Combat Veterans Have January 2011 VA Health Care Deadline

If you are a combat veteran (or know someone who was) that was on active duty between 11/11/1989 and 1/28/2003, sign up online for VA veterans health care. By getting it done before the deadline, you'll get in without having to prove you have a "service connected" disability or health problem. Remember, "once in, always in" - get it done now if you qualify.

 Rick Maze of MilitaryTimes.com writes that:

Time is running out for about 180,000 combat veterans, most of whom served in Iraq or Afghanistan, to take advantage of streamlined enrollment into the Veterans Affairs Department health care system.

Mr. Maze quotes Philip Mastkovsky of the Veterans Health Administration as saying that even if veterans do not have health problems right now, there is good reason to enroll in the Veterans Affairs (VA) health plan now.  This plan "charges no premiums and requires modest co-payments only when treating veterans for clearly non service-connected reasons."

The biggest reason of all for enrolling when you are not currently facing health problems is that once you're in, you're always in. Maze writes:

The 180,000 affected veterans are among a class of veterans offered no-questions-asked health care from VA following their release from active duty. Initially, they were provided two years of care, but in 2008, when Congress decided to provide five years of post-service VA care to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, those discharged in the early years of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars were given extra time.

Don't wait! After January 27, 2011, veterans may only enroll in the system if they meet the regular eligibility rules, where you must prove having a a service connected disability or low income. Only 16,000-17,000 of eligible veterans have enrolled so far!After Jan. 27, these veterans can enroll in the VA health system only if they meet regular eligibility rules, such as having a service-connected disability or low income.

You may enroll entirely online right here. If you have questions, call the VA at 877-222-VETS (877-222-8387).

Thank you for your service. For a free guide on Ohio Veteran's Pension Aid and Attendance Benefits, visit www.OhioVeteranPension.com.

Men From The Forgotten War

Mike Harden, retired columnist for the Columbus Dispatch, wrote of a gathering of Korean War veterans at the American Legion post entitled "Men from 'forgotten war' recall fateful night". An excerpt follows:

Hunkered over fried bologna sandwiches and Bud Lites, the last men standing from an old Columbus-based Korean War company of Marines assembled on April Fool's Day to discuss a mutual throb in the molar of memory.

The noon drinkers who were bellied up to the bar of the American Legion post on Demorest Road paid scant attention to the assemblage of gray-hairs, who had come together to honor the 60th anniversary of the most harrowing months of their lives.

(To read the remainder of the article, click the link above)

Reading Mr. Harden's article reminded me not only of the "forgotten war", but of how underutilized VA non-service connected pension benefits are. If you have significant medical expenses such as in-home, assisted living or nursing home care and are a wartime veteran (which includes the Korean War), or if you are the widow of a wartime veteran, you could be missing out on up to $23,000 in benefits per year that could help you pay for your medical expenses that are ripping through your savings.

If you know someone that needs more information on VA Pension, have them give me a call or visit OhioVeteranPension.com for a free guide. No veteran or their widow should let this benefit to slip by.

Beware Annuity Sharks?

The March 22, 2009 edition of The Columbus Dispatch advised "Advice for Elderly Beware Annuity Sharks". This article, written by Steve Wartenberg, told the story of a blind woman with dementia who had just moved into a nursing home.

With all of these health issues going on, she was advised to cash in her current annuities and invest her life savings in another one (most likely generating surrender charges and high commissions for the financial advisor).

Two weeks after purchasing these annuities, the woman passed away, and the new annuity investment left her loved ones with half of what they would have inherited if she had not invested in the annuity.

In all fairness, I think it is critical to note that there ARE many circumstances when annuities can be a valuable piece of a family's financial plan - just almost never for ill elderly.

Quite often I must advise clients that the annuity they were sold (with the advisor knowing long-term care would be likely needed soon) must be cashed in in order to protect any of the money or to qualify for Medicaid. This often means paying a surrender charge (penalty) of thousands or even into the tens of thousands of dollars. This sometimes makes some shocked and angry clients.

Other times, I find clients that were told the annuity would protect their money from the nursing home, which is usually not correct. Would they have bought the annuity had they known the truth?

I've also seen people that bought an annuity to qualify for the Veterans Administration (VA) Aid and Attendance benefit, only to find out that when they needed nursing home care later that the annuity severely damaged their ability to leave money to children in the end.

Unfortunately, some people think seniors are good marks for financial fraud, identity theft, or financial products that really don't fit their needs.

My advice is to understand that like all financial investments, or even legal techniques you might develop with a lawyer, they must fit your individual goals and values. Otherwise, you won't get a whole lot of benefit, and it could possibly be damaging to your financial health.

As I said, annuities can be great investments, but beware of buying them when there are health concerns, advanced age, or if you are often advised to cash in one for another.