U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today praised the Department of Veterans’ Affairs for agreeing to her request to grant equitable relief by refunding approximately 3,000 Maine veterans who received unexpected bills earlier this year due to a computer error. In addition, the VA has announced it will also terminate all collection actions with respect to the affected veterans.
“I am pleased that the VA is keeping the promise it made to me earlier this year that it would work with all affected veterans to rectify this situation in a reasonable manner,” said Senator Collins.
Following is the full text of the letter that Senator Collins wrote to VA Secretary James Nicholson on June 11, 2007.
Dear Secretary Nicholson:
A number of veterans throughout Maine have contacted me with their concerns regarding notices they received from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Togus Medical Center (Togus) informing them that they are responsible for paying past due co-payment charges for prescription medications.
These Maine veterans were informed that there had been a computer error beginning in
February 2006 that resulted in many veterans not being billed co-payment charges for prescription medications they received from the Togus pharmacy. These veterans believe that requiring veterans to pay for past due co-payments is excessive and will place many veterans in financial hardship. Furthermore, they believe that Togus should waive the co-payments for fiscal year 2006 and begin collecting co-payments only in the current fiscal year.
In addition, these concerned veterans, who agree to a repayment plan for the current fiscal year, are required to pay $1.65 in administrative fees each month, and they have been told that they will be charged four percent interest on any debt that is not paid within a year. These veterans understandably believe that they should not incur administrative fees or interest charges on debt that resulted from the VA’s mistakes and not as a result of any irresponsibility on the veterans’ part.
I would like to request that every effort be made to waive the debt of veterans who may experience severe financial hardships. In addition, I believe that affected veterans should not be required to incur any administrative fees or interest charges as a result of this VA computer error. With this in mind, I would appreciate your review of this matter, and any information you can provide to assure these veterans that their concerns are being addressed.
Thank you for your attention to this request.
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