NBC News: VA medical facilities are improperly billing private insurers for treatment of service-related injuries and disabilities, according to veterans groups and a spot check of veterans’ medical records by NBC News.
Linda Byard, a 20-year Army veteran who was certified as 100 percent disabled because of injuries that occurred during her service, says she experiences misdirected bills nearly every time she has an appointment at a VA medical facility. “I have questioned this until I’m blue in the face,” she said.
The Veterans Administration is required under Title 38 of the U.S. Code to pay the cost of treating any illness or injury that either resulted from or occurred during military service.
The practice, which is barred by federal law, is another sign of the dysfunction plaguing the federal agency’s sprawling health-care system, said John Rowan, president and CEO of Vietnam Veterans of America.