What Massachusetts Veterans Need To Know

Besides having a copy of your DD 214, this may be one of the most important documents you need to review and save!

The Veterans Administration and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts offer a number of benefits to Veterans and surviving spouses. This document is not a complete list of all benefits you may be eligible or entitled to.

By law, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts requires every city and town to have a Veteran Service Officer (VSO) to assist Veterans in obtaining federal and state benefits. Please do not try to do this on your own! 

Your local VSO is a Veteran and is your primary contact to assist you in answering questions and helping you with the necessary paperwork. Work collaboratively with them!

To locate the name and contact information of your local VSO, go to  http://www.massvetsadvisor.org/. This web site offers a great deal of information about Veterans benefits.

Massachusetts Veterans, in general, are eligible for the following benefits:

• Welcome Home bonus
• Free tuition in all state community colleges, colleges, and universities
• Have the word ‘Veteran” printed on their driver’s license
• Under Chapter 115 of Massachusetts General Laws (M.G.L. ch. 115), the Commonwealth provides a uniform program of financial and medical assistance for indigent Veterans and their dependents. Qualifying Veterans and their dependents receive necessary financial assistance for food, shelter, clothing, housing supplies, and medical care in accordance with a formula, which takes into account the number of dependents and income from all sources. Eligible dependents of deceased Veterans are provided with the same benefits as they would were the veteran still living.
• May be eligible for long-term care at the Soldiers Homes in Chelsea and Holyoke
• Burial in the state Veterans’ cemeteries in Agawam or Winchendon or the Bourne National Cemetery and obtain grave markers
• Veterans License Plates
• Certain disabled Veterans and former POWs are eligible for a waiver of fees for motor vehicle registration and sales tax
• Free medical care by the VA for one year immediately upon discharge
• Participate in the VA Loan Guarantee Program to purchase or refinance a home

 

Ultimately, you are responsible for helping yourself and need to play an active role in obtaining benefits. The following tips are based on past experiences of VSOs and other Veterans that will serve you well!

General information:

1. Always work closely with your local VSO!
2. When mail arrives from the VA or the state, open it and read it. If you do not understand it, contact your VSO for an appointment to assist you.
3. Always save copies of your VA correspondence as well as your correspondence and copies of any claims or paperwork you have filed.
4. Any documentation requested of you by the VA or that you voluntarily wish to submit should go through your VSO to ensure quality control.
5. If you are a ‘snowbird’ or are traveling for an extended period of time –especially if you have a claim pending – you must let your VSO know. If you miss a VA compensation and pension (C&P) exam your claim will be denied. By letting the VSO know, the exam can be scheduled upon your return or, for example, if you are in Florida for the winter the exam can be scheduled there.
6. Notify your VSO immediately of any change of address, phone number, or dependents’ status.
7. If you are changing your direct deposit information, NEVER close out your old account until you have confirmed that your direct deposits are showing up in your new account.
8. A Veteran can apply for VA compensation and pension at the same time. The VA will pay the Veteran the higher of the two benefits.
9. VA monetary benefits are tax free.
10. Upon death, a Veteran’s compensation or pension benefits do not transfer to a surviving spouse. A surviving spouse may be eligible for VA pension or accrued benefits.

 

Contact your VSO for more information. Make sure your will is up to date and that the beneficiaries for any pensions and insurance policies are up to date.

 

VA Specific:

The vast majority of personnel within the Veterans Administration are themselves Veterans. You should consider the VA as operating like the military but without uniforms. Everything they do is governed by laws, rules, and regulations.

 

Keep in mind, the VA has access to Social Security and IRS records – be truthful at all times.

 

VA Compensation Claims must be service connected. In other words, the injury/disability must have taken place while on active duty and that the condition has been chronic. A previously existing condition made worse through military service is also valid. There are exceptions such as claims regarding Agent Orange and the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. As a guardsman or reservist, if the injury happened during a drill weekend, it doesn’t count for VA purposes unless you have a Line of Duty (LOD) document.

 

VA Pension Claims are available to wartime Veterans and surviving spouses. They are based on income and medical expenses. We will not cover that here because of their complexity.

VA Health Care is available to all veterans who were in the active service and were discharged under any condition other than dishonorable. 

Certain veterans may be afforded enhanced eligibility status when applying and enrolling in the VA health care system. Veterans who:

·         Are a Former Prisoner of War (POW)

·         In receipt of the Purple Heart Medal.

·         In receipt of the Medal of Honor.

·         Have a compensable VA awarded service-connected disability of 10% or more.

·         In receipt of a VA Pension.

·         Were discharged from the military because of a disability (not preexisting), early out, or hardship.

·         Served in a Theater of Operations for 5 years’ post discharge.

·         Served in the Republic of Vietnam from January 9, 1962 to May 7, 1975.

·         U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships associated with military service in Vietnam

·         Served in the Persian Gulf from August 2, 1990 to November 11, 1998.

·         Were stationed or resided at Camp Lejeune for 30 days or more between August 1, 1953 and December 31, 1987.

·         Are found by VA to be Catastrophically Disabled.

·         Previous years' household income is below VA's National Income or Geographical-Adjusted Thresholds.

Veterans who enroll in VA health care are assigned a Priority Group rating. The Priority Groups are explained and defined in detail here: https://www.va.gov/HEALTHBENEFITS/resources/priority_groups.asp. An overview of VA health care benefits may be found at https://www.va.gov/healthbenefits/resources/publications/IB10-185_health_care_overview_2016_apr_v2_web.pdf

 

Always work with your VSO!

We are using the VA Fully Developed Claim (FDC) process exclusively for ALL claims because it is much more efficient. The average claim processing time is 120 days. The FDC process is used for new claims, claims for increases in compensation, or to reopen a claim based on new and material evidence. We also use them for pension claims for Veterans and surviving spouses. Once the claim is filed, you will probably not hear from the VA for about 10 weeks.

When a claim is filed, all evidence including private medical records must be included. The VA will obtain your military medical records. If you have received medical care by the VA, note it in the appropriate section of the claim form. The VA will obtain those records, too.

In the case of guardsmen and reservists, you must obtain a complete set of your service treatment records and submit them with the claim. Note: you cannot double-dip receiving drill pay and VA compensation together.

If you submit any documents after the fully developed claim has been filed, it will pull the claim out of the fast track and can take a year or more to complete.

If it is going to take a long time for you to gather the evidence, work with your VSO to file an Intent to file for compensation or pension (VA form 21-0966). That will establish your date of claim and give you a year to formally submit the claim.

Any statement you provide to the VA in support of your claim must focus ONLY on what you are claiming! All too often, Veterans will focus on how bad their health is in general. When that happens, the VA, by regulation, takes those additional complaints as inferred claims and will automatically pull your claim out of the fast track.

Evidence in support of your claim comes in many forms:

• Veteran statement
• Spouse statement
• Buddy statement (people you served with)
• Internet evidence from .mil or .gov web sites only
• Military service treatment records
• Private medical records (keep in mind, providers are required by law to save the records for only 7 years)

Finding people you served with - If you have lost track of people you served with, the Internet can be very helpful. You can utilize social media such as Facebook or search for your particular unit or ship. You will be surprised how many have ‘alumni-like’ web sites.

Rating Decisions and Appeals

Once your claim has been finalized, you will receive written notification from the VA about their decision and how they made it. Read it very carefully. If you are dissatisfied with the VA rating decision, you have the right to appeal. It is important to work with your VSO because there are different methods to appeal.

 

Dental plans

The VA has implemented a comprehensive national VA Dental Insurance Program (VADIP) to give enrolled Veterans and CHAMPVA beneficiaries the opportunity to purchase dental insurance through Delta Dental and MetLife at a reduced cost. Participation is voluntary. Purchasing a dental plan does not affect Veterans’ eligibility for VA dental services and treatment. VADIP opened November 2014 for the purchasing of plans, with coverage beginning January 1, 2014.

 

Covered services include diagnostic, preventative, surgical, emergency and endodontic/restorative treatment. Delta Dental and MetLife are offering multiple plans. Each participant pays the fixed monthly premiums for coverage and any copayments required, depending on the type of plan selected.

Dependents of Veterans, except those eligible under CHAMPVA, are not authorized to participate in VADIP. Those individuals may be eligible for separate dental insurance coverage offered by these carriers.

Benefits by the percentages

The VA makes a determination about the severity of a disability based on the evidence you submitted as part of a claim, or that the VA obtains from your military records. The VA rates disabilities from 0% to 100% in 10% increments.

 

If a Veteran has multiple disabilities, the VA uses a Combined Rating Table to calculate a combined disability rating. Disability ratings are not additive, meaning that if a Veteran has one disability rated 60% and a second disability 20%, the combined rating is not 80%.  The 2017 rates can be found here: http://www.benefits.va.gov/compensation/resources_comp01.asp

Here’s a look at what the percentages mean:

The benefits are cumulative as the percentages go up so we are not repeating all the info as the percentages increase.

0%>

• A Veteran is service connected for a disability but it is not disabling enough to warrant compensation. However, the Veteran can receive treatment and prescriptions free from the VA. For example, in cases of hearing loss and/or tinnitus, the Veteran can receive free hearing aids.
• The Veteran is eligible for Service-Disabled Veterans Insurance
• A Veteran can be reimbursed for VA co-pays as far back as his date of claim for his service connected disabilities

 

10%>

• The Veteran begins receiving compensation for the disability
• The Veteran can obtain a VA ID card at any VA Medical Center
• The Veteran can receive a real estate tax abatement effective July 1 of each year (surviving spouse is eligible as well) The VA sends a summary of benefits letter in late June.
• The Veteran is eligible for Voc Rehab
• The Veteran is eligible to receive VA compensation and Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC). CRSC is not taxable.

           

30%>

• The Veteran can begin receiving additional compensation for dependents

 

50%>

• The Veteran can receive all prescriptions free through the VA even for medications for maladies that are not service connected
• The Veteran is eligible to receive VA compensation and Concurrent Receipt and Disability Pay (CRDP) and VA compensation. CRDP is taxable.

 

60%

• The Veteran is eligible to apply for a Disabled Veterans plate at the Registry of Motor Vehicles if their disability is mobility impairment.

70%>

• VA is mandated to provide long-term care for Veterans who require it in a VA or contracted facility
• Veterans can get a 50% reduction on the ‘T’ by filling out a Transportation Access Pass/TAP Charlie Card application and attaching an original letter from the VA specifying your disability rating. Go to: http://www.mbta.com/uploadedFiles/documents/ACCESS_PASS.pdf

 

100% service connected as well as Individual Unemployability

• The VA will provide total healthcare for the Veteran including dental
• The real estate tax abatement is larger
• The Veteran, with a special letter from the VA, may obtain access to military installations to include commissary and exchange privileges
• The Veteran or DIC recipients are eligible for the DVS Annuity
• Dependents Educational Assistance is established (must be rated total and permanent)

Spouses and dependent children may be eligible for CHAMPVA medical coverage

 

(02/18/2016)

 

 

Some helpful links:

 

·         Federal Benefits for Veterans, Dependents and Survivors

·         Federal Resources for Massachusetts Veterans (pdf)

·         Massachusetts Guide to Veterans Laws and Benefits (pdf)

The History of Veterans Benefits in Massachusetts
In the 18th century, towns in the Massachusetts Bay Colony provided assistance to their needy veterans of the French and Indian War (1754-1763), fought between France and Great Britain in North America. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts began providing for its veterans immediately following the Revolutionary War. At the start of the Civil War in 1861, the state legislature formalized the assistance provided to veterans by establishing MGL Chapter 115 and the Department of Veterans Services (DVS).

The Department of Veterans Services and your local Veterans Service Officer
MGL Chapter 115 requires each town or city to provide a Veterans Service Officer (VSO), as well as a Burial Agent and Graves Officer. These town/city employees support the needs of the local veterans within their town/city limits. Larger towns and cities are required to provide a full-time VSO, while less populated towns and cities are given the option of having a part time VSO, or joining together with other towns/cities to form a district, which would be serviced by a VSO who would be responsible for serving the multiple towns/cities within the formed district.

Who is eligible to receive MGL Chapter 115 Benefits?
Anyone qualifying as a veteran under the MGL Chapter 4, Section 7, clause 43, as amended by the Acts of 2005, Chapter 130, may be eligible for veterans’ benefits from the community in which they reside, provided that they meet the Income and Asset Limits for this need based program. For the year 2017, the maximum monthly income allowed for an individual is $1,980.00, and for a couple is $2,670.00. Additional family members would change these amounts. However, applicants whose income is only slightly above allowable amounts may be eligible for medical benefits at a “spend down” adjustment amount. Asset limits for 2017 are $5,000.00 for an individual and $9,800.00 for a couple. Unlike many states, Massachusetts extends the coverage for Veterans’ Benefits beyond the veteran to his or her eligible dependents. These eligible dependents may also apply for veterans’ benefits. The surviving spouse of a deceased veteran, provided that the spouse was married to the veteran at the time of his or her death, is considered an eligible dependent. Living spouses, children, and parents might also qualify to receive benefits. For more information on program financial limits see About Income and Assets.

What kind of Benefits are Available?
Benefits may be available in several forms. The most frequently asked about benefits are provided in the form of financial assistance to aid in meeting the cost of shelter, sustenance, and medical expenses. To determine the eligibility to receive such financial assistance, the VSO will ask the applicant to provide proof of certain expenses, as well as proof of income and assets. The VSO may require other supporting documents such as Marriage, Birth, or Death Certificates, and Discharge papers, depending on the situation. Ceilings are set for income and benefits based on the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) at 200%. Using the documents provided, the VSO will determine an allowable budget as outlined in 108 Code of Massachusetts Regulations (108 CMR). Once the applicant’s budget has been established, the VSO will determine if the applicant is eligible for any financial assistance. Other types of benefits may also be available depending on certain qualifying criteria.

How long can I expect to Receive Financial Assistance?
Recipients of financial assistance under MGL Chapter 115 Veterans’ Benefits may fall into several categories, which affect the status of their claims. For instance, a recipient who is not totally and permanently disabled or retired, would be expected to seek full time employment, and might expect to receive assistance for a brief period of time while they secure a job. A recipient who is totally and permanently disabled, or who is retired, might find themselves in a financial situation whereby their needs dictate that they continue to receive benefits indefinitely.

What are my responsibilities as a recipient of MGL Chapter 115 Veterans’ Benefits?
Full disclosure and timely updates for changes in circumstance are key responsibilities. For starters, during the application process, you must fully disclose to the VSO the financial information and documentation requested. You must declare all income from all sources, and all possessed assets, to include bank accounts, IRAs, Certificates of Deposit, and available on hand cash. If you generate income from self-employment efforts, even if not on a regular basis, you must report this income when it is generated. You may be required to provide forms such as the IRS 1099 or Schedule C Form 1040 tax claim.

Once enrolled you must report any changes in circumstance to the VSO, to include any changes in the amount received from a reported income source, or any new sources of income. You must report any changes in medical or shelter expenses. This includes changes in rent, fees, mortgage, fire insurance, or taxes that are charged to you; or changes in your share of such expense if you begin sharing this cost with another. You must report increases or decreases in medical insurance premiums or other health care costs. These changes must be reported within one month from the change occurring.

When eligible, you must seek alternate sources of income and benefits such as VA Health Care, VA Compensation, VA Pension, Social Security Disability Income, Supplemental Security Income, or benefits from MGL Chapter 118 such as MassHealth and Prescription Advantage.

All recipients of MGL Chapter 115 Veterans’ Benefits are eligible to file for medical reimbursement for co-pays associated with doctor visits, hospital visits, and most medication expenses (allowable meds only, e.g. not Viagra). Reimbursement for dental visits and eye care may be available at the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy (DHCFP) allowable levels.

The bottom line is to keep the VSO in the know. The VSO can’t help you with things he or she
doesn’t know. Although most recipients do not intentionally attempt to defraud the community and state, failure to disclose information about assets and/or income, or changes in reimbursed expenses can lead to benefits being discontinued, and possible action to recover benefits already paid.

How do I file claims for medical expenses?
One of the most widely used and beneficial aspects of Massachusetts General Laws (MGL) Chapter 115 Veterans Benefits program is the filing of claims for reimbursement of Medical Costs. Most Medical Costs are reimbursed at 100% of the out of pocket expense to the claimant, after all other payers, discounts, deductions, and rebates have been applied (e.g. Insurance, Assistance programs, etc). However, certain items such as Dental and Vision care are reimbursed based on tables created by the Division of Heath Care Finance and Policy (DHCFP) of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This benefit is not guaranteed for Unemployed/Employable veterans.

Some examples of Medical Cost that are reimbursable are Doctor, Hospital, Dental, and Prescription co-pays. Also reimbursable are Medical Insurance premiums, however, Dental Insurance premiums are NOT reimbursable. Medical Insurance premiums include premiums for Medicare Supplemental Insurance. Some plans include Medicare Part B and Part D Supplemental Insurance in a combined premium, while others provide only one or the other; both are reimbursable. Also reimbursable is the premium for Medicare Part B enrollment (between $108 and $134 in 2017 for most enrollees).

No matter what the source of the medical cost, when filing Medical Claims you must provide supporting documentation. The supporting documentation must include certain items, depending on the type medical cost to be reimbursed.

Medical Insurance premiums may be claimed by providing a copy of the paid monthly or quarterly bill, or by providing proof of an auto-debit from a banking account for the premium amount. When providing copies of bills, the bills must include the insured’s name, the coverage period, and the amount of the premium after all other payers, discounts, deductions, and rebates have been applied (e.g. assistance by state or federal programs). For more detailed info on filing medical claims see About Filing Medical Claims.

QUESTIONS FOR ANY TOPIC NOT COVERED HEREIN SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO YOUR VSO.

We have received a number of calls from residents about a telemarketing firm who may state that they are calling on behalf of local veterans soliciting for a contribution to aid soldiers overseas or a veterans benefit. Westford's Department of Veterans Services is not soliciting for funds in this manner.

These calls seem to be purported to be representing various charitable entities. The caller has used multiple telephone numbers, some are: 978-656-0232, 508-656-0232, 978-207-6625 and 508-755-7796. When you try and call this number back, you may get a ring-no-answer or the number is not in-service message.

Please make sure you are comfortable with the telemarketing firm before you commit to any donation. If they offer to pick up a check or cash in a non-traditional manner, then you should be suspicious of this method.

While many charitable and worthwhile organizations use telemarketers to solicit for funding, these methods are not always the most equitable for the charity. Many direct-marketing firms take upwards of 90% of the monies collected. Less than 9 CENTS of the dollar collected make it back to the charity! Donations directly to the charity are the best method to contribute. Do not be afraid to ask the telemarketer for their contact information or the contact information for on who they are representing.

This note is not intended to discourage you from donating to a worthwhile charity/organization. Just be cautious of who your donation is actually going to. The Department of Defense has a list of organizations that have passed a series of "tests" to prove their worthiness to support our troops and veterans.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact this office:
Westford Department of Veterans Services
Email the Department
55 Main Street
Westford, MA 01886
Phone: 978-392-1170