I am back in the office and ready to serve our area veterans. My office hours are 8:00 to 4:30 on Monday and Tuesday and 8:00 to 12:00 on Wednesday. My office number is 605-487-7691 and my cell number is 605-481-1338. I am available to assist you any time so please feel free to call me on my cell phone when I am not in the office.

There have been some changes in VA policy that you may not be aware of such as the decision to write off all copayments veterans must pay for medical care provided by the agency.

Legislation removed a temporary suspension on those copayments, first put into place by former president Donald Trump in April 2020, to a permanent reprieve that is scheduled to end in September 2021. According to the law, all copayments for medical care provided to veterans through the VA from April 6, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021, will be waived. You will be reimbursed for any copayments you have made in the last year. If you do not receive a refund, give me a call and I will make sure you receive your reimbursement.

A new policy authorizes an indefinite expiration date for ID cards issued to eligible dependents of military retirees who are age 65 and older. Previously these family members had to wait until age 75 for the indefinite card. The policy change applies to all Department of Defense ID card offices as a result of continued growth in the military retiree population and recognizing the burden of the age 75 requirement placed on both dependents and IDcard office resources. Although approved, Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) must implement necessary system changes to issue the indefinite card. These changes are anticipated to occur sometime in May 2021. Please be patient as your local ID card site awaits the capability.

VA is increasing the number of individuals who are eligible to get life saving COVID-19 vaccines from the VA from 9.5 million to more than 33 million. The VA is providing COVID-19 vaccinations to veterans and employees as well as Non-enrolled veterans, including those without service connected disabilities and who have incomes above VA’s threshold. Also included are Veteran caregivers who are enrolled in either the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers or the Program of General Caregiver Support Services and all Veteran’s spouses. Call your provider to schedule an appointment to get your vaccination.

The National Personnel Records Center, which stores all military documents, is currently operating at 20% of its work force with plans to increase the number in April. They are only processing emergency requests for burial honors, life threatening medical emergencies and homeless veterans. With a full staff it still takes several months to receive documents from the NPRC. Even in emergency situations it takes at least 2 days to receive a discharge document for burial benefits. This would be a good time to locate your DD214 or NGB-22 in case you would need it. It can be very stressful for family members to locate documents once you are gone. If you need assistance locating your documents, give me a call.