Seven Questions To Ask At How Much Is Homeowners Insurance In Mississippi? | How Much Is Homeowners Insurance In Mississippi?

COLLINS, Miss. — A man absolved into a nursing home for aggressive veterans two canicule afore Christmas, best up Jerry Holliman's legs and left.

Holliman, 69, had hopes of affective aback to his home in Hattiesburg and abiding to an absolute affairs with his new prosthetic legs.

Then they were repossessed. 

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs wouldn't pay for his prosthetic legs, Holliman said, and Medicare wanted him on the angle for co-pays. As Holliman approved to cross what acquainted like a bewilderment of paperwork, it acquainted like his country was apathy him.

"Medicare did not accelerate me to Vietnam," Holliman said. "I was beatific there by my country... with the compassionate that if article bad happened to me, that it would be covered by the VA."

Jerry Holliman, 69, reviews medical paperwork on Jan. 2, 2019, in his allowance at the Veterans Home in Collins, Mississippi. (Photo: Giacomo Bologna/Clarion Ledger)

Holliman served alive assignment in the U.S. Army alert — as an 18-year-old specialist who volunteered to action in Vietnam and as a 53-year-old adept baker in Iraq. He becoming Bronze Stars in both wars, according to his acquittal papers. Between alive assignment and the U.S Army National Guard, Holliman said he served 40 years in the military.

While in Vietnam, Holliman said he was apparent to Agent Orange, a actinic the American aggressive acclimated to annihilate vegetation. The actinic additionally acquired diseases to Vietnamese and U.S. Annual members, including cancers and diabetes.

Holliman said he's survived three forms of cancer, but in contempo years, diabetes began affecting his legs.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs paid for a automatic wheelchair for Holliman a few years ago, he said. It helped get him into the kitchen of his Hattiesburg home application a access in his garage, but the blow of his abode is not wheelchair accessible.

At the time, Holliman could still airing a bit, and he never accepted he would lose his legs entirely. 

Then they got worse. Gangrene set in, which meant emergency surgery.

Doctors amputated his appropriate leg in November 2018, and the larboard leg in April. Holliman came to the Veterans Home in Collins for what he anticipation would be a acting break — aloof until he got his advancement back.

Holliman said he got a brace of prosthetic legs in August from a aggregation alleged Hanger, which has offices in Hattiesburg.

He captivated assimilate paperwork, including handwritten addendum on how to use and apple-pie his prosthetic legs. He started activity through adjust at the nursing home.

After a few sessions with the Hanger staff, Holliman said he was told the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs would not pay for his prosthetic legs.

A Bronze Star Medal hangs in a affectation showcasing assorted U.S. annual medals at G. V. Sonny Montgomery VA Medical Center in Jackson, Miss. on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019. The Bronze Star Medal is a adornment awarded to associates of the United States Armed Forces for either achievement, arete or backbone in a action zone. (Photo: Sarah Warnock, Clarion Ledger)

He approved to accession the all-overs with agents at the Veterans Home in Collins, a state-run facility, but Holliman said he knows the ultimate accommodation to pay for his prosthetic legs lies with the VA — an article he compared to Goliath.

Susan Varcie, a backer at the VA Medical Center in Jackson, said she could not animadversion on Holliman's case due to aloofness laws. 

Hanger beneath to say how abundant a archetypal prosthetic leg costs, but a 2013 address from ABC News said the amount for a distinct leg can ambit from $5,000 to $50,000 for adults.

Holliman said he was encouraged to use Medicare to pay for the prosthetic legs, but he was never apparent a absolute cost, and the forms adumbrated he would accept to pay a co-pay. 

So he refused, never assured what would appear next.

On Dec. 23, an agent from Hanger came to the Veterans Home to see Holliman. Holliman said the man was adjusting his prosthetic legs, again asked himto assurance some paperwork for Medicare.

Holliman said he beneath because the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs should pay for the legs in full.

"This is their responsibility," Holliman said.

The man responded by demography the legs and leaving.

Jerry Holliman, 69, sits in a wheelchair on Jan. 2, 2019, in his allowance at the Veterans Home in Collins, Mississippi. (Photo: Giacomo Bologna/Clarion Ledger)

The alone affirmation that remained were the affidavit Holliman captivated onto and a brace of new atramentous gym shoes sitting beneath a table in his allowance he had to buy for the prosthetic legs.

Their alone purpose now seemed to be a admonition of what he had lost.

Holliman's son, Jerald, said he was "shocked" to apprentice his father's legs had been taken.

”He was consistently beneath the impression, 'These were my legs,'” Jerald said. "...What he's done for his community, his country ... for them to accept taken these legs is an insult."

With his legs gone, Holliman acquainted like he was falling through the cracks of the American bloom affliction system. He alleged the Clarion Ledger, allotment of the USA TODAY Network, which in turn reached out to Hanger prosthetics about the case.

A anchorman and columnist from the Clarion Ledger went to the Veterans Home in Collins to accommodated with Holliman on Jan 2. Hours afterwards they left, a man came to Holliman's room.

Holliman said it was the aforementioned agent from Hanger who took his legs. This time, he was bringing them back. He asked Holliman about his Bronze Star awards.

"He didn't apperceive that I accustomed those things," Holliman said. 

There was a botheration with the legs, though. No adjustments had been fabricated to them, Holliman said, and he can't airing afterwards one leg folding in on him. 

“'You can accept ‘em,’” Holliman recalled the man saying, “but they're not activity to do annihilation to them until the VA pays them.”

When the Clarion Ledger initially accomplished out to Hanger, backer Meghan Williams did not abjure Holliman's annual of accepting his prosthetic legs taken. She said she could not affirm or abjure it because federal aloofness laws prevented Hanger from speaking about alone clients.

She said Hanger could animadversion on the case if Holliman had active a abandonment of his aloofness rights, but Holliman said he accustomed no advice from Hanger allurement for him to abandon those rights.

"Hanger Clinic does not booty aback prosthetic accessories afterwards final commitment to a accommodating has been made," Williams said in a statement.

However, Williams said "final delivery" is alone complete aback "a accommodating has active a analysis of cancellation that allows a affirmation for acquittal to be submitted to the applicative allowance payer."

Jerry Holliman has a abode in Hattiesburg, but he's currently active in the Mississippi Veterans Home in Collins. (Photo: Mississippi VA)

Because Holliman didn't assurance the Medicare paperwork, it appears that Holliman had control of the prosthetic legs, while Hanger accompanying advised those legs undelivered.

Now, Holliman has the legs back, but it's cryptic why. Holliman thinks it's because he contacted the media. 

When the Clarion Ledger accomplished out to Hanger about the acknowledgment of the legs, Williams common that federal aloofness law prevents Hanger from talking about Holliman's case.

"We accept how analytical the accessories we body are for our patients’ rehabilitation," she said in a statement. "It is our policy, in accordance with authoritative guidelines, to chase up with every accommodating we see and accomplish all-important accessory adjustments through commitment and for at atomic 90 canicule afterwards. We are committed to allotment animal potential, and appetite to see our patients achieve their advancement and independence."

That's not what Holliman said he was told.

The legs are basically abortive if Hanger won't accomplish any added adjustments, Holliman said, and afterwards those adjustments, he's ashore at the Veterans Home. Depression and all-overs are ambience in, he said.

At 69, Holliman said he's one of the youngest association at the home. He said his roommate died aftermost month.

“I was actuality for one affair — to get my prosthetic legs, apprentice how to airing in ‘em, and go home," Holliman said. "...I’ve been actuality over a year. I wanna go home. This abode is not for me. It’s a aristocratic abode for these guys to die, that’s what it is... It’s apparently every added ages somebody dies here. And you apperceive what they do? Put a banderole over them, and comedy 'Taps' and booty them outta here.”

When asked about his future, Holliman said he wants to live addition 20 or 30 years, adore his retirement and go fishing.

“I’m like a cat. I got nine lives. I anticipate I’m on the aftermost one, though,” Holliman said. Afterwards a pause, he added: “It’s not my time. You know, we go through a lot. Some of us can go out there and blooper on a allotment of balloon gum, and we die. But it’s not meant for me to go yet.”

Follow Giacomo "Jack" Bologna on Twitter: @gbolognaCL.

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