A bed-bound 82-year-old Korean War veteran in Georgia had his disability benefits and medical insurance cut-off after the Department of Veterans Affairs mistakenly declared him dead.
William Maroney says he needs the benefits to live. His health took a turn for the worse when his wife of 65 years passed away in June. He is confined to a bed at a Henry County nursing home.
“I’m disabled, I can’t work,” Maroney told WSB-TV in Atlanta Thursday. “I’ve got to have something to live off of.”
His granddaughter found out when she called the VA to schedule a doctor’s appointment for him.
“They said, ‘This man is deceased.’ I said, ‘No he’s not. Want to speak to him, he’s right here,” Bridgett Maroney told the station.
Maroney stopped getting his benefits in June. The granddaughter said somehow the VA marked Maroney as dead instead of his wife. She said all she got was the runaround when she tried to straighten out the problem.
WSB-TV reported that on Friday he VA sent the station an email that said the department’s Atlanta office was taking corrective action to resume Maroney’s compensation benefits.
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VA cuts off benefits for Korean War vet mistakenly declared dead
