PATTI'S BLOG

Friday, November 15, 2013

Veterans Eligible for Both VA Healthcare and Medicare

If so... 

Who pays what?  Do I need insurance if I’m eligible for VA healthcare?

You’ve been approved for VA Pension or Compensation, and you will be receiving healthcare and prescription drugs at the VA facility.  You also have Medicare part B and Medicare part D.  Do you need both? 

Medicare Part A pays for inpatient hospital care for up to 90 days per benefit period, skilled nursing care partial pay for up to 100 days each benefit period, home healthcare for up to 100 days, and hospice care.

Medicare Part B pays for doctor’s visits, ambulance services, preventive care services, and durable medical equipment, as well as many other services.

Medicare Part D pays for outpatient prescription drugs.

For veterans that qualify, the VA provides care in VA healthcare facilities, as well as contract care in other facilities when the VA cannot provide the required care.  The VA authorizes care at non-VA facilities when necessary medical services are not routinely available at a VA facility, or the VA determines that the services can be obtained more economically outside the VA.  The non-VA care must be authorized by the VA in advance.

Unless the veteran has other healthcare, or his or her healthcare is being provided by the spouse’s employer, once he or she turns 65 she must enroll in Medicare Part B and D.  If she does not enroll at age 65, when and if she finally enrolls, she will have to pay a Part B and/or a Part D premium penalty which increases for every year she does not enroll in the programs.

The veteran may want to enroll in Part B in order to receive healthcare services from Medicare approved providers that provide services he may not be able to receive in a VA facility.  In that case, it is important to enroll at age 65. 

If the veteran is eligible for prescription medications from the VA, he may choose not to enroll in Medicare Part D.  VA prescription coverage is considered “creditable”, meaning it is as good, or better, than Medicare Part D coverage.  What that means for the veteran is that he can delay enrolling in Part D and not suffer a penalty.  However, if the veteran loses his prescription coverage, he has 63 days to enroll in a Part D plan or he will be penalized. 

When deciding whether or not to enroll in Part D, the veteran should consider if he will get all of his prescriptions from the VA.  The VA will only provide coverage of the drugs the veteran receives from the VA.  A veteran is eligible for the prescription benefit if he or she is enrolled in and receiving health care from the VA.  The prescriptions must be written by a VA health care provider, or a VA-authorized provider.   A VA health care provider will review prescriptions written by a private health care provider to determine whether the VA can rewrite the prescription and dispense it from a VA pharmacy.  Most prescriptions can be mailed to the home, or can be picked up at the VA pharmacy.  Depending on what priority category the veteran is in, he or she may have a co-pay for each prescription received.  Co-pays for prescriptions are between $8.00 and $9.00 per prescription.


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