|
Veterans and their families should be aware of assistance available to them because of a natural disaster. It doesn't hurt to call us to ask if there are resources available to you.
Health Care
Virtual Urgent Care 24/7/365: VA Health Connect at 1-877-741-3400 is 24/7 to provide Florida Veterans with virtual care and support. Read more about available services.
Prescriptions: The VA Emergency Prescription Refill Program has been activated for the following VA Health Care Systems: Bay Pines VA Healthcare System, North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System, James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital, and the Miami VA Healthcare System (Monroe County only).
- Veteran patients can go to any local retail pharmacy to obtain needed refills. Veteran patients must take an empty active VA prescription bottle (not older than 6 months and with refills available) or a new VA prescription on a VA form by an authorized VA provider to a retail pharmacy. This does not include controlled substances.
- The Heritage Health Customer Care Line is available for both VA patients and Pharmacies for any billing questions or coverage at: 1-866-265-0124, option 1. The line operates Monday – Friday, 7:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. EST, and Saturday – Sunday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. EST.
Health Care Facilities
School Attendance
- If your school is temporarily closed, VA will consider your attendance as continuous and your benefits will not be affected.
- Students using Chapter 33 (Post-9/11 GI Bill) or Chapter 35 (Survivors and Dependents Educational Assistance Program): As long as the enrollment was submitted prior to the recent disaster no further action is necessary to continue to receive benefits.
- Students Using Chapter 30 or 1606 (Montgomery GI Bill) should continue to verify their attendance until further notice as if the school did not close. Doing so will ensure that benefits are not affected. Students may verify their attendance, using the WAVE website or by calling 1-877-VACERT.
- Students using Chapter 33 who receive Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) and / or kicker payments should continue to verify their enrollment until further notice, as if the school did not close, to ensure that benefits are not affected.
- Please contact our Education Call Center at 1-888-442-4551 (Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. CST) for any questions about your GI Bill benefits. If you’re unable to contact us by phone, you can send us a secure inquiry through Ask VA.
- If your school remains open, but you are unable to attend (e.g., if you had to relocate because of the natural disaster), VA is unable to continue GI Bill benefit payments. When you are no longer pursuing classes, your school must report the termination to VA as soon as possible.
Benefit Payments
- If a Veteran or beneficiary does not/cannot receive a benefits payment due to the effects of the natural disaster and indicates financial hardship, the contact center agents must request a one-time special payment address where a replacement payment can be sent.
- This can be a Direct Deposit account into which VA can issue an electronic funds transfer (EFT), a direct deposit payment or a mailing address outside of the area impacted to ensure that the check can be delivered. Find affected zip codes. The USPS updates this information routinely.
- If a bank account is provided, include the routing number, account number, type of account (checking or savings), name of bank and name of the person on the account (beneficiary or otherwise).
- VBA can issue a same-day EFT payment to affected Veterans. To do this, the Veteran needs to enroll in Direct Deposit.
- For Veterans who don't have a bank account in which they can receive a direct deposit, VA has established the Veterans Benefits Banking Program (VBBP) to give Veterans and beneficiaries access to military-friendly banks and credit unions that they may not otherwise be able to access due to a lack of awareness, individual credit history, or legal history. Learn more about VBBP.
- Give us a call to change your address or switch to direct deposit. 1-800-827-1000
Insurance
- When Veterans contact the Call Center, VA provides assistance to help ease the hardships of those affected. VA offers Instant Loan Approval online and expedited same-day processing for policy loans.
- In addition, VA expedites same-day processing and approval of the following policy actions:
- Withdrawals from dividend credit and deposit accounts
- Extension of premium payment grace period
- Extension of reinstatement deadlines
- Processing of death claims
- The Office of Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (OSGLI) is following disaster alerts that are issued by each state department of insurance in the event of a natural disaster. These alerts generally provide a moratorium on lapsing or an extension of premium payments. OSGLI follows these procedures for all natural disasters.
Veterans may call the Insurance Center at 1-800-669-8477 or OSGLI at 1-800-419-1473.
For more information on benefits, visit our website here. Additionally, you may also access this link for disaster-related information.
National Resources:
VA is here for you.
1-800-MyVA411 (800-698-2411) is always the right number
Veterans Crisis Line: 988 and press 1, Chat, or Text 838255
Vet Centers: 1-877-927-8387
Homeless Veteran Resources: 1-877-424-3838 or Chat
VA Hotline: 1-855-948-2311
|
