USPS Mandated to Issue Annual Veterans Day Stamp to Pay Off VA Medical Copayment Debt

Here’s a bill that’s easy to explain and hard to argue with: the Stamp Out Veterans Medical Debt Act. It doesn't raise taxes or create a new government agency. Instead, it creates a voluntary, public-facing mechanism to tackle a very real problem—veterans carrying medical debt from their VA care.

Specifically, this legislation mandates that the United States Postal Service (USPS) create and sell a special postage stamp, the “Veterans Medical Debt Relief Stamp.” The key detail? Every single penny collected from the sale of this stamp, beyond the standard postage rate, must be transferred directly to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The VA Secretary is then required to use 100% of that money to pay down medical debt owed by veterans, specifically for unresolved copayments and coinsurance for services received through the VA or the Community Care Program.

Your Stamp, Their Relief

For most people, medical debt is a crushing weight. For veterans, even small copayments from using their earned VA benefits can stack up, leading to collection notices and financial stress. This bill offers a simple, tangible way for the public to help.

Think of it as a dedicated donation stream baked right into your next trip to the post office. When you buy this special stamp, you aren’t just mailing a letter; you’re directly contributing to a fund that erases a veteran’s debt burden. The bill is clear that the USPS must issue this stamp annually, timing it to launch around Veterans Day, making it a recurring reminder and opportunity for public support.

The Mechanics of the Mandate

The legislation is quite specific about how this stamp operates, referencing existing Postal Service law (section 416 of title 39, United States Code). Crucially, it exempts this stamp from any numerical limits that sometimes restrict how many specialty stamps the USPS can issue. This means the USPS can print as many as the public is willing to buy, maximizing the potential funds raised.

For veterans struggling with outstanding bills, this is a clear win. The money isn't going into a general fund; the bill requires the VA to use it only for paying down those specific copayment and coinsurance balances. While the bill doesn't detail the criteria for which debts get paid first—that administrative detail is left to the VA—the overall mandate is refreshingly direct: money raised equals debt erased. The clarity of the funding mechanism and the mandated use of funds (paying down copayments and coinsurance for VA/Community Care) is why this bill is so straightforward and low on administrative vagueness. It creates a simple system where the public can donate, and the VA must apply those funds directly to the problem.