This is just one big bloody lie! I am the one and only veteran being treated at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center in Aurora, CO for cancer of the spinal cord. In addition I was born with Poland’s Syndrome which I inherited from my father who was a Navy WW2 vet exposed to chemical warfare (which caused Poland’s Syndrome) and I have had 8 spinal fusions, 4 foot surgeries, and I’m on the waiting list for a total knee replacement due to ‘knock-knee’ all caused by Poland’s Syndrome. From 2015 thru 2018 I randomly received travel pay. The entire year of 2019 I was denied all of my travel pay and the VA stated this was due to the kiosk’s located in the front lobby when you walked in! From 2020 thru 2021 I received my travel pay. In 2022 I began a file of ‘paid’ vs. ‘unpaid’ claims. In 2023 I took the unpaid 2022 claims in and they finally paid them in bulk and in 2024 I took the unpaid 2023 claims in and they paid them in bulk. But, in 2025 I took the unpaid 2024 claims in and they refused to pay me stating that I was listed as ‘low income’ but they determined that I am not low income. To receive travel pay my income had to be less than $9,000 per year. My only sources of income are SSA and 10% Disability from the VA. I took my grievance to the Office of Connected Care. This office filed three (3) complaints with Travel Pay. They also advised me that SSA is ‘exempt’ income which only leaves my 10% Disability which is only $4,000 per year. Approximately two months later,( June 2025) I received a voicemail from a man named Tim in Travel Pay advising he was sending me the status of all of my unpaid travel claims from 2024 and 2025. I received two pages from Tim in an envelope which list the unpaid travel claims (approximately 16) with no explanation for why they were denied. I wrote Tim a letter and asked specifically why they were denied. I sent that letter to him both registered mail and certified mail. However, it has been my experience when I send any written correspondence to the VA both registered mail and certified mail that the mail room either refuses it when the United States Post Office tried to deliver it to them or they throw it in the trash and the party it was meant for never has any idea. It has not been 30 days. I have not received a ‘signature’ card back from the USPS yet showing the mail room’s response. Be advised I also wrote to the new head of the the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center in Aurora, CO – Michael Moore, in March 2025 about this very issue and he too could not be bothered to reply. Now you can see the scam that Travel Pay actually is.
Local American Legion chapter located in Coolidge, AZ
