{"id":38350,"date":"2020-12-09T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-09T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/12\/09\/vets-living-abroad-left-to-navigate-pandemic-problems-without-va-help\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:20:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:20:06","slug":"vets-living-abroad-left-to-navigate-pandemic-problems-without-va-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2020\/12\/09\/vets-living-abroad-left-to-navigate-pandemic-problems-without-va-help\/","title":{"rendered":"Vets living abroad left to navigate pandemic problems without VA help"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Navy veteran Jesse Rivera moved to Mexico two years ago, he was confident he could receive the same or better <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/06\/23\/va-eyes-expanding-remote-medical-care-options-but-advocates-warn-of-worrisome-gaps\/\" target=\"_blank\">medical care<\/a> from doctors in Puerto Vallarta that he had back in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He was right, at least until <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/coronavirus\/\" target=\"_blank\">the coronavirus pandemic.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rivera, who suffers from back pain and sleep apnea related to injuries from his military career, says that under the Veterans Affairs\u2019 Foreign Medical Program, his service-connected conditions are covered in full. He\u2019s had chiropractor visits and other medical appointments routinely refunded by department officials, with few complaints about the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But medical issues not connected to the military are not covered under the program, even if they may present serious health threats to veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/11\/24\/va-plans-for-vaccine-distribution-unclear-as-coronavirus-cases-continue-to-climb\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20328314981820.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">VA plans for vaccine distribution unclear as coronavirus cases continue to climb<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">More than 100,000 patients connected to VA have tested positive for the virus in the last eight months.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the case of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/12\/01\/va-reports-more-than-1000-coronavirus-deaths-among-patients-in-november\/\" target=\"_blank\">coronavirus<\/a>, that means veterans living outside the United States can\u2019t get any medical coverage for testing or treatment, even if most veterans in the United States can get that assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf I get Covid, I\u2019m going to end up on a ventilator, because of my health conditions,\u201d said Rivera, 33. \u201cBut to even get a Covid test, VA is telling me I\u2019d have to get on a plane and come back to the United States for them to pay for it. And there\u2019s no way in the world I\u2019m getting back on a plane right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rivera and other advocates have been pushing for months for VA to amend its rules and extend some pandemic medical assistance to the out-of-country veterans for months, but with no success thus far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have a large contingent of [American] veterans here in Puerto Vallarta, and a lot of them are older vets \u2014 a high risk group for this,\u201d Rivera said. \u201cThey\u2019re the ones that may need the help the most.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">About 55,500 veterans are currently registered in the Foreign Medical Program, but VA officials said only about 4,500 were active users of the program in fiscal 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Department press secretary Christina Noel said that under existing law \u201cVA is prohibited from covering COVID-19 testing or treatment abroad for veterans without a VA-adjudicated service-connected disability.\u201d She said responsibility for changing that lies with Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But earlier this year, lawmakers said VA could do more to help those veterans through emergency response authorities, including using some of the $2.1 billion in pandemic response funding provided by Congress last spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe VA must be prepared to respond to veterans abroad that require treatment for COVID-19, regardless of service-connection,\u201d a group of senators wrote in a letter to VA Secretary Robert Wilkie last April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That effort was led by Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who received a reply a month later from VA leadership asserting again that \u201cVA is only authorized to reimburse veterans abroad for COVID-19 testing and treatment if it is reasonably found to be aggravating a service-connected condition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lawmakers in recent months have been unable to reach consensus on a new pandemic support bill which might include such a change. Meanwhile, VA provides general medical information to new enrollees of the Foreign Medical Program, but has not made any new efforts to inform participants about their options regarding coronavirus issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/12\/01\/va-reports-more-than-1000-coronavirus-deaths-among-patients-in-november\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20324641167810.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">VA reports more than 1,000 coronavirus deaths among patients in November<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The rise in deaths comes amid a surge in active cases among VA patients.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a twist, Rivera\u2019s fiance could get coverage for the same coronavirus issues through the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA), which covers spouses and dependents \u2014 regardless of where they live \u2014 for those conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rivera said he has reached out to nearly everyone he can think of for help on the issue: VA officials, the local U.S. embassy, members of Congress. So far, he has received a little feedback from lawmakers, but any legislative fix is unlikely until the new congressional session starts next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He thinks VA leaders could likely find some partial solution for the issue on their own, but \u201cwe are obviously not very high on the secretary\u2019s list of priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For now, he has found a few local doctors who can get him a coronavirus test if needed (at $250 a test, significantly above what other veterans might pay in most American cities) and has taken extra precautions to try and avoid any chance of contracting the sickness. He has also started a Facebook group for veterans living in the area to share their struggles and find alternatives for their health care needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019ve been completely left behind in this pandemic,\u201d he said of the veterans community in Puerto Vallarta. \u201cAnd lives are at stake now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The department&#8217;s Foreign Medical Program covers medical costs for veterans living outside the United States, but only for service-connected issues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":72284,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[61,101,23,89,12,26,62,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3222],"class_list":["post-38350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coronavirus","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"2YBSKL456JBHDGLGJOB55HHVJY","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/12\/09\/vets-living-abroad-left-to-navigate-pandemic-problems-without-va-help\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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