Lawmakers seek to make health care more accessible for disabled veterans

As the nation pauses this weekend to honor the brave men and women who served in our nation’s Armed Forces, U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today filed legislation to ensure some of our most severely disabled veterans have access to the health care they need.
The legislation, known as the FAIR Heroes Act, would make disabled veterans who were medically retired from the military eligible for both Medicare Part B and TRICARE, a health care program for retired veterans and their families, and allow them to choose which health plan works best for them.
Under current law, severely disabled veterans who receive Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, or SSDI, for two or more years don’t have a choice. They are required, by law, to purchase Medicare Part B coverage – and, in some cases, maintain that coverage even if they return to work.
By giving these veterans the choice to enroll in TRICARE instead of the more costly Medicare Part B program, the lawmakers’ bill could save many veterans up to $1,300 a year.
“These brave men and women are American heroes,” Nelson said. “They have made tremendous sacrifices in service to their country and making sure they have access to the health care that best fits their needs is the least we can do.”
If these medically retired veterans fail to immediately purchase Medicare Part B coverage when they become eligible, or fail to maintain that coverage for at least eight years after returning to work, they are forced to pay a late enrollment fee and higher premiums if they try to enroll in Medicare later in life.
For some disabled veterans, the late-enrollment penalty and higher premiums make Medicare coverage unaffordable.
Nelson and Blumenthal’s legislation seeks to change that, not only by giving these disabled veterans the option to enroll in TRICARE instead, but also by eliminating the eight-year Medicare requirement and late-enrollment penalties for those who were medically retired from the military.
The legislation has been endorsed by several veterans organizations including the Wounded Warriors Project, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Got Your 6, Association of the U.S. Army and the National Military Family Association.
A copy of the legislation is available here.