Veterans Sue Over Care At D.C. Home
A group of veterans living at the U.S. Armed Forces Retirement Home filed a class-action suit yesterday on behalf of all its residents, claiming that drastic budget cuts by the Defense Department have resulted in substandard medical care.
The suit alleges that the more than 1,000 veterans living at the Northwest Washington facility can no longer get prescriptions and regular doctor checkups at the home because of service cuts in the two years since the Defense Department installed new management.
“These cuts are affecting our health,” said Homer Rutherford, one of the veterans bringing suit.
The plaintiffs said the austerity measures have put their health in danger and left them with no choice but to sue Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and the home’s chief operating officer, Timothy Cox.
They said the cuts violate a federal law requiring the home to provide a minimum standard of health care on the campus off North Capitol Street that has been a veterans’ sanctuary since 1851. It was formerly known as the U.S. Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home.