More Vets Get Health Care, but 'Priority 8' Is Like Priority Zero
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Subject: More Vets Get Health Care, but 'Priority 8' Is Like Priority Zero
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/09/AR2006020901959.html
More Vets Get Health Care, but 'Priority 8' Is Like Priority Zero
The Washington Post
February 10, 2006
Three years ago, then-Secretary Anthony J. Principi announced that the
Department of Veterans Affairs was suspending health care enrollment for some
higher-income veterans who did not have injuries or illnesses related to their
military service.
The move to exclude "Priority 8" veterans was unpopular, but Principi said it
was necessary to prevent the VA medical system from being swamped by the rising
number of veterans who were eligible for care. At the time, about 6.8 million
veterans were enrolled in the VA health system. Now more than 7.5 million are --
including 5.4 million who received treatment last year.
Others could not get in the door, however. More than a quarter-million "Priority
8" veterans who tried to sign up for VA health care coverage between January
2003 and October 2005 were turned away because of the new effort to rein in
costs. The 263,257 veterans who were not allowed enrollment included 5,459
veterans in Virginia, 3,051 in Maryland and 164 in the District of Columbia,
according to figures the VA recently released.
There are 24.4 million veterans in the United States, and 16.9 million are not
enrolled in the VA health care system. As many of 10 million of those not
enrolled are Priority 8 veterans, the VA says. The annual household income
cutoff for Priority 8 veterans varies by region. It was $57,500 for a veteran
with three dependents who lived in Arlington or Fairfax counties, or in
Montgomery or Prince George's counties.
Rep. Lane Evans (Ill.), ranking Democrat on the House Veterans Affairs
Committee, called on the administration to increase the VA budget."There is no
reason for the VA to give the cold shoulder to veterans who have served our
country honorably," Evans said in a written statement.Lisette Mondello, a VA
spokeswoman, said the affected veterans could not enroll because they were not
eligible.
"We want to be clear that absolutely nobody is being cut from VA health care
rolls and no veteran will be dis-enrolled from VA health care unless they
specifically request it," Mondello wrote news organizations.--
Christopher Lee
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