The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims voted Friday to strike down a VA regulation used to deny reimbursement requests from veterans who received emergency medical care outside the VA system, reports The Crescent-News.
This is not the first time the VA has been mandated to pay for emergency non-VA services for its members.
In 2009, Congress passed the Emergency Care Fairness Act to require the VA to make payments as a secondary payer to non-VA providers for emergency treatment for veterans. The VA has refused to pay the claims since the legislation passed, reports Crescent-News.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims said Friday the VA had "unlawfully refused" to adjust its reimbursement practices under the legislation.
Veterans who have been denied reimbursement for medical treatment administered outside of the VA-system are encouraged to re-submit their claims.