Tillis Urges VA to Honor Veterans’ Emergency Care Claims | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Press Release:

Would Reimburse Veterans For Their Emergency Treatment Claims Before Recent Court Decision

    WASHINGTON, D.C.     Yesterday, U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) sent a letter to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) urging the reimbursement of veterans who were billed for emergency treatment at private hospitals.

    In January, the VA announced that it would not retroactively reimburse veterans for their emergency treatment despite a court decision that ruled the VA is responsible for emergency medical costs at private, non-VA hospitals.

    In response, the Senators wrote to VA Secretary David Shulkin urging him to reimburse veterans who filed a claim for emergency medical costs before the court ruling.

    "Between 2010 and April 16, 2016, the VA erroneously denied thousands of veterans' claims for emergency treatment," the Senators wrote. "With the VA's recent interpretation of this ruling, veterans who filed claims before April 16, 2016 would see no relief from the VA's wrongful application of the law and would be stuck paying medical bills that Congress intended that the VA pay. We ask that the VA include those veterans whose claims were decided before April 16, 2016, so that all veterans can fully take advantage of a benefit Congress intended they receive."

    The Expansion of Veteran Eligibility for Reimbursement Act, enacted in 2010, directed the VA to pay for veterans' emergency treatment at non-VA facilities unless the veteran has another form of insurance that entirely covers their medical costs. Since 2010, the VA has denied thousands of claims because a veteran's other insurance partially paid for their treatment, leaving veterans to cover the difference for costly emergency care.

    The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims ruled on April 16, 2016, that the VA's interpretation of its responsibility for non-VA emergency treatment was wrong and ordered the VA to begin paying these claims. Despite that, the VA has chosen not to pay veterans who filed before the 2016 court ruling.

    The VA released its new policy regarding payment or reimbursement for emergency treatment at private hospitals on January 9, 2018. The VA will only pay for new claims or those not decided prior to April 16, 2016.

    The letter was also signed by Senators Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) also signed the letter to Secretary Shulkin.

    The Senators' letter to Secretary Shulkin can be read online HERE.

• Contact: Daniel Keylin
•     daniel_keylin@tillis.senate.gov