The Department of Veterans Affairs has added Parkinson’s Disease to a list of conditions covered under the Camp Lejeune Family Member Program. This means that military spouses and dependents who lived at the Marine Corps base exposed to contaminated drinking water there from August 1, 1953 to December 31, 1987, may qualify for VA reimbursement… Read more »
How much should you expect in TRICARE fee increases in 2024? TRICARE open season for 2024 runs between November 13 and December 12 2023. During open season, servicemembers and their families can start, modify, or cancel health insurance without needing a qualifying life event. But even if you don’t need to add or change your… Read more »
In November 2023, Military.com noted there are less than 120 thousand World War Two-era veterans alive today. In the same month, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that those 120 million vets may now qualify for free healthcare from the VA thanks to the 2022 Cleland-Dole Act, which requires the federal government to provide no-cost… Read more »
Update: Federal Benefits Open Season is now closed. On Wednesday, November 15, 2023, the Senate approved a stopgap spending bill and sent it to the President’s desk for signature. The bill extended the current operation of the U.S. government in a two-tiered fashion, with the last of the temporary funding expiring in February 2024. The… Read more »
Multiple sources report as many as 40 thousand veterans, and surviving family members have been overpaid by the Department of Veterans Affairs since 2011. These beneficiaries are typically those who qualify for VA pensions, and now the VA is trying to decide what to do about the overpayments. Typically, when the VA overpays a benefit,… Read more »
Totally disabled veterans may qualify for federal student loan forgiveness under a Department of Education (DOE) program. In 2021, the DoE announced a plan to forgive federal student loans for those rated as totally disabled, whether veteran or civilian. There are more than 300 thousand student loan borrowers with a total and permanent disability, including… Read more »
Qualifying disabled service members may be offered VA life insurance without having to pay a premium. This applies to those retiring or separating from the military. Learn more.
A report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) indicates that Guard and Reserve VA claims are less likely to be approved than their active duty counterparts. That might sound like discrimination at first glance, but the reality of the situation seems to be related in part to a lack of awareness in the Guard/Reserve of… Read more »
The Department of Veterans Affairs is warning against rising numbers associated with a type of veteran benefits scam called “payment redirection fraud.” Due to increased volume in VA claims, a higher profile for those claims thanks to headlines about the Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act (PACT Act), and other factors, VA.gov notes,… Read more »
Update 5/27/2025 The Defense Department has acknowledged serious problems with the HomeSafe Alliance household goods contract, and multiple sources report a scaling back of the types of PCS moves assigned to HomeSafe Alliance in the meantime. DoD officials have publicly stated that the problems are “getting worse.” According to Military Times, they have “directed U.S. Transportation… Read more »