No Coverage

I remember getting let go from the military in 2014. I’d had some pretty negative interactions so far with veterans affairs, but I still trusted them to do the right thing.

When I got out I continued taking the drugs prescribed to me by a military doctor, specifically for my PTSD.

Veterans affairs wouldn’t cover it.

This was a departure from my understanding of the coverage. It seemed to me that they should have to cover treatment expenses for my approved disability. I was naive.

You see, the military medical system approved, paid for, and dispensed these drugs and when I left I discovered veterans affairs had a limited list of drugs approved for PTSD.

So I wrote a letter explaining why I needed the drugs.

Denied.

So I had my civilian doctor write a letter explaining why I needed the drugs.

Denied.

Here I was, a Canadian who was injured overseas, denied drug coverage by the federal government. I switched to generic so that I could afford it. Just over $100 per month for a few years. It didn’t break the bank, but it wasn’t a small expense either.

It affected me negatively because the federal government, I felt, had a duty to take care of me at a very low level. It turned out to be the beginning of a long line of betrayal.

It also hurt me to know that I was being denied because I was a veteran. The truth is that if I had private medical coverage from say a retail job, there would be no question. But because of my veteran status and my PTSD diagnosis, they refused.

I would have been better treated if I’d gotten injured working at Walmart.