Health Care Eligibility for Veterans Awarded the Purple Heart

 

 

All VA Regional Offices and Centers

SUBJ:  Health Care Eligibility for Veterans Awarded the Purple Heart

1. The attached VHA Directive outlines a recent change in policy as
mandated by Public Law 106-117, the Veterans Millennium Health Care
and Benefits Act, which places veterans awarded the Purple Heart in
enrollment category 3, and exempts those veterans from co-payment
requirements associated with the provision of hospital care and
outpatient medical service.

2. Prescription co-payments will continue to be charged to veterans
awarded a Purple Heart unless they meet the low-income exemption
criteria, are service connected 50 percent or greater or the
medication is for a service-connected condition.

3. This information should be shared with all employees who have
public contact and provide VA benefit information to veterans.

4. This letter self rescinds March 1, 2005.



 /s/
Robert J. Epley, Director
Compensation and Pension Service


Enclosure

Department of Veteran Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Washington, DC 20420 VHA DIRECTIVE 2000-006
Change 1
May 15, 2000

CHANGE IN THE ELIGIBILITY FOR CARE OF VETERANS AWARDED THE PURPLE
HEART

1.  PURPOSE:  Change 1 to the Veterans Health Administration (VHA)
Directive 2000-006 clarifies co-payment requirements under paragraph
3c and 3d for veterans awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  POLICY: Public Law 106-117, the Veterans Millennium Health Care
and Benefits Act, which amended the law to place veterans awarded the
Purple Heart in enrollment priority group 3, and to exempt those
veterans from co-payment requirements associated with provision of
hospital care and outpatient medical services.

3.  ACTION:

a. Veterans awarded the Purple Heart may submit appropriate
documentation (i.e., DD 214 annotating receipt of the Purple Heart, DD
215, official service records, and military orders of award) for
inclusion into the veteran's Consolidated Health Record (CHR) folder.
Health care facilities are also to fax these documents to the Health
Eligibility Center at (404) 235-1355.  Note: A certificate of award,
in and of itself, will not suffice for verification purposes without
the submission of supporting documentation.

b. As an interim measure, the Health Eligibility Center will provide
each Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care facility with a
partial listing of Purple Heart recipients to assist facilities in
manually exempting these veterans from co-payment requirement
associated with hospital care and outpatient medical services. The
Office of Information (19) will develop software to capture data on
veterans awarded a Purple Heart and effect other changes in the VHA
information systems necessary to accommodate provisions to Public Law
106-117 relating to Purple Heart Award recipients.

c. Health care facilities must ensure that those veterans awarded a
Purple Heart who were previously, or would be, classified in
enrollment priority groups 4 through 7 are placed in enrollment
priority group 3 and not charged co-payments for their medical care.

d. Prescription co-payments will continue to be charged to veterans
awarded the Purple Heart unless they meet the low-income exemption
criteria, are service-connected 50 percent or greater or the
medication is for a service-connected condition.

e. Manual tracking is necessitated until Veterans Health Information
Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA) software modifications are
implemented to ensure these veterans are not inappropriately billed
medical care co-payment charges.

f. Veterans awarded the Purple Heart are to be reimbursed for any
medical care co-payments paid for VHA care provided on or after
November 30, 1999.

g. VHA officials must have verifiable evidence that veterans received
the Purple Heart before reimbursing any co-payments or changing
veterans' enrollment status.

4.  REFERENCE: Public Law 106-117, dated November 30, 1999.


5.  FOLLOW-UP RESPONSIBILITY: Health Administration Service (10C3) is
responsible for the content of this directive.

6.  RESCISSION: This Change and VHA Directive 2000-006 will expire
March 1, 2005.

 Thomas L. Garthwaite, M.D.
Deputy Under Secretary for Health






Tommy Dorris
5/4th Artillery
http://www.5thbn4tharty5thinfdiv.com
Col. Jack
1/61st Infantry
http://members.aol.com/wmm161/preface.htm
Society of the 5th Division
http://almond.elite.net/~knight/index.htm