The Veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred at St. Elizabeth Medical Center were denied reimbursement due to his voluntary election for private insurance to cover the costs, which precluded VA from paying any insurance balances.
The deciding factor: The Veteran signed a non-VA hospitalization form electing to have Medicare and/or his private insurance pay for the hospitalization, thus waiving VA's responsibility for payment or reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses.
- Claimed conditions
- CAD, Diabetes
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 3, 2012
- Citation
- 1234428
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1234428.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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The Veteran's death was caused by his service-connected ischemic heart disease, including coronary artery disease and three myocardial infarctions. The Board granted service connection for the cause of death.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal for direct payment of attorney fees based on past-due benefits awarded in May 2024, as the appellant was eligible but his claim is moot due to a calculation error and no case or controversy remains.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for SMC in excess of SMC(n) based on his service-connected conditions and additional disabilities, as well as his need for aid and attendance. The appeal was dismissed.
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