According to NBC News and The Hill, a federal court has vacated the Department of Veterans Affairs rule that released it from reimbursing a veteran who receives emergency medical care at a non-VA facility. In the decision from Monday, September 9, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims found that this rule, which the department issued in 2018, violates federal law.
A rule releasing the department from reimbursing a veteran for an emergency claim if a portion of the costs were covered by his or her own insurance had already been found to violate the law back in 2015.
As a result of the court ruling, the VA may need to reimburse thousands of veterans, and this would involve billions of dollars in costs to the department.