2008/09/30 10:47:00
Any family who’s lost a child knows the heartache involved – and knows that no amount of money could ever ease that pain. The emotional suffering, combined with the financial strain, can be very difficult for families to bear.
MOAA has long supported allowing a stillborn child to be insurable under the Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance. No one wants to consider the possibility of the loss of a child before or during birth, but it happens, and when it does, families may find themselves in financial difficulties to pay off funeral expenses and other bills associated with the death.
This weekend, Congress passed an omnibus veterans’ benefits bill that extends the $10,000 per child SGLI coverage to stillborn children. The VA, which administers SGLI, is expected to define the eligibility rules. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics recommends the reporting of deaths when a fetus weighs 350 grams or more or if the weight is not known, 20 or more weeks of gestation.
What’s next?
The President is expected to sign the VA Benefits Improvement Act which includes the stillborn insurance provision.
