{"id":494326,"date":"2025-06-26T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=494326"},"modified":"2025-06-26T15:09:34","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T15:09:34","slug":"never-too-late-to-sign-up-for-va-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=494326","title":{"rendered":"Never too late to sign up for VA benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"

During a visit to her private doctor in 2010, Jo-Ann Belanger was stunned to find out how much a new prescription would cost each month, even with private health insurance.<\/p>\n

Then her doctor pointed out that both she and her husband were Air Force Veterans. \u201cYou should be able to get some help from VA,\u201d he said. The doctor\u2019s suggestion changed the Belangers\u2019 lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Using the benefits they earned<\/h2>\n
\n
<\/a>
Courtesy photo. Jo-Ann and Ken Belanger are leaving their church on Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Like other Veterans, they Belangers assumed they weren\u2019t entitled to VA health benefits<\/a> because they only served a few years at a stateside location.<\/p>\n

For 45 years after they left military service, they relied on their private health insurance policies. Then they signed up for the VA benefits they had earned and deserved.<\/p>\n

At first, the Belangers only took advantage of VA pharmacy services. \u201cOur pharmacist is wonderful,\u201d said Jo-Ann. \u201cWhen I call, she always gets back to me. My questions are always answered. They are always there for me. Nothing is too much for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the longer the Belangers used VA, the more benefits they realized they could access, including annual physicals and acupuncture.<\/p>\n

\u2018I love it here\u2019<\/h2>\n

Now in their 80s, they regularly see a private sector doctor when Medicare and insurance cover it, and then come to Coatesville VA<\/a> for everything else: podiatry, optometry, audiology and physical therapy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love it here. Everybody is great,\u201d said Jo-Ann. \u201cI get care that I never thought I could get. The people suggest things that I didn\u2019t even know I could do or have.\u201d<\/p>\n

VA also provides medical equipment and other supplies. \u201cI get one free pair of shoes from podiatry every year. And the hearing aids. And eyeglasses.\u201d After recent surgery, VA \u201cgave us blood pressure cuffs, the commode, the shower and the walker\u201d\u2014all of which would have cost money under private insurance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is such good care,\u201d she added. \u201cI never expected that we would have such good care.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn how to apply for VA health care<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During a visit to her private doctor in 2010, Jo-Ann Belanger was stunned to find out how much a new prescription would cost each month, even with private health insurance. Then her doctor pointed out that both she and her husband were Air Force Veterans. \u201cYou should be able to get some help from VA,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":494328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,1058,1304],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-494326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-va-benefits","category-visn-4"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=494326"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":494335,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494326\/revisions\/494335"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/494328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=494326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=494326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=494326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}