What remains to be seen is whether it works any better than all the past efforts, as Administrations have come and gone but the VA claims backlog remains.
Meanwhile, veterans like Iowa Gulf War veterans Steve Anderson struggle with a VA claims system that remains broken.
Claims for Gulf War veterans have been particularly challenging. There's a terrible Catch-22 inherent in the provisions of the "undiagnosed illness" claims laws intended by Congress to provide broad discretion in granting Gulf War veterans' disability claims. The problem arises when a Gulf War veteran is given a diagnosis -- even a medical label -- for one or more Gulf War related symptoms, which then can result in having his or her "undiagnosed illness" claim denied.
The long waits and uneven standards for adjudicating claims are not limited to VA (Social Security has had similar criticisms for many years), but they remain unacceptable and can have a profound negative impact on veterans left partially or totally disabled as a result of their military service.
-A.H.
The following article is from the Iowa Watchdog, formerly IowaPolitics.com: http://watchdog.org/56829/ia-veteranclaims/
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IA: Veteran wait times for disability claims called pathetic, disgraceful
By Sheena Dooley | Iowa Watchdog | September 19, 2012
DES MOINES – Every day is a battle
for Ottumwa resident Steve Anderson.
The once healthy 39-year-old Gulf
War veteran struggles with multiple illnesses: irritable bowel syndrome,
depression, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and back problems. He gets
easily confused and can’t remember simple things. Small tasks seem like huge
obstacles, overwhelming barriers.
But Anderson’s battle is even more
complex, even more troubling.
Disability claims and wait times for their
approval surge
Doctors with the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs say his
medical problems stem from exposure to chemicals during 10 years in the Navy.
Despite that, it’s taken the same federal department 12 years to rule on his
claim for full disability benefits, he said.
Meanwhile, his family of five tries
to make ends meet on the $1,902 he gets in partial disability payments. If his
current claim is approved, it would mean an extra nearly $1,000 a month, he
said.
“I went overnight from being healthy
to sliding down a slope I have been on ever since,” Anderson said. “There is
frustration at every turn for me. It’s not going to get better any time soon.
That knowledge is enough to drive you batty. I’m always on the verge of a
breakdown.”
Anderson is not alone in his struggles.
More than 7,400 Iowa veterans
are awaiting a response to their disability claims, which on average will take
272 days to process, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs
and Center of
Investigative Reporting, a nonprofit journalism organization.
The number of claims has grown by nearly 22 percent in less than two years. The
wait time has increased more than 30 percent, the figures show.
If a veteran’s claim is denied and
appealed, it takes an average of 1,549 days for a ruling.
“They are so far behind it’s
pathetic,” said Dan Gannon, a Vietnam veteran who helps others
file claims and serves on the Iowa Commission of Veteran Affairs. “A
veteran comes in and they don’t get an answer for 15 months? That’s wrong. We
have veterans out there who need financial help because of their disabilities,
and they have to wait that long.”
“The saying among veterans is I’ll be
dead before I get my claim. There might be some truth to that,” Gannon, 66,
added.
Veteran disability claims nationally
have exploded in recent years, as troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq
survive injuries they wouldn’t have before and come back with more complex
health issues. Also, more Vietnam veterans are being diagnosed with problems
related to exposure to the chemical Agent Orange, Allison Hickey, under
secretary for benefits for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recently
told a congressional committee.
Nationally, the federal department
has yet to process 820,514 claims, an almost 7 percent increase in the past
year. It takes an average 257 days to receive a response, a wait time that has
increased 31 percent in the past year. Appeals take an average 1,299 days,
federal figures and the Center for Investigative Reporting show.
But those numbers don’t accurately
reflect wait times, because they don’t factor in the time it takes before a claim
is reviewed, Gannon said.
“It’s disgraceful that our nation’s
heroes have to wait so long to get the benefits they need and deserve,” Democratic Rep.
Bruce Braley, who represents Iowa’s First Congressional
District and serves on the House Veterans
Affairs Committee, said Wednesday in a written statement.
“I will continue to push the VA and
make sure they have the resources they need so we can cut down the unacceptable
wait time that veterans currently experience,” he added.
Iowa’s surge in claims prompted the
regional office to broker some out to other states with lighter caseloads, said
Rod Derringer, a staff assistant at the U.S. Veterans Affairs regional
office in Des Moines. He did not specify where they were shipped.
The state is one of 16 to shift to a
new, electronic system meant to expedite the claims process and better train
staff to make accurate rulings. In just a few months, workers processed 17
percent more claims. That’s despite the additional training and transition,
which often can initially delay the process, Derringer said.
The Des Moines office also received
money for additional personnel. Derringer couldn’t say how many additional
positions have been added.
But the efforts haven’t been enough
to keep pace with the influx of disability filings, he said.
“My concern is when the wars are over
with it will be less and less of a concern,” Gannon said. “It’s sad that they
need wars to get people to care about veterans. You know why? Because it’s a
vote. When you get around elections, politicians talk about vets. If there
wasn’t an election they wouldn’t even be talking about it.”
Contact Sheena Dooley at
dooley@iowawatchdog.org.
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