NPR: Wounded Soldier's Care Tangled in System (Family Faces Financial Ruin)

[JPZenger]

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14360278

NPR had a story yesterday about a seriously wounded US soldier. You would expect that a wounded soldier at a minimum would have basic expenses covered. However, because of bureacratic debacles, his family is stuck with $100,000 in expenses. The solider will probably never be able to work. His wife had to quit a high paying job to care for him. They probably will lose their ranch. And to top it off, the Army is refusing to pay him his enlistment bonus because he was wounded and didn't finish his term. Even his regular military pay has not been received because of a SNAFU. Here is an excerpt:

"Four months after Army Spc. Ronald Hinkle left his ranch and family in Colorado to serve his country in Iraq, he was injured in an IED blast. He now suffers from a traumatic brain injury and is unable to think clearly. He suffers from seizures and cannot be left alone.

Ron Hinkle ...probably never work again. Meanwhile, his wife Reece has serious health concerns of her own: She awaits a kidney and pancreas transplant. And their two daughters are just past bouts with cancer. That means that, along with a plunge in income, the family is dealing with crushing medical bills... Roger Stradley is a retired Army command sergeant major who now directs a military family support group called USACares. Stradley predicts that the Hinkles will lose their family ranch.

... Confusing advice put the Hinkles in the wrong military insurance plan, leaving them with $18,000 in family medical bills. Misinformation left them with $5,000 in unpaid travel expenses for Ron's medical care. Bureaucratic errors cost Ron half his military pay last month. And the Army failed to properly document Ron's war injury, costing the family $70,000 in special payments reserved for wounded soldiers. It ...has them at the brink of financial ruin. ... Hinkle's wounds in Iraq weren't recognized as serious until he was home on leave and was rushed to a civilian hospital, 70 miles from the base.

UPDATE: Since NPR spoke with Hinkle last month, his financial situation has become more precarious. He is now owed two paychecks from the Army. It's not clear when the checks will resume or whether he'll receive back pay. The family is missing close to $2,500 in back salary. In addition, last week Hinkle was notified by the finance department at Fort Carson that a $3,000 enlistment bonus will not be honored because "he failed to fulfill his contract" due to his injury in Iraq."

[Mountainman]

1. Maybe we can sell enough yellow ribbons to help him out and get all those

who currently have "I support the troops" stickers to pay his bills.

[JPZenger]

3. Here's Article About How This Family is Helping Others in Need

http://www.usacares.us/files/HinkleNEStory.pdf

[OneBlueSky]

2. in the coming decades, this nation is going to have tens of thousands . . .

of severely war-injured military personnel to take care of, many for the rest of their lives . . . add that to the already obscene cost of this war . . .

of course, the military is doing everything they can to minimize what they have to pay these individuals, in some cases even claiming that conditions were "pre-existing" . . . this country used to take care of its war veterans, "no questions asked" . . . not any more . . .

[JPZenger]

4. This Soldier Was Used by Cheney for a Photo Op

It is ironic that this soldier (Sgt. Hinkle, shown on the left) was used by "Dick" Cheney for a photo op. Here's your purple heart, now you're on your own.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=2028

[cornermouse]

5. Maybe George will personally step up to the plate and

save a fellow rancher! :sarcasm:

[Doctor_J]

6. the troop-loving GOP have been in charge for 7 years

this is no surprise.