Devoted to the Insurance industry and all thing related

I came across a very interesting article in National Underwriter about the current state of health benefits for veterans.  Not all veterans are granted access to health care because of laws passed in 1996 and 2001.  While the logic does make some sense I was a bit amazed that regardless of the fact that over a million veterans served in the armed forces they are not allowed to be part of the VA health care system.

“The Veterans Health Care Eligibility Reform Act of 1996 created priority groups and a patient enrollment system to manage access to VA health care during years when the program lacked enough funds to serve all veterans who needed care.

Later, in 1999, the VA opened health benefits to all veterans, regardless of income, and relatively high-income veterans flocked to sign up.

The Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Programs Enhancement Act of 2001 set up Priority Group 8.  In addition to having no service-related disabilities and no catastrophic disabilities of any kind, Priority Group 8 veterans have incomes exceeding specified limits.  For a single veteran, in most of the country, the income limit is $27,790.

 

The VA health system has excluded most Priority Group 8 veterans since January 2003, but newly returning Priority Group 8 veterans who sign up for VA health benefits within 2 years of becoming eligible still can get the benefits.”

Just because a veteran doesn’t have a major disability does that mean they shouldn’t have access to VA health benefits?  This situation is only going to get worse as more and more veterans of the Iraq war return home.  

Do you think all veterans should have access to health benefits or should there be a differentiation between veterans with disabilities and those without?