:47:27.360 which I was surprised, in the other tower, which 00:47:27.360 --> 00:47:32.820 is the cemeteries in that area, because I think 00:47:32.820 --> 00:47:38.559 that tower runs so unbelievably. But there might 00:47:38.559 --> 00:47:42.599 be some more efficiencies or waste that needs 00:47:42.599 --> 00:47:45.480 to be eliminated. That's what this article alluded 00:47:45.480 --> 00:47:49.519 to. They're looking at all three towers and seeing 00:47:50.859 --> 00:47:56.159 where there might be some reductions so that 00:47:56.159 --> 00:47:59.559 they could have better efficiencies. I really 00:47:59.559 --> 00:48:05.539 don't think that they want to destroy the VA 00:48:05.539 --> 00:48:09.699 health system. And so everybody isn't gonna be 00:48:09.699 --> 00:48:12.599 referred out. You know, we've got too many great 00:48:12.599 --> 00:48:17.260 people in the VA system in the hospital side. 00:48:17.340 --> 00:48:21.019 the health care side that I don't think c -box 00:48:21.019 --> 00:48:24.480 are going to go away or outpatient. You know 00:48:24.480 --> 00:48:26.579 we just what did we do here in our local area 00:48:26.579 --> 00:48:29.380 we just opened four or five c -bots in the last 00:48:29.380 --> 00:48:33.420 five ten years right that would be a huge waste 00:48:33.420 --> 00:48:37.420 of energy and efficiency. Absolutely. Think about 00:48:37.420 --> 00:48:40.500 the resources. I mean, the goal is to have a 00:48:40.500 --> 00:48:43.320 facility you could go to within, I believe, 25 00:48:43.320 --> 00:48:46.239 miles. I mean, here in Michigan, they've just 00:48:46.239 --> 00:48:51.460 opened up Powell, Adrian, I think Chelsea. They've 00:48:51.460 --> 00:48:54.579 got one in Selfridge. They've just opened up 00:48:54.579 --> 00:48:57.760 the brand new one outside of Toledo, I think, 00:48:58.059 --> 00:49:04.719 in Finley. Those are great services in this echelon 00:49:04.719 --> 00:49:07.940 system of health care. Well, I thought I wanted 00:49:07.940 --> 00:49:10.079 to touch back. I know we've only got a couple 00:49:10.079 --> 00:49:13.300 of minutes left, but just to touch back on what 00:49:13.300 --> 00:49:15.679 you were talking about, these outside contractors, 00:49:15.920 --> 00:49:18.260 I think that that is something that does need 00:49:18.260 --> 00:49:21.199 to be looked at, because through our both of 00:49:21.199 --> 00:49:24.480 our experiences, some of them were just terrible. 00:49:25.460 --> 00:49:29.460 And maybe, you know, if you get it, I'd rather 00:49:29.460 --> 00:49:32.340 go for quality than for cost. You know, if you 00:49:32.340 --> 00:49:34.639 if you're going to if you, you know, it's like, 00:49:34.639 --> 00:49:37.010 you know, if you buy the cheapest thing out there, 00:49:37.010 --> 00:49:40.489 sometimes it's not the best. And that's I mean, 00:49:40.690 --> 00:49:43.349 I don't know. Yeah. And I don't know. I don't 00:49:43.349 --> 00:49:46.210 know who decides who gets these contracts. But 00:49:46.210 --> 00:49:50.130 it'd be nice if we could know that we're getting 00:49:50.130 --> 00:49:54.949 the best of the best and at a good price. So 00:49:54.949 --> 00:49:58.139 that's. we tell our veterans, if you go for an 00:49:58.139 --> 00:50:02.199 exam and you feel like, and then we see the results. 00:50:02.500 --> 00:50:07.679 If it was not a good exam, you know, the practitioner 00:50:07.679 --> 00:50:11.139 or the provider maybe didn't answer your questions, 00:50:11.559 --> 00:50:14.139 didn't, you know, you walk in and you take one 00:50:14.139 --> 00:50:16.880 blood pressure and you're out the door and you've 00:50:16.880 --> 00:50:22.300 now driven an hour. That's not efficient. And 00:50:22.300 --> 00:50:25.039 then if we report that and you got to go again, 00:50:25.159 --> 00:50:28.639 It's like, wait a minute, that's a double cost. 00:50:28.940 --> 00:50:31.599 And we didn't get the results, good results. 00:50:31.960 --> 00:50:35.500 So that's where I wish they take a look at some 00:50:35.500 --> 00:50:39.519 of the contracted services. In the last couple 00:50:39.519 --> 00:50:42.539 of seconds here, is there anything that you've 00:50:42.539 --> 00:50:44.639 heard in the benefits side that we need to be 00:50:44.639 --> 00:50:47.960 aware of? Are there any new conditions or hoops 00:50:47.960 --> 00:50:51.340 that we need to jump through for anything? Well, 00:50:51.340 --> 00:50:54.219 I would just tell you, I haven't seen anything 00:50:54.219 --> 00:50:59.340 new we've talked about, but I see the processes 00:50:59.340 --> 00:51:04.460 maybe trying to shore up that our claims and 00:51:04.460 --> 00:51:08.059 things do not bounce around like to a couple 00:51:08.059 --> 00:51:11.780 different ROs, which is regional offices, DROC, 00:51:11.900 --> 00:51:16.710 a decision review center that only one area touches 00:51:16.710 --> 00:51:19.590 your file and let's make a decision and let's 00:51:19.590 --> 00:51:24.130 get this done quickly. I see too many times recently 00:51:24.130 --> 00:51:26.349 that if you can't make a decision you send it 00:51:26.349 --> 00:51:29.590 up to the board and it might sit up at the board 00:51:29.590 --> 00:51:33.050 for you know a good lengthy period because they've 00:51:33.050 --> 00:51:38.329 got all these increases. So I just think there's 00:51:38.329 --> 00:51:43.070 some efficiencies on the VA side that could make 00:51:43.070 --> 00:51:46.469 it a little better. Well, you know as usual we 00:51:46.469 --> 00:51:48.769 want to make sure that we encourage anybody any 00:51:48.769 --> 00:51:51.789 veteran that's out there Not only to register 00:51:51.789 --> 00:51:54.530 at your local VA wherever that happens to be 00:51:54.530 --> 00:51:57.269 get into this system because you can't do anything 00:51:57.269 --> 00:52:01.269 until you're in the system and You know if you 00:52:01.269 --> 00:52:04.710 do have any health conditions that you you feel 00:52:04.710 --> 00:52:07.750 maybe could are You know related to your time 00:52:07.750 --> 00:52:11.099 in the service that you should contact an organization 00:52:11.099 --> 00:52:13.260 such as Legal Health for Veterans or your local 00:52:13.260 --> 00:52:17.239 VSO. I know walking in probably into every VA 00:52:17.239 --> 00:52:21.119 hospital in the country, as you go in the door, 00:52:21.500 --> 00:52:25.460 VSOs are right there. to answer any questions. 00:52:26.260 --> 00:52:28.440 And, you know, if you have any questions for 00:52:28.440 --> 00:52:31.599 us, please contact us next time. You know, we 00:52:31.599 --> 00:52:35.219 do this program every month on the first Sunday 00:52:35.219 --> 00:52:37.119 of the month, and we would love to be able to 00:52:37.119 --> 00:52:39.880 answer your questions. So you can send me an 00:52:39.880 --> 00:52:42.980 email. That's dale at veterans radio dot org. 00:52:43.239 --> 00:52:45.880 And we will bring up your story with our experts, 00:52:45.900 --> 00:52:48.519 with Carol Ann and David, who didn't want wasn't 00:52:48.519 --> 00:52:51.179 available today to talk about these things. This 00:52:51.179 --> 00:52:53.880 is why we're here. uh you know dedicating this 00:52:53.880 --> 00:52:57.280 time to helping you all out well you know dale 00:52:57.280 --> 00:53:00.480 but the quickie is you know the other person 00:53:00.480 --> 00:53:03.179 to con the county councilors out there we've 00:53:03.179 --> 00:53:06.360 got 83 counties in michigan and there's county 00:53:06.360 --> 00:53:09.260 councils whether called parishes or whatever 00:53:09.260 --> 00:53:12.739 in your state but they're awesome resource to 00:53:12.739 --> 00:53:15.360 go to and yes our colleague my colleague David 00:53:15.360 --> 00:53:19.059 wasn't on today but he is a great help to reach 00:53:19.059 --> 00:53:22.360 out into the community and the other thing is 00:53:22.360 --> 00:53:25.579 you know a lot of veterans won't apply but if 00:53:25.579 --> 00:53:28.420 your veteran dies and you're a spouse I've been 00:53:28.420 --> 00:53:33.110 seeing a huge increase with DIC. the deaf indemnity. 00:53:33.550 --> 00:53:36.110 And so sometimes you don't even know what you're 00:53:36.110 --> 00:53:40.329 available for. So those widows out there, we've 00:53:40.329 --> 00:53:43.150 seen an increase in that lately. And that's sorry, 00:53:43.210 --> 00:53:46.369 because they still could have had that and their 00:53:46.369 --> 00:53:49.269 veteran could have had a disability rating, but 00:53:49.269 --> 00:53:53.070 chose never to apply for it. You don't apply, 00:53:53.090 --> 00:53:56.670 you never know. There are other benefits we haven't 00:53:56.670 --> 00:53:59.489 even talked about. Educational benefits for children 00:53:59.489 --> 00:54:03.630 and so forth. Section 35 or something like that. 00:54:04.449 --> 00:54:06.949 Maybe we could take a look at that next month 00:54:06.949 --> 00:54:10.289 because I had a student in my own class this 00:54:10.289 --> 00:54:14.610 year, this last semester, whose father is in 00:54:14.610 --> 00:54:17.710 the military and there are benefits to go to 00:54:17.710 --> 00:54:19.389 college, trade school and all kinds of things. 00:54:22.000 --> 00:54:25.320 put that all together. So coming up here, we're 00:54:25.320 --> 00:54:28.039 coming up on the end of the hour today. I want 00:54:28.039 --> 00:54:31.239 to thank everybody for listening. Make sure that 00:54:31.239 --> 00:54:35.539 you know that we've got you are our stories because 00:54:35.539 --> 00:54:39.019 every veteran out there has a story. And that's 00:54:39.019 --> 00:54:41.699 what our goal is, is to tell you as many stories 00:54:41.699 --> 00:54:44.679 as we can. So, you know, you can listen to Veterans 00:54:44.679 --> 00:54:48.380 Radio on our local broadcast stations, WAAM, 00:54:48.820 --> 00:54:52.920 WDTK, WKMET out in California. You can listen 00:54:52.920 --> 00:54:55.599 to us on podcasts. You can listen to us on Reets 00:54:55.599 --> 00:54:59.719 Across America radio. So we're everywhere. We 00:54:59.719 --> 00:55:03.559 drop two podcasts a week on Mondays and Tuesdays. 00:55:04.079 --> 00:55:06.760 If you got a story you want to tell, let us know 00:55:06.760 --> 00:55:09.260 about that, because we want to tell the story. 00:55:09.699 --> 00:55:14.159 Just as they were talking about the Bob Arvin, 00:55:14.880 --> 00:55:17.300 if we don't tell the stories, these people disappear. 00:55:17.840 --> 00:55:19.800 And so we want to make sure that we keep telling 00:55:19.800 --> 00:55:22.159 these stories, folks. That's up to you. So until 00:55:22.159 --> 00:55:24.039 next week, this is Dale Thromery for all of us 00:55:24.039 --> 00:55:26.219 here at Veterans Radio for Carol Anne Falzone. 00:55:26.920 --> 00:55:38.349 Until then, you are dismissed. America, land 00:55:38.349 --> 00:55:48.730 that I love. Stand beside her and guide her through 00:55:48.730 --> 00:55:55.429 the night with the light from above. From the 00:55:55.429 --> 00:56:10.480 mountains, through the prairies, to the God bless 00:56:10.480 --> 00:56:12.619 America.