What Resources do we have for Insurance after Separation?

2014-03-10T07:52:01-04:00

Resources are available for Veterans separated less than honorable even.  Those separated with benefits normally enter a maze of finding vision and dental benefits.  The VA actually offers Family benefits and there are other resources.  Please share your resources and ask any questions to help your situation?<br>

Response by SFC James Baber made Mar 10 at 2014 11:21 PM

2014-03-10T23:21:09-04:00

1SG,

For a retiree, you have an abundance of avenues, starting with Tricare, VA direct based on rating and financial standing, or the new ACA as well. For regular separation, depending on situation and finances the VA and ACA route is there as well.

I didn't know about the VA family benefits, do you have any links or contact information to help in that area? Thanks in advance for any info you can provide.

Response by 1SG Henry Yates made Mar 12 at 2014 10:06 AM

2014-03-12T10:06:05-04:00

Okay, you got me. Maybe I'm getting a bit rusty on the acronym thing. (ACA) A little reading and I ran into Affordable Care Act. I felt pretty stupid after I realized how many times I've said and heard Affordable Care Act and didn't know what you meant by ACA.

CHAMPVA

CHAMPVA is a benefit for Veteran's Families who qualify. It is a VA benefit. For active duty, before Tricare, we had CHAMPUS; it's similar. Here's some info and a link below.

CHAMPVA Beneficiary? What You Should Know

The Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA), is a health care benefits program that provides coverage to the spouse or widow(er) and to the dependent children of a qualifying Veteran or Servicemember who:

is rated permanently and totally disabled due to a service-connected disability, orwas rated permanently and totally disabled due to a service-connected condition at the time of death, ordied of a service-connected disability, ordied on active duty, andthe dependents are not otherwise eligible for Department of Defense TRICARE benefits.

In addition, Primary caregivers of OEF/OIF Veterans may be eligible to receive CHAMPVA coverage if they are not already entitled to care or services under a health plan contract, including Medicare, Medicaid or workers compensation.

Under CHAMPVA, VA shares the cost of covered health care services and supplies with eligible beneficiaries.

Coverage under VA’s CHAMPVA program means you already satisfy the requirement to have health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act, also known as ACA or health care reform. You don’t need to do anything more to avoid an individual fee from the IRS. Beneficiaries continue to enjoy health care coverage without having to pay enrollment fees, monthly premiums or deductibles.

For more information, visit our CHAMPVA website or call 1-800-733-VETS (8387).

http://www.va.gov/hac/forbeneficiaries/champva/champva.asp

Response by SSG Therese Mangham made Mar 12 at 2014 3:12 PM

2014-03-12T15:12:15-04:00

For Retirees there is Tricare Retiree which covers your entire family. You will get Tricsre standard and you have to pay for tricare prime annually. The cost was 532 to cover my family for the year. As a single mother and retiree this was a life saver. You can got to the tricare website and find more information.

Response by SFC Michael Jackson, MBA made Mar 9 at 2015 4:52 PM

2015-03-09T16:52:14-04:00

Not a lot of vision and dental benefits exists after separation I'm aware of. Some may qualify for a few benefits thru Delta Dental or Tricare Retiree coverage like others SSG Therese Mangham and SFC James Baber have stated. However, both programs offer little coverage and most veterans, including myself find little value in it. The VA rarely provide dental services for veterans, and certainly family members take a back seat.
For dental and vision, I obtained coverage thru my new employer and I recommend others do the same. If you do not have an employer, then healthcare.gov is one place to obtain it.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 9 at 2015 5:08 PM

2015-03-09T17:08:55-04:00

This caught me by suprise and is not an easy problem to solve. Between rather to take my corperate plan or Tricare Select for Guard and Reserve. I am interested it what others might think on this subject.