Recent Veteran's Affairs News

Applications for new VA ID cards are open

The Department of Veterans Affairs is accepting applications for new Veteran ID cards as of today, but questions surrounding the program’s costs and private sector involvement remain unclear. The cards — designed to be an easy way for veterans to prove their military service for a host of nongovernment services — will be delivered within 60 days of applying with digital copies available next month.

Veterans can start the application process now through the main VA website at www.vets.gov. The link to the ID application is on the bottom left of the page, labeled “Apply for printed Veteran ID Card.” The cards were mandated by Congress in July 2015, with the expectation of distribution sometime in 2017. In a release announcing the official start of the program Wednesday, VA officials said their moves are “fulfilling a promise that has been unfulfilled since 2015.”

“The new Veterans Identification Card provides a safer and more convenient and efficient way for most veterans to show proof of service,” VA Secretary David Shulkin said in a statement. “With the card, veterans with honorable service to our nation will no longer need to carry around their paper DD-214s to obtain veteran discounts and other services.” Cards will be printed and shipped by Office Depot, an arrangement that VA officials said will allow veterans to receive the IDs free of charge. VA officials declined to release the cost of the printing and shipping arrangement with Office Depot.

The final design of the cards has not been finalized yet. Previous versions had the Office Depot logo on the back with the veteran’s information on the front. Under rules developed by VA, individuals who served in the armed forces, including the reserve components, and have a character of discharge of honorable or general under honorable conditions are eligible for the new IDs. Veterans with other than honorable status are not eligible.

Late Breaking Update:  The VA's on-line process is currently down due to a "high volume of traffic". 

VA promises fixes after report blasts mistakes with reporting of problem physicians

Veterans Affairs officials are promising swift fixes to their physician monitoring practices after a scathing report this week accusing department staffers of failing to report potentially dangerous doctors to appropriate authorities. “We need to do much better,” Gerard Cox, VA’s acting deputy under secretary for health for organizational excellence, told members of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee on Wednesday. “I can’t excuse that in the past adequate oversight has not been provided.”

Earlier in the week, a Government Accountability Office report blasted Veterans Health Administration officials for what they see as systemic failures in the agency’s documentation and investigation of complaints against clinical care providers. Of five sites studied, researchers found proper documentation for nearly half of the 148 complaints at five VA sites. At least 47 cases were ignored until investigators raised concerns. Of those that were addressed, some took months or years to move forward.

In addition, of nine physicians with documented problems that should have been reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank from the five sites, only one was. None of those complaints were forwarded to state licensing boards. Randall Williamson, director of health care for the U.S. Government Accountability Office, called the findings unsettling because the lack of reporting could allow physicians with poor or negligent work histories to continue in VA or private-sector care without interruption.

Lawmakers agreed, calling it the latest oversight misstep at the veterans bureaucracy. “Refusing or failing to adhere to reporting requirements puts not just veterans, but all patients across the country, at risk of receiving substandard health care,” said Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Mich., chairman of the committee’s oversight panel.

Senate committee advances its plan for VA health care overhaul

The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee approved its version of a VA health care overhaul on Wednesday, including easier access for veterans to meet with private-sector doctors and a massive expansion of the department’s caregivers assistance programs. But the cost of the measure — estimated initially at $54 billion over five years by the Congressional Budget Office — could prove problematic as the proposal winds through Congress.

The measure passed with a 13-1 vote, with only Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., opposing the idea. He voiced concerns that the measure didn’t go far enough to open up community care programs to more veterans, leaving most of them stuck in VA-managed care still. The Caring for Our Veterans Act closely follows legislation proposed by VA officials earlier this fall. It would gradually sunset disparate outside care programs within the VA and replace them with a single community care program with fewer restrictions on which veterans can seek private-sector care.

VA physicians would remain the coordinator of veterans care, but individuals who face significant wait times, travel distances or hardships to reach VA facilities would be eligible to seek care outside the department’s system. VA officials would also more easily be able to enter into partnerships with community health care providers to create a broader network of options for veterans. Veterans who have used VA care within the previous two years would also have two walk-in visits at any private-sector practice without a co-pay, even without prior approval from the department.

It includes language “removing barriers” for telemedicine and hiring of health care professionals within the bureaucracy. And it also includes $3 billion in bridge funding for the existing VA Choice program — which allows outside care options for veterans who live 40 miles from a department medical center or face a 30-day wait for appointments — and another $1 billion for improvements to existing VA health care programs.

VA Disability Recipients And Retirees Are Getting Their Biggest Pay Raise Since 2012

Military retirees and those who receive disability checks and some other types of pay from the Department of Veterans Affairs will see a 2 percent pay raise in their monthly paychecks in 2018. It is the biggest cost of living (COLA) increase since 2012, equaling as much as $310 a month for those at the top of the retirement pay charts.

Thanks to the increase, the average military retirement check for an E-7 with 20 years of service will go up by $46 a month, while an O-5 with the same time in uniform will see an $88 monthly increase. Disabled veterans will also see a bump, with the average VA disability check going up about $3 per month for those with a 10 percent rating, and $58 for those rated at 100 percent.

Other users, including Survivor Benefit Plan beneficiaries and those who draw Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), can also expect to benefit from the bump. Military retirees and VA beneficiaries aren’t the only ones who benefit from the COLA increase. Civil service retirees will also see the 2 percent jump in their monthly checks.

And for Social Security recipients, the monthly increase will mean an extra $25 per month for the average beneficiary.

Biggest COLA Bump in Years. Most government payments see a COLA increase every year. The increase, which is based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), makes sure payments keep up with inflation. Recipients can thank a big jump in the cost of gasoline due to Hurricane Harvey for the jump in the CPI that caused this year’s COLA boost.

The COLA affects benefits for more than 70 million U.S. residents, including Social Security recipients, disabled veterans, federal retirees, and retired military members. That’s about one in every five Americans. Last year, the COLA increase was 0.3 percent; in 2015, retirees saw their checks remain at 2014 levels.

Congress is still hashing out the pay raise currently serving troops will receive for 2018. Both a proposal passed by the Senate and a White House plan mandate a 2.1 percent increase. A measure passed by the House would instead give troops a 2.3 percent increase.

A decision on just what those troops will receive — and whether what retirees and VA users will receive is lower — has yet to be made. Lawmakers have recently started closed-door negotiations on the proposals. Unlike that active-duty pay raise, the bump received by retirees and VA users does not require an act of Congress to go into effect. Those groups will see their pay raise in January regardless of what Congress does for current troops.

Useful Links: Military Retirement and Survivor Pay Dates http://www.military.com/benefits/military-pay/military-retiree-pay-dates.html

2018 VA Compensation Rates
http://www.military.com/benefits/veterans-health-care/va-disability-compensation-rates.html

Senate Approves 2.1 Percent Active-Duty Pay Raise
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/09/19/21-pay-raise-bah-cuts-approved-by-senate.html

Article from Military.com

Vets awaiting primary care at VA can now seek Private Physician

Veterans waiting for a primary care appointment at a VA medical facility may now be able to get one at a private physician under a program that allows veterans to seek medical treatment outside the Veterans Affairs Department.

VA announced Wednesday that primary care has been added to its Patient-Centered Community Care, or PC3, program.



The initiative originally was designed to provide specialty care, in-patient and mental health treatment to veterans who could not access a VA hospital or clinic because of distance or prolonged wait times and their regular facility.



But it was expanded to include primary care in an effort to expedite treatment to patients sitting on wait lists, according to a VA release.



“With the addition of primary care services, VA medical centers can now use PC3 to provide additional types of care in order to reduce wait times,” VA Secretary Robert McDonald said in a prepared statement.



In September, VA awarded contracts worth up to $9.4 billion over five years to two health care companies to provide specialty care and mental health treatment in the private sector under the PC3 program.



Former Tricare West Region contractor TriWest Healthcare Alliance and Health Net Federal Services, the company that manages the Tricare North Region, run the program.



According to VA, the change is part of the department’s “Accelerated Care Initiative,” a massive effort to move veterans — many of whom have waited months for care — off appointment wait lists.

VA has been under fire since April for allegations that some facilities gamed the appointment system to meet VA metrics and excessive wait times for appointments and consults may have lead to patient deaths.



The scandal led to the resignation of several top officials, including VA Secretary Erik Shinseki, who left the department in May.



While VA facilities have had the authority to outsource care, many facilities have been reluctant to use the option and in turn, many veterans prefer to use the VA, which they perceive as a benefit earned with military service.



VA spent $5 billion on private-sector care in 2013 and launched the PC3 program in January to provide care to veterans using established health care provider networks.

TriWest President David McIntyre described the PC3 program as a “release valve” for overburdened VA facilities.



“The first place care should be rendered is in the federal system with federal providers where it can be done. And where it can’t, we are that valve,” McIntyre told Military Times last month.

For more information on obtaining private medical care through VA, the department recommends turning to its non-VA care web site.



This article was published 13 August 2014 on the Military Times.com website.

VA Reform Bill to get vote this week

In a dramatic legislative turnaround, the chairmen of the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs committees on Monday unveiled plans for a $17 billion compromise VA reform bill that funds the hiring of more clinicians, expands private care options and makes it easier to fire Veterans Affairs Department executives.

The deal, if approved later this week, gives lawmakers a surprising success story to take back to their home districts as Congress begins its extended, pre-election legislative break.

The comprehensive veterans measure is one of only a few significant bills to become law this year, and comes after weeks of promises that leaders from both parties would move quickly to address recent VA scandals.

“This bill makes certain that we address the immediate crisis of veterans being forced onto long waiting lists for health care,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. “It strengthens VA so that it will be able to hire the doctors, nurses and medical personnel it needs so we can permanently put an end to long waiting lists.”

The price tag includes $5 billion requested by VA officials to hire clinicians and renovate underused VA spaces, in an effort to address long-term problems with veterans waiting for care.

But another $10 billion is targeted for a short-term fix to that problem: a dramatic expansion of private-care options for veterans who face waits of 30 days or longer for appointments, or who live more than 40 miles from the closest VA health facilities.

It will also pay for leases at 27 new medical facilities in 18 states and Puerto Rico, to give more VA options to veterans.

The measure also includes language making it easier for senior VA officials to be fired by the department secretary, a proposal that has drawn strong support from lawmakers and outside critics.

Over the last three months, dozens of VA officials have been accused of gaming records to cover up facility problems or protect performance bonuses. Lawmakers have decried a corrosive culture within the bureaucracy, and demanded more accountability throughout the department.

Under the compromise, executives fired for mismanagement or poor performance would have a chance to appeal the move, and would be guaranteed an answer within a month.

The remaining $2 billion will pay for a host of unrelated veterans’ measures that both chambers had addressed in previous, incomplete bills, including granting in-state tuition rates to any veteran attending a public college, extending housing funds for veterans with traumatic brain injuries, and expanding care for military sexual trauma victims.

To pay for the measure, Congress will use about $5 billion in offsets from VA programs and $12 billion in emergency funding. That could prove to be a tough sell among fiscally conservative House members, who had balked at previous proposals that would have added to the deficit.

Sanders has insisted for weeks that the VA scandals more than justified the need for emergency spending. His conference committee co-chair, Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., conceded that some members of his caucus likely will object to that expense, but said he is confident he can convince the rest of the need.

“Our veterans need a quick response,” he said. “We need to make sure our veterans aren’t standing in line waiting for care.”

Earlier versions of the compromise bill easily passed both chambers, but the conference committee has been bogged down for more than a month on the total cost of the measure and how to pay for the expense.

Miller and Sanders last Thursday held dueling press conferences accusing each other of hijacking the conference committee process, and casting doubt over whether any deal could be reached. But on Monday, they downplayed that conflict and spoke proudly of overcoming philosophical differences to reach a much-needed middle ground.

Veterans groups echoed that sense of relief.

Tom Tarantino, chief policy officer of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said Congress finding a way to “do its job” shouldn’t be celebrated, but the content of the compromise measure is worth praising.

“This is going to help veterans get access. This is going to help change the culture at VA,” he said. “This is all good news for veterans.”

Ray Kelley, national legislative service director for Veterans of Foreign Wars, said the compromise sends a message to veterans that public pressure is forcing changes within Congress and the department.

“We’re hearing from so many members who are frustrated with VA and resigned to the department never being fixed,” he said. “So this is obviously just a first step, but it’s an important one.”

Both Miller and Sanders said they are confident the legislation can be approved by both chambers this week and sent to the president to become law within days. The House is scheduled to start its summer break Thursday. The Senate leaves Friday.

The Senate also has on its agenda for the week the confirmation vote for Bob McDonald to become the next VA secretary. The two moves combined would give the department a new leader and billions in new funding, to go along with the mandate from lawmakers to restore public trust in the agency.

The above article from the Military Times

The Bonus March - 1932

From the article, Bonus Marchers, from USHistory.org. This part of American history stands as one of the most shameful acts pitting active duty soldiers against veterans. It may be appropriate given the recent action by Congress to cut veterans and retiree benefits.

Many in America wondered if the nation would survive.

Although the United States had little history of massive social upheaval or coup attempts against the government, hunger has an ominous way of stirring those passions among any population. As bread riots and shantytowns grew in number, many began to seek alternatives to the status quo. Demonstrations in the nation's capital increased, as Americans grew increasingly weary with President Hoover's perceived inaction. The demonstration that drew the most national attention was the Bonus Army march of 1932.

In 1924, Congress rewarded veterans of World War I with certificates redeemable in 1945 for $1,000 each. By 1932, many of these former servicemen had lost their jobs and fortunes in the early days of the Depression. They asked Congress to redeem their Bonus certificates early.

Led by Walter Waters of Oregon, the so-called Bonus Expeditionary Force set out for the nation's capital. Hitching rides, hopping trains, and hiking finally brought the Bonus Army, now 15,000 strong, into the capital in June 1932. Although President Hoover refused to address them, the veterans did find an audience with a congressional delegation. Soon a debate began in the Congress over whether to meet the demonstrators' demands.

As deliberation continued on Capitol Hill, the Bonus Army built a shantytown across the Potomac River in Anacostia Flats. When the Senate rejected their demands on June 17, most of the veterans dejectedly returned home. But several thousand remained in the capital with their families. Many had nowhere else to go. The Bonus Army conducted itself with decorum and spent their vigil unarmed.

However, many believed them a threat to national security. On July 28, Washington police began to clear the demonstrators out of the capital. Two men were killed as tear gas and bayonets assailed the Bonus Marchers. Fearing rising disorder, Hoover ordered an army regiment into the city, under the leadership of General Douglas MacArthur. The army, complete with infantry, cavalry, and tanks, rolled into Anacostia Flats forcing the Bonus Army to flee. MacArthur then ordered the shanty settlements burned.

Many Americans were outraged. How could the army treat veterans of the Great War with such disrespect? Hoover maintained that political agitators, anarchists, and communists dominated the mob. But facts contradict his claims. Nine out of ten Bonus Marchers were indeed veterans, and 20% were disabled. Despite the fact that the Bonus Army was the largest march on Washington up to that point in history, Hoover and MacArthur clearly overestimated the threat posed to national security. As Hoover campaigned for reelection that summer, his actions turned an already sour public opinion of him even further bottomward.

America sank deeper in Depression.