Number 14 September 25, 1973

Number 14 September 25, 1973 Louise Maloof, Esquire Executive Secretary Pro Tern Executive Council State House Boston, Massachusetts 02133 Dear Miss Maloof: You have requested my opinion on behalf of the Executive Council on the question whether "veterans' benefits under G. L. (Ter. Ed.) C. 1 15, S 5 may be paid to a veteran whose debt was incurred prior to the date of application to the Boston Department of Veterans' Services, as in the manner described in the attached report from the Commissioner of Vet- erans' Services." Based on the facts given to me in the Commissioner's report, I answer your question in the affirmative. I. Validity of the Application The Commissioner's report states that at the time the veteran, Henry D. Corse, entered the Massachusetts General Hospital for a hernia op- eration, "[i]t appears . . . [he] filled out a form at the hospital naming the Veterans' Services Department as the public assistance agency from which he was requesting aid." About three weeks after his discharge from the hospital, he filed an application with the Boston Veterans' Of- fice requesting assistance for the payment of his hospital bills. The Boston Veterans' Office denied his application, ostensibly on the basis of G. L. c. 115, § 5, which provides in pertinent part that: "No payment of benefits shall be made for any period of time prior to the date of application; provided, however, that the commissioner, on recommendation of the veterans' agent of the city or town paying the benefits, may authorize the payment of benefits for not more than sixty days prior to the date of the application if the necessity therefor has been caused by serious accident or illness to the applicant or to one or more dependents of the veteran upon whose service the application is made." The question thus arises: whether Corse's filling out of the form pro- vided him by the Massachusetts General Hospital is equivalent to his filing an application at the Boston Veterans' Office. Typed on the hospital's form under the heading "remarks", is the comment that the veteran must contact Veterans' Services after his dis- charge. In my opinion, the filling out of this form constitutes a tempor- ary application for assistance which becomes permanent and final, when, and if, the veteran, upon his discharge, applies at his local vete- rans' office for assistance.' Such a procedure is a sound and adequate one to meet the needs of a veteran who is hospitalized in an emergency and who is, therefore, un- able to apply for aid at his local office. 'I .im mt'iirmcd hy ihe OITkc of the (OmmissioncT of Veterans' Services that lhe> have agreed lo such procedure and consider Ihe hospital's form sulTicient notice of a veteran's apphcation for assistance. 72 P.D. 12 Accordingly, it is my opinion that Henry D. Corse filed a valid appli- cation for medical aid with Veterns' Services and that nothing in G. L. c. 115, § 5 renders him ineligible for such assistance. II. Student Status According to the information you have provided me, the Boston Vete- rans' Office also rejected Corse's application for medical aid on the ground that his current status as a graduate student at Emerson College rendered him ineligible. Additionally, they maintain that Corse fraudul- ently obtained financial aid from them during October and November, 1971, and July and August, 1972, by not disclosing his student status at those times. It is my opinion that Corse's student status did not render him ineligi- ble for medical aid from Veterans' Services. There is nothing in the General Laws or the regulations of the Commissioner of Veterans' Serv- ices which mandates a contrary result. Moreover, the Office of the Commissioner of Veterans' Services has declared in a memorandum to local veterans' offices: ''The policy of the Office of the Commissioner of Veter- ans' Services regarding eligible veterans attending school is as follows: 1. The veterans shall be aided for all medical. 2. Veterans may have their medical insurance paid by Vete- rans' Benefits. 3. Veterans may be allowed Ordinary Benefits equal to the Veterans Administration amount of subsistence until the veterans receive said Veterans subsistence. 4. Veterans attending high school may be allowed Ordinary Benefits." Since Corse is apparently otherwise eligible for veterans' assistance but for his student status, sections one and three of the policy statement of the Office of the Commissioner of Veterans' Services just quoted render him eligible for medical assistance from the Boston Veterans' Of- fice. III. Waiver of Application Finally, the Boston Veterans' Office justified its rejection of Corse's application on the fact that a woman who accompanied him at the time of his admission to the hospital allegedly agreed to be responsible for the costs of Corse's hospitalization. You do not provide me with enough information to determine whether this woman did, in fact, assume such responsibility. But, you do provide me with sufficient factual data to determine whether Corse knowingly waived his application for veterans' medical assistance. In this regard, it is my opinion, on the basis of the facts presented, that the woman acted on her own, without Corse's sanction and, therefore, could not have possibly deprived Corse of his rights to veterans' assistance. In conclusion, then, it is my opinion that veterans' benefits under G. L. c. 1 15, § 5 may be paid to a veteran whose debt was incurred prior to P.D. 12 73 the date of application to the Boston Department of Veteran's Services in the manner described in the case of Henry D. Corse. Accordingly, in my opinion, the Boston Veterans' Office improperly rejected Corse's application for medical assistance. Very truly yours, ROBERT H. QUINN Attorney General