My brother who is a veteran of the Korean war lives now in Israel and
might need a prostate operation. Somebody told  me that veterans
living outside the U. S. A. are not entitled to veterans benefits or
other medical insurance. Does anybody know if this is true? If not
what can I, who live in the U. S., do, since my brother is too clumsy
with paperwork to be able to help himself.

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Request for Question Clarification by crabcakes-ga on 22 Oct 2003 17:40 PDT

Is your brother a veteran, or a retired veteran? How many years was he
in the military?
Thanks, crabcakes-ga

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Clarification of Question by vaac-ga on 23 Oct 2003 09:53 PDT

Please excuse my ignorance of veteran affairs but I do not know the
difference between a veteran and a retired veteran. After my brother
finished his assigned time in Korea with an honorable discharge he
came back to the U. S. stayed here several years, and then he moved to
Israel.

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Request for Question Clarification by crabcakes-ga on 23 Oct 2003 21:12 PDT

Hello vaac, Yours is not ignorance! I did not know the difference
either till I married my husband, a retired veteran. A retired veteran
has a greater range of benefits than a veteran. Retired means having
served 20 years or more, then retiring from the military.

Do you know if he has any health insurance at all? 

I will be checkingon this while I await your answer.
Regards,crabcakes-ga

Hello again vaac,

It seems your brother could be eligible for some level of care. He may
need to come back to the US and be seen at a VA hospital, as the VA
has no facilities in Israel.

These are sites from the VA (Veteran’s Administration) website. The
first one is about determining a veteran’s eligibility.

http://www.va.gov/elig/Eligibility.htm

VA Home Page:
http://www.va.gov/

Locating a VA Medical Center
http://www.appc1.va.gov/health_benefits/

On this page, find and click on your state to see what is closest to
your home. Once you locate the closest facility, the link will display
the address and phone number. You can then call and inquire as to what
you can do for your brother.
http://www.appc1.va.gov/directory/guide/map.asp

Once you find out if your brother has any insurance, I would suggest
you call a VA Medical Center and inquire if there are any facilities
overseas that can treat him. This may mean he would have to fly to a
country that has US Veterans services ( Spain, Italy, Germany
perhaps). Alternatively, he may inquire if an Israeli facility would
honor his military insurance (Should he have any) or if they have an
arrangement with the US for reciprocal Veterans medical services.

The DAV may be willing to discuss some alternative sources, or have
some suggestions for your brother, even though he is not disabled.
http://www.dav.org/

DAV Contact page, with an e-mail link
http://www.dav.org/help/contact_dav.html

Hope this helps you and your brother. Make sure he gets his prostate
checked and treated as soon as possible!

Regards, crabcakes-ga

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