VA story lacked full picture on healthcare services
The story about veteran suicides was powerful (“Veteran suicides in new spotlight after Ga. deaths,” News, April 21), but it lacked context. You listed wait times at area VA hospitals and clinics, but not at non-VA facilities. I’ve been using non-VA facilities for 40 years and VA facilities for about 10. I wish I had started using VA facilities sooner. My Vietnam-era coffee shop friend has PTSD. The VA sends him to a non-VA doctor that he has used for years. I had a very painful episode with sciatica last summer. My VA clinic called the VA hospital. Its ER was full. The VA sent me to a nearby non-VA ER. I have yet to get a bill for drugs or services. The VA has more flexibility than any non-VA facility I’ve ever used. It is also the best medical care in America. I wish the AJC could spend more time listing options for veterans, which might help to reduce the real level of despair in some vets.
MIKE HOLZKNECHT, ATLANTA
The Right is who’s really politicizing U.S. Census
Michele Malkin wrote that leftists were trying to hijack the census to gain political power (“Soros-funded leftists trying to hijack 2020 U.S. census,” Opinion, April 25). It is just as obvious the right is trying to do exactly that. The census needs to count every person living in the country not because of politics. To the roads they drive, the water they drink, the sewers their waste goes to, or the schools they attend, it doesn’t matter if a person is documented or not, the cost is basically the same and must be paid. The amount of federal dollars returned to the states for these and other purposes is based on population. So count everyone in the census, and find another venue for the citizenship question.
CHARLIE KEY, MABLETON
About the Author
