By Andy GERO VA Medical Care vs. Civilian Doctors The Choice Program, designed to provide faster medical appointments for veterans with civilian doctors, needs fixing. Changes were made recently to address driving distances, delayed appointments at a Dept. of Veterans Affairs facility, difficulty in reaching appointments due to physical condition, and more to make it […]
By Andy GERO VA Officially Drops Net Worth as Eligibility Factor A Veterans Affairs proposal to exclude a veteran’s net worth as a factor in determining their eligibility for health care is now the rule. Proposed early in 2015, it became official Dec. 21. VA will no longer consider net worth when determining if a […]
By Andy GERO Gulf War Veterans After 25 years Gulf War veterans continue to have detrimental health problems including unexplained chronic conditions such as fatigue, headaches, joint pains, indigestion, insomnia, dizziness, respiratory disorders and memory problems. There are illnesses eligible for VA compensation. • Chronic fatigue – “A condition of long-term and severe […]
By Andy Gero, Post Chaplain Veterans and Active Duty Military Personnel Members of the American Legion Post 288 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1614 in La Crescenta convey our best wishes to all of you during the holidays for your service and sacrifice to keep our country free. In 2015, our Posts were […]
By Andy GERO Veterans of Crescenta Valley, your community thanks you for the sacrifice and service you gave to our country. Your service has played a major role in giving us the freedom so many of us takes for granted today. In gratitude for your service, your local American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars […]
Submitted by Andy GERO Do you know what your rights are as a veteran? If not, attend our monthly American Legion or VFW meeting each month at 4011 La Crescenta Ave., La Crescenta. The American Legion Post 288 meeting is held on the first Wednesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. The Veterans of Foreign […]
Filing Assistance During Tax Season Submitted by Andy GERO The 2014 tax filing season for taxpayers began Jan 31. Gather your W-2s, 1099s, K-1s, 1098s and cancelled checks or receipts you might need, take a deep breath, and dive into tax filing fun by reading VA’s VAntage Point Blog at http://blogs.va.gov/VAntage/12123/filing-assistance-available-for-veterans-servicemembers-during-tax-season/. Andy Gero is a […]
VA Health Care Meets ACA Rules Submitted by Andy GERO If you are enrolled in VA health care, you don’t need to take additional steps to meet the health care law coverage standards that began Jan. 1. The health care act (Affordable Care Act) does not change VA health benefits of veterans’ out of pocket […]
Pilfering Veterans’ Pensions Be aware that veterans and their families are targets for dishonest advisors who claim to offer free help with pension claims. The scheme involves attorneys, financial planners and insurance agents that try to convince veterans to transfer their assets to a trust or to invest in insurance products. What they don’t reveal […]
Many of us take out insurance to protect our loved ones after death. Be informed that the VA provides memorial and burial benefits for all veterans other than those who were dishonorably discharged. If the cause of death was service connected, the VA will pay $2,000 for burial expenses. If the cause of death was […]