USA Veterans Medical Stuff

[gk10002000]

Being a veteran, I looked into the VA medical and hospital stuff.  It didn't make sense.  One section says it doesn't count as qualified health care.  OK.  I can believe that.  It really is not a plan.  Then I tried to just read and understand when you can use the VA stuff.  It seemed like there were income limits where if you made x amount of money you could not use it.  I was just thinking out loud about using VA medical and not needing ACA stuff while waiting until my Medicare age.  If the VA stuff won't eliminate the ACA needs and penalties for not having ACA, then my next thought was if living outside the USA one could qualify for not needing the ACA.  That is clear.  Then if one had a problem, one could jet back to the USA and use a VA hospital?  Not that I would want to, but for some routine things, I was just thinking out loud

[Pib]

If you are enrolled into the VA Medical Care Program it does mean ACA requirements....but enrollment is not automatic...you must go through the enrollment process.  And you priority within the VA Medical System depends on your disabilities and variety of other things. Start at below link for more info.

https://www.va.gov/health/aca/FAQ.asp

 

And for VA Medical Care when overseas it pretty much limited to your VA rated disabilities only.  So say you have disability rating of 10% for a back problem, you only care you might get is for that back problem.   Have something like a stroke or major disease and you are generally SOL when outside the U.S.  See below link.

http://www.benefits.va.gov/PERSONA/veteran-abroad.asp

 

I was enrolled in the VA Medical System and had a priority rating of something like 7 year back...probably still am...way down the totem pole since my service related medical issues were minor.  But I use Tricare for my coverage as a military retiree...Tricare provides coverage worldwide....just go to the nearest civilian or military hospital....the wife and I have been using it since living in Thailand...we use local private Thai hospital...pay the bill...mail in the bill for reimbursement (75% in most cases...a few cases 100%)....works fine.  Also meet ACA requirements.    And you can maintain this Tricare coverage past 65 if living outside the U.S. like in Thailand if you sign up for Medicare Part B and pay the associated monthly premium.  Although Medicare Part B does not provide coverage outside the U.S.like in Thailand it allows you to maintain Tricare coverage past 65 which as mentioned does provide worldwide coverage.  And when you go back to the U.S. you are immediately & automatically covered by Medicare Part B (and Part A) and Tricare...both programs which basically ends up providing 100% reimbursement. 

 

[gk10002000]

6 hours ago, Pib said:

If you are enrolled into the VA Medical Care Program it does mean ACA requirements....but enrollment is not automatic...you must go through the enrollment process.  And you priority within the VA Medical System depends on your disabilities and variety of other things. Start at below link for more info.

https://www.va.gov/health/aca/FAQ.asp

 

And for VA Medical Care when overseas it pretty much limited to your VA rated disabilities only.  So say you have disability rating of 10% for a back problem, you only care you might get is for that back problem.   Have something like a stroke or major disease and you are generally SOL when outside the U.S.  See below link.

http://www.benefits.va.gov/PERSONA/veteran-abroad.asp

 

I was enrolled in the VA Medical System and had a priority rating of something like 7 year back...probably still am...way down the totem pole since my service related medical issues were minor.  But I use Tricare for my coverage as a military retiree...Tricare provides coverage worldwide....just go to the nearest civilian or military hospital....the wife and I have been using it since living in Thailand...we use local private Thai hospital...pay the bill...mail in the bill for reimbursement (75% in most cases...a few cases 100%)....works fine.  Also meet ACA requirements.    And you can maintain this Tricare coverage past 65 if living outside the U.S. like in Thailand if you sign up for Medicare Part B and pay the associated monthly premium.  Although Medicare Part B does not provide coverage outside the U.S.like in Thailand it allows you to maintain Tricare coverage past 65 which as mentioned does provide worldwide coverage.  And when you go back to the U.S. you are immediately & automatically covered by Medicare Part B (and Part A) and Tricare...both programs which basically ends up providing 100% reimbursement. 

 

I tried to enroll and it said I could not since I made too much money.  I was in 10 years so not a retiree so not on tricare or anything like that.  I will try the VA thing again, and use different income values as if I was retired from my job.  I could not find any firm income limits defined anywhere.

[gk10002000]

On the initial "do you qualify" part of the VA site, if I put in 0 for wages but 50,000 for unearned income it says I am not allowed due to income limits.  If I put in 30,000 or 40,000 in unearned income it says I am eligible.  Now to dig into the details which are not at arm's reach.  What unearned income do they count?  AGI or MAGI?  Big difference for me since I have a lot of Municipal bond and fund income that while tax free does count towards MAGI.  Combined with my social security I would get over these limits. Addendum I downloaded the application 1010EZ form and it includes tax exempt interest as income. There are ways I could lower my retirement income, convert more of my traditional IRA to Roth IRA for example. Have much more cash on hand for one year when I first apply, etc.  Lots of questions come up.  Supposed I enroll successfully in a year where I met their apparent low income limits.  Then the next year or some other year in the future I have more income?  Would that void my status? 

 

In short, eligibility is clearly limited by one's income.  I guess this could be workable for a few years while I wait for medicare, or if I think it is worthwhile to keep VA.  Hmmm.  That brings another question, VA instead of Medicare?  Medicare and B supplement seem pretty reasonable to me at the moment, but I will kick that around a bit too

Edited May 20, 2017 by gk10002000
more info

[gk10002000]

" Note:VA eliminated the annual requirement for updated financial information. VA now uses information from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) to automatically match individual Veterans’ income information, reducing the burden on Veterans to keep their healthcare eligibility up to date. "

 

Sounds like the VA and IRS will kick one out if the income goes above the limit.  Oh well.  This was a good exercise, just in case.  Everything including Obamacare steers one towards having low income.  I can arrange that for several years.

[gk10002000]

Adding to my own posts, poking into the VA stuff I found tables that indicate the income levels needed to qualify for "free" care or to even submit the application.  It varies state to state and county to county.  For example in Palm Beach County Florida the threshold seems to be $ 33,000. For Orange County California, it is $54,000. Given the price of medical premiums under the ACA which for me would be $500 + a month (no subsidies), where to live for several years and the cost of medical is a significant factor.  And since California does not tax social security, there are some interesting cost comparisons here.  In either case, the system benefits one quite a bit the less MAGI I show.   Showing a few thousand more of income can put one over a threshold that mandates many more thousands in medical premiums.

 

  I also found out that a "normal" ex serviceman like me would be called a Priority 8.  And there are words about it being possible to still get VA coverage even if my income was above the eligibility limits, as long as I agreed to pay the co pays and I think some other things.  There didn't seem to be any way to specify or ask for that on the application form, in fact it seemed to exclude it, with some squirrel like language. So there are a few more things to dig into. 

 

  So maybe I will get some benefits for my 10 years of  service time instead of just that free meal on Veteran's day from the Olive Garden!  I did get my VA home loan qualification certificate, so I can go the VA loan no down payment route if I want to. When I separated I did use the VEAP and put myself through Grad school.  That wasn't a spectacular benefit dollar wise, but it was good percentage wise.  Every 100/month I had put in I got back 300/mont that went toward school. Not fantastic but with my Grad Teaching assistantship and the school paying tuition I broke even for 18 months.

 

Rambling on.  But feeling good.  Had a fine Thai lunch chatting with the pretty waitress here in Melbourne, FL.  Will be going to the local Wat Thai for their Sunday food court tomorrow.

 

So missing Thailand. 

 

 

[Pib]

Priority 8 would be the VA's lowest priority for health care.  Very significant copays and appointment challenges would be a high probability at Priority 8.   Priorities 1 thru 3 get most of the VA's attention as those groups generally cover folks with service connected disability rating of 10% and higher.

https://www.va.gov/HEALTHBENEFITS/resources/priority_groups.asp