New benefit delay hits disabled vets
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Printable FormatCHICAGO SUN-TIMES
BY CHERYL L. REED
The most seriously disabled veterans will now have to wait for their claims to pass a second review before they can receive any disability pay from the federal Veterans Affairs Department, according to a new policy ordered last week.
Veterans who have been granted disability for post-traumatic stress disorder or are judged to be 100 percent disabled or unemployable by one VA disability reviewer must now receive a second VA nod before the agency will grant any disability pay.
VA officials defended the policy, which went into effect immediately Tuesday and was issued to all 57 regional VA offices through a memo, a copy of which was obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.
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"It's always good to have an extra set of eyes on this stuff," said Scott Hogenson, a VA spokesman.
Obama fears trend of denials
Denials for those same disabilities, though, do not require a second review. Veterans advocates, as well as Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), fear the new policy sends a message that VA disability reviewers are not to grant high-paying claims.
"It appears there's going to be a bias towards the denial of PTSD claims," said Obama , who serves on the Senate VA Committee.
Some veterans advocates fear the new policy is the VA's way to get back at veterans who complained about low disability pay, which ultimately resulted in the agency being investigated by its inspector general this year. Other advocates say the extra review will just increase the existing backlog of cases.
Currently it takes an average of 167 days for the VA to decide a new claim. At the Chicago VA office, it is taking 206 days. The VA estimates a second review could take a day or two if the second reviewer agrees with the first decision. But if there's a disagreement, officials admit it will take much longer.
"I think a lot of this is being driven by policy as opposed to trying to look at why these differences are occurring and correcting that," said Joe Violante, legislative director for the national Disabled American Veterans.
A VA inspector general's investigation concluded last month that the wide disparity in disability pay from state to state derives from the number of veterans who are deemed 100 percent disabled with PTSD.
30% may be affected
Disabled veterans in New Mexico receive the highest average payment of $12,004, and 12.6 percent of that state's disabled veterans are rated 100 percent disabled for PTSD. But Illinois disabled veterans -- who receive the lowest disability pay in the nation -- get $6,961 per veteran, and only 2.8 percent of Illinois' veterans are rated 100 percent disabled for PTSD.
Mental health experts estimate that as many as 30 percent of all veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan will suffer from PTSD, a serious mental disorder characterized by violent flashbacks and paranoia that can render a veteran unemployable. Veterans diagnosed with PTSD and deemed unemployable are in among the highest-paying categories of disability.