For Your Benefit
For and about Hawaii's military
See also: In The Military
Deadlines for filing
claims with VA are firmQuestion: How strict is the Department of Veterans Affairs with the time limits indicated in correspondence concerning a veteran's claim?
Answer: If your VA letter states you have 30 or 60 days to file or respond, believe it. Many claims get denied simply because evidence or information was not received on time. If you wait too long, an entirely new claim may have to be filed.
If you are a procrastinator and drop your response in the mailbox on the last day it's due, there could be delays.
Remember, the date which is used is the date of receipt of the claim or evidence at a VA facility, not the one received at a veterans service representative located at a VA facility.
A VA letter may be giving you what is known as "due process," which allows you 60 days for a response. You can shorten that by responding as soon as you get the letter. If the information is correct and you agree, write back and tell VA to take immediate action on the claim based on the evidence it has on file.
For more information on filing claims and due process, call the VA benefits number at 433-1000 .
Q: Can you explain more about the new geographic means test that the VA is now utilizing?
A: Congress wanted to grant relief from making VA co-payments for some veterans with marginal incomes, recognizing that income alone is not always a fair measure of one's standard of living because of sometimes large differences in the cost of living in different areas of the country.
Congress modified VA's system of determining veterans' ability to pay for health care by creating a geographically based income limit and reducing inpatient co-payments for those veterans whose income falls below these new geographic income thresholds.
The new geographic income thresholds are adjusted for all standard metropolitan statistical areas and are updated periodically to reflect economic changes. The geographic means tests are based upon the geographically based income threshold set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban development for public housing benefits.
Information about the HUD threshold is available at www.hud.gov/renting/phprog.cfm. Information on VA co-payments can also be obtained by calling the VA Medical Appointments/Enrollment at 433-0600.
If you have questions about your benefits as a veteran,
call Fred Ballard at the Veterans Affairs at 433-0049
or visit the VA Web site at www.va.gov/hawaii
or the Star-Bulletin at 529-4747.Gregg K. Kakesako, who covers military affairs for the Star-Bulletin,
can be reached by phone at 294-4075
or by e-mail at gkakesako@starbulletin.com.
