A provision of the 2009 Defense Authorization Act changes federal law to allow U.S. veterans and military personnel not in uniform to render the military hand-salute when the national anthem is played. The new law took effect on October 14.
This change adds to a provision which was passed in the 2008 Defense Bill, which authorized veterans and military personnel in civilian clothes to render the military salute during the raising, lowering or passing of the flag.
For the vet saluting a Fallen Warrior Memorial. That gesture honors a code among our brothers and sisters that transcends any rule or regulation
In this June 21, 2013, file photo, the seal affixed to the front of the Department of Veterans Affairs building in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
In reaction to the national emergency caused by the novel coronavirus, President Donald Trump has directed the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to stop withholding payments or benefits from veterans who have a debt with the agency.
In his April 2 news conference detailing the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump announced that he had directed VA Secretary Robert Wilkie to suspend collections from veterans.
During the news conference, the president stated, “We take very good care of our veterans. At my direction, Secretary Wilkie will use any authority at his disposal to extend deadlines for benefits and suspend debt collections.”
While the exact timeline and process of the debt suspension isn’t known at this time, the VA’s Debt Management Center (DMC) states on its website that it is currently offering temporary debt relief on a case-by-case basis. The website states, “If you are affected by the COVID-19 (CORONAVIRUS), have a [Veterans Benefits Administration] benefit debt and need temporary financial relief, please contact DMC at 1-800-827-0648 to request assistance.”
As a result of the president’s statement, you shouldn’t have to call the VA’s DMC to have your debt suspended. However, it is probably advisable to take the initiative and request suspension of debt collections, just in case.
Trump’s statement also sounds like it directs the department to stop collection of any debts related to VA medical treatment; however, that remains to be seen.
If you owe the VA money for overpaid benefits, your debt will not be excused, just suspended. You will still have to pay it back eventually. The exact timeline of the suspension is not known at this time, but the announcement will most likely stop any garnishments, tax levies and court-ordered collections for the foreseeable future.
Normally, if you owe the VA money, it will either work with you to get it back or force you to comply. Measures could include adding interest and late fees to your debt after 30 days; withholding other VA benefits after 90 days; garnishing your wages; withholding other federal benefits; and referring you to a collection bureau after 120 days.
Veterans Education Success, a veterans advocacy group, applauded the announcement on its Twitter account, stating, “We’re cautiously optimistic of this announcement as it’s been a priority of ours during this time of a national crisis in our country.”
The group testified to Congress in September 2019 that VA debt collection affects one in four GI Bill recipients and often results in the department withholding disability payments and tax refunds or garnishing wages to satisfy debts.
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A number of car insurance discounts for veterans become available after your military service is complete. Let’s explore the ins and outs of car insurance for veterans and assess company-specific rates to see how much you could save after you serve.
Understanding car insurance as a veteran
How does car insurance change for veterans?
Which insurance companies provide the best veteran discounts?
Additional resources
How is car insurance different for veterans?
The primary way in which car insurance changes for military veterans is the availability of discounts. As a veteran, you and your family may earn eligibility for discounted premiums. While the amount of these discounts may vary by state and provider, you can expect to save between 3% and 7% for your service.
Another car insurance benefit for veterans occurs upon cancellation of current coverage. Although standard car insurance pricing practices stipulate an insurer could charge a driver for a lapse in coverage that might occur during military deployment, many insurance companies will make an exception for veterans or active-duty military personnel. If you can show proof-of-deployment for the period during which your car insurance lapsed, you could receive preferential rates. You’ll most likely need to show proof of your military affiliation to receive any military or veteran car insurance discounts. Proof can vary by insurance company but you should expect to show evidence of deployment, corresponding to any lapse in coverage.
What are the best car insurance companies for veterans?
It’s important to consider the big picture when shopping for insurance. Even though an insurer might offer the best veteran discounts, you should evaluate the policy and its overall price against similar options. If a company offers a 15% discount but its overall premium is still higher than another company’s rate, you should consider the cheaper option.
Because car insurance is priced based on your personal driving history and profile, it’s important to shop around often and explore as many insurance companies as possible — even those not catering to military personnel or veterans specifically.
Find affordable car insurance today!
Additional resources
If you’re looking for more information regarding car insurance as a veteran, additional resources here:
Based in Austin, TX, Ava has been in the insurance industry as a licensed agent for 4-plus years. Ava is currently one of The Zebra’s resident property insurance experts and has been featured in publications such as US News Report, GasBuddy, and Yahoo! Finance.
1. If you have a runny nose and sputum, you have a common cold
2. Coronavirus pneumonia is a dry cough with no runny nose.
3. This new virus is not heat-resistant and will be killed by a temperature of just 26/27 Celsius ( around 80 degrees). It hates the Sun.
4. If someone sneezes with it, it takes about 10 feet before it drops to the ground and is no longer airborne.
5. If it drops on a metal surface it will live for at least 12 hours – so if you come into contact with any metal surface – wash your hands as soon as you can with a bacterial soap.
6. On fabric it can survive for 6-12 hours. normal laundry detergent will kill it. > 7. Drinking warm water is effective for all viruses. Try not to drink liquids with ice.
8. Wash your hands frequently as the virus can only live on your hands for 5-10 minutes, but – a lot can happen during that time – you can rub your eyes, pick your nose unwittingly and so on.
9. You should also gargle as a prevention. A simple solution of salt in warm water will suffice.
10. Can’t emphasize enough – drink plenty of water!
THE SYMPTOMS
1. It will first infect the throat, so you’ll have a sore throat lasting 3/4 days
2. The virus then blends into a nasal fluid that enters the trachea and then the lungs, causing pneumonia. This takes about 5/6 days further.
3. With the pneumonia comes high fever and difficulty in breathing.
4. The nasal congestion is not like the normal kind. You feel like you’re drowning. It’s imperative you then seek immediate attention
Alcohol and prescription drug abuse are higher among active duty service members and veterans. Many of these people suffer from underlying post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Many men and women who are serving or have served in the United States military struggle with addiction.
Veterans who have seen combat may have co-occurring disorders, such as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder, in addition to an addiction.
Traumatic events such as combat exposure and multiple deployments can trigger drug or alcohol use, which all too often lead to addiction.
If a veteran you love is struggling with a drug or alcohol use problem, contact a rehab professional for help finding the right treatment program.
Veterans and PTSD
Many veterans suffering from an addiction have co-occurring post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Once referred to as “shellshock” and later “battle fatigue,” PTSD can be caused by witnessing warfare or other significantly tragic or startling events.
Although most cases of PTSD are caused by combat, veterans may also develop the disorder after sexual abuse — about 23 percent of female veterans have reported being sexually assaulted during their time in the military.
Some symptoms of PTSD include:
Flashbacks
Memory problems
Low sense of self-worth
Hopelessness
Trouble sleeping
Relationship problems
Aggression
Trouble concentrating
Self-destructive behavior (self-harm or substance abuse)
These symptoms may be triggered by anything that is a reminder of the traumatic incident. Many veterans turn to substance abuse to self-medicate and numb their pain.
More than 20 percent of veterans with PTSD also suffer from an addiction or dependence on drugs or alcohol.
People with PTSD have a harder time overcoming addiction than those without it. The symptoms of withdrawal combined with the symptoms of PTSD amplify negative feelings and emotions that may lead to a relapse.
Addiction treatment programs that focus on PTSD and addiction simultaneously are most successful for veterans.
Addiction to Prescription Medications
Veterans with PTSD are often prescribed anxiety medications, most of which are highly addictive. To curb the risk of addiction, some doctors prescribe non-addictive antidepressant medications such as Paxil or Zoloft. Even veterans without PTSD can become addicted to painkillers prescribed for combat-related injuries.
Common addictive medications prescribed to veterans include:
Veterans taking these drugs may develop a dependence on them, meaning a tolerance to their effects and symptoms of withdrawal when quitting. As time goes on, veterans may spiral into full-blown addiction, which is characterized by compulsive drug-seeking behavior.
In an attempt to mitigate drug abuse among service members and veterans, some advocates are pushing for tighter regulations on how long addictive medications can be prescribed.
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Few service members risk using illicit drugs in the military because it can result in a dishonorable discharge. Drinking, however, is an ingrained part of the military culture that often carries on into civilian life. All too often, veterans and service members self-medicating with alcohol succumb to an addiction.
Approximately 20 percent of service members reported binge drinking at least once a week. This rate is even higher for those with combat exposure.
Some veterans addicted to prescriptions for pain and PTSD turn to illicit substances. Illicit drugs like heroin are often cheaper and easier to obtain than prescription painkillers.
Statistics Veteran Drug Abuse
56
percent
There was a 56 percent increase of soldiers seeking treatment for alcoholism from 2003 to 2009.
13.8
percent
A 2008 survey of veterans deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan found that 13.8 percent of veterans were diagnosed with PTSD.
3.8
million
In 2009, military doctors wrote approximately 3.8 million prescriptions for painkillers.
Treatment for Veterans
Veterans looking for treatment for their addiction have more options than the average civilian. In addition to traditional inpatient and outpatient rehab programs, veterans have the unique option to seek treatment through the Department of Veterans Affairs. This is beneficial for veterans who may not be able to find an affordable treatment program on their own.
Some veterans prefer to avoid the VA when looking for any type of medical care because it can take much longer to get treatment. In cases of serious PTSD and/or addiction, getting immediate treatment is essential and seeking treatment outside the VA can be beneficial. There are many qualified treatment centers for addicted veterans with underlying PTSD.
Good morning Western Connecticut Military Officers Association,
My name is Will Coyle and I am part of the engagement team for a mesothelioma resource website. Our site connects veterans diagnosed with mesothelioma to critical information regarding doctors, treatment options, support, and compensation. We are focused on helping veterans who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma to get the best care possible.
While doing research, I located your site and was impressed by what an incredible job you have done providing information about the veteran community. Some studies suggest that 30% of all Americans living with mesothelioma are veterans who were exposed while on active duty. In recognition of this, it is our objective to provide the best, most up-to-date information to help as many veterans as we can.
I am reaching out to you in hopes that you would add our link, www.mesotheliomavets.com/ to your resources page wcmoa.org/helpful-veteran-links/, with the anchor text; ”Mesothelioma Veterans”. It would provide tremendous value to your website and our team would be honored to be a part of it. If you have any questions, please reach out! You can reach me via email or we can set up a call at 720-507-8722.
FILE PHOTO – Members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9555 during a Veterans Day Ceremony, Nov. 10, 2017, at Yokota Air Base, Japan. (U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Donald Hudson)
After Tricare officials announced sweeping changes to the locations where retiree and military family health users can access on-base care, hundreds of Military.com readers have posted comments, feedback and worries via social media, email and the stories on this site.
For many, feelings center around a pair of issues: access to needed care and broken promises.
The Defense Health Agency early this month announced plans to halt care for military retirees, retiree families and active-duty family members at 38 stateside Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs), instead treating active-duty patients only. The changes are expected to roll out over five years, and officials pledged to complete the process only when they’ve guaranteed each patient has care in the civilian community.
But many military retirees pushed back, saying that their removal from those 38 locations and others, such as Ireland Army Medical Center at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, is already in motion. In many cases, they said, their care has not been handed off at all.
Near Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut, Lauren Hawes is struggling to find care for her husband, who had back surgery just a week before his Jan. 30 retirement date. When she attempted to refill his pain medication on his first day as a civilian, she found that he had been removed from on-base care upon retirement, and that no new doctor or specialists had been assigned.
“He was told he would have no disruption of care and could continue with his primary-care manager until he chose to transfer everything to the [Department of Veterans Affairs]. David is still waiting for the ‘first available appointment’ with his new, assigned [primary-care manager]. We are currently paying out of pocket for him to continue his vital treatment plans,” she told Military.com in an email.
A spokeswoman for the New London clinic told Military.com on Feb. 13 that, while it is not accepting new patients, no enrollees had been removed from that facility.
At the military hospital on Camp Lejeune, which is scheduled for expansion, retiree family member Lisa Collela said she was removed from on-base specialist clinics in December before securing care elsewhere. Collela, who has been diagnosed with erythrodermic psoriasis, sees a dermatologist monthly to receive injections for her condition, without which her limbs swell and become covered in lesions. She also sees a rheumatologist quarterly for psoriatic arthritis.
Collela said she last received her injection in late December, but learned early that month that any other appointments must be with a civilian provider in the community. That provider, she said, did not have any openings until March 3, leaving her without injections for more than two months. After her condition deteriorated, she visited an urgent care, which helped her get seen sooner — on Feb. 26, still almost two months since her last visit.
The new doctor, however, refused to use the medication she had been on that worked well, opting to try something new that could require even more frequent visits. And in addition to now paying co-pays for doctor visits, which she did not have to do on base, the drug itself costs more.
“Being removed from these clinics has caused my health to decline drastically. … My limbs are beyond swollen. This is not the normal size of my legs. My feet are covered, making wearing shoes uncomfortable and heels for work impossible,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “I can barely use my right hand and my left is becoming stiff. … My body is covered with these lesions (except face, arms, scalp) and is slowly spreading into very uncomfortable places because my PCM cannot prescribe the medications I take for these conditions.”
Near Waco, Texas, retired sailor Jerry Hill echoed a sentiment shared by many of the retirees who contacted Military.com after the early February stories: Blocking them from care at the military clinics isn’t just an inconvenience, it’s a broken promise.
“Many retirees chose where to retire based on the ability to use most of these facilities because acquiring care at local civilian facilities is very difficult or even impossible because those facilities limit the number of Tricare retirees in their hospitals,” he wrote. “This will ruin many retirees’ lives. Where is the support and concern for those who have earned that care as promised during their service for the United States of America?”
Florida-based retiree Ralph Rassmusen agreed.
“Why do I feel discriminated against being an old person? I guess they don’t care about the old folks’ vote,” he wrote in an email. “I know that you are aware of all this, but shout louder.”
