.... The 85-year-old veteran had turned to his doctor after noticing an irregular "clicking" noise in his heartbeat. To help with the diagnosis, Wharton was given strict orders to check his blood pressure twice a day for a month.
But when the senior requested a home blood pressure monitor from Veterans Affairs, he was surprised to learn that they were not authorized to cover the cost of the $135 machine. Instead, he was told they could only reimburse his taxi fare to and from his doctor's clinic, the location of the nearest blood pressure monitor, twice a day.
This news left the veteran scratching his head. He knew that the cost of taxi rides for a month would have the department paying out more than $600 -- over four times the cost of the monitor.
"It's ridiculous," Wharton said. "Quite frankly, it's the principle of the thing - that the government will pay so much more money for travel than for the machine."
The twice-daily taxi rides would have taken more tan two hours out of Wharton's schedule to complete a task that takes less than five minutes to perform at home. Additionally, the veteran suffers from balance problems, adding further difficulty to what would already be a significant regular trek.
So the veteran took matters into his own hands and bought his own top-of-the-line blood pressure machine -- for a grand total of $135.
If Wharton wanted to push to get the monitor covered, he was told to "appeal" the case. But with no confirmation as to when his claim would be reviewed, the process would prevent the senior from following his doctor's orders.
"I was able to solve the problem myself, but it still exists for other veterans," Wharton said. "What is this doing to other people?" ....