The veteran's unauthorized private hospitalization for an acute myocardial infarction and related conditions was not authorized by the VA, and reimbursement is denied.
The deciding factor: The veteran did not meet the requirements of 38 C.F.R. § 17.120(a) as he was not in a medical emergency situation, and there were feasible VA facilities available for his care.
- Claimed conditions
- Acute myocardial infarction, Status post coronary artery bypass graft, Hypertension, Coronary atherosclerotic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 22, 2000
- Citation
- 0004545
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0004545.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
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Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for hypertension and has remanded the issue of an increased rating for skin condition.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's 10% rating for hypertension effective December 1, 2025 and denied a rating in excess of 10%. The reduction from 10% to noncompensable was not proper.
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