VA Health Care Eligibility &
Enrollment
Changes
to the Priority Group 8 Enrollment Restriction
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bsp;
In 2003, VA made the difficult decision to stop enrolling new
Priority Group (high income) Veterans in order to assure all Veterans are
provided timely and quality medical care. New regulations take effect on Ju=
ne
15, 2009 that will allow VA to reopen enrollment healthcare to Veterans who=
se
household income does not exceed the current VA income thresholds (means te=
st
threshold and/or geographical means test threshold) by more than 10%. More =
than
266,000 Veterans may now be eligible for enrollment.
Denied
Enrollment On or After January 1, 2009
If you have applied for enrollment on or after January 1, 2009=
and
you were denied enrollment because your income exceeded the VA income
threshold, VA will determine if you are eligible under this new rule, once =
the
new regulations take effect. You will not need to submit another applicatio=
n for
enrollment. If you are eligible under this new rule, we will notify you by
mail. You will receive a letter from the VA Health Eligibility Center notif=
ying
you of your eligibility for enrollment and welcoming you to the VA health c=
are
system. Included with the letter will be instructions for getting care and =
how
to obtain a Veterans
Identification Card.
Denied
Enrollment Before January 1, 2009
If you applied for enrollment before January 1, 2009, and were
denied enrollment because your income was too high, VA encourages you to ta=
ke
advantage of this enr=
ollment
calculator to assist you in determining if you are now eligible for
enrollment under this new regulation. Whatever your enrollment determinatio=
n,
VA encourages all Veterans to apply for enrollment as this will help us in =
our
future planning and budget efforts as well as allow us to be in a better po=
sition
to identify necessary funding levels to Congress.
Determine
if You May Be Eligible
To determine if you may be eligible under this new regulation,=
we
have developed this enr=
ollment
calculator which will help you in determining if your income falls with=
in
the new 10% income threshold guidelines. Once you have entered all required
information below, this calculator will determine if you may be eligible for
enrollment under the new rule.
The proposed changes (defined in Public Law 110-329) provide VA
additional funding to allow expanded enrollment opportunity for certain
Priority 8 veterans who may have been previously denied enrollment in
VA’s health care system because their income exceeded VA’s means
tests thresholds.
On the effective date of the regulation, a veteran who applies=
for
enrollment, who does not qualify for a higher priority group and whose inco=
me
exceeds VA’s means test thresholds by 10% or less will be placed in a=
priority
group that allows the veteran to be enrolled in VA’s health care syst=
em.
Other References:
VA
to Offer Health Care to Previously Ineligible Veterans Press Release
Re=
laxation
of Priority Group 8 Enrollment Restrictions Fact Sheet
Relaxation
of Priority Group 8 Enrollment Restrictions Frequently Asked Questions (
10%
Increase to Financial Income Thresholds for Enrollment in Priority Group 8<=
/a>
10%
Increase to VA Geographic Means Test Income Thresholds for Enrollment in Pr=
iority
Group 8
Federal Benefits for Veterans=
and
Dependents
VA National Means Test Income
Threshold | GMT Income Threshold