“We were shocked to learn that there's more than $6 billion worth of unpaid emergent care sitting there that the VA refuses to bankroll,” Ashton said. “I’ve gotten so many letters from so many veterans, who have gotten sick on a weekend when the VA isn’t open. They go somewhere else, try to get that bill reimbursed. Or the ambulance would pick them up, and instead of going the 120 miles to the VA hospital, they will take them the 3 miles to the hospital where they need to be immediately: that’s not recognized as a bill.”