Question:
I am 70% P&T and have been for 12 years. I also have private health insurance. VA bills my insurance for all my services. How do I get this straightened out?
Jim's Reply:
This is a chronic problem that VA pays no attention to...because they're making money by their "honest mistake" when they bill your private insurer. The first way to address it is to be persistent in knocking on doors at your VA medical center. You can't write emails or make phone calls and expect answers, you have to be there in person.
The next option is to bedevil your Congressional representative to help you. The outcome of that will depend on how strong a VA contact person your representative has in place and whether they will do what it takes to get action from the VA.
The last option is to simply tell your insurer what's happening. This isn't a great option because the insurer may fault you for whatever is going on.
VA continues to do this because trying to fix it is an onerous burden and most vets give up...since it doesn't affect their wallet they ignore it.
Good luck.