VETERANS CORNER: Changes to educational benefits for veterans
Published 6:52 pm Wednesday, January 22, 2025
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By Tom Mastaglio and Laurie Clay
Veterans Corner
Happy New Year to all of our Veterans and the family members who support them. This month we will discuss some upcoming changes to your educational benefits, a new tool for accessing and reviewing your VA Medical records, resources for addressing Veteran suicides, and how to avail yourself of employment opportunities with the Veteran’s Administration.
Changes to the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post 9/11 Education Program: Veterans who served at least two periods of service – one that qualifies for the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) and another that qualifies for the Post-9/11 (PGIB) – may be able to receive educational benefits for up to 48 months. If a Veteran waived their MGIB to receive their benefits under the PGIB program, they may be entitled to additional MGIB benefits. Educational benefits are limited to a maximum of 48 months of combined benefits under PGIB and MGIB. The VA will determine the benefits you have left. For example: If a veteran at the time of their election from MGIB to PGIB had 3 years to use their MGIB benefit, the VA will provide 3 years and 90 days to use the additional 12 months. If a Veteran last received their educational benefits on or after August 15, 2018, no action is required; the VA will automatically review these claims and notify the Veteran of eligibility. Veterans who received educational benefits before August 15, 2018, requires the veteran to submit VA Form 22-1995 for the VA to review their eligibility.
The VA has setup a new VA Record Tool, available through MyHealthVet where there is a link to the tool on VA.gov. On the medical records page, you can perform all the important tasks, such as:
- Review detailed health information such as lab and test results, allergy and vaccine information, provider notes and summaries, your health vitals, and conditions.
- Customize and download a record of your health history.
- Create an electronic record of your health history you can share with other providers.
The new mobile-first design makes it easier to find health information on any device, review health information in a web browser, and make records available to those who require assistive devices, like screen readers
Veteran suicides continue to be a concern of Service Organizations and the VA. The American Legion Be The One initiative (https://www.legion.org/advocacy/be-the-one) and the VFW working diligently to combat upstream risk factors to veteran suicide through support for multiple programs and congressional advocacy are two examples. The VA itself has a number of programs and resources (six to be precise) to aid veterans, caregivers, and community organizations in addressing this issue. See https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/suicide_prevention/.
The Veterans Administration gives hiring preference to veterans. If you are seeking a transition from service employment opportunity or interested in a career change, this could be tailor made for you. Through employment at the VA, Veterans can continue making an impact and serving the nation. This hiring preference includes spouses as well as former servicemen and women. For specifics, we suggest you visit https://www.vaforvets.va.gov/veso/Pages/default.asp for information about the Veteran and Military Spouse Talent Engagement Program (VMSTEP).
And a couple of reminders: Signing into your MyHealthVet account as of the end of January will require first signing into www.va.gov. You will have to establish a gov.id or ID.me account to use to sign in and will then be redirected to MyHealthVet. Someone in the VA thinks this will make it easier for us – you can decide for yourself. Vietnam Veterans Day will be March 29 and the Smithfield Legion will invite all Vietnam-era veterans to a dinner and recognition program on March 23. Watch the Community Calendar feature for information on how to make a reservation.
As always, we hope the information presented this month is of value. We are open to your comments and suggestions via email at any time.
THOMAS MASTAGLIO is an Army veteran who serves as media officer at American Legion Post 49. He can be reached at tom.mastaglio@outlook.com.
LAURIE CLAY is an Army veteran who serves as service officer at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8545. She can be reached at serviceofficer@vfwva.org.