|
INCARCERATED VETERANS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR VA MEDICAL CARE AT VA
HOSPITALS AND CLINICS
by
Thomas P. McCormack
All veterans who
have served at least 180 days’ active duty and who have honorable or
general discharges are eligible for care at federal department of
Veterans’ Affairs (VA) hospitals and clinics.* Veterans need
not have served in wartime; be disabled; or have injuries or
illnesses arising from their time in service—even though the public
and many veterans themselves wrongly believe this is so!
In 2002, Priority
Group 5 veterans---those with incomes under $2,025 monthly and
assets under $80,000, plus lived-in homes and vehicles of any
value--are entitled to free care (except for a $7 per
prescription copayment) after veterans with service-connected health
problems are given priority care. Priority Group 7 veterans---those
with incomes or assets above those levels--- are also
entitled to care, on a space available basis, but with small,
additional copayments (e.g., $7 per prescription, $15 to $50 per
doctor/outpatient visit, $840 plus $10 per day for each hospital
stay).
The federal
Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) does not deny medical
care to qualified veterans merely because they’re incarcerated in
prisons or jails. But the VA only provides care at its own
facilities’ sites—hardly ever at other locations, much less
correctional institutions. (Pilot programs allow some veterans, with
advance permission, to get care from non-VA medical providers in
Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Utah and parts of central
Florida.) Except for needy veterans injured or taken ill while on
active duty, neither the VA nor associated non-profit groups provide
transportation to VA care.
It is important to note that the VA
doesn’t permit armed guards at its medical facilities. While there
is no bar to unarmed escorts accompanying persons in
correctional custody into VA waiting areas, escorts may well have to
negotiate physicians’ consents to accompany inmates into examination
and treatment rooms. And there would be even more problems with
24-hour-a-day escorts for hospitalized inmates.
Correctional
medical staff should also be aware that initial, unscheduled and
emergency room visits to VA facilities usually entail waits of
several hours to be seen. Considering budgets for transportation and
escorts it is probable that only care of high cost patients—such as
those with HIV—may be worth the expense of resorting to VA care even
for selected inmates. And, after being seen, issuance of resulting
prescriptions can mean waits of 2 or 3 hours more---unless the
prescription slips are dropped off at the VA’s in-house pharmacy for
later mail-out.
But except for the
wait for drugs, regularly scheduled physician visits and
procedures for already-enrolled patients usually involve no more
of a wait than is the case with private physicians.
Obviously, only
those veteran inmates who can be relied upon to refrain from
violence and escape attempts can be considered for VA medical care,
given the ban upon armed escorts and the likely ban on any
escorts for overnight-hospitalized patients. Still, VA care may well
be a resource for correctional facilities facing heavy medical
expenses because of costly conditions like AIDS.
Since veterans are
required to present their discharge papers (DD Form 214s) when first
enrolling for VA care, correctional officials need to have those
identified as veterans write to the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine or
Coast Guard Liaison Office at the National Personnel Records Center
for copies. The address is 9700 Page Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63132.
The veteran must provide his date of birth, Social Security number,
service number, dates of service, branch of service, and discharge
date.
Callers to
800-827-1000 can get the locations of area VA hospitals and clinics
and other benefits information; also see
www.VA.gov
. “Federal Benefits for Veterans and Dependents”, VA Pamphlet
80-99-1 is available for a small fee from the Government Printing
Office. It summarizes the benefits rules and lists all VA medical
facilities and the Regional Offices which handle applications for
non-medical benefits ; call (202) 512-0132 to order a copy.
In addition,
every state has a veterans’ advocacy office to assist its
residents in accessing veterans’ benefits. These small, obscure
agencies can be a valuable resource for state and local correctional
systems wishing to get VA medical access for appropriate veteran
inmates. The Governor’s executive office is the best place to start
in locating these little known but vital state agencies.
Helping inmates with
potentially serious maladies like HIV can also promote good
discharge planning as well. In cases where an eligible, fully
disabled veteran is still in custody, he cannot actually collect
pension payments for himself while incarcerated over 90 days.
(Correctional
administrators should note that-- like the situation with Social
Security and SSI payments—the advent of “direct deposit” benefit
payments to banks means that inmates may mistakenly or even
purposefully continue to receive payments even after incarceration
makes them ineligible—leading to loss of control, black market
activities and disciplinary problems. State veterans’ agencies can
assist authorities in identifying and handling situations where this
abuse can occur.)
However, where there’s a
spouse or minor child in the community VA pension payments may well
be payable to them—and this would help meet inmates’ child
support liabilities and lower state welfare costs as well. Again,
state veterans’ offices and state child support agencies can assist
correctional administrators in apportioning VA pension checks in
these cases.
*Those first
enlisting after September 7, 1980 must, in addition, serve at least
24 months’total active service unless:
1.
They were activated Reservists or
National Guardsmen who served out their full activated tour, even if
it was less than 24 months (for a pension, the 90 days’ active
service time minimum and one-day-of-wartime rules also apply; but
medical care only requires the 180 days’ active service time
minimum).
2.
They got early honorable or general
discharges before 24 months because of hardship or disability
(again, the 90 days’ active service time minimum and
one-day-of-wartime rules still apply for pensions; but medical care
only requires the 180 days’ active service time minimum).
Thomas McCormack, a
Vietnam-era veteran, wrote the AIDS Benefits Handbook (Yale
University Press) and handled benefits eligibility policy at the
Department of Health and Human Services and several AIDS and
disability organizations. He now consults for the Title II
Community AIDS National Network (T2CANN). Email him at
tomxix@ix.netcom.com. |
