Brickbat: The Doctor Will See You Shortly

About a year after Douglas Chase was diagnosed with brain cancer, it became difficult for him to go to Boston for treatment. So his family tried to switch the Vietnam vet's care closer to home at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts. But they heard nothing from the VA after contacting the agency in 2012. To add to the injury, officials later turned down Chase's request for benefits because he wasn't treated in a VA hospital, and several months after that, Chase passed away. But just a couple of weeks ago, almost two years after Chase died, his widow got a letter from the VA saying he could now apply to see a doctor.