This week, more than one million veterans will be receiving a notice from the Department of Veterans Affairs with information on whether or not they are eligible for reimbursement of medical costs as outlined in a court ruling last September.
According to an article published by MilitaryTimes, this week “[Department] staffers will send letters to tens of thousands of veterans who were rejected for financial relief in recent years for bills they received for non-department emergency medical care. That move comes over VA objections concerning an ongoing lawsuit over the issue, which could add billions in new costs to the department’s budget. Last fall, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims ruled that the department’s current regulation for veterans who seek non-department medical care violates existing federal law. They ordered VA officials to re-examine more than 72,000 rejected claims and update their rules, arguing the department has a responsibility to cover the costs of the unexpected medical visits.”
Many veterans whose emergency room expenses were denied by the VA were left with substantial personal costs that were not reimbursed by their insurance. The article continued by stating that VA officials are considering appealing the ruling.
Relevant Pages: Veterans Disability