Spouse on HPSP scholarship and I am 100% P&T now

[Behemoth66]

Long story short, my wife and I had relationship issues the past 3 years or so and communication was on and off. Got my wife the HSPS through someone up high in 2021. We are now fine and just got a town house in the state where she will be doing rotations. I will be going through the PA program ( I dropped out of med school about 8 years ago so the PA program I’ll complete in 2 years). I was granted chapter 31 this month (voc rehab I think it was called) and my counselor mentioned that my wife now qualifies for things since I’m 100% P&T now ( as of 2022). My question is, does this affect her HSPS program, and would she be able to receive additional benefits through my VA stuff? I haven’t seen any topics on a situation as such anywhere ( and yes I will be reaching out to someone at the VA however, they always take a while to respond due to their backlog etc) . Thank you kindly

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[BC_89]

First off - congrats on getting Chapter 31 to pay for your PA education!

My question is, does this affect her HSPS program, and would she be able to receive additional benefits through my VA stuff?

You being granted Chapter 31 benefits has no affect on her HPSP Program. I am not tracking what benefits your voc-rehab counselor has told you that she could receive. The full benefit goes to you if you elect to take on the higher BAH rate if you have anything left of your post 9-11 GI Bill (otherwise, you'll have to accept the housing stipend given to your through VR&E).

You being granted 100% P&T does provide competitive health coverage (tricare select or prime) when compared to the private sector. Of course, if your spouse is in HPSP, its a moot point since you'll end up getting tricare regardless. I would check the fine print to make sure your disability rating allows you to be employed (100% P&T unemployability is different than 100% P&T) once you become a PA.

If your housing allowance is currently covered by the program your spouse is in, then I would consider your BAH direct deposit from VR&E as money in your pocket. Also, if you have current student loan debt, you will qualify for a discharge of all of your student debt (I would suggest doing this ASAP prior to starting or finishing your PA program). Also, I would inform your VR&E counselor that you need the minimum laptop and printer for your education (regardless if you have one...) prior to signing the IWRP.

Without additional information, this is about what I see in terms of benefits while using your Chapter 31 and being granted 100% P&T (don't forget the pension increase that's tax exempt) -

 

[NonTradPharmStudent]

First off - congrats on getting Chapter 31 to pay for your PA education!


You being granted Chapter 31 benefits has no affect on her HPSP Program. I am not tracking what benefits your voc-rehab counselor has told you that she could receive. The full benefit goes to you if you elect to take on the higher BAH rate if you have anything left of your post 9-11 GI Bill (otherwise, you'll have to accept the housing stipend given to your through VR&E).

You being granted 100% P&T does provide competitive health coverage (tricare select or prime) when compared to the private sector. Of course, if your spouse is in HPSP, its a moot point since you'll end up getting tricare regardless. I would check the fine print to make sure your disability rating allows you to be employed (100% P&T unemployability is different than 100% P&T) once you become a PA.

If your housing allowance is currently covered by the program your spouse is in, then I would consider your BAH direct deposit from VR&E as money in your pocket. Also, if you have current student loan debt, you will qualify for a discharge of all of your student debt (I would suggest doing this ASAP prior to starting or finishing your PA program). Also, I would inform your VR&E counselor that you need the minimum laptop and printer for your education (regardless if you have one...) prior to signing the IWRP.

Without additional information, this is about what I see in terms of benefits while using your Chapter 31 and being granted 100% P&T (don't forget the pension increase that's tax exempt) -

woah I did not know 100% P&T makes you eligible for tricare. I thought that was only for severance from AD or who do the whole 20 years or rated at 30% or higher from AD and elect to take the AD rating instead of the VA rating? please could you elaborate or correct me if I am wrong

 

[BC_89]

When I said 100% P&T provides competitive health coverage (Tricare), I meant their current Tricare coverage will now remain with them (I can see how I eluded that they’re just now getting Tricare). I was assuming they might’ve been on TDRL and are now permanently separated (so their Tricare will no longer be tampered with).

You could be rated 30% from AD and still elect to take the VA rating and qualify for Tricare. For most, that usually means they’re on TDRL for a brief time and not outright separated. Even then, if you separated with or without severance, that recorded 30% from AD grants you Tricare privileges (along with the tax exempt VA election that everyone chooses as a medically retired veteran).

 

[Behemoth66]

First off - congrats on getting Chapter 31 to pay for your PA education!


You being granted Chapter 31 benefits has no affect on her HPSP Program. I am not tracking what benefits your voc-rehab counselor has told you that she could receive. The full benefit goes to you if you elect to take on the higher BAH rate if you have anything left of your post 9-11 GI Bill (otherwise, you'll have to accept the housing stipend given to your through VR&E).

You being granted 100% P&T does provide competitive health coverage (tricare select or prime) when compared to the private sector. Of course, if your spouse is in HPSP, its a moot point since you'll end up getting tricare regardless. I would check the fine print to make sure your disability rating allows you to be employed (100% P&T unemployability is different than 100% P&T) once you become a PA.

If your housing allowance is currently covered by the program your spouse is in, then I would consider your BAH direct deposit from VR&E as money in your pocket. Also, if you have current student loan debt, you will qualify for a discharge of all of your student debt (I would suggest doing this ASAP prior to starting or finishing your PA program). Also, I would inform your VR&E counselor that you need the minimum laptop and printer for your education (regardless if you have one...) prior to signing the IWRP.

Without additional information, this is about what I see in terms of benefits while using your Chapter 31 and being granted 100% P&T (don't forget the pension increase that's tax exempt) -

Thank you for that. To clarify, I had been service connected for about 6 years and was granted 100% back in 2019 I believe. Last year they re-evaluated my file ( which I was nervous due to they love to reduce ratings 99% of the time lol) and in the fall was granted 100% Total and Permanent. Someone actually contacted me today and informed me that my file and rating are permanent and unless they see me walking on water on tv = it’s never going to change nor am I ever going to be scheduled for future evaluations. They also stated that even if I we were making over 500k as my wife will be a doctor, won’t impact our benefits at all. Was pleasantly surprise to hear that. They also said that they’re going to approve her for chapter 35 which we will receive $1435 a month non taxable until she’s finished with medical school and we will be receiving back pay from last year when I was awarded 100% P&T. Was shocked to hear that tbh. I’ve been under the care of the VA and our local Kaiser which the va was paying for. My wife had to pay 4k per semester I believe for the medical insurance recruited by her medical school as the hsps scholarship did not cover it for some reason so they said we might be getting a check for the va for $4,000 for that and they’re awarding her Champ Va medical coverage so we will not have to pay the $8,000 a year for her medical insurance thank God. As for me, Spoke to Utah university ( PA program admissions) and they’re going to expedite my application since my gpa was over 3.9 and have medical experience ( combat medical) so that was great news. However, I was took late for this fall and will be awarded for next year’s class. Hope this helps anyone who might be in a similar situation as I know our situation is very rare they said but hey you never know lol. Was shocked at how efficient, enthusiastic, diligent the VA has been with us in such a short period of time. I know the Va gets a bad rep at times for being slow careless terrible etc at times but fortunately we had the right people and they got everything done in less than 30 days which is unheard of. If anyone has questions, feel free to reach out 👍

 

[NonTradPharmStudent]

When I said 100% P&T provides competitive health coverage (TriCare), I meant their current TriCare coverage will now remain with them (I can see how I eluded that they’re just now getting TriCare). I was assuming they might’ve been on TDRL and are now permanently separated (so their TriCare will no longer be tampered with).

You could be rated 30% from AD and still elect to take the VA rating and qualify for TriCare. For most, that usually means they’re on TDRL for a brief time and not outright separated. Even then, if you separated with or without severance, that recorded 30% from AD grants you TriCare privileges (along with the tax exempt VA election that everyone chooses as a medically retired veteran).

I wish I knew about that 30% AD grant; many vets and current AD do not know those grants and are currently staying in only for those reasons which is unfair to them due to the knowledge gaps

 

[Behemoth66]

I wish I knew about that 30% AD grant; many vets and current AD do not know those grants and are currently staying in only for those reasons which is unfair to them due to the knowledge gaps

There are so many benefits out there that are available that we don’t know about that’s for certain lol. I was fortunate to have good people point us in the right direction.