Husband needs benefits

 Dear Jim,

 I am hoping you can guide me to an answer please. My husband was in the Army during the Vietnam War but served in Germany. He just received a diagnosis of prostate Cancer and will need daily radiation for a minimum of 8 weeks. He works in the Oil Fields of Oklahoma, His company will not let him work even half days. They have said they will pay him some disability but not his normal salary. Is he eligible for a temporary Veterans Pension, or any medical care help to offset what his private insurance won’t pay? Thank you so much!

 Reply:

 The best answer I can offer is "maybe". If he has registered in the VA health care system in the past (before 2003) he should be able to get health care there. If he never enrolled or used VA care, he should go ahead and apply. There will be a means test to determine what he may be eligible for. Until he goes to the local clinic and applies, there's no way to predict the outcome. He may be eligible for health care and a monetary benefit or only health care.

 He can also apply on line here http://www.va.gov/healthbenefits/apply/