Many Korean War veterans are being denied Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical service and assistance because they failed the VA’s means (income) testing. Only action by Congress can remedy the situation.
According to James Fisher of the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation on March 5, 2021, there are about 500,000 living Korean War Veterans. About 600 of these veterans die every day. According to the VA’s statistics on September 30, 2020, the median age of a Korean War Veteran is 88 years old.
In 1996, under Public Law 104-262, Congress required the VA to establish a means (income) test because of the number of veterans that were seeking the VA medical services. One of the stipulations was that if a veteran’s income was above a certain level, then they would be excluded for VA medical service benefits.
Many veterans, who were employed after completion of their military service, were informed that their family income and net worth exceeded the level of the means test. They were denied the VA medical service benefits provided to other veterans. Because they were initially denied, they never returned to the VA after their family income and net worth changed and was lower.
Congress had remedied this situation in 1996 for World War I veterans by passing the enactment of the Veterans Health Care Eligibility Act of 1996. This 1996 law exempted veterans of the Mexican Border period or World War I from having to meet requirements in order to receive VA medical benefits.
Both Representative Josh Harder and Senator Kevin Cramer are currently proposing bipartisan legislation to exclude World War II Veterans from having to meet certain requirements of veterans in order to obtain VA medical services and assistance.
My Opinion: A brokered truce on July 27, 1953, has essentially ended the conflict known as the Korean War. The Korean War has been labeled as “The Forgotten War” and the combatants were known as the “Forgotten Veterans.”
During the conflict, which lasted three years and one month, the United States sustained 33,739 combat deaths and 103,284 wounded. As of April of 2021, there were still 7,600 Americans being classified as missing in action (MIA).
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) veteran population projection indicates that the median age of the Korean War Veteran in 2025 will be 93 years old.
It is difficult in estimating how many Korean War Veterans will use VA medical services and assistance (if the means test is removed) because some of the veterans served both during World War II and the Korea War.
However, if legislation is introduced to exempt Korean War Veterans from the means income test, the Congressional Budget Office will research and project a cost of this VA benefit for the living veterans.
I feel that similar legislation should be introduced in Congress as the Veterans Health Care Eligibility Act of 1996. This new legislation would exempt veterans of the Korean War from having to meet requirements in order to receive VA medical benefits.
The exclusion of service-connected disabled veterans from the requirement of means (income) testing for treatment or service received at VA Medical Centers has been supported by the Disabled American Veterans (DAV). They have gone on record at their 2018 DAV National Convention conducted in Reno to affirm this principle.
I will be journeying to the 2022 DAV Mid-Winter Conference in Washington, D.C. as a member of the DAV Department of Ohio Legislative Team during February of 2022. I anticipate meeting with the three Korean-American Representatives Marilyn Strickland, Young Kim and Michelle Steel or their staffs to discuss legislation for our “Forgotten Veterans” of the Korean War.
Hopefully the sacrifices made by the veterans of the Korean War will be recognized and legislation will be passed to provide VA medical services and assistance to them without any restriction. We owe it to them the “Forgotten Veterans” of the “Forgotten War.”
John Plahovinsak is a 32-year retired Army Veteran who has served two winters in the Republic of Korea. He is the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Department of Ohio Benefits Protection Team Leader. He can be contacted at plahovinsak@msn.com.