That sounds like the same song and dance they gave my husband. Since then he has had heart surgery. He hasn’t tried filing his case again. He said he is tired of fooling with them. Like you, he gets 100% paid medical.
I’m in the middle of trying to get some medical care for my husband. Get this, he serves 18 months in Vietnam, gets 2 Purple Hearts, a Silver and Bronze Star and NONE of this is deflected in his military records! They can’t even find the first year of service (which includes most of these incidents like the PH). That usually was a free ticket to receive care. Now they don’t give him the time of day. He is suffering greatly from an autoimmune disease that is listed as a presumptive effect from Agent Orange exposure. It is most maddening!