After Being Wounded In War, Veterans Face Daunting IVF Costs Not Covered By VA
The Defense Department covers the treatment while soliders are on active military status, but the Department of Veterans Affairs does not. In other news, the VA's Office of Inspector General has released 11 reports outlining problems at hospitals and clinics in Florida.
The New York Times:
Veterans Seek Help For Infertility Inflicted By Wounds Of War
During a firefight in Afghanistan in 2005, Army Cpl. Tyler Wilson, 20, was hit by a bullet that pierced his spine and left him paralyzed below the waist. Since then, the Department of Veterans Affairs has provided him with free health care, as it does for all veterans who were disabled while serving. Yet there was a gap in his coverage that came as a shock. By law, the V.A. cannot provide in vitro fertilization, not even to a veteran like Corporal Wilson whose ability to have children was impaired by an injury sustained in the line of duty. Doctors have told him and his fiancée, Crystal Black, that in vitro fertilization is their only chance of conceiving a child. Each attempt costs more than $12,000, and they will have to pay for it themselves. (Grady, 2/29)
The Associated Press:
VA Watchdog Releases Reports On Wait-Time Manipulations
Reports documenting scheduling problems and wait-time manipulation at the Department of Veterans Affairs are being made public, as the agency’s internal watchdog bows to pressure from members of Congress and others to improve transparency. The VA’s Office of Inspector General released 11 reports Monday outlining problems at VA hospitals and clinics in Florida. The reports are the first of 77 investigations to be made public over the next few months. (Daly, 2/29)
