Veterans, VA Benefits, and the ACA

[Libertarian01]

This is how I can come off as an a***ole.

We are getting some group health insurance (individually rated) through our work. Yay!

One of my coworkers was bragging about how he didn't need to buy health insurance because he was a veteran and covered by the VA. This discussion started about a week ago.

I explained to him that just because he was a veteran did NOT exempt him from having to buy health insurance, UNLESS he had some special coverage through the VA. He argued that he had a letter from the VA that said he was covered AND that he didn't need to buy insurance. I very strenuously objected to this assertion. I always explained the caveat that IF he has some special circumstance or met some special qualification then he may(?) be covered but it sure as hell wasn't simply because he was an Air Force veteran.

Fast forward to tonight and he is preening on about how he talked to some guy at the VA here in Ft. Wayne and was told he didn't need to buy health insurance because that guy said so, AND he had a letter in the car that he got from the VA to prove he didn't need to buy insurance because he was a veteran. So I got stinky and demanded he show me the letter.

Part of that letter reads, "...If you are enrolled in any of the VA's programs below, you have coverage under the standards of the health care law..."

So my big push with him was, "Which of these programs are you enrolled in?" He kept saying that because he was a member of the VA that was enough.

I got tired of this nonsense and at the bottom of the first page there is a number to call, 1-877-222-VETS(8387). So I called it and put Rosemary on speaker phone. She basically corroborated everything I was telling him. There is NO COVERAGE simply due to his veteran status. Now he wants to follow up with the same guy that told him he had coverage that exempted him from the ACA.

I didn't want to "win" the argument just to win. I am truly hoping to help him avoid any tax penalties he may(?) face if he isn't signed up with the appropriate program within the VA. Plus, it was to correct this tremendous misunderstanding that just because someone is a veteran that they automatically have some sort of medical coverage through the VA.

I know that now, at least in his eyes, I am the arrogant, obnoxious, know-it-all A**HOLE that needs to win every argument. I don't like losing, true, but I do like helping to educate people who have a great deal of misinformation in their heads AND they go spreading it throughout society.

I also know that people hear what they want to hear, and what the guy at our local VA may have said wasn't what he was hearing. Of course, he may well have some coverage through the VA himself and truly be exempt from the ACA requirement, but it isn't just because he is a veteran.

So, to make this constructive for ya'll, please keep this 1-877-222-VETS(8387) M-F 0800 - 2200, or Sat from 1100 - 1500 eastern time to get information that may well help yourself or any veteran you know. If you talk to Rosemary tell her, "Doug sent ya!"

Regards and Merry Christmas,

Doug

 

[SSGSAD]

I turned 60, in July, and I am RETIRED, I have Tricare for LIFE .....

That guy, needs an education .....

I don't need insurance .....

He MAY be able to go to the V A and get treatment, but depending on his status, it MAY cost him .....

 

[Libertarian01]

I turned 60, in July, and I am RETIRED, I have Tricare for LIFE .....

That guy, needs an education .....

I don't need insurance .....

He MAY be able to go to the V A and get treatment, but depending on his status, it MAY cost him .....

Ya know, maybe he has some sort of service related disability that he is embarrassed about and doesn't want me to know, which WOULD qualify him for coverage.

That is fine with me. I don't need to get into his business. My only goals were to help him avoid tax penalties AND stop him from spreading misinformation.

Ironically, as I was medically discharged and have a very minor disability rating "I" may well qualify for VA benefits... Rosemary was nice enough to push me to go in and get signed up as, "we're all getting older and you don't know when you might need it." She was nice and subtle about it.

Regards and Merry Christmas,

Doug

 

[SSGSAD]

I am 20% disabled, and can go to V A, for those "injuries",

my knee, and my hearing .....

Anything else cost me .....

Now, I am not sure, I just find a Dr., that accepts Tricare .....

He should thank you, for setting him straight .....

Regards, and Merry Christmas .....

Steve

 

[Jeff]

I have a 10% rating for psoriasis.

I get treated for everything (minus dental).

No charge

I do have a copay for prescriptions.

 

[Vince49]

I am a combat wounded (Purple Heart) 80% disabled Army vet. I do go to the VA as my primary source for health care and they require that I be covered by either a private insurer for most things or that I be on Medicare with a,"GAP", policy that I pay for. I need to show this proof of insurance at the beginning of each year in order to continue to receive my, "FREE", VA benefits.

 

[actaeon277]

You can lead a brain to knowledge, but you can't make it drink.

 

[Alpo]

I am a combat wounded (Purple Heart) 80% disabled Army vet. I do go to the VA as my primary source for health care and they require that I be covered by either a private insurer for most things or that I be on Medicare with a,"GAP", policy that I pay for. I need to show this proof of insurance at the beginning of each year in order to continue to receive my, "FREE", VA benefits.

Ummm. Not sure. I think the reason the VA asks you for your other sources of insurance is so that they can bill those insurers and get some reimbursement for the services provided to you. They do not get reimbursed by Medicare, but they do from supplemental carriers (I have no idea how much, since I've never received a copy of those bills like I get from private doctors). The VA cannot "require" you to have insurance, AFAIK. But, it's been many years since I looked at those things, so the rules may have changed post-ACA implementation.