A new section dedicated to the assistance for any U.S. Veteran that has served in one of the branches of the military. Don't let the misconception that medicine is only for service connected conditions either. The story begins with tinnitus, or, a ringing in the ears. Working in a steam plant where the noise steam turbines create can have a lasting affect. Forward a few years and the discovery of the VA disability for tinnitus comes into play. It was a slow process that came to a head when I had an emergency appendectomy. After a few rounds of morphine the nurse asked me which insurance we were using. I told her, "No idea what you're talking about, I have Blue Cross". She said, "Well you have another option, the VA." In a morphine delusion the response was, "Give the VA a whirl, see how that plays out." The results were astonishing. My deductible for Blue Cross is $3,000.00 a year. The VA covered: the emergency room visit, the MRI, the ambulance ride, the hospital stay, the surgery, the anesthesiologist, the whole nine. Not a nickle out of pocket. Shocked, because I had no idea how that played out, I went to the Seattle VA to ask questions. What I found out was a couple of years prior it was all put into place with a hearing test. That hearing test produced a VA Service Connected Disability. The rating is only 10% but what does that mean? The benefit was made clear to me at the Seattle VA hospital that it is not an insurance. The 10% gets me about $175.00 a month tax free. Then the VA issues a VA id with words "Service Connected" on the ID. It does not matter how much, just that it says "Service Connected". That ID now allows you on base, Army, Navy, Air Force etc. It also allows you to use the commissary and exchange. Which in my book is part of the retirement plan to save money. If that part sounds good, I wasn't through with the VA quest. If they covered the surgery I wanted to know what else was possible. At the VA clinic in Seattle in the intake office I asked the question. Eye exams, hearing aids, and medical supplies such as CPAP equipment and most notably medicine. One of my weekly injections costs $170.00 a month through Blue Cross medical insurance from my employer. The same medicine is $8.00 a month from the VA. The key is you have to establish a primary care provider through the VA. Once a primary care provider is established all medicine is dirt cheap. The medicine is such a good deal you won’t need that part of Medicare. Which makes that 10% rating, a mere $175.00 a month, all the more valuable.
Eligibility based on integrity:
