[Blindvet-talk] Fwd: FW: [BVALAG#260] Legislation Update for BVA June 19, 2009

Fri Jun 19 20:53:35 UTC 2009

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: GERARD FITZPATRICK <captain_lighthouse at msn.com>
Date: Fri, Jun 19, 2009 at 4:51 PM
Subject: FW: [BVALAG#260] Legislation Update for BVA June 19, 2009
To: blindedveteran at gmail.com

"Blinded Veterans Helping Blinded Veterans" To have loved, laughed and
learned-that is my legacy

------------------------------
From: tzampieri at bva.org
To: bva-lag at googlegroups.com
Subject: [BVALAG#260] Legislation Update for BVA June 19, 2009
Date: Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:25:32 -0400

 Hello BVA key contacts, Friday News update:

Well, sometimes we get surprised by new best friend is on the HILL.
Yesterday the House VA Committee held a hearing on several different pieces
of legislation, like usual now we had to wade through 8 bills included was
our Catastrophic Co-Payment Elimination bill by the way HR 1335 that
Congresswoman Halverson introduced and now has 36 co-sponsors. The good news
is both our Catastrophic Co-Payment Elimination bill and this bill offered
by Ranking member Buyer, were supported during the hearing yesterday with
bipartisan support.

The committee staff told me they expect the two bills to get marked up
(voted on within a committee hearing) in the next month.

The Senate bill S 801 that includes the Catastrophic Co-Payment section is
going to be sent very soon to senate floor for vote within next couple
weeks.

Also, last night the War Supplemental FY 2009 was approved by the senate,
and this included the construction funding for the headquarters of the
Vision Center of Excellence at Bethesda Naval Medical Center with an
amendment introduced by our friend Senator Patty Murray (D WA) who added the
$ 4,053,000 for the construction funding (attachment number 1). The Pentagon
in usual fashion, had told congress they did not plan on doing anything for
construction on the Vision Center of Excellence until FY 2011 of course a
two year delay. Blinded Veterans Association refused to accept this and
stressed the importance of having the Vision Center of Excellence
operational and functioning within one of the largest military poly trauma
centers taking care of wounded service members so eye wounded will have
improved Seamless Transition, best practices developed, clinical outcome
studies on those who have had surgery, and coordination of eye trauma
research between DOD and VA centers. . Victory on this funding being added
yesterday on top of having these two other key important pieces of BVA
legislation starting to move for us on House side.

The BVA convention in Portland we hope to have some of this legislation
passed by congress.

Well, Ranking Member Congressman Steve Buyer has this bill for us thrown
into the mix to increase the HISA Adaptive funds so BVA working with
Paralyzed Veterans of America and Disabled American Veterans continue to
move legislation that will help many of our disabled veterans.

Below is statement of Ranking member Congressman Buyer on the House VA
Committee hearing:
On March 4, 2009, I introduced *H.R. 1293, the Disabled Veterans Home
Improvement and Structural Alteration Grant Increase Act of 2009*.  This
bill would provide an increase in the amount payable to veterans under the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Home Improvement and Structural
Alteration Program.
Known as the HISA program, this important VA benefit provides grants to
veterans who require home adaptations to provide access to in-home medical
care.
Typically, HISA grants are used for such things as widening doors; putting
in handrails or special lighting; making kitchens, bathrooms, windows, or
electrical outlets and switches more accessible; building ramps or improving
entrance paths and driveways.
The benefit is paid from the medical care appropriation and is available to
both veterans with service-connected and non-service connected
disabilities.  A service-connected veteran can receive a HISA grant in
addition to other home adaptations grants available through the Veterans
Benefits Administration.
Congress first authorized VA to establish the HISA program as part of
outpatient care for home health services in 1973.  We have been engaged in
the Global War on Terror for nearly eight years and are seeing an increasing
number of servicemembers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan utilizing VA
health care.  It is especially important that this program remains relevant
and can meet the needs of our newest generation of veterans.
*The current maximum amount of a HISA grant is $4,100 for service-connected
veterans and $1,200 for non-service connected veterans.  This amount was
established by Congress in 1992 and has not been raised in seventeen years.*
My bill would *increase the maximum amount of a grant to $6,800 for
service-connected veterans and $2,000 for non-service connected veterans*.
This is a sixty-six percent increase.  It would reflect a three percent
increase for each year since 1992 to account for inflation and the increased
cost of home modifications.
This increase is long overdue, and I urge my colleagues to support this
legislation.  It would have a direct and immediate impact on improving
health care and the quality of life for our disabled veterans.

*In addition VHA announced today the changes for Category 8 veterans
enrolling into VA health care.*

Recent VA News Releases

To view and download VA news release, please visit the following Internet
address:

*http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel*

* *

* *

*VA Reopening Health Care Enrollment to Thousands of Veterans*

* *

WASHINGTON (June 19, 2009) – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which
now has nearly 8 million Veterans enrolled in its award-winning health care
system, is poised to welcome nearly 266,000 more Veterans into its medical
centers and clinics across the country by expanding access to health care
enrollment for certain Veterans who had been excluded due to their income.

“This incremental approach to expanding enrollment ensures that access to VA
health care for a greater number of beneficiaries does not sacrifice timely
access or quality medical care for those Veterans already enrolled in VA’s
health care system,” Dr. Gerald Cross, VA’s Acting Under Secretary for
Health, said. “Over the next four years, we hope to provide enrollment to
more than 500,000 Veterans.”

Under a new regulation effective June 15, VA will enroll Veterans whose
income exceeds current means-tested thresholds by up to 10 percent.  These
Veterans were excluded from VA health care enrollment when income limits
were imposed in 2003 on Veterans with no service-connected disabilities or
other special eligibility for care.  There is no income limit for Veterans
with compensable service-connected disabilities or for Veterans being seen
for their service-connected disabilities.

Veterans who have applied for VA health care but were rejected due to income
at any point in 2009 will have their applications reconsidered under the new
income threshold formula.  Those who applied before 2009, but were rejected
due to income, must reapply.  VA will contact these Veterans through a
direct-mail campaign, Veterans service organizations, and a national and
regional marketing campaign.

Information about enrollment and an income and assets calculator are
available at www.va.gov/healtheligibility.  The calculator provides a format
in which Veterans enter their household income, number of dependents, and
zip codes to see if they may qualify for VA health care enrollment.

In addition to applying online, Veterans may also contact VA’s Health
Benefits Service Center at 1-877-222 VETS (1-877-222-8387).  Each VA medical
center across the country has an enrollment coordinator available to provide
Veterans with enrollment and eligibility information.

More news next week on various legislation moving forward for Blinded
Veterans Association members…….

Tom Zampieri

Director Government Relations

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BVA's Legislative Alerts Group
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-- 
Blinded Veterans Helping Blinded Veterans
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