Question
Can you use VA benefits with Medicare? My step father has lung cancer and has both Medicare and Va benefits. He's afraid to get treatment or even a 2nd opinion anywhere but VA hospital because he says he does think he can use medicare and VA together. Is that true?
— Caring.com Community Member, pb8m
Answer
Expert Joseph L. Matthews is a Caring.com senior editor, an attorney, and the author of Long-Term Care: How to Plan & Pay for It and Social Security, Medicare, & Government Pensions: Get the Most Out of Your Retirement & Medical Benefits.
Your stepfather can use both. For any specific medical treatment, he can choose to use either the Medicare or VA system. And sometimes he can use both for the same treatment. Here's how it works. If he's treated at a VA facility, Medicare cannot pay any of the copayments that the VA charges him. Similarly, if he's treated by a non-VA doctor or medical facility and the bills are submitted to Medicare, he's not allowed to submit to the VA any portion of the bills that Medicare fails to pay.
There's one circumstance in which he could get covered by both systems for the same treatment. The VA might authorize your stepfather to be treated by a private doctor or facility, with the VA paying for the treatment. But the VA payment might not cover the full amount of the bill. If there's a portion of the bill that the VA doesn't pay, it can be submitted to Medicare and Medicare might pay a portion of it.
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