The Military and Veterans' Room
VA may have to pay billions in vets’ emergency care bills
The US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims ruled that the VA had to pay emergency medical care costs not covered by insurance. This will be good for vets, but it will cost the taxpayers a lot.
The government may be required to pay billions of dollars in emergency care claims to veterans after a federal court ruled this week that the Department of Veterans Affairs improperly denied reimbursements for such care received at non-VA facilities.
The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims said federal law mandated the VA to pay the emergency medical expenses if they are not covered by private insurance.
The case stemmed in part from a reimbursement sought by Coast Guard veteran Amanda Wolfe, who had a bout of appendicitis in September 2016 and sought care at a nearby civilian hospital because the nearest VA hospital was three hours away. She filed a claim for $2,558.54 of the $22,348.25 bill, representing the amount not covered by her employer-sponsored health insurance. The VA denied the claim, saying that amount was for copayments, coinsurance and deductibles that it was not required to pay.
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