Congresswoman Pushing Veterans Medicare Assistance Act to Change Law Hurting Vets
CORTLANDT – Under current law, Medicare-eligible veterans are not allowed to use Medicare coverage at local VA hospitals. Instead, they are forced to decide between receiving medical care at a VA hospital without being able to use Medicare to help them make their bill payments, or using Medicare at a non-VA hospital and losing the personalized veterans’ care of a VA hospital.
U.S. Congresswoman Sue Kelly has introduced legislation in the House of Representatives that would instead provide veterans with Medicare Subvention – the right to use Medicare benefits to help pay their bills at local VA hospitals.
Kelly discussed her bill at Cortlandt Town Hall on April 3 with Cortlandt town officials and local veterans who have been advocating for Medicare Subvention.
“Veterans pay into Medicare for most of their lives, yet the law prohibits them from using Medicare benefits at a VA hospital later in life,” Kelly said. “VA hospitals specialize in treating veterans’ needs, and veterans should not be forced to choose between cost and comfort. Veterans should be eligible for the same Medicare benefits at a VA hospital that they would have at any other hospital.”
Kelly has introduced the Veterans Medicare Assistance Act (H.R. 4992) to correct the problem. It changes the law to allow the VA to bill Medicare, which would enable veterans to use Medicare coverage to help them pay their bills at a VA hospital.
“The federal government needs to keep the promises made to veterans and ease their financial burden by providing Medicare benefits at VA hospitals,” Kelly said. “Veterans have faithfully served our country, and in return they should have every health care option available to them. They should not be forced to make unfair and complicated financial decisions about their quality of health care.”
Cortlandt Town Supervisor Linda Puglisi said, “Our veterans who have defended and served our country deserve to be able to use Medicare benefits at any VA facility. I support these efforts.”
Numerous veterans’ organizations have cited the lack of Medicare Subvention as one of the major problems that veterans face. The American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), and the Blinded Veterans Association are among the veterans organizations supporting Kelly’s bill.
Freemont Reif, Chairman of the Cortlandt Regional Veterans Committee, said: “I would like to thank Congresswoman Kelly, Supervisor Puglisi and Councilman Joe Cerreto for their continued support of veterans’ services. This is a wonderful initiative, and I speak for the entire Cortlandt Regional Veterans Committee in expressing my support and gratitude.”
Local veteran Sy Silverman, a member of the Cortlandt Regional Veterans Committee, said: “Congresswoman Sue Kelly has introduced a bill that would allow the VA to bill Medicare for services at any VA Hospital. This bill would appear to ease the financial burden of many of our aging veterans from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam as well as those younger veterans coming back from Iraq, with all kinds of physical as well as mental repercussions.
Silverman added, “There is a tendency to forget quickly as to the hazardous service performed by those men and women and to leave them floundering for the basic treatment they request.”
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