VA Update!

Most of you who are regulars here in Cyrsti's Condo know by now I'm a transgender vet and I have been dealing with the Veteran's Administration with my hormone therapy (HRT) for a year now.
Basically I can describe the process as an obstacle course. There are very real barriers in the system which unfortunately are uncharted for the most part to the trans vet and the VA itself.
Briefly, here's how it worked for me.
1.- Went to therapist and was approved to start HRT.
2.- My VA center (all are different) would fill my scripts but not write them. That turned out to be the most expensive part. My meds are generic and almost as cheap at a local pharmacy.
3.- I was encouraged to go to an outside MD who would prescribe and the VA would pick up the tab. (They didn't- no one bothered to tell me you had to be preapproved)
4.- My private outside MD switched practice and tossed me back to point zero and facing another 500 dollar bill.
5.- Knocked on every VA door I knew to lobby for pre approval for another outside MD.
6.- Found a person known as a "Patient Advocate". She was very supportive and told me I would get approved. The VA transgender directive states the system must provide hormonal support and that comes through an 'endocrinologist''  . Of course there wasn't one at my center but one was supposedly coming. Two months later, one came (part-time) and decided he wanted no part of me. That meant I had to be cleared to go outside the system.
7.- Paper work approval sent through system-wrong and had to be resubmitted.
8.- A total of three months later...APPROVAL! Dancing in the street? Not quite...

Now? Waiting on new private Doc's appointment.  I guess if it was easy, it wouldn't be worth it?