by Pete Mortaro, VSO Director

As more and more Veterans are getting older and headed towards retirement, anxiety is starting to set in. Do I have enough health insurance? Can I enroll in the VA Health Care System at such a late stage in my life? As a Veteran, when I pass away, are there any benefits for my spouse?

All good questions you need answers to now, not later. If you’re not currently enrolled in the VA Health Care System, there is an application process requirement you must meet. Currently, health care determinations are income and assets based. There are other circumstances where income and assets aren’t taken into consideration such as boots on the ground in Vietnam. These Veterans are automatically enrolled in Priority Group 6.

The only positive way to know is to fill out a 10-10 EZ form.

We assist with this application and know what it takes to be accepted. There have been several Veterans that have been given missinformation over the years, and are now enrolled in the VA Health Care System.

If you’re not accepted into the VA Health Care System after going through the application process, another way to get into the system is to be service connected for a service incurred injury or illness. We also assist in the process, but will take time for a determination to be made.

Again, we assist with filing these types of claims.

Veterans who are service connected and die as a result of a service related injury or disease, their eligible spouse qualifies for DIC (Dependency and Indemnity Compensation) which will pay a monthly allotment to thespouse. Under certain conditions, the spouse will also qualify for CHAMPVA which is health insurance with a prescription drug plan. Please keep in mind when the Veteran passes away, their service connected compensation will end. Also, if the Veteran retired from the military and is drawing a pension, under certain circumstances, the pension will stop or be reduced to the spouse. If the Veteran and spouse have Tricare for life as their health care insurance, that will continue for the spouse. If the Veteran didn’t qualify for DIC, the spouse may be eligible for Survivors Death Pension Benefits. This is determined by many factors including the spouse’s income and assets and medical expenses.

I encourage all Veterans and their spouses to make an appointment to discuss this very important topic, especially those Veterans that are service connected and their death may be related to their service incurred injury or illness. I know it’s a morbid subject, but pre-planning will alleviate a lot of those headaches later on.

Veterans Day weekend celebration is moving along very well due to the numerous volunteers that stepped up to the plate. Saturday November 10, will be the First Veterans Day Parade. It will start at 10 am, and will take place on Box Butte Avenue. Thank you to everyone for their continued help and support for this event. You may have heard this already, but we have been approved for an F-16 fly over as long as the Fighter Wing at Buckley Air Field isn’t deployed.

Sunday November 11, at 3:00 PM will be Veterans Day Celebration at the Performing Arts Center. There will be several dignitaries speaking along with our special ceremony.