25 Most Frequently
Asked Questions - Women Veterans
Response:
A full continuum of comprehensive medical services including health promotion
and disease prevention, primary care, women’s gender-specific health care; e.g., hormone
replacement therapy, breast and gynecological care, maternity and limited
infertility (excluding In-vitro fertilization), acute medical/surgical,
telephone triage, emergency and substance abuse treatment, mental health,
domiciliary, rehabilitation and long term care.
VA researchers at many VA facilities also conduct medical research on
women’s health.
Response:
Veterans can apply for VA health care enrollment by completing VA Form
10-10EZ. The 10-10EZ may be obtained by
visiting, calling or writing any VA health care facility or veterans’ benefits
office. You can also call the VA Health
Benefits Call Center toll-free at 1-877-222 VETS (1-877-222-8387), determine
your eligibility or access the form from the Health Administration Eligibility
Reform website: www.va.gov/elig.
For
VA benefits, refer to Federal Benefits for Veterans and
Dependents.
The 2002 edition of this booklet lists the
variety of Federal benefits available to veterans and their dependents. Selecting the link above will download the
booklet as a PDF file
and provide information on these VA benefits:
·
Compensation and Pension
·
Montgomery GI Bill
(Education)
·
Vocational Rehabilitation
and Employment
·
Veterans Group Life
Insurance, and
·
Home Loan Guaranty
Additional information and application forms
can be obtained at the VA website at www.va.gov
The Veterans Online Application (VONAP) allows
you to complete and submit most application forms on-line.
You may also call the VA
nationwide toll-free number, 1-800-827-1000 for specific benefit information.
*Based
on telephone calls, letters and electronic-mail inquiries received by the
Center for Women Veterans
Response: Women Veteran Stress Disorder Treatment
Programs have been established at the following VA sites:
Boston, MA
Brecksville, OH
Loma Linda, CA
New Orleans, LA
Response:
Women Veterans Health Care Program, Alexandria VAMC
Women Veterans Comprehensive Health, Durham VAMC
Women Veterans Health Program, Boston VAMC, VA New England HCS
Women Veterans Health Program, Bay Pines VAMC
Women Veterans Health Program, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System
Women Veterans Health Program, South Texas
Veterans Health Care System
Response:
You may enroll and receive counseling and treatment for any emotional or
physical condition experienced, as a result of sexual
trauma experienced while on active duty, at any VA health care
facility or Vet Center in
the continental United States without regard for your service-connected rating
or length of military service through December 31, 2004.
Response: The Office of Research and
Development at VA national headquarters
oversees research within the Veterans Health Administration through its four
service areas:
The
Medical
Research Service provides knowledge of the
fundamental biological processes to form an understanding of disease pathology,
diagnosis, and treatment.
The Cooperative Studies
Program
applies the knowledge gained from medical research to patients by determining
the effectiveness of novel or unproved therapies using multi-center clinical
intervention trials.
The Health Services Research
and Development Service (HSRD) contributes to improving the
quality, effectiveness, efficiency, and accessibility of health care services
for veterans.
The Rehabilitation Research
and Development Service addresses the minimization of disability and restoration
of function in veterans disabled by trauma or disease. Some important DVA research URLs websites to
know are:
URL Website for
the HSRD is http://www.hsrd.research.va.gov/.
For
HSRD studies the URL is http://www.hsrd.research.va.gov/research/studies/.
Focusing on women veterans research:
http://www.starsandstripes.med.va.gov/visn4/page.cfm?pg=26
http://www.sf.med.va.gov/womens.htm
Response:
Contact the Women In Military Service for America Memorial
(WIMSA) located at the gates of Arlington Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia at www.womensmemorial.org.
Response:
Apply for VA health care enrollment by completing VA Form
10-10EZ. The 10-10EZ may be obtained by
visiting, calling or writing any VA health care facility or veterans’ benefits
office. You can also call toll-free
1-877-222 VETS (1-877-222-8387) or access the form on the Internet at www.va.gov. The
provision of health care to non-veteran children is limited to those instances
where specific authority is given to VA by law.
Contact your local VA health care facility and ask to speak with the
Women Veterans Coordinator (white pages of the telephone directory under U.S.
Government, Department of Veterans Affairs).
Response: Contact the local
VA homeless coordinator (or point of contact), Social Work Services department,
or Women Veterans
Coordinator at your local VAMC. There
are homeless women veteran and homeless women veterans with children
pilot programs located at eleven designated VA facilities as well, and the
Women Veterans Coordinator can discuss what options are available in your
area.
10.
Are VA services
authorized for women veterans who were involuntarily
discharged from the military for
pregnancy prior to May 1974? If not, how
does one get this issue addressed?
Response: The provision of health care
services to veterans is established by certain eligibility criteria and
discharge status requirements. To
determine your eligibility for services, contact your nearest VA health care
facility.
Women veterans involuntarily
discharged may also be eligible to Compensation and Pension, Vocational
Rehabilitation & Employment, Home Loan Guaranty, and Burial benefits. Children born to veterans who served in Vietnam
may also be eligible for monthly monetary benefits, medical care, and
vocational training if they have certain birth defects linked to their mother’s
service. Contact the nearest VA Regional
Office on the nationwide toll-free number, 1-800-827-1000 for benefit information
and eligibility requirements, or visit the VA homepage at: www.va.gov.
11.
What is the process of
getting quality of care issues addressed?
Response: Contact the Women Veterans Coordinator at your
local health care facility (white pages under U.S. Government, Department of
Veterans Affairs) or the Veteran Health Administration (VHA) Office of Women
Veterans Health at (202) 273-8577 or the Department of Veterans Affairs Office
of the Center for Women Veterans at (202) 273-6193.
12.
How do I get a clinic
appointment when the waiting list is six months for an initial
appointment?
Response:
If you experience an urgent or emergent medical condition you can
contact your local VA health care facility telephone care program; or visit
their walk-in (urgent care) clinic or emergency room. Non-acute problems will be scheduled on a
next available appointment basis.
13.
Where can I get
inpatient psychiatric care as a woman veteran?
Response: Most VA Medical Centers have inpatient mental
health programs. Contact your VA Primary
Care Provider or the local Mental Health Program office for assistance. If you already have a therapist and need
inpatient care, please discuss your concerns with your therapist.
If you have urgent or emergent
needs, you can contact your local VA health care facility telephone care
program or urgent care clinic.
14.
How do I get evaluated
for nursing home care?
Response:
If you have never been seen at a VA health care facility, you must first
enroll for benefits. Then you need to bemust
enrolled
in a primary care clinic and ask for an evaluation for nursing home care. The evaluation will be done either by
the primary care provider or a geriatrics care team.
15.
How do I get the names
of local veterans in my area to interview for a school project?
Response: Veteran Service Organizations are available
in most communities. Telephone book
yellow pages will list local veteran groups under "Veterans" or
"Veteran Service Organizations." Examples of organizations include Disabled
American Veterans (DAV), American Legion, and Veterans of Foreign War (VFW).
WIMSA can also help arrange for
members to either speak at civic or education events or to interview about the
Women's Memorial, a specific era or women in the military. Contact the Public Relations Department, at
800-222-2294 or 703-533-1155.
WIMSA also has volunteer
opportunities if you are interested in speaking about the Women's Memorial, a
specific era, or Women in the Military contact the Public Relations and
Education Department at wimsa@aol.com.
16.
How do I locate a
buddy that I served with in 1956?
Response: The Privacy Act obliges the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA), as a Federal agency, to protect the privacy
of veterans’ personal information.
Therefore, the VA cannot release personal
information about a veteran in our its records system
without that person’s permission. VA
can, however, forward a message from you to the veteran, providing the veteran has
filed a claim with VA and we hasve a current address
on record.
Please write Write your
message
to your friend and place it in an unsealed, stamped envelope. Please include Include a
note to the
VA explaining who it is that you are trying to reach and add as
much identifying information as you have.
Put all of this in another envelope and address it to the nearest VA
Regional Office.
If the veteran is in our VA records,
your message to the veteran will be sealed and the envelope will be sent to the
address that
we have on file for the veteran.
It is then up to them the veteran to
contact you. This process is designed to
protect the privacy of our veterans as required by law. If you have questions, you may call VA at
1-800-827-1000.
You may also contact the Women
In Military Service for America Memorial (WIMSA) located at the ceremonial entrance of Arlington Cemetery in Arlington, VA
at www.womensmemorial.org.
17.
How do I locate my military
records?
Response: To obtain copies of your military records and/or Report of
Separation from Active Military Service (DD Form 214 or equivalent) you must submit a Request Pertaining to Military
Records (Standard Form 180) to the records custodian of your branch of
service. Addresses for each service’s
records custodian are found on page 2 of the SF 180. The SF 180 requires a signature and must be
submitted either by mail or fax. Contact the National Personnel Records
Center, Military Personnel Records, 9700 Page Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63132-5100,
or fax requests to (314) 538-4175. The web site is: center@stlouis.nara.gov.
18.
How and where do I apply for home,
business, or car loans?
Response: VA Home Loan Guaranty Program:
VA loan guaranties are made to service members,
veterans, reservists, and unmarried surviving spouses for the purchase of
homes, condominiums and manufactured homes, and for refinancing loans. Some of the ways a VA loan guaranty can be
used are:
Buy a
home
Buy a
residential condominium
Build a
home
Repair, alter or improve a home
Refinance an existing loan
Buy a
manufactured home with or without a lot
You must complete VA Form 26-1880, Request for a
Certificate of Eligibility for VA Home Loan Benefits and submit it to one of
the VA Eligibility Centers
along with acceptable proof of service as described on the instruction page of
the form.
The Center for Veteran
Enterprise partners with the Department of Labor and the Small Business
Administration to provide information, assistance, and mentoring for veterans
who would like to start their own business.
See http://www.vetbiz.gov/ for additional information.
VA does not provide assistance
for automobile purchases except for certain veterans and service members who
need special adaptive equipment. To
apply, contact a VA regional office (1-800-827-1000) or a VA medical center.
19.
How do I locate my mother’s
military records from World War II?
Response: To
obtain copies of your mother’s record - contact write to the
National Personnel Records Center, Military Personnel Records, 9700 Page
Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63132-5100, or fax a request to (314)
538-4175, or
access their website: center@stlouis.nara.gov
20.
Am I eligible for burial at
Arlington National cemetery, if not what are my options?
Response: Although Arlington National
Cemetery is a national cemetery, it is one of two cemeteries maintained by the
Department of the Army, not the Department of Veterans Affairs.
For further information, you may contact the
cemetery directly at:
Superintendent
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington, VA 22211
(703) 695-3250
Or visit their website at http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org.
You may also wish to consider burial at one of VA's 120 national cemeteries or
a State Veterans Cemetery. You may view
a listing of these cemeteries at http://www.cem.va.gov.
Burial in a national cemetery is open
to all members of the Armed Forces and veterans who have met minimum active duty
service requirements and been discharged under conditions other than
dishonorable.
21.
How do I access employment options
for women veterans?
Response: Optional job websites for
veterans include the following:
·
Department of Labor veterans site:
http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/hiring/veterans.htm
·
Office of Personnel Management:
·
America’s Job Bank:
·
A generic but powerful job
hunting/posting database used by industry country and worldwide:
22.
I have been out of the military
for more than 10 years. How do I get an
extension to my GI bill educational benefits?
Response:
Montgomery GI Bill (Chapter 30) Benefits end 10 years from the date of
your last discharge or release from active duty. If your benefits expire mid-term, your
benefits are extended to the end of the term or semester. (Example:
Your benefits expire in November but the course ends in December. You will be paid for December.)
The delimiting date can be
extended past your 10-year period if you were prevented from attending classes
due to:
A
severe disability, or
You
were held against your will by a foreign government or power.
The delimiting date is only
extended by the amount of time you prevented from attending classes.
VA can also extend your 10-year period if you
reenter active duty for 90 days or more after becoming eligible. The extension ends 10 years from the date of
separation from the later period.
Periods of active duty of less than 90 days can qualify you for
extensions only if you were separated for:
A
service-connected disability
A
medical condition existing before active duty
Hardship,
or
A reduction in force.
If your benefit eligibility is
based on two years of active duty and four years in the Selected Reserve, you
have 10 years from your release from active duty, or 10 years from the
completion of the four-year Selected Reserve obligation to use your benefits,
whichever is later. For more
information, you may visit:
http://www.gibill.va.gov/education/c30pam.htm.
23.
Where do I locate legislation on
women’s and related issues?
Response: Use the Thomas website for legislative
information and follow up on Congressional bills: http://thomas.loc.gov.
24.
How do
I get my disability compensation claim re-evaluated?
Response:
You may request a reevaluation of your claim anytime that you believe
your condition has changed or worsened.
Submit the request to reopen or reevaluate your claim to the VA Regional
Office in either letter or statement form or on VA Form 21-4138 (Statement in
Support of Claim). (http://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/21-4138x.pdf) Request should include the following
information:
·
Name
·
Claim number or Social
Security Number
·
Day and evening Contact
information
·
Current address
·
Statement explaining
change requested
·
Any new and pertinent
medical evidence that supports your request
25.
How do I locate statistics on
women veterans by state and nationally?
Response: VA provides statistics and demographic
information on various veteran populations at the following website: http://www.va.gov/vetdata/index.htm
under Statistics, Table 2. Additional
Statistics by state can be found on the same website under Demographics,
VetPop2001, National and State.