Veterans Benefits Administration Public Contact and Outreach Specialist Daniele Gualtieri of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs yesterday said veterans asked more questions about health care, reimbursements for medical expenses, medical benefits and claims than other services.
“Some of the veterans who showed up are members who wanted to reapply for disabilities benefits and claims,” she said.
But Gualtieri added that these health care issues will be best addressed as soon as the Veterans Affairs Clinic is established in October.
“As soon as the Veterans Affairs clinic will be put up, it will be easier for veterans to get medical referrals from VA doctors,” she said.
She added that getting referrals is one of the major challenges that veterans in the CNMI are presently encountering.
Ray Chang from the federal VA office in Honolulu was also here on Tuesday to discuss the home loan and adaptive housing program for veterans.
Before coming to Saipan, Gualtieri spent two days on Rota addressing the concerns of the veterans there.
Yesterday was her second day here and she will be on Tinian at the mayor’s office today to give the over 80 veterans thre a chance to air their concerns and give assistance if they needed it.
Gualtieri said they will try to visit the CNMI and other Micronesian Islands including Yap, Pohnpei, Kosrae, Palau to assist veterans on a quarterly basis.
The CNMI has over a thousand veterans, with over 900 staying on Saipan while the rest are on Tinian and Rota.
Gualtieri said among the other issues she addressed covered other services of the Veterans Affairs office including pension plans, education benefits, medical benefits, burial benefits, and home loan benefits.
As part of the services for veterans, CNMI Military Veterans Affairs Office Director Ruth Coleman said they will be holding the interment of two veterans at the Veterans Cemetery in Marpi this morning.
She said the military honors had already been done and they will just be transferring the remains of the veterans from the public cemetery to Marpi.
