What the hell are we doing here? Why Veterans still have to fight the VA.

For this episode of I’m OK Being a Karen, I’m taking a hard look at the Department of Veterans Affairs—not to attack the dedicated doctors, nurses, and staff who genuinely care for veterans, but to question a system that too often makes getting help feel like another battle.

Drawing from my own firsthand experience, I talk about what the VA gets right, where it falls short, and why so many veterans have accepted the phrase, “It’s the military… we always have to wait.”

From delayed disability compensation after surgery to bureaucracy, communication breakdowns, and the mindset that’s allowed these problems to become “normal,” I keep coming back to one question:

What the hell are we doing here?

Whether you’re a veteran, have a family member who served, or simply believe our country should keep its promises, this episode challenges us to stop accepting dysfunction as the status quo and start expecting better.

If you are a Vetrean, thank you for your service.

Get in touch at imokbeingakaren1@gmail, or my website https://www.buzzsprout.com/2615174.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Welcome to I'm a company with Clive. My name is Carlin, and here we talk about global life, real situations, and the exact moments that touched my patron. So grab your coffee and join the conversation. Before we get started, I want to give you a quick heads up. This episode contains a few words that aren't appropriate for young children. So if you've got little ears listening, now would be a good time to hit pause and come back later. Now let's get into it. Today's episode is about the Department of Veterans Affairs and my personal experience of what goes on behind closed doors. And before anyone thinks this is going to be 15 minutes of me trashing the VA, I'm gonna stop you right there. I have met outstanding doctors at the VA. I've witnessed a nurse who genuinely care and met employees who treat the veterans with con kindness, professionalism, and respect. This episode isn't about those people. This episode is about the system they have to work in. Because the more I deal with it, the more I keep coming back to one simple question. What the hell is going on? Not because I expect perfection, not because I think every problem has an easy solution, but because we've accepted things that make absolutely no sense. And somewhere along the way, we've convinced ourselves that that's just the way it has to be. Let's start with what the VA gets right. Because they absolutely deserve credit where it's earned. From my experience, from when a veteran first files a disability claim and it's approved, the VA generally pays you retroactively back to the date you first filed your claim. I think that's fair. That's exactly how it should work. They also have a temporary 100% disability rating for veterans recovering from certain surgeries related to service-connected disabilities. In many cases, that temporary rating continues for a period of time, even after the veteran has returned to work. Again, I think that's a great policy. You see, recovery doesn't magically end the first day you clock back in. So yes, the VA gets some things right. But here's where I have a problem. I'm gonna tell you about a story that I have personal experience with. Let's say a veteran has surgery on July 2nd, they become temporarily disabled, immediately they can't work, their paycheck stops, they're trying to recover. Meanwhile, the mortgage company still wants its payment, the electric bill still shows up, insurance premiums are still due, the grocery store doesn't stop charging you because you're recovering from surgery. In fact, life keeps moving. But even though that veteran became temporarily disabled on July 2nd, the VA continues paying them at their current disability rate throughout the rest of July. The increase to the temporary 100% disability rate doesn't arrive during the month they're actually unable to work. Instead, the veteran typically doesn't receive that increased compensation until the end of August because the VA disability compensation is paid after the month is actually ended. So eventually they get the money they're entitled to, eventually doesn't pay this month's bills, eventually doesn't keep someone's lights on, eventually doesn't fill the refrigerator, and that's where I stop and ask, What the hell are we doing? If we already know someone is temporarily disabled because of surgery, why are we making them absorb the financial hardship before paying the increased benefit? Because we all know that so many veterans have limited to no income. That's why this makes no sense to me. And then there's something else I've heard over and over again. Veterans saying, well, it's the military. We've always had to wait. Every single time I hear that, I shake my head. Because waiting while you're serving your country is one thing. Waiting because the system is inefficient after you've already served your country is something completely different. When you're on active duty, you wait because the mission comes first. That's part of the military life you signed up for. But after you've fulfilled your commitment, after you've earned your benefits, why the hell are we still expected to accept unnecessary delays as though they're some kind of badge of honor? Because they're not. In fact, I think that's one of the biggest reasons nothing changes. The moment we accept that's just how it is, we've stopped expecting better. And if we stop expecting better, why would the system ever improve? Then there's the bureaucracy, the forms, the referrals, the phone calls, the departments that transfer you to another department, who transfers you to someone else, who tells you to call the first department back. Sometimes it feels like nobody actually owns the problem. You're just another case number moving from desk to desk. And if you've ever had to tell the exact same story multiple times to multiple people, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Healthcare should be focused on helping people heal, not testing how much frustration they can tolerate before giving up. Communication shouldn't be this difficult. Getting a straight answer shouldn't feel like winning the lottery. And if you don't live near a major VA medical center, now you're adding hours of travel, transportation, and time away from work just to receive care. Again, what is going on here? And here's what really gets me. If we sat down today with a blank sheet of paper and someone said, we're gonna build the best healthcare system possible for the men and women who serve this country, do you honestly think anyone would design what we have today? I would say not. Let's make recovering veterans spend hours on hold. Let's make them repeat their story every time they call. Let's make them navigate multiple departments before someone can answer a simple question. Let's make them wait until after the hardest financial month is over before increasing their disability compensation. Of course, we wouldn't design that. Nobody would intentionally build a system like that. So why are we defending it simply because it's been that way for years? You see, we've confused tradition with effectiveness, and those aren't the same thing. Now, if you're listening and you've had an outstanding experience with the VA, I'm genuinely happy for you. And I really mean that. There are incredible people working there, and I've encountered many of them. But good people shouldn't have to overcome a broken process just to do their jobs. It's not fair to them, and it's certainly not fair to the veterans there trying to help. Now, this isn't about politics, it isn't about attacking the VA. It's about asking why we've become so comfortable accepting things that don't make sense. Veterans shouldn't have to fight bureaucracy after they've already fought for our country. I'm not asking for special treatment. I'm asking for simple common sense. I'm asking for accountability. And I'm asking for a system that works as hard for veterans as veterans worked for this country. If you've had a great experience with the VA, I'd love to hear it. If you've had a frustrating one, I'd like to hear that too. Because talking honestly about what's working and what isn't is the only way things ever improve. And maybe again, that makes me a Karen. But I'm okay with that. Because I don't think asking our country to keep its promise to veterans is asking too much. And until someone gives me a better answer, I'm gonna keep asking, what the hell are they doing? Remember, having standards doesn't make you a fan. It's something that you can ask you too much. If you want to walk away, come to what you're thinking.