VA Healthcare & Benefits a safety net?

In this medical and financial crisis to many people have not only lost their paycheck but their insurance also. We veterans are blessed in this time of distress, we have a safety net it is called the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). VHA is one of the 3 divisions of the Depart. of Veterans Affairs. VHA is healthcare, VBA is the Veterans Benefits Administration (compensation, wartime pension, survivor benefits, education, life insurance, home loans,....) and the VA National Cemetery Administration (cemeteries, Memorial Honors, headstones/markers,...). Although all 3 have had to alter their normal daily procedures, all 3 still are there serving us within the safest possible guidelines they can. (See the link below how the VA-NCA is functioning at this time and other VA videos.)

If you are a veteran whose income has taken a dramatic drop due to the current crisis, retirement, whose household incomes are being consumed by medical bills, or who never applied for VA healthcare, now is the time to. The VA healthcare was intended to serve all who raised there hands, offered to give their lives, permanently or short term, on federal Active Duty. Your numbers count when it comes to convincing DC they are failing us.

Until 2003 the VA enrollment was open to all Active Duty veterans who had an Honorable or General (under Honorable conditions) and those who were medically discharge/separated for injury/illness, not due to their own misconduct. With the increased percentages of service members being saved, even though traumatically injured. And the ever increasing enrollments of older veterans due to chemical (Agent Orange, Cp LeJeune toxic water 1953-1987,...) and environmental exposures, enrollment rules for non-service injured/ill veterans changed. In 2003 VA initially began looking at household income, minus out-of-pocket medical expenses, and what they considered liquefy-able assets. Setting a "living income" and max asset level.

In 2015 they eliminated the asset limit due to it preventing farmers, people whose rural homes sat on more than 1 acre but for whom the additional land was unsaleable, business owners who were unable to sell their assets in destitute areas, yet had no health insurance and whose income were below poverty. An incredible number of veterans in need of care were denied due to assets they could not disperse. In 2019 VA also implemented a look back period, preventing previously very financial secure people from gifting away their assets to qualify for VA health care and other VA financial benefits.

What many veterans may not know is that a drop in income due to retirement, divorce, or increase in household medical expenses that lowers your "living" income to meet the no co-pay level they can request an income review.  

Find your Accredited CVSO, TVSO, VSO Rep to help, over the phone at this time, in completing forms or finding out if you can file a claim for Presumptive Conditions, service injury/illness, or Wartime Veterans/Surviving Spouses Pension.  CVSO/TVSO are County or Tribal employed Accredited VSO Reps so you may locate them thru you local government.   https://www.va.gov/ogc/apps/accreditation/index.asp 

Here are a couple links to help.

https://www.va.gov/vaforms/medical/pdf/vha-10-10HS-fill.pdf

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/38/17.36    Specifically 38 USC 1738 (b)7  end of first paragraph to look at this years income

https://www.va.gov/health-care/pay-copay-bill/financial-hardship/  

https://www.publichealth.va.gov/  Military exposures & related Presumptive Conditions  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_U_Ki-QwB0 Wartime veterans/surviving spouses Pension

https://www.va.gov/coronavirus-veteran-frequently-asked-questions/?utm_source=VA%20Alert&utm_medium=Banner&utm_campaign=CORONAVIRUS&utm_content=FAQ#status-of-va-national-cemeteri