The Maine Veteran Coordinating Committee (MVCC) had our monthly meeting on Feb. 5 with Senator Angus King the guest speaker. The MVCC, as I have talked about in the past, holds a meeting the first Monday of the month, now at 3 p.m. via ZOOM. The leadership of the VA, Maine Bureau of Veterans Services, representatives of our congressional delegation provide updates to all veterans (or anyone) who attends. We also have guest speakers; this month was Senator King.

Senator King provided a recap of the hearing he held on Long Term VA Care in Maine which I addressed in my past couple of articles, but he also addressed another priority, a better transition of military members from active duty to civilian life and VA care. Studies are showing that this is a traumatic transition for some with a higher rate of veteran suicide during this time. A purpose of the MVCC meetings is to provide a platform for the veterans to address issues of concern to the VA, State, and Congressional leadership.

Senator King addressed the following issues that I brought up. First was the issue I had previously mention to him that the VA does not cover ambulance transportation unless the veteran is 30% or over. Senator King said he has been and continues to work on this issue. Another issue I brought up was that the VA provides great support for caregivers of veterans but provide no support for veterans caring for their family member. This was a new issue for Senator King and he said he would have his team look into it. Senator King was also asked to support a current bill before congress addressing retired veterans on TRICARE that would allow dependents to stay on their parents TRICARE plan to age 26 (parity with commercial insurance) and aligning TRICARE for the National Guard and Reserves with miliary retired pay. Senator King said he would have his team do more research on these bills but cannot make a promise to support at this time. He also said he would look into long term residential care for veterans less than 70%. 

I also brought up the issue that veterans who have been incarcerated and now in a halfway house do not have access to VA healthcare. An example I mentioned was a 100% rated veteran at the Portland halfway house who was denied  VA mental health appointment at the Portland VA Clinic until after release from that facility. This is a Federal Bureau of Prisons issue, not a VA issue. King agreed to take this on as an assignment for further review. Another issue he was asked to address was that spouses of 100% disabled veterans are eligible for TRICARE are not able to enroll in CHAMP-VA which could save the family money, particularly on prescription drug costs. The MVCC members gave Senator King a lot of work to do! 

Send an email to dapatch@roadrunner.com if you want the Zoom link for the March 4, 3 p.m. meeting.