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ARMED FORCES NEWS |
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Some veterans without service-related medical problems will now be charged co-payments for extended care in VA facilities, VA Secretary Anthony Principi has announced. The new co-payments will be calculated for each individual, based on ability to pay. Veterans not required to make the co-payments include those with any compensable service-connected disability, those whose incomes are below the VA single-pension level of $9,556, and those who have been receiving continuous VA extended care since Nov. 30, 1999 or earlier. Currently, higher-income, nonservice-connected veterans pay $5 per day, plus the Medicaredeductible of $812, for each 90 days of nursing-home care. After the first 21 days of care in any 12-month period, which are free, veterans will make the predetermined co-payments. These could vary from the maximum of $97 a day to as little as $97 a month, depending on the veteran's assets and expenses. |
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