The new COVID relief bill was signed into law on March 11, 2021.
There was language inside the bill that declares the VA must waive copayments for veteran's medical care through the agency for a certain period of time.
The VA placed a temporary pause on collecting copayments last year, but they were planning on making veterans pay back the deferred payments at a later time.
That is no longer the case under the new relief bill, and veterans will now get permanent reprieve from those copayments through September 2021.
Military.com has more details:
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, includes language that requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to write off all copayments veterans must pay for medical care provided by the agency. … According to the law, all copayments for medical care provided to veterans through the VA from April 6, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021, will be waived. The law will write off up to $1 billion in veterans' medical debt.
Following the passage of the new bill, many veterans are wondering what happens if they already paid the VA for copayments from April 6, 2020, to September 30, 2021.
If that's the case, you can expect to receive a refund.
The VA has stated that payments made to the agency in the last 11 months for covered care should be reimbursed soon.
The decision to provide permanent reprieve for these copayments will hopefully provide veterans with some relief during the pandemic.
If you'd like to get more information on the relief bill, you can do so here.