SUPPORT: legislation for concurrent receipt of military longevity retirement pay and VA disability compensation. Legislation to allow all veterans to recover amounts withheld as tax on disability severance pay. Legislation to repeal the prohibition against service connected for smoking illnesses.
Medical & Health Care Services:
Support legislation: To make VA health care funding mandatory. To insure timely quality health care services are provided to service-connected disabled veterans. To support equal medical services and benefits for women veterans.
Senate Bill 764
Adjusts the homeowners exemption for a disabled veterans by a specific inflation factor commencing Jan 1, 2006. The previous $100,000 exemption did not keep pace with the increase in California property values.
VA awards contract for CARES Modernization Plan
PricewaterhouseCoopers has been awarded a contract by the Department of Veterans Affairs to complete studies required by the Secretary's Capital Asset and Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES) plan.
"CARES is VA's blueprint for the future," VA Secretary Anthony J. Principi said. "With this contract, we will ensure the historic modernization of our health care system includes input from our veterans and other stakeholders."
Study recommendations, including those from stakeholders, will be reviewed by the VA Under Secretary for Health and CARES Implementation Board, consisting of senior VA officials, who will make recommendations to the Secretary. The studies will be completed no later than February 2006.
Financial Assessment for health care
Certain veterans applying for enrollment for health care must provide VA with information on their annual income and net worth to determine whether they are below the Means Test Threshold. For those veterans who measure above the Means Test, the law requires that the veteran agrees to pay a co-payment.
