All Episodes
Previous Next
March 12, 2023 - Stew Peters Show
51:48
The Richard Leonard Show: The VA Caregiver Program: Hindrance Or Help? IV
| Copy link to current segment

Time Text
We'll be right back.
We'll be right back.
We'll be right back.
We'll be right back.
everybody, and welcome here to the next installment of The Richard Leonard Show.
I want to thank you, as always, for joining us this evening.
Before we get started with Robin, I need to, of course, tell you about our good friends over at Cortez Wealth Management.
Go to AmericaFirstRetirementPlan.com.
Get yourself signed up for the webinars that happen on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 7 p.m.
Eastern Standard Time.
For you military folks, it's 1900.
Carlos Cortez wants to help you plan and execute a tax-free retirement plan.
I'm telling you folks, this is the best way to secure a plan for yourself, for your future.
There's no reason why you should have to pay a boatload of taxes when you're done working.
You've done that already.
So get over to AmericaFirstRetirementPlan.com.
Let Carlos help you out.
When you get all the information through the webinar, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to get with Carlos any way you can.
Phone, text, email, Zoom, whatever it is, and he will surely help you out.
So get over there, AmericaFirstRetirementPlan.com.
Okay, sorry I was kind of stumbling through all that.
I'm anxious to get started today.
We have a whole lot to cover.
And so instead of all the pleasantries, folks, let's just dive on in.
Let me go find Robin.
And there she is.
Hi, Robin.
How are you?
Good.
How are you?
I'm very good.
I stumbled through the intro, so we got through it.
We're good to go.
Where are we in this timeline?
To the best of my recollection, we ended about 2018-2019.
And so, where are we?
What's next?
Let's just jump into it.
Yep, you're correct.
2019.
So, last week we heard how the VSOs helped MedCabit create new and restricted eligibility requirements.
We kind of exited the conversation with Ms.
Cabot as the Caregiver Support Program's National Director, leaving the VA to go work for Atlas Research, which is a consulting firm that contracts with the VA. And Elise Kaplan was left to fill in Meg's shoes as the Acting National Director of the Caregiver Support Program.
So in March of 2020, the VA proposed new rules for the caregiver program.
These are the expansion regulations.
And they left it open for comment, which VA received about 273 comments.
And the majority of them were saying, this is absolute hot garbage.
Like, do not implement this.
This would be terrible.
And the VA just kind of said, eh.
We disagree.
We published it anyway.
And then October 1st of 2020, the VA starts enrolling pre-9-11 caregivers and veterans into the program.
They were anybody that served on or before May 7th, 1975.
Okay.
Before you continue, let me ask you.
Comments that came were from caregivers?
Anybody.
VSOs, non-profit organizations, caregivers, veterans, anybody.
It's public comment, anybody.
So anybody that was involved or had knowledge was able to make comments?
Anybody that knew that that comment period was open, they could do that, yes.
Okay, all right, let's continue.
So in February of 2021, the Caregiver Support Program gets a new Executive Director named Dr.
Colleen Richardson.
And I can only speak for myself when I say this, that she's been absolutely wonderful when I've interacted with her.
But I'm curious as to why she's the Executive Director and not the National Director.
Even when Meg left, we had an acting national director.
You know, this leads me to believe that she was cast into a role that has little authority to even fix this mess.
And it's a mess she inherited.
She didn't create this. - So kind of like a placeholder, yeah.
I mean, I guess I'm not very aware of what the big differences between national director and executive director would be.
But if you're telling us that there is a difference, I would question why she wasn't just given that role as national director.
Right.
Well, Meg came back at the exact same time.
Oh.
Yeah.
So I think that the national director position, it has essentially been held back for Meg.
Why else would we hire an executive director when we had an acting national director In Meg's absence.
You know, I think that Meg's got supreme authority over policy and program implementation, just like she had as the national director.
I mean, it's the same duties.
Except now her role isn't performance-based as it was at VHA. She's in a politically appointed position.
So, like, she can fail all she wants.
She's not going anywhere.
So, before, though, her...
Her position was questioned by people, right?
When she was performance-based, she was questioned, potentially was going to be fired or dismissed.
And she left.
Oh, couldn't hack it.
And went on over to Atlas to be a consultant for the VA, tell them how to operate.
I think that's what consultants do, right?
Yeah.
Apparently.
So, let's look at Meg's handiwork and practice.
So, Legacy starts their transitional assessments, and I didn't see one of my peers stay on.
I'm not saying that nobody stayed on.
I'm saying I didn't see anybody that I interacted with stayed on except, well, I guess the Elizabeth Dole Fellows.
They were allowed to stay on, not all of them, but the ones I ran into, they were allowed to stay on at level one.
So they got dropped a tier, a level.
And I guess if you don't know what a Dole Fellow is, they basically represent the Dole Foundation in a formal capacity.
I have a feeling we'll get to that at some point.
But, you know, I was even seeing this out of the pre-9-11 caregiver's They're veterans.
There was nothing in the medical chart that was stating that their, you know, condition had improved and they were being discharged right alongside Legacy.
So they were feeling the pain of this too.
And so then in on December 1st of 2021, the Elizabeth Dole Foundation hosts I don't know if it may be called a town hall.
And it's basically they're addressing all of the discharges.
And so Steve says, let's pull Steve up.
Steve says, right now we are in active discussions with the VA about recommendations to improve the process and communications and to help this transition be as smooth as possible for any of you who are impacted.
Who's Steve?
Steve Schwab, CEO of the Elizabeth Dole Foundation.
He's not even saying anything about us being discharged, being purged out of this program.
It's just that he wants the VA to communicate that we're kicked out better and have a smooth transition out of the program.
Okay, so what did that, do you remember, what did that look like?
What is a smooth transition?
When somebody is being ousted out of a program and their life being turned upside down, for God's sake...
How do you make that a smooth transition that is going to be communicated better so that it hits everyone right in the fifis, right?
So they feel good about their ousting.
What did a smooth transition look like?
Was there any guidance on that?
He had a plan.
He had a plan.
And he tells us, he says, we are in active dialogue with leaders on Capitol Hill about policy and legislative solutions.
Okay.
How does that help the caregiver?
You know what?
Here's the thing, Robin.
In my opinion, I don't give two shits about what the VA thinks or what lawmakers think about the transition out of the program.
What I would be concerned about and what I would want to know is how are folks like you and your family going to be helped with a smooth transition, if there is one?
Who cares?
Who cares what Congress thinks about a smooth transition?
What are we doing for the families that we said we were going to help when this program was started and when the VA had said we're going to take care of these folks?
Well, they broke that promise.
The VA broke that promise and nobody, other than veteran warriors, nobody has really been concerned about that broken promise.
It's just been, well, what do we do with them now?
What do we do with it now?
But, you know, Steve has, he speaks of this legislation and we're going to go into it.
So, you know, and keep in mind, folks, that this Legislation, it's not to address the wrongful discharges and denials of these caregivers.
It's to address what to do with us now.
So please keep that in mind.
This does not enroll you into the caregiver program.
This is to handle you once you've been discharged.
So on March 16th of 2022, Steve Schwab testifies to Congress.
And we won't go into this today, but we kind of got into a heated discussion on a town hall about this actual testimony, and he tried to tell me I was wrong.
So we're going to go over it today since I was muted and wasn't allowed to explain why I was not wrong.
You and him had dialogue?
Yes.
Okay.
All right.
Good.
Well, this is good.
We'll go into that on another, yeah, we'll do that on another time.
But today I would like to go over his congressional testimony that he presented under oath.
So he says, we know right now thousands of caregivers are being transitioned out of the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers, PCAFC, since last fall, due in part to the expansion of PCAC services to pre-9-11 caregivers.
I'm going to stop right there because we're going to stop with the divide.
Legacy was not discharged because pre-911 was let in.
Pre-911, we were discharged because the regulations were written poorly.
Let's go back.
This transition means the loss of financial support, access to crucial mental and emotional health services, and other key benefits to post-9-11 caregivers.
There's a lot of discussion surrounding whether this is the right path forward, but I want to make one thing absolutely clear.
PCAFC should not be seen as the sole program providing caregiver support at the VA. What is?
What program is supposed to do that?
Well, the general caregiver program, of course.
Well, but wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute.
Wasn't this the whole point of the program?
Was to be the sole base of resources and support for veterans and the caregivers that are caring for these folks?
For caregivers of a certain magnitude, yes.
But they just lumped all of us into the general program, regardless of the duties that we were actually performing.
Let's move on.
This legislation aims to flip the perception of caregiver services on its head, bolster and expand the programs that are better suited for these families and lessen the pressure of being accepted into the PCAFC. What programs are those?
Well, I want to know how he's qualified to tell me what's a better-suited program.
In my public comment to the Federal Advisory Committee, I even noted that Mr.
Schwab's not a caregiver nor a veteran.
So, he's not a clinician?
He's not a medical professional of any kind?
I don't believe so, no.
I think he's a fundraiser.
Oh.
Okay.
So that's like me, Robin.
Oh my god.
That's like me, right?
I'm an infantryman.
I sell motorcycle parts.
And I do this show.
It's how I earn my living.
That'd be like me walking into the operating room while you're there and going, well, I think we should move Robin Stitt's pancreas over here and we should remove the gallbladder and it's not doing anything and we should just relocate stuff because it doesn't look right.
Who the hell is this guy to say what's best for you?
And you know what?
I gotta tell you, this has been the sticking point for me Ever since, not since we started this series of shows, but since I've learned of this program and the problems, is that nobody, it never seems like any of these conversations that ever happened in Congress, behind closed doors, in FAC meetings, in EDF meetings, any meetings, any conversations, nobody ever says...
Well, why don't we ask them?
Why don't we include them in the conversation?
If we think that there are programs that are better suited to help these families, why don't we bring it up to them?
And I'm sure that part of the answer would be now that there's too much confrontation and there's too much head-butting.
But back in 2019 or 20 or 21 or whenever these conversations and this testimony started happening, If somebody would have said, well, why don't we invite a few of these caregivers in?
Why don't we invite veteran warriors in?
Let's have a roundtable discussion.
And talk about these things.
And not to say that you guys as caregivers and the veterans that you serve would have carp launch on how to shape this program, because that's just never going to happen.
But to be part of the conversation and provide insight of what happens day to day.
And I guess that's my main frustration, is that the folks that live these issues every day, guys, Who is the most left out?
And then they're booted.
You're ousted.
Pack your shit and get out.
And you're left wondering what the heck happened.
Okay, I digress.
He says, Section 5 of the Elizabeth Dole Act and this recommendation from the Federal Advisory Committee targets an issue that has been impacting caregivers and their families and unfortunately has mostly gone unnoticed.
Even though the VA has other programs that provide support for caregivers, such as the general program, PCAFC has ultimately overshadowed these offerings.
So, Section 5 also requires the development of a standardized administrative assessment tool to help assess the needs of family and recommend specific home and community-based services.
It seems plausible that this same information might be used to inform veterans and caregivers of possible eligibility in other VA programs.
By doing so, the VA can provide families with alternative resources beyond PCAFC. So we're going to take a look at Section 5 real quick.
This is the legislative language.
But what are they?
I'm sorry to interrupt you again, Robin, but what are these?
I mean, how many times did he reference other programs?
We're going to get to them.
We'll get to them.
It says, assess the veteran or caregiver for participation in any other available program of the Department for Home and Community-Based Services.
And also, a caregiver support coordinator shall provide for a smooth and personalized transition from such program to an appropriate program of the Department for Home and Community-Based Services.
So we're going to look at the appropriate covered programs, which, once again, are not PCAFC. So they are, let's see, home-based primary care program, homemaker and home health aid program, and veteran-directed care program.
And the general caregiver program.
But I think, and this is just me and my uneducated self, I think that we should be moving these veterans out of these covered services and into PCAFC if they have a qualified family caregiver at home just because it's cheaper.
I mean, it's so much cheaper to provide for a family caregiver.
And they probably, I mean, not probably, I can safely say in my shoes, I would provide better care for my husband than anybody.
Well, so I guess I would wonder why they, meaning the VA, would think that these types of programs are better suited for your husband.
The VA doesn't think this.
The Elizabeth Dole Act thinks this.
This is legislation.
This is going to require the VA to follow this legislation if it passes.
Well, that's a, okay, okay, okay.
So that's a whole nother, that's a whole nother hill of beans, because I instantly, instantly think about money.
So, well, okay, I'm glad you said that, because let's financially incentivize everything we just talked about, because it's written right there in the legislation.
Okay.
So, let's review the incentives and efforts relating to home and community-based services.
The Secretary shall conduct a review of the following.
The financial and organizational incentives for directors of medical centers of the department to establish or expand covered programs at such medical centers.
But the funny part about that is that this bill was introduced in February of 2022, or March of 2022, one of the two.
But in January of 2022, 30 to 60 days before this was...
Introduced.
The VA announced in a public announcement that they were indeed on track to expand and establish all these programs anyway.
So why are we now writing legislation to give financial incentives to the program directors when they already said that they were going to do their job?
But more importantly, Any incentives for such directors to provide to veterans home and community-based services in lieu of institutional care.
So remember, this is a bill for what to do with us after we've been discharged out of PCAFC. So once you get, you've been discharged or you've been denied, even being denied is enough for the VA to be required.
To go through everything we just talked about and enroll you in a more appropriate program.
But how can we ensure that there won't be guidance given from management, senior leadership, to deny our applications from the get, just in order to enroll us in these covered programs and get those financial kickbacks, per se.
They're doing that at my, or I guess allegedly doing that at my hospital.
Right now there is allegations that Medtronics Was giving financial incentives, Apple laptops, and, like, these big fancy dinners in order for doctors to insert, like, I think 33 balloons or stents into patients.
And generally, I think they only get, like, three as the tops of what a physician would use in a surgical procedure.
And it's a big deal.
And, I mean, it's the same thing.
33 in one person?
Yes.
Yes.
Holy crap.
Yeah.
Well, I'm not a very smart man when it comes to medical things, but that sounds egregious to me.
Well, it is.
And it reminds me of what's happening with this legislation because...
We're going to be giving doctors and medical directors of these hospitals financial incentives to enroll veterans into these covered programs.
And we're going to be denying them the caregiver program.
I mean, could potentially deny veterans the caregiver program in order to get that financial kickback into these covered programs.
So here's what I wonder.
How many these covered programs...
Okay.
I'm sweating, Robin.
I've got to collect my thoughts for a second.
Okay, so the covered programs.
Are they VA-ran programs or are they community-based resources and stuff like that?
This is home and community-based resources.
Okay.
They are paid for by the VA, but that doesn't mean that they are VA-ran.
That doesn't mean that they're, like PCAFC is a VA program.
It's a VA program.
But veteran-directed care is where you utilize resources out in the community and the VA pays the veteran a budget to purchase these items.
Okay, so that leads me to my, here's my suspicion.
And we can leave it at suspicion if we need to, and that's fine.
But here's what I think is probably happening.
These programs, I would like to know, or I wonder, how many of these programs and the people that run them or have their fingers in them are sitting at a dinner table with the Elizabeth Dole Foundation?
Um...
Because it seems to me that part of the issue that goes on with these types of problems or these types of issues is that, okay, well, EDF is going to, Elizabeth Dole Foundation is gonna propose this legislation, and then they're gonna lobby people to vote for it, to pass it.
And in the interim, they're going to be doing outreach to community-based organizations and services and go, hey, if this legislation passes, we're gonna get a lot of funding.
I think you mentioned it, scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.
This is, in my opinion folks, this is a follow the money issue.
It doesn't seem that there's a whole lot of talk about what's really best.
What's really the best situation for these veterans to be in to get the best care and make them the most comfortable?
Yep.
And, you know, thinking of being, you know, the best and most comfortable, now that everybody's moved out of the, you know, the PCAFC, I found a little slide from the Elizabeth Dole's Facebook page, Elizabeth Dole Foundation Facebook page, and they said that,
In the program or integrated caregiver inclusive language in home-based community services, so in the programs that have VA staff entering the home, such as veteran-directed care or aid and attendance, they will also be conducting a caregiver wellness check.
So I bring this slide up for two reasons, one of which, so we're not going to be in the PCFC anymore, but when you're in the PCFC, you Go through what is like a wellness check.
So every, you know, 120 days, the VA reaches out, checks on you.
Do you need anything?
Can we help you?
It used to be a horrendous like two and a half hour ordeal.
Now, Dr.
Richardson has actually moved that down to, I think, 15 minutes was what my last one was.
And it really was just a touch base kind of a deal.
It was wonderful.
But now they're going to be coming into the home with And doing this, but we're not even going to be receiving any caregiver services.
They're just going to be coming into the home and checking in on you.
Hey guys, thank you for joining us tonight.
I want to take a minute out here to talk to you about GoldCo.
Give GoldCo a call today at 855-920-3196 and talk to them about how to back your IRA with up to $10,000 of free silver.
Folks, things are a disaster and they don't seem to be getting any better.
So if you have a plan for your future, protect that plan with precious metals such as gold and silver.
Call today.
Call Gold Co.
855-920-3196.
That's 855-920-3196.
Call Gold Co.
today and tell them The Richard Leonard Show sent you.
Hey folks, welcome back here to the next segment of the show.
Last segment we had talked about all kinds of things.
We were in 2019 is where we started the show.
We're now in February-March area of 2022.
Robin, I gotta tell ya, I was extremely frustrated by the things we talked about in the last segment.
And I have a feeling...
That we're gonna continue down that path.
So, where are we?
Let the frustration begin.
Right, so we are on March 17th to March 21st of 2022.
The caregivers are just dropping like flies.
We're getting kicked out like crazy.
Purge is still full force.
I think they're working on Tier 3 right now, which means they started in September on Tier 1.
Once they moved through them, we got through Tier 2 in 2021-2022 area.
Now we're working into Tier 3, and everybody's still dropping like crazy.
You know, the primary care wasn't collaborated 90, I don't, I can't say 90%, probably 90% of the time because that's how many people got discharged.
But they were required to collaborate, but our notes said that they couldn't collaborate with the primary care providers.
You know, there's inaccurate assessments.
Everybody's complaining of these Lies in the medical charts.
The doctor's notes don't reflect what the seats are saying.
And on March 22nd, the VA conveniently, strategically calls a moratorium.
They called a moratorium in 2017 with Secretary Shulkin as we went over.
It was for three months.
They reviewed the program, they did an internal review, and then they published those findings and what they were going to do to correct that.
In 2018, Congress, I think it was Senator Patty Murray, basically cornered former Secretary Wilkie and said, you are going to commit to me that you are not going to continue purging these caregivers and veterans out of this program until you have done an internal review and get that back with me.
And he finally conceded and he said, I will not discharge anybody else or demote them based on on our you know what we're currently doing and so that is called a moratorium.
We call it a pause but the formal word is a moratorium and I found the press release for it and it says that In addition to initiating an internal review, VA will continue to solicit feedback from external stakeholders.
VA is reviewing policy changes as well as pursuing long-term legislative and regulatory changes.
But I would like to know, where's that internal review from 2018?
Well, I'm guessing it's hidden with all the links to all the other stuff on all these other websites.
It's hidden somewhere.
Well, they never published it.
I'd like to see what it says, because unless we know what went wrong in 2018, how can we ensure that we don't make those same mistakes?
Is it something that can be requested with a FOIA? I don't know.
That's a good question.
That's a good question.
Well, look at that.
Yeah.
So, you know, I think that what probably happened is that they probably found out that there was maybe more going on than what should have been going on.
And that this might have been a little more orchestrated than they thought.
And then they backed off.
And now we are completing the 2018 purges.
The 2022 purge is just...
We see it as poor regulations that are discharging everybody, but I think it's just they're completing that 2018 push to remove us all.
So this moratorium that took place...
Now, so just to lay it out for the people that are watching and listening...
What it seems like, and correct me if I'm wrong, 18, the purges started happening.
And then at some time later, this moratorium, or pause, comes through.
And so in the interim of all that, there's been a changing of the guard, so to speak.
Meg Cabot leaves, she goes to Atlas Research, still seemingly having some control about what happens with this program.
She got her feelings hurt.
Somebody apparently posted a meme about her, so she had to leave the VA because she's not very thick-skinned.
President Biden comes in, appoints her to the position she's in now.
We get a new secretary.
I mean, there's all kinds of changes happening.
And so whoever the puppeteer is of this whole thing then says, onward with the 2018 purges, seemingly.
Yeah?
But hidden as these new regulatory changes.
Right.
That's what I think.
It doesn't seem too far-fetched.
Not at all.
And it would seem far-fetched if we weren't all discharged.
Right.
But we were.
And nobody wants to talk about it.
Nobody wants to talk about the lies, the inaccuracies.
Nobody wants to talk about it.
They just want to figure out what to do with us now.
You know, and in March 23rd of 2022, they had the Honoring Our Commitment Improving VA's Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers.
And once again, right off the bat, Dole Act is brought up again.
You know, and kind of the general consensus of this Senate hearing is that these Assessments are terrible.
They're just absolutely atrocious.
You know, I really resonated with what one of the caregivers had said about the assessments not being accommodating.
That really struck a chord with me.
And, you know, but when, I can say this, when veteran warriors had claimed that these assessments were atrocious, they were met with, quit fear-mongering.
Stop.
You're scaring.
I think that this last summer, Ben and I had discussed the reassessments and how intrusive they are and how triggering they are and how long they are and, you know, I guess I don't understand Why these types of things keep happening when we already know that these things are triggering their demeaning.
And I can relate to other veterans possibly who don't want to talk about the things that they can't do.
They don't want to have discussions about the fact that they can't bathe themselves, they can't dress themselves.
Because these are men and women Who really did a whole lot for this country.
Yeah, and what about the ones that can't do what's being asked of them in the assessments?
What about those where they're like, dance, monkey dance?
Right.
And you can't.
You can't.
They can't.
They can't do what you're asking.
And when the caregiver's like, well, let me intervene and help them do what you're asking.
And they're just like, no, you can't talk.
That's craziness.
Yeah.
So, at the end of the hearing, you know, they carry on and carry on, and at the end of the hearing, you hear Mr.
Schwab say, Senator Brown has asked the Elizabeth Dole Foundation to recast the PCAFC, but Steve feels that, you know, it's equally as important to figure out the support for those that have been disenrolled.
Like, and it just comes right back to the nobody cares that we were discharged.
What are we going to, you know, what program are they going to put us into now?
Well, the real question is, or the real comment from him, in my eyes, if you read between the lines, the real comment is, let's get back to talking about how we're going to make more money.
I don't believe, Robin, that Steve Schwab gives two shits.
About what happens to you, to your husband, to any other veteran or caregiver.
I believe he cares about how they are going to continue to shell out money just to get it back from their partners.
If he cared about caregivers, he would have came to the Federal Advisory Committee meeting.
It was his second meeting.
We'll get there.
I'm sure we'll get there, won't we?
I'm sure we will, too.
You know, and just for folks watching, this is the guy that, isn't he the chair of the committee?
No, no, that's his, that was former Senator Dole.
Now the chair is Bonnie, not Bonnie, I'm sorry, Lee Woodruff.
Lee Woodruff, yeah, yeah.
So March 25th, the federal...
Hold on, hold on.
Let's not skip past it.
Because we need to talk about this for 30 seconds.
Okay.
The Federal Advisory Committee, what is Steve Schwab's position?
He is a member.
Okay, so he's a member of the committee.
This was his second meeting, yes?
Yes, so former Senator Dole quietly stepped down as chair this last fall, and Secretary McDonough replaced her with da-da-da-da, Steve Schwab.
Weird.
Which is the CEO of the, I know, so weird, right?
Who would have thought?
And so instead of being at this meeting that was announced months before it happened, Where was Steve Schwab?
Steve Schwab was in Canada at some gay pride rally on the side of an effin' mountain skiing.
Are you serious?
Absolutely.
He posted pictures on his social media.
Well, I didn't know that.
I knew that he wasn't there.
I spent my own money to go and see him, to ask him face-to-face why He thinks that there are better suited programs for my family to see what he would have to say.
Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
He doesn't care about that, Robin.
He doesn't care that you spent your hard-earned money to be there to try to sort out what's happening for your family, for him to do his job.
He was in Canada trying to do whatever the hell it is that they do there.
And neglecting his duties on this committee.
And I'm willing to bet that he had a sneaking suspicion that there were going to be people there, such as yourself, such as me, such as Ben Krause, such as anybody else, for the public comment section.
And he didn't want anything to do with that.
What a coward.
So, anyway, let's continue.
We'll just leave that sit there for now.
So, on March 25th, the Federal Circuit agreed with, sorry, I'm mad.
So, okay, they agreed with veteran warriors and required the VA to set aside the definition of supervision, protection, and instruction.
You know, that essentially invalidated all of our assessments.
You know, send a thank you card to them.
Support them in any way that you can.
They Veteran Warriors and their legal team are what saved our skin.
It wasn't people like Steve Schwab.
Veteran Warriors is where it's at.
So we will get into March 31st.
Steve Schwab, it seems like his name comes up so much.
So Steve Schwab stated on Twitter that caregivers are back in.
So...
So he says, attention, all veterans and caregivers, Department of Veterans Affairs, just put in print what they've been saying.
No one previously notified of discharge from the caregiver program will be discharged.
And a caregiver gets on there and says, it doesn't exactly say that, though.
We will not remove anyone from the program or decrease any support based on reassessments before we reexamine our current eligibility criteria.
We will consider Making changes if necessary.
Wording is important.
Absolutely.
To which he says, you may not see it that way, but at Dole Foundation can assure you no one is being discharged until new eligibility rules are developed, agreed on, and assessments can be made against that formula.
Anyone who received a notice of discharges, back in, and you'll receive a letter soon.
And this is where everything started for me.
Hold on a second.
Steve Schwab works for EDF. How are they speaking for...
Hold on.
Hold on, because this is where everything starts for me.
You want to know where I come in on this timeline?
Yeah.
Right here.
Right here, because I replied to him.
Okay, let's hear it.
I said, I received my discharge five days after you wrote this.
You don't work for the Department of Veterans Affairs, so why are you speaking on their behalf stating we're back in?
Those were my words.
And the response?
Crickets?
Zero?
I don't hear.
They don't talk to me.
Maybe he was skiing.
Maybe.
Son of a bitch.
So, you know, the VA was still going through and discharging veterans after the moratorium.
But they were saying...
Well, you're not going to actually be discharged until after the moratorium, but you still have it in your chart.
I mean, and it was to the point that people were getting their travel benefits were getting expiration dates on them.
So we hear what the VA is saying, but we see what's happening.
We're still getting those discharges and those no's, basically.
And so someone else says, what this tells me is that the VA could still discharge us as scheduled and could decide to make no changes at all.
And Steve says, nope, not gonna happen.
Yeah, I'm sure he did.
That is exactly what was happening and that is exactly what was going to happen until the end of March of 2022.
It wasn't until there was an interim final rule where veteran warriors was cited 30 times because of their lawsuit for supervision and protection and instruction.
That's the reason we have the interim final rule.
That's the reason we got our extension.
That's the reason.
So, like, I'm so sick and tired of the lip service.
So, this is Robin.
This is a prime example of part of what we were talking about last week.
That this is why...
Anybody that's watching this or listening that is a caregiver or a veteran or has anything to do with anybody or any type in this program, this is why you stand up.
This is why you talk.
This is why you fight.
Because, look, it was just over a year ago or just less than a year ago, change was made based on the fighting power of veteran warriors and And other caregivers that chose to speak up.
They made that change.
Veteran Warriors did that.
Elizabeth Dole and her stupid foundation didn't do it.
The VA didn't do it.
Veteran Warriors did it.
So the extension of Veteran Warriors and the caregivers that were on this show and Ben Krause, who did a lot of research and Robin hooked us up as a group, This is what happens when you stand up and fight for yourself.
And don't take this crap laying down.
What are they gonna do?
What do you have left to lose?
You're gonna lose your birthday?
Come on now.
Robin, we got two minutes and 30 seconds left in the segment.
Do we have anything left to get out before we end?
Yeah, we'll just kind of wrap up this timeline a little bit.
So on June 9th, VA extended the moratorium to post-expansion.
While the program's under review, basically they're not going to lose any of their services until they review everything.
And then on July 1st, which was a Friday, on a holiday weekend, VA decided to appeal the bidet ruling, giving caregivers and veterans the right to appeal to the Board of Veterans Affairs.
They want us to remain at the facility level for our appeals.
So they want us to appeal to the same people that denied us.
They want us to lose our options on that.
And they want you to do it Friday, July 1st.
At 4.30 or some stupid crap like that.
Yeah, they sent it out really late, and I think that they did that because they didn't want to have to deal with us.
They'll cool them off over the weekend.
We'll deal with it on Tuesday when we come back.
And I'm here to tell you folks that a government facility on a holiday Friday at 4.30 is an effing ghost town.
Those people all went home at 3 o'clock.
Well, I want to know what senior person approved that overturning or trying to appeal that ruling.
That would have had to have went through the senior caregiver advisor, don't you think?
Well, you would think.
But as we're learning, whatever it is that we had thinked or thought or thunk or thought or think or whatever...
I don't even know anymore.
It doesn't even matter.
The fact of the matter is that it reminds me of your first day of basic training when you are required to do things and you have been set up for failure.
Grab this 50-pound bag and carry it a mile in 13 seconds.
Do it now.
There's no way that it's going to work out for you.
And so, I mean, folks, this whole thing, if you haven't watched the last three weeks, including this episode, well, this would be the fourth one, go back and watch them because it's so clear that this is egregious action taken from Towards this program, whether it's to the people or to the program in general, to be able to extort funds from it, whatever the case may be.
But the fact of the matter is that the folks in charge of this program are not worried about the caregivers and the veterans, or at least that's how it seems.
Anyway, we've run up on a break.
We'll be right back.
Hey folks, and welcome here for the last segment of the show.
We got about four and a half minutes left.
Robin, call to action.
We got four minutes, 30 seconds.
Go.
Yeah, so I've given everybody a high-level breakdown of this program, you know, and I'll give credit where it's due.
And if you were a topic of discussion and you didn't like that, maybe reflect on what you've said, what you've done, and would you change that?
And if you would, Great.
And if you wouldn't, why don't you come on and enlighten us?
You know, we deserve to know.
Why was guidance given to remove veterans after three years with no indication in the chart that it was appropriate?
Steve Schwab, why do you think that there are better suited programs for us?
You're a fundraiser and you're damn good at it, but you're not a caregiver and you're not a veteran.
Why is Meg a senior advisor when she has a portfolio of failures?
And why hasn't this program been fixed after all these years?
And I've said it in a previous episode that we want to move forward.
Caregivers and veterans want to move forward and there is a way.
Remember me saying that everything was governed by laws and regulations?
Well, Veteran Warriors has created an extremely comprehensive list of common sense ways to fix this program and protect us.
This legislation, this proposed legislation, you know, it would secure our futures in this program.
I think it would also align it with congressional intent once again.
You know, and there's a link in the description of this video, folks.
Go click that link, review it, send that list to your congressional representatives and explain that this is a way for all of us to move forward and get past this and we'll never have to talk about it again.
We deserve this.
And while you're at it, tell them to say vote no for the Dole Act.
It removes our choice from the PCFC. You lose your choice.
And join us next time.
Very well said, Robin.
Before I continue on my little comment, please do, folks, go down in the description.
There is a link that will send you to the Veteran Warriors website.
It'll give you legislative action agenda items to talk about your members with.
And so this goes for anybody watching or anybody listening.
But most importantly, Any caregivers or any veterans that are tuning in and watching this today, this is your talking points.
This is the place where you can start to stand up and fight for yourself.
And I think, Robin, that you made a very good point that the community wants to move on from this.
And so this, folks, is an open forum.
Mr.
Schwab, I know that there's been harsh words said and there's probably some hurt feelings.
Meg Cabot, same thing.
Anybody.
Issuing you an open invite to come and just have a conversation, a very professional conversation, as long as, you know, cooler heads prevail.
But if we're wrong, and we're fear-mongering, and it's fake news and propaganda or whatever it is that you want to label it, then explain why.
Or don't come on here, but issue something publicly.
I have no problem with you taking the comments made on this show.
Put them on your own platform and respond to them.
But the fact of the matter is that it seems like nobody is lifting a finger to fight for these veterans and their caregivers.
And all they want really is answers.
And if it's broken, fix it.
That's it.
And then we can move on from this.
You can go skiing.
Meg can have fun by her dish and do whatever it is she does.
And we all move on.
But I think that these are conversations that need to happen.
And so if we're wrong, come on and tell us how and why we're wrong.
I got no problem issuing you an apology if you deserve one.
Folks, that'll do it for this week.
I want to thank you so much for joining us.
Please come back with us in a couple weeks.
We're going to take a small break from the caregivers program, and we'll be back with it in a couple weeks.
But thank you for joining, and we'll see you next time.
▲
Export Selection