$1,500 VA deductible rejected

VFW Magazine, May, 2002 by Tim Dyhouse

On March 11, the House Veterans Affairs Committee rejected a plan by the Bush Administration to charge some veterans a $1,500 annual deductible for VA health care. The committee--as well as VFW--strongly opposes the measure, which was intended to help offset rising health care costs.

"In this committee's view, such a dramatic change in current VA health care enrollment rules would be a disservice to veterans, and one that we believe has no chance of approval in this Congress," according to a statement released by the committee.

VA Secretary Anthony Principi stated that the $1,500 deductible would be charged to Category 7 veterans--those with higher incomes or non-service-connected conditions. "Higher income" is currently defined as $24,000 annually for an individual or $28,000 for couples.

Under the Administration plan, Category 7 veterans would have had to pay 45% of VA's "reasonable charges" for medical services until they met the $1,500 annual deductible. Veterans would then pay the normal outpatient or inpatient co-payments.

Instead, the House VA Committee proposed--and the full House approved as a budget resolution on March 20--a record $2.6 billion increase for VA health care.

"In the budget resolution adopted today, the proposed $1,500 deductible will be replaced dollar-for-dollar with new funds," said House VA Committee Chairman Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.).