Confused. Weren’t All Veterans eligible for VA care anyway?
Only for proven service-connected injuries or illnesses. This opens VA Healthcare (think of it as all-inclusive healthcare) to those persons affected by the qualifying circumstances.
Nope. I had to struggle to get in as a priority 8 which was like the bottom of the barrel. With my current 10% rating that moved me up to priority 3 meaning I no longer have co-pays for care. It was not retroactive so they have me on the hook to pay for carotid artery surgery and are taking basically my entire disability check until it’s paid off. Per IRS rules that is allowed. They even got my tax return last year. None of it much money at a time but...........
You are generally correct.
Veterans who served on active duty are eligible for VA Healthcare. There IS a limit of income, but it is very steep. Roughly $42K for a single veteran and it rises with dependent total. That is for free healthcare. There is a copay that starts from $42K up to something like $75K at which point, yes, there is a cutoff. If treatment is for a service connected condition, there is no cutoff.
If a veteran qualifies for some disability level (this has ALWAYS been badly worded, it’s not disability; it is injury) that is active duty connected, then there is zero income threshold and all such veterans for all illness are covered.
It’s complicated. In a very general way, this new announcement involves almost no one who did not already qualify anyway. It’s an election year.
Veterans are currently 8% of the US population, and falling rapidly as Vietnam war draftees die off. It is the one agency of the US govt with bipartisan support.
No they’re not.
You have to have a service connected disability or pension to enroll in VA care. Then you’re divided into priority groups:
VA Priority Group 1
Veterans with service-connected disabilities rated by VA as 50% or more disabling.
Veterans determined by VA to be unemployable due to service-connected conditions.
Veterans who have been awarded the Medal of Honor (MOH).
VA Priority Group 2
Veterans with service-connected disabilities rated by VA as 30% or 40% disabling.
VA Priority Group 3
Veterans who are former Prisoners of War (POWs).
Veterans who have been awarded a Purple Heart medal.
Veterans whose discharge was for a disability that was incurred or aggravated in the line of duty.
Veterans with service-connected disabilities rated by VA as 10% or 20% disabling.
Veterans who have been awarded special eligibility classification under Title 38, U.S.C., § 1151, “benefits for individuals disabled by treatment or vocational rehabilitation.”
VA Priority Group 4
Veterans who receive aid and attendance or housebound benefits from VA.
Veterans who have been determined by VA to be catastrophically disabled.
VA Priority Group 5
Veterans with a nonservice-connected or non-compensable service-connected disability and Veterans rated by VA as 0% disabled and who have an annual income below the VA’s geographically-adjusted income limit (based on your resident ZIP code).
Veterans receiving VA pension benefits.
Veterans eligible for Medicaid programs.
VA Priority Group 6
Veterans with a compensable 0% service-connected disability.
Veterans exposed to ionizing radiation during atmospheric testing or during the occupation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Project 112/SHAD participants.
Veterans of the Mexican border period or of World War I.
Veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam between Jan. 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975.
Veterans of the Persian Gulf War who served between Aug. 2, 1990, and Nov. 11, 1998.
Veterans who served on active duty at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days between Aug. 1, 1953, and Dec. 31, 1987.
Currently enrolled Veterans and new enrollees who served in a theater of combat operations after Nov. 11, 1998, and those who were discharged from active duty on or after Jan. 28, 2003, are eligible for the enhanced benefits for five years post discharge.
Note: At the end of this enhanced enrollment priority group placement time period, Veterans will be assigned to the highest PG for which their status at that time qualifies.
VA Priority Group 7
Veterans with gross household income below the geographically-adjusted VA income limit for their resident location and who agree to pay copayments.
VA Priority Group 8
Veterans with gross household incomes above the VA income limits and the geographically- adjusted income limits for their resident location, and who agree to pay copayments.
It’s very expensive if you do not have a service connected disability. The last provider I saw wore a hijab.
It’s disrespect to those who died in Muslim countries “for democracy”. I didn’t go back for both of those reasons.