Veterans group: Fixes still needed on new GI Bill p1 - GI Bill Benefits - Tuition Assistance for the Military - Military Times EDGE

An advocacy group representing recent combat veterans worries that problems with the Post-9/11 GI Bill could result in benefits that don’t fully cover the cost of tuition at public colleges and could keep some private colleges from taking part in a voluntary tuition reduction program.

Patrick Campbell, chief legislative counsel for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said he hopes changes can be made before the Aug. 1 effective date of the new education benefits program.

The new GI Bill promises to pay full tuition plus a living stipend and book allowance, up to the cost of the most expensive four-year public college or university in the state where the student is attending school. For private schools with tuition that is higher than the most expensive public school, the Post-9/11 GI Bill includes a matching fund program under which the government will pay $1 more for every $1 that a school is willing to reduce its tuition.

Campbell has concerns about how the basic tuition benefit is calculated and about restrictions that could discourage some schools from taking part in the matching fund program, called the Yellow Ribbon Program.

Basic tuition, to be paid directly to the college or university after a student is enrolled, is supposed to be a full reimbursement of tuition and fees, up to a cap set for each state.

The open question, Campbell said, is what constitutes a fee. A tight interpretation could leave students with hundreds of dollars of unreimbursed expenses, he said in arguing for wider discretion of what is covered.

An example is how to handle health insurance, he said. At some colleges and institutions, a mandatory health insurance premium is added to tuition charges. “VA doesn’t want to pay people’s medical bills, but they should cover mandatory expenses,” Campbell said.

Department of Veterans Affairs officials acknowledged the problem and said they are trying to come up with a way to determine fees.

In addition to basic tuition, Campbell said he is worried about how so-called “kickers” — extra money paid to people in some military specialties — could be denied to people who are not full-time students, because VA regulations allow kickers to be paid as part of housing stipends, and under currently proposed rules, those stipends are not provided to anyone attending college less than half time.

That same link to the housing stipend also could deny the $1,200 refunds of Montgomery GI Bill enrollment contributions to people who enrolled in that education benefits program and end up shifting to the Post-9/11 GI Bill instead. A technical corrections bill to fix problems with the Post-9/11 GI Bill law enacted last year is expected to be introduced in the House and Senate soon, with hope of quick passage, said congressional aides working on the legislation.