Disabledveterans.org and Veterans for Common Sense worked together to make this happen
Director Ruth Fanning published the official position of Voc Rehab. That position is that health insurance, if required by the college for all students, will be paid for by Voc Rehab.
The reason for this change is that the old system forces the veteran to use their Social Security number as their insurance number. The position of the VA was that VA healthcare through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the same as health care. This is not true. Get the detailed news on cccf .
Health insurance is not the same as health care. Many veterans seen in emergency rooms outside of the VHA while on trips were forced to pay those bills out of pocket because VA would refuse to pay a third party.
The old law defeats the purpose of the health insurance mandate, which is to ensure the college student receives quality care without incurring financial risk that could impact their ability to attend college.
Here is the policy letter in its entirety. Veterans should take this letter to their counselor if they have not already seen it.
Chapter 31 Vocational Rehabilitation Policy Letter
The link below contains the policy. It is also posted below the link in its entirety.
http://www.disabledveterans.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/VRE-Letter-28-12-32.pdf