Senior Benefit Services is devoting the entire month of November to educate Veterans about their options in VA benefits and Medicare. If you are a Veteran and are over the age of 65, you may be eligible for both! 

The most important thing to understand is that VA benefits and Medicare are two completely different entities. In regards to a Veteran’s advantage, we typically recommend them to register for both VA and Medicare. By doing this, a veteran can capitalize on the coverage that both offer. 

VA benefits annually serve approximately 9 million veterans a year. If a veteran qualifies for VA benefits, they will be assigned to a priority group. According to Military.com, “The Priority Groups range from 1-8 with 1 being the highest priority. Based on eligibility and income, some veterans may have to pay a copay for treatment and some may not be eligible for enrollment.”  When it comes to VA Benefits, there are around 1,250 facilities that are available to veterans across the United States. 

With VA Benefits, you may ONLY go to these facilities to receive full coverage. It could be beneficial to research the location of VA facilities near you to see if there is a convenient location. Additionally, VAs offer benefits that Medicare doesn’t, such as dental coverage. 

When looking into Medicare options, it is clear that there could be many advantages. The location of your preferred doctor may be covered by Medicare instead of VA. There could also be an emergency where a non-VA doctor is needed to treat you. Additionally, if you are not signed up for Part B in Medicare, there could potentially be a penalty for that.

Overall, it could be beneficial for Veterans to draw from both resources. On behalf of Senior Benefit Services, we would like to thank all American Veterans for their sacrifice.

Written by Daniela Correa

11/01/2019