VETERANS FYI:
NATIONAL VETERANS LEGAL SERVICES PROGRAM
NVLSP ALERT:
TO GET REIMBURSED FOR POST-2010 EMERGENCY MEDICAL
EXPENSES, VETS MUST APPLY TO VA BY FEB. 22, 2024
Last year, VA announced that it had created a unique, one-year open period
during which veterans enrolled in VA Health Care can apply for VA
reimbursement of their emergency medical expenses at non-VA facilities for
emergencies that occurred at any time during the last 14 years (that is, after Feb. 1,
2010). This right to a new reimbursement decision applies even if the veteran was
previously denied reimbursement or never applied for reimbursement in the past.
But to be eligible for this new reimbursement decision, the veteran must
apply to VHA for reimbursement on or before FEBRUARY 22, 2024.
To file a reimbursement claim, a veteran must complete and sign VA Form
10-583 and mail or deliver it to the nearest VA medical facility to where you live.
You can get a copy of VA Form 10-583 at
www.va.gov/communitycare/programs/veterans/file-a-claim.asp. or
https://www.va.gov/resources/reimbursement-of-non-va-prescriptions-or-medical
expenses/
You can find the nearest VA medical facility to you at www.va.gov/find-locations/
The VA form must be received by the VA medical facility by the February 22,
2024 deadline. If you decide to hand-deliver the form, get a VA employee to sign
his or her name and date of receipt to the copy of your signed VA Form 10-583
that you keep for your records. If you decide to mail the completed VA form, it
should be sent in a way that allows you to prove the date on which the medical
facility received the form – for example, by Priority Mail, or Federal Express.
To the extent possible, you should also include the following along with the
completed form:
• a statement identifying the dates of the medical emergency care, and the
name of the non-VA facility at which emergency medical care was provided;
1100 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 900 Arlington, VA 22209 Tel 202.265.8305 Fax 202.328.0063
Email:
[email protected] www.nvlsp.org
• a copy of any invoices provided by the non-VA facility for the medical
services;
• a copy of receipts of any payments you made for the non-VA medical
services; and
• if Medicare, Medicaid or other private health care insurance covered part of
the emergency expenses, a copy of any Explanation of Benefits or Medical
Care Summary Notice prepared by these insurers.
You should keep a copy for your records of all the papers you provide to the VA
medical facility.
The one-year open period for applying for reimbursement is an outgrowth of
NVLSP’s victory in the lawsuit Kimmel v. Secretary of Veterans Affairs. In that
case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit invalidated the part of VA’s
reimbursement regulation that prohibited VA from reimbursing a veteran with
private health insurance for the veteran’s coinsurance liability not covered by
insurance. In February 2023, VA announced the one-year open period to apply for
reimbursement so that veterans who had emergencies in the past can take
advantage of the favorable changes in the VA reimbursement system that have
taken place over the last 14 years.
GET ADVICE: During the last two years, did VA deny you reimbursement for emergency
medical expenses you incurred at non-VA facilities? If so, NVLSP may be able to advise you
on what to do about it. Contact us at
[email protected] with the date of the VA
denial letter, and, if possible, a copy of the denial letter.
About The National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP)
