This office has been receiving a lot of questions about California Fee Waiver applications. For those students who are currently using the fee waiver, letters with a new application and instructions are being mailed at this time. New students should contact this office at 385-6366, and we will forward an application.

Q. I am rated 10 percent service-connected disabled by the VA. I recently received a bill from the VA for a visit to a doctor at the VA hospital in West Los Angeles. Should I be charged for medical treatment?

A. With your disability rating you should not be charged for inpatient or outpatient visits to the VA. You can be charged for prescriptions for non-service-connected conditions. Anytime you are treated, remind the doctor that you are service-connected so they can check that block on your computer medical record.

Also contact the clinic in Oxnard to make sure you are being carried as service-connected in the VA Medical System. If the clinic cannot resolve the problem, this office will contact the VA.

Q. I was incarcerated for nine months, and before I was incarcerated I was granted a non-service-connected pension. While I was incarcerated my pension was stopped. Can I apply for back payment?

A. Pension stops on the 61st day of imprisonment for conviction of a felony or misdemeanor. Upon release, your pension can start again from that date and you will get back pay from that date until you start receiving your pay, but there is no back pay for the time you were imprisoned.

Q. In one of your recent columns you answered a question about a foreign medal. Can you explain how to receive replacement U.S. medals?

A. Veterans can have a one-time replacement of their medals by the service in which he or she served. This office will assist you in providing required information and getting your request to the proper location. A copy of your discharge document will usually provide most of the data. This process can take up to one year so it is a good time to get started.

— George Compton, retired Army colonel, is the veterans service officer for the County of Ventura, Human Services Agency. Send your questions to Veterans Service Office, 1701 Pacific Ave., Suite 110, Oxnard, CA 93033; phone number: 385-6366; fax: 385-6371; or e-mail: George.Compton@ventura.org.