In the News

Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz is urging the federal government to expand its efforts to vaccinate military veterans against the coronavirus — including many who have been denied the shot because they make too much money or do not have a service-related disability.

Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, has appealed to Dat Tran, acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, to waive certain requirements veterans must meet before they can receive the COVID-19 vaccine from the VA.

“We are writing to urge you to use your authority as Acting Secretary to ensure that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is administering the COVID-19 vaccine to as many veterans as possible, including veterans who may not be currently enrolled in the VA health care system,” she wrote in a letter Monday.

Wasserman Schultz became aware of the problem after the South Florida Sun Sentinel published a story Jan 21 about veterans turned away from a VA clinic in West Palm Beach over the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend because they didn’t meet income requirements.

Those turned away included Army veteran Paul Jacobs, who showed up at the clinic on Jan. 17 hoping to get the shot, but was turned away three hours later because he makes too much money.

“I was so upset,” Jacobs, 91, said at the time. “I couldn’t even drive home. My daughter had to drive. It was just a shame that veterans were discriminated against because of their income.”

Years ago, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs offered medical care to nearly all military vets. That changed in 2003, when the underfunded and overburdened agency imposed income limits.

To receive cost-free VA health care, veterans can’t make over certain amounts depending on where they live, said Kenita Tills, public affairs officer for the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center.

For those who live in Palm Beach County, the limit ranges from $51,535 for a veteran with no dependents to $58,905 for a veteran with one dependent. In Broward County, the limit increases to $51,865 and $59,290, respectively.

Income limits do not apply to vets who were injured in the line of duty.

Some marveled that vets who served their country are being turned away for a vaccine while people flying in from outside the U.S. were not. The state has since restricted the vaccine to residents.

“The vaccine is free to all Americans,” said Jacobs, a Korean War veteran and Detroit native who spends winters with his daughter in Palm Beach Gardens. “The VA did not pay for it. I think they are misinterpreting that rule. There was no COVID when that rule was passed.”

Jacobs has since received his first shot of the vaccine at a Publix in Jupiter. He plans to return for his second shot on Feb. 19.

Wasserman Schultz is hoping the VA will waive the requirements to make things simpler for veterans who need the vaccine.

“Despite VA’s robust and far-reaching efforts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has come to our attention that the Department’s public communication used to coordinate the provision of vaccines to veterans has, in some instances, been unclear and has resulted in confusion and frustration,” she wrote in her appeal to the feds.

“At a time of widespread misinformation and anxiety, we encourage VA to increase its efforts to be clear and communicative about eligibility for vaccination at its events. We also understand that VA’s Office of General Counsel has determined some veterans who meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state guidelines for COVID-19 immunization are ineligible to receive the vaccine through VA because they are not presently enrolled in the VA health care system.”

Read the original story here.