01:00 AM EST on Monday, January 2, 2006

Nearly 2 million poor veterans or their impoverished widows might be missing out on as much as $22 billion a year in pensions from the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to the Dec. 23 issue of the Charlotte Observer, partly because the VA has had only limited success in finding them.

Widows are hardest hit. According to a VA estimate, only one in seven of the survivors of the nation's deceased soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who could probably qualify for the pension receive monthly checks. And participation in the program is falling, according to a Knight Ridder analysis of VA records.

The reason, a VA study said, is that poor veterans do not know that the program exists. "Veterans simply don't know about it," said Despina Hatton, who runs a senior law program for residents of Washoe County, Nev., that seeks to help veterans or their widows receive the benefit.

The VA knows that many veterans and widows are missing out on the benefit. "We obviously are here for any veteran or survivor who qualifies," said Tom Pamperin, a VA pension official. "But so many of these people -- we don't know who they are, where they are."

A VA report from late 2004 recommended that the agency improve its outreach efforts with public service announcements and other programs. The numbers do not suggest they have been improved. In fiscal 2005, fewer veterans and widows were added to the pension rolls than in 2004, according to the Knight Ridder analysis. The number of pension cases fell to 541,000 in fiscal 2005, the sixth straight year of declines.

World War II and Korean War veterans are dying. At the same time, the VA says it has been reasonably successful in signing up new Vietnam War-era vets, but one VA estimate of the program shows the potential pool of poor veterans and widows without the pensions has remained unchanged in the past four years.

The VA actuary's office predicts that pension participation is most likely to drop further, losing between 7,000 and 8,000 enrollees a year and falling below 500,000 participants by 2012, according to a VA actuary report obtained by Knight Ridder.

At the same time, the 2004 report estimated that an additional 853,000 veterans and 1.1 million survivors, generally widows, could get the pension but do not. Of all those most likely to be eligible, only 27 percent of veterans and 14 percent of widows receive the money.

The VA's pension program is targeted at veterans who served during wartime but have fallen into poverty, and is also meant for the veterans' widows who have fallen on hard times. Those eligible for the pension, or other dependents, must meet certain requirements.

Veterans must have served during a time of war, even if not in combat, and they must be either permanently disabled or 65 or older. Their incomes must fall under a certain level, from a range of $10,579 for a veteran with no dependents to $20,924 for a veteran who needs aid and attendance and has one dependent.

Veterans' widows' incomes must be even lower, from a range of $6,814 for a surviving spouse with no dependent children to $12,996 for a surviving spouse who needs aid and attendance with one dependent.

If you think you may qualify for the benefit, check online at www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/Milsvc/Docs/Pensoneg.doc. If you are a widow of a veteran, go to www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/Milsvc/Docs/Dpeneg.doc. You may also call the VA, toll-free, for more information at (800) 827-1000.

VA negotiates prescriptions for less Prices for the most commonly used prescription drugs will be significantly higher under the new Medicare drug plan than comparable prices under the Department of Veterans Affairs drug plan, according to a study by FamiliesUSA, a consumer health group, published Dec. 21 at www.govexec.com.

The study compared recent prices in two Medicare regions in the Washington, D.C.- Maryland-Delaware area and Ohio. The annual costs of the 20 drugs most used by the elderly under the Medicare program will exceed VA prices by as much as 689 percent, or $1,156. The survey showed that half of the top 20 drugs exceeded the lowest VA prices by 48.2 percent, or $261.

Among the 20 most-prescribed drugs, all but one of the prices under the Medicare plan, for the heartburn pill Nexium, was significantly higher than the VA's. The Nexium price per year was nearly 14 percent lower than the VA, or $132.

As part of the Medicare prescription-drug law, Congress barred Medicare officials from negotiating with pharmaceutical companies. The VA, by contrast, leverages its position as a large-scale purchaser of drugs to lower overall prices for veterans' drugs.

The study suggested, "The huge prices paid by seniors and taxpayers could have been avoided if Congress and the president had not caved in to the pressure of the drug lobby," according to Ron Pollack, executive director of FamiliesUSA.

Because the government covers about three-fourths of the drug costs, Pollack said the bottom line is that "millions of seniors will be burdened with unaffordable costs and the American taxpayers will be fleeced."

The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, which represents pharmacy benefit managers, criticized the FamiliesUSA study, saying seniors will save an average of 31 percent on drugs bought at retail pharmacies and 45 percent by mail order.

FamiliesUSA said the drug program was promoted on the basis that competition among drug companies would lower prices. "On the promise of low drug prices, the program fails," the study said. The Medicare drug plan goes into effect this month for Medicare recipients who signed up for the program.

VFW offers trip to Orlando Purple Heart recipients who earned the award while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan can enter to win one of 12 trips to Orlando, Fla., from May 26-29 or June 16-19.

The winners will receive airfare, hotel accommodations, a two-day pass to Disney World for two, and $250 per person for expenses. Eligible veterans may submit one entry by March 15. The entry form and instructions are available at www.vfw.org/resources/pdf/orlandotrip.pdf. Winners will be notified by mail or e-mail and must then send a copy of their Purple Heart documentation to the headquarters of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary Amancio-Falcone-Gaccione Auxiliary 8955 meets tonight at 113 Beach St., Westerly, at 7:30. Tomorrow, District 3 Auxiliary will meet at Washington County Post 916, 155 High St., Wakefield, at 7:30 p.m. Dusza-Almeida Auxiliary 2339 will host a bingo at the VA Medical Center in Providence on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. On Sunday, Gatchell Auxiliary 306 will conduct a bingo open to the public at the post home at 171 Fountain St., Pawtucket, at 1 p.m., with free coffee and pastry. Sandwiches will be available for purchase.

Marine Corps League The Kent County Detachment will meet Wednesday at VFW Post 449, Providence St., West Warwick, at 7 p.m. Active, retired or discharged Marines and Navy corpsmen are welcome.

The United Veterans Council of Rhode Island The council will meet Thursday at 7 p.m. in conference room B, second floor, at the state administration building at One Capitol Hill, Providence.

Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 325 will meet on Thursday at 7:30 p.m., at 1958 Kingstown Rd., Peace Dale.

Veterans of Foreign Wars and Auxiliary Kelley-Gazzerro Post 2812, 1418 Plainfield St., Cranston, will meet Sunday at 9:30 a.m.

George W. Reilly can be reached at VeteransColumn@verizon.net or by writing to The Providence Journal, 75 Fountain St., Providence, R.I. 02902.