COLLEGE STATION, Texas — For more than 30 years, the Department of Veterans Affairs said it has provided free healthcare for any illness or injury that they determine is related to a veteran’s military service.
When COVID-19 hit, Veterans Affairs was tasked with tackling even more problems than they could have even predicted.
President Biden visited a VA Clinic in Fort Worth in March of 2022 and said veterans and their medical care need to be taken seriously.
“Every single soldier or veteran deserves to be treated with dignity. They shouldn’t have to ask for a damn thing," President Biden said. "They shouldn’t have to ask, ‘Can you help me?’ it should be, ‘I’ve got a problem’ and we say, ‘How can we help.'"
In December, College Station veteran, Jason Scaturro, contacted his local Veterans Affairs and asked for assistance, only to be met with mixed messages from his hospital and the VA’s outpatient clinic in town.
As a veteran, Scaturro's guaranteed free access to health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs after the agency was established in 1989. But in his experience, Scaturro said the promise of protection has been torn for years.
“I went to the VA back in December," Scaturro said. "They gave me a referral."
Scaturro joined the U.S. Army's Military Police Corps in 1995 and served for 13 years in Washington and Germany until 2008 when he was discharged due to an injury. Fast forward another 13 years and Scaturro said he started experienced pain in his foot.
He contacted the VA and asked them for a referral so he could be treated.
“They faxed it over, have confirmation they received it," Scaturro said. "They said, 'give it 24 hours and call them back' and that’s what I did. I gave them 48 hours instead of 24. Called Baylor Scott & White, 'we don’t have it.'"
Scaturro said he waited for a response for weeks and when he finally got an answer, he said he had to start the process all over after an alleged error was found on the paperwork.
“I was told this time that they rejected the referral because of the doctor’s name who was on it," said Scaturro.
The doctor listed was a podiatrist who currently works for Baylor Scott & White out of Temple.
“I could just go, ‘Okay, I just won’t use the VA and I’ll just get my own medical insurance and run that way,'" Scaturro said. "But I earned this."
Scaturro said he was in contact with Tom Walker, the administrative officer over the VA's local clinic in College Station. KAGS News contacted Walker and after a brief conversation over the phone, Walker directed us to their Temple office, which provided the following statement:
"We apologize Mr. Scaturro has had difficulty with his community care referral. In an effort to protect patient privacy, we cannot comment on a specific Veteran’s case, but we have made contact with him directly and Baylor Scott and White to make sure his questions and concerns are addressed. We will continue to work closely with our community partners to leverage all possible means to provide and coordinate care, including virtual care within the VA system. In FY21 alone, VA conducted over 1.5 million community care referrals, 68,236 through Central Texas VA Health Care System. VA has established a network of local providers for which Veterans are referred for care. VA works within the network to share relevant consultation requests, medical notes, imagery, diagnostic labs and reports in order for the Veteran to be appointed and treated in the community. Veterans may be eligible for community care through a provider in their local community depending on their health care needs or circumstances and if they meet specific eligibility criteria. Veterans who have been referred by their VA provider for community care and have questions can reach out to their Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) via Myhealthevet or our Care in the Community office at (254) 743-1683."
Scaturro called the hospital again on his case, but was met with more obstacles. “When they transfer you over to referrals, they are very defensive and insist that it is your fault that this is not going through how it should be," he said.
“You’re doing it wrong’ that’s all she kept saying," he added. "That had me pretty heated. Basically, she was implying that I didn’t go see a doctor. I just tried to get an appointment at a specialty clinic without a referral at all."
It was almost too much for Scaturro and he struggled to hold it together, despite his first instinct not to reach out. “This makes me emotional," he said. "It’s not the VA, it’s not anger. I have a tremendous amount of pride."
In February of 2022, Scaturro reached out to KAGS News and spoke with us about the constant struggle to see a doctor in regards to his pain. Once we started calling and asking questions, Scaturro said he began getting phone calls - from none other than Baylor Scott & White.
“I had five or six phone calls from Baylor Scott and White that day," Scaturro said. "Now, after the media’s got involved, now they’ve got me an appointment, amazingly enough."
KAGS News asked to talk with someone at Baylor Scott and White College Station regarding Scaturro's case. They agreed to do so and asked Scaturro to sign a release form that allowed them to discuss the case with us. We wanted to find out why it took three months to get Scaturro the medical care he needed.
Scaturro signed the forms and KAGS News set up an interview with Baylor Scott & White. Kendall Parker, the Guest Services Director for the hospital, said the hospital regularly sees veterans looking for care.
“It’s always nice when we see a veteran enter in our facility where we previously know they had to go to Temple or to a VA hospital," Parker said. But now, they’ve been afforded the opportunity to come to us."
Parker said her department regularly assisted guests navigating the hospital.
“Having our guest services there to greet them, to answer any questions that they might have, or even if it’s just for them to walk into where they need to go," she said.
However, when asked specific questions about Jason's case, the hospital’s communication staff told us Parker wouldn’t be able to comment. KAGS asked what the hospital's medical process is like while working with the VA, but Parker was asked not to comment.
"That’s probably something that is not in Kendall's wheelhouse," said Megan Hoffman, who serves as the hospital's brand manager for the marketing and public relations team. She watched as the interview took place.
When Parker was asked to comment on the referral process, again, she was stopped from commenting.
"That’s probably again something that, I mean Kendall hasn’t been involved with his case at all,” Hoffman said.
Baylor Scott & White told KAGS News in March that they weren't able to provide anyone for a follow-up interview to answer questions about Scaturro's case. KAGS News followed up in April, asking Baylor Scott & White to provide an interview on Scaturro's case as previously discussed. Instead, Hoffman provided a statement:
"From the time we were made aware of this concern, our team worked to help, and we are pleased that it has been resolved. We are always working to make care more convenient, and Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – College Station is pleased to offer a whole team of individuals dedicated to assisting patients with their care journey. Those needing assistance navigating care may call 979.207.0127 to speak to our guest services team."
KAGS News asked what the hospital is doing going forward to make sure other veterans don't have the same issues. We asked what the specific problem was that caused Scaturro's medical appointment to be delayed for more than three months.
Baylor Scott & White has declined to answer the questions and refers back to the statement.
Scaturro said he wanted to see his case through to the end and doesn't want other veterans to give up on getting their medical care. He shared his story in the hopes that others who had given up on getting care - will go back and try it again.
“They deserve better," Scaturro said. "If my fight helps them get it, then I’ll fight it."
If you are a veteran and have struggled like Jason Scaturro in getting medical care, reach out to us at news@kagstv.com. You can also reach out to William Johnson at wjohnson1@kagstv.com.