Blake Hall
Due to an update in the way the Department of Veterans Affairs determines eligibility for VA healthcare, more veterans will have access to the benefits they need in the future.
The “update” — effective this year — will throw out the requirement of disclosing net worth for use in determining healthcare benefits or co-payment costs. This will be especially beneficial to low-income veterans, as it will make for less out-of-pocket costs. It also falls in line with VA Secretary Bob McDonald’s MyVA initiative.
“Everything that we do and every decision we make has to be focused on the Veterans we serve,” said Secretary Bob McDonald. “We are working every day to earn their trust. Changing the way we determine eligibility to make the process easier for Veterans is part of our promise to our Veterans.”
In lieu of the net worth determination, VA will now only consider a veteran’s gross household income and deductible expenses from the previous year.
It’s estimated that — over a five-year period — 190,000 veterans will become eligible for lower cost healthcare due to the change.