The choice card gives veterans who have been waiting more than 30 days for appointments or who live more than 40 miles from a VA facility the chance to see a private doctor.
For Army veteran Anna Harper a mix up on the VA's part nearly cost her her good credit.
Harper suffered multiple injuries during her training at Fort Hood, a service-connected disability that is covered by the VA.
Harper’s choice card enabled her to get X-rays at a local private facility versus driving an hour to the James A. Haley Hospital in Tampa.
The VA, not Harper, was responsible for the $400 bill. Still the doctor’s office sent her bills for upwards of a year because the VA never paid.
Harper says she called the VA every month and was told by multiple people the bill would be paid but demands for payment from the doctor's office kept coming back to this patient.
The final straw arrived in the form of a notice from a collection agency threatening her credit. After hearing her story and looking over the documents, I contacted the VA. Within days the VA authorized payment of the $400 bill and the doctor’s office called off the bill collectors.
