The "SOME PEOPLE" Essays
The War for Healthcare United States Veterans Fight at Home by Erica Brechtelsbauer | Edited by Kimberly J. Soenen March 30, 2025
(United States Army Sergeant Chris Kurtz in his home, December 2018. Photo by Erica Brechtelsbauer.)
The War for Healthcare United States Veterans Fight at Home
by Erica Brechtelsbauer
In December of 2010, United States Army Sergeant Chris Kurtz lost half of his left hand and both of his legs above the knee in a bomb blast in Afghanistan. He remembers waking up on Christmas Day to a nurse telling him she had good news…he would be going home.
I first met Sgt. Kurtz when he was arriving home from a day of work in December 2018; I was photographing a story for NPR (National Public Radio) about the United States Veteran Administration’s Family Caregiver program.
The Kurtz family, along with many others throughout the state of Tennessee, had been arbitrarily cut off from the program. For years, Chris and his wife, Heather Kurtz, had received the highest level of support, Tier 3, which included a stipend for Heather’s caregiver status and healthcare, as well as quarterly visits from a nurse.
In July of 2018, Heather was informed her status was being reevaluated and, without notice, they were dropped from the program entirely.
Chris is reflective, positive, caring, and to the point. Because of his amputations, he’s dependent on Heather for simple tasks. Putting on prosthetics is a time-consuming task. Heather frequently tends to the sores prosthetics cause. After the cut in funding, Heather returned to work as a school aid, which diminished her time to care for Chris.
The financial distress that’s been imposed on the family weighs heavily.
During the course of the day, I realized I had unconsciously stereotyped Chris prior to meeting him. I had expected the mood in the room to be overwhelmingly sad.
“How could this man, a man who faced death in war and lost multiple limbs still joke around and remain positive?” I thought to myself while conversing with them.
I am lucky that I do not have any physical disabilities. I’ve always been acutely aware of my own health, as diabetes and autoimmune diseases run prominently throughout my own family. I also manage anxiety, so I understand the degree to which compromised health can disrupt life.
In my work and life, I am endlessly considering the inexplicable factors of chance, circumstance and luck.
Statement of Federal Funding Cuts to Healthcare from the Executive Director of the National Alliance of Mental Health (NAMI):
Veterans Choice Program
Designed to help address long wait and travel times, the Veterans Choice Program allows eligible veterans to get mental health care from non-VA professionals in their community. While the premise is laudable, improvements are needed to build high-performing networks of well-qualified providers in the Choice program.
To encourage providers to participate, Congress should ensure reimbursement rates are competitive and processes result in timely payment. At the same time, Congress should ensure participating providers demonstrate military cultural competency and receive training on evidence-based treatments and suicide prevention. This is especially important because 14 of every 20 veterans who die by suicide did not receive care from the VA. To properly serve our nation’s veterans, it is critical that we train non-VA providers in the latest techniques to identify and effectively treat veterans with mental health conditions.
Finally, Congress should change policies to encourage more military service members and veterans to seek needed mental health care. Only about half of service members returning from Iraq or Afghanistan with mental health conditions seek help. Service members and veterans need to be able to receive effective and confidential mental health services without fear of harming their career or experiencing other harmful consequences.
Download and print a copy of these priorities to give to your members of Congress.
HELP FOR VETERANS IN NEED OF MEDICAL CARE AND SUPPORT
If you, or a veteran you know, is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
CRISIS HELP FOR VETERANS IN NEED
If you a are a Veteran in crisis or concerned about a loved one being impacted by federal funding cuts to healthcare access, help is available here.