Trump’s appointee to run the VA replaced the HealthyVet website, which veterans like me used to contact anyone on their VA health team that deals with our health issues, with a new website where we had to prove we were human and us, before we could switch accounts.
To prove I was human, I had to go to a local US Post Office with my ID but before the postal clerk could check the ID to verify, I’m me, I had to show them a barcode on my mobile phone screen they could scan. A second site’s barcode request demanded identity verification; I failed despite live support. VA phone assistance guided me through the process twice, each time exceeding an hour.
I called one of the many VA 800 numbers and was told, after waiting I don’t remember how long, I could take my ID to the VA medical clinic I use and see the Veteran Advocate in person, who checked my ID and verified online that I’m me. That was a two-hour round-trip drive and the advocate, in his office at that VA medical clinic, verified I was me and logged it into the VA website.
Then yesterday, I read that all the Healthcare Information for all veterans, like me, was eaten by the AI that DOGE loaded into the VA medical system to improve and speed up that system, but it ate all our information instead because the AI couldn’t communicate with the VA computer system. Until I hear otherwise, it seems all the files for millions of veterans the VA provides healthcare for does not exist anymore, which explains why I can’t prove I’m me and the outside vendor who the VA pays for the orthotic shoes I wear so I can walk isn’t getting the prescription sent to him from the VA website for my latest pair of shoes.
This is so confusing even for me, I’m not sure I explained what’s happening properly.
Still, who is profiting from our pain?
On December 25, 2024, Forbes reported “Trump’s Net Worth Rose $3.6 Billion This Year—Despite Wild Fluctuations In His Wealth” and reached $5.1 billion by early June, 2025, according to Wikipedia.
Trump’s Net Worth Doubled To $5 Billion in the first half of 2025.
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