For Your Benefit
For and about Hawaii's military
See also: In The Military
Benefit waives
co-payment chargeQuestion: I am a recently discharged combat veteran. Must I pay VA co-payments?
Answer: If the services are provided for the treatment of a condition that may be related to your military service, you will not be charged any co-payments. This benefit is limited to a two-year period following military discharge.
You will, however, be subject to means testing (and co-payments, if applicable) for care of any condition clearly not related to your military service such as a broken limb or a problem that existed prior to entering service.
Call 433-0600 for more information on co-payments.
Q: What kind of dental care is available, and are all veterans enrolled in the VA eligible?
A: Outpatient dental treatment provided by VA includes examinations and the full spectrum of diagnostic, surgical, restorative and preventive techniques.
Free dental care applies only for veterans with dental conditions or disabilities that are service-connected and compensable. Veterans with service-connected dental conditions or disabilities that are not compensable also may receive one-time treatment if the conditions can be shown to have existed at discharge.
Veterans must apply to VA for dental care within 90 days following separation. Veterans may receive treatment for service-connected, noncompensable dental conditions resulting from combat wounds or service injuries along with former prisoners of war who were incarcerated less than 90 days, or may receive complete dental care if receiving disability compensation at the 100 percent rate for service-connected conditions or if eligible to receive it by reason of unemployability.
Nonservice-connected dental conditions that are determined by VA to be aggravating a service-connected problem may also be treated.
Veterans participating in a vocational rehabilitation program also may be treated, and veterans scheduled for admission to inpatient services or who are receiving medical services may receive outpatient dental care if the dental condition is determined to be complicating a medical condition, which the VA is currently treating.
For more information on what constitutes eligibility, call 433-0600, or visit the VA Web site at www.va.gov/hawaii.
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.