The Mid-Atlantic Regional Group

Blinded Veterans Association

Legislative News

 

January 6, 2010

 

For all BVA contacts and members, today the VA announced that there will not be an increase in the prescription co-payments for veterans until at least next summer as a review of the impact will be done before any final decision about raising the co-payment to $ 9 per 30 day supply of medications. Below is information on this, and attached is the Federal announcement with the rules governing this.

 

VA DELAYS HIKE OF PRESCRIPTION CO-PAY FOR SIX MONTHS


Increase from $8 to $9 dollars for a 30-day supply now suspended until July 1, 2010 while VA studies impact on veterans. This decision is going to be difficult because any federal agency that decides to implement a policy that has any impact on there budgets, must justify this to Office of Management and Budget OMB, and explain what impact this will have on its operating appropriations, plus congressional budget office will also get involved in reviewing this study.

The co-pay for VA prescriptions was set to go up on January 1, 2010. That has now been delayed. The VA is holding off for six months. So, co-pays will stay at $8 for a 30-day supply and  not increase to $9 ... a 12.5% increase. The information on this is contained in the Federal Register entry below.

Federal Register: December 31, 2009

(Volume 74, Number 250)

Rules and Regulations             
Page 69283-69285
From the Federal Register Online via

GPO Access

wais.access.gpo.gov  
DOCID:fr31de09-13            

 

BVA will continue to update everyone on this as the VA decides how to approach this in the future, Also the veteran service organizations are working on letter to both house and senate VA committees on requesting them to take action on S 1963 Veterans Caregiver legislation, that we reported to you all about in the last issue of the BVA bulletin. This legislation includes the Elimination of Co-Payments for catastrophically disabled veterans for admission to inpatient rehabilitation centers, below is a section of the letter being drafted today.

 

Dear Chairmen Akaka and Filner and Ranking Members Burr and Buyer:

 

The undersigned organizations urge you to pick up where you left off at the end of the First Session, and to quickly achieve a compromise on S. 1963, the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2009, and its respective House-passed legislation, H.R. 3155, H.R. 1211, H.R. 1293 and H.R. 2770, at the earliest opportunity during your upcoming Second Session.  As you are aware, the Senate passed S. 1963 by a recorded vote of 98-0 and the House passed each of its bills with similar provisions by unanimous consent under suspension of the House rules. This unanimity of bicameral, bipartisan congressional backing demonstrates overwhelming support for the authorities these measures would provide and assures positive votes on the compromise bill.  As indicated by the large number of organizations signing below, and the millions of individuals they represent collectively, there is also tremendous public support for these measures.

 

We are deeply disappointed that your Committees were not able to reach agreement before Congress adjourned in December after so many hours of Committee hearings, legislative development, meetings and professional staff work, and literally thousands of hours of advocacy by the organizations signing this letter – in some cases representing a second or third year of effort on the same proposals.  Having achieved House and Senate approval of these bills despite the many competing demands for floor time, and with all stakeholders intimately familiar with the urgently needed improvements these bills would make in veterans services and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) programs, we urge you to move toward agreement as soon as practicable. It is our understanding that only a few issues are in need of resolution, so we believe this agreement should be eminently achievable.

 

The VSO’s are working together to urge the Chairmen of the committees and ranking members to move this bill for a vote after conference is done between the house and senate versions. Removing the co-payments for our blind non-service connected veterans who want to attend a VA Blind Center is one of major pieces of legislation we hope to have done in the next sixty days.

 

Tom Zampieri

Blinded Veterans Association

Washington DC

BVA's Legislative Alerts Group

End of Document

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