Concerned Veterans of America – a group that was exposed as a Koch Brothers-funded front – has been attempting to dismantle the VA for years. Now they’re stepping up their attempts with a new misleading ad featuring a Purple Heart recipient.
The ad, “Purple Heart Recipient Struggles to Receive Timely Care From VA” features Ben Rangel, the Texas field director for CVA. In this 1:45 video, Rangel tells the heartbreaking tale of suffering injuries during a firefight in Iraq in 2004 and what was an all-too-familiar story of long waits and an inability to access care at the VA.
Unfortunately for CVA, Rangel’s return to the US, and subsequent problems with the VA don’t hold up to scrutiny.
Take a look at the transcript below to see what’s wrong:
In 2004, I was hit by an IED during a convoy and received a Purple Heart. It's probably the only medal that most people don't want but it's the most recognized medal because it lets people know that we were in combat and they were close to some of the worst things that people have done during war.
I took shrapnel on the left side of my body. I didn't even realize I was wounded until the whole firefight was over. The month after getting out of the Marine Corps I went to the VA for the first time to seek physical therapy for my shoulder.
I was told I had to wait eight months. That was shocking to me that I gave eight years of my life to the Marine Corps and now I have to wait eight months this to receive care.
When I went back to the VA, I was told my shoulder didn't heal well. Everything could have been avoided if they would have allowed me to receive the care that I needed either at the VA or somewhere else.
I think if the VA can’t handle the volume of veterans or the quality of care that veterans need, we should be able to go somewhere else.
In the state of Texas, some places you can travel 200 miles to the nearest VA on the way there you passed eight hospitals they could be avoided by allowing us to go somewhere else to seek the health care that we need.
It’s not a surprise that CVA is resorting to distortions of the truth to further their agenda. They represent corporate special interests and private, for-profit medical providers. They ignore the undisputed facts that the VA offers care unavailable in the private sector, and that veterans prefer it. Why? Because they stand to profit off of those who have borne the battle, and don’t mind spinning lies to make it happen.