Sherburne County

Veterans Service

Overview

Eugene D. Graff
Veterans Service Officer

The Sherburne County Veterans Service Office provides guidance and assistance to veterans, their dependents and survivors in applying for veterans benefits provided by the State of Minnesota and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

In addition we provide transportation to the Minneapolis and St. Cloud VA medical centers to those in need of this service. We also provide referrals to a variety of other public and private programs and work closely with veterans organizations concerning programs & changes.

Medicare Part D– Rebate Checks for Those Affected by Donut Hole

Medicare beneficiaries who enter the prescription drug Donut Hole anytime before the end 2010 should receive a onetime $250 rebate check from Medicare. The first checks, for people who hit the Donut Hole by 31 MAR should arrive around 10 JUN 2010, according to Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius. Under current law through the end of 2010, if beneficiaries enter the Donut Hole, they have to pay 100% of the cost of covered drugs until they reach the catastrophic threshold, at which point cost-sharing is reduced to $2.50 (generic)/$6.30 (brand name) or 5% co-insurance, whichever is greater.

In essence, the benefit structure for Part D remains the same this year as it has been since Part D first went into effect in 2006. The Affordable Care Act took a small step to mitigate the effects of the Donut Hole in 2010 by providing the one-time $250 rebate check to anyone entering the gap. Although the law itself gives the Secretary about two-and-a-half months after the end of the quarter in which the individual enters the gap to get the rebate check out, the Secretary and CMS are expecting checks to go out monthly, shortly after an individual enters the Donut Hole.

Generally speaking, individuals should receive their checks within 45 days of entering the Donut Hole. The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency that administers Medicare, estimates that about four million individuals will receive such checks this year. Important points to remember about the one-time rebate program are:

• Beneficiaries do not have to sign up for the one-time $250 rebate check or take any particular steps other than to have incurred Part D prescription drug costs that have landed them in the Donut Hole for 2010.
• In determining whether a beneficiary is eligible for the rebate check, Medicare will review records sent from the beneficiary's pharmacy to his/her Part D prescription drug plan.
• The rebate checks will come from Medicare and not from an eligible beneficiary's prescription drug plan.
• The rebate checks are not available to anyone receiving "Extra Help," that is, the Part D Low-Income Subsidy, because those individuals never have a gap in their Part D coverage.

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VA Copay Increases for Priority Groups 7 and 8

On June 9, 2010, the VA announced that veterans who generally have higher income and no service-connected disabilities - referred to as Priority Groups 7 and 8 veterans - will now pay an additional $1 for each 30-day supply of outpatient medications. Taking effect on July 1, 2010, the increase to $9 from $8 is the first change in VA medication copay since January 1, 2006. Veterans in Priority groups 2-6 will have NO increase in their copay. When asked why this increase was necessary the VA replied that the CPI for medication was increasing at a higher rate than the rest of the economy and this increase was deemed necessary. The prices will hold steady for the next 18 months and will again be looked at in January 2012. [Source: NAUS Weekly Update 11 Jun 2010 ++]

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VA Presumptive Vietnam Veteran Diseases Update 05

Before leaving for the Memorial Day break, Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) had language included in the 2010 War Supplemental Bill (H.R.4899). This bill, passed by the Senate last week, includes language to freeze the payments of funds for the new illnesses that the VA decided (last October) would be added to the list of presumptive illnesses from exposure to Agent Orange. They are B cell leukemia, Parkinson’s disease and certain heart diseases. The VA has been hiring new people and gearing up for the expected 200,000+ new claims that they are expecting because of this change. However Senator Webb says that he thinks the VA may be moving too quickly and is basing his amendment on the Congressional Review Act (PL 104-121) which allows Congress to put a 60 day hold on spending appropriated money for major new agency initiatives to allow Congress time to review them. During that period, Congress can pass a joint resolution to block the initiatives. This would hold the $13.4 billion that has been appropriated for this program until Congress’ 60 day review is complete. The Senator (a Vietnam vet, a former Navy Secretary and a present member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee) said: “I take a back seat to no one in my concern for our veterans. But I do think we need to have practical, proper procedures here.” He said that the VA needs “an accountable standard” for deciding which health claims should be causally linked to exposure to Agent Orange.

VA Secretary Eric Shinseki met with Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI), chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, last month to ask that he cancel a hearing on the secretary's controversial decision to add three diseases to the list of Vietnam veteran illnesses presumed caused by exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides used in that war. Akaka and Webb are pressing Shinseki outside of the hearing process to explain last October's decision to add heart disease, Parkinson's disease and B-cell leukemia to the list of illnesses presumed caused by Agent Orange. It is not clear if this will slow down (or even stop) these new claims. [Source: TREA Washington Update and tom Philpott articles 4 & 10 Jun 2010 ++]

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