VA to review veterans’ PTSD cases
By Rebecca Carroll
Associated Press
The government is going to take a new look at the claims of about a third of the military veterans who now get disability payments for post-traumatic stress disorder.
The Veterans Affairs Department will begin a yearlong review next month of 72,000 cases after an internal study found inconsistencies in the way the claims were decided, including many cases approved though they lacked required medical evidence.
…
The review will cover veterans whose claims were approved between 1999 and 2004 and who receive full disability benefits — $2,299 a month — for PTSD alone or in combination with other conditions, said VA spokesman Phil Budahn.
The review won’t consider the other side of the question, whether some veterans were wrongly denied benefits, and that has some critics upset.
…
Randy Reese, national service director for Disabled American Veterans, complained that the review would divert resources from the VA’s backlog of several hundred thousand disability claims yet to be processed.
…
If the current review finds a veteran’s claim does not include adequate proof of a “stressor” — the specific event or events that trigger the mental illness — the veteran will be asked to provide more information and could ultimately lose benefits.
…
Col. Charles Hoge, chief of psychiatry and behavior services at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, said that while most service members with PTSD can identify incidents that affected them deeply — for instance, their worst firefight, losing a buddy or seeing injured children — “the reality is that there are also stressors that are ongoing.”
Hoge has found evidence of PTSD symptoms in about 15 percent to 17 percent of service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-1028712.php
Full Version: VA and PTSD Benefits Denial/Review
Common Ground Common Sense > Issues that Affect Our Lives > U.S. Military Issues > U.S. Military Issues Archive
QUOTE(XicanoPwr @ Aug 20 2005, 12:31 PM)
VA to review veterans’ PTSD cases
By Rebecca Carroll
Associated Press
The government is going to take a new look at the claims of about a third of the military veterans who now get disability payments for post-traumatic stress disorder.
The Veterans Affairs Department will begin a yearlong review next month of 72,000 cases after an internal study found inconsistencies in the way the claims were decided, including many cases approved though they lacked required medical evidence.
…
The review will cover veterans whose claims were approved between 1999 and 2004 and who receive full disability benefits — $2,299 a month — for PTSD alone or in combination with other conditions, said VA spokesman Phil Budahn.
The review won’t consider the other side of the question, whether some veterans were wrongly denied benefits, and that has some critics upset.
…
Randy Reese, national service director for Disabled American Veterans, complained that the review would divert resources from the VA’s backlog of several hundred thousand disability claims yet to be processed.
…
If the current review finds a veteran’s claim does not include adequate proof of a “stressor” — the specific event or events that trigger the mental illness — the veteran will be asked to provide more information and could ultimately lose benefits.
…
Col. Charles Hoge, chief of psychiatry and behavior services at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, said that while most service members with PTSD can identify incidents that affected them deeply — for instance, their worst firefight, losing a buddy or seeing injured children — “the reality is that there are also stressors that are ongoing.”
Hoge has found evidence of PTSD symptoms in about 15 percent to 17 percent of service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-1028712.php
By Rebecca Carroll
Associated Press
The government is going to take a new look at the claims of about a third of the military veterans who now get disability payments for post-traumatic stress disorder.
The Veterans Affairs Department will begin a yearlong review next month of 72,000 cases after an internal study found inconsistencies in the way the claims were decided, including many cases approved though they lacked required medical evidence.
…
The review will cover veterans whose claims were approved between 1999 and 2004 and who receive full disability benefits — $2,299 a month — for PTSD alone or in combination with other conditions, said VA spokesman Phil Budahn.
The review won’t consider the other side of the question, whether some veterans were wrongly denied benefits, and that has some critics upset.
…
Randy Reese, national service director for Disabled American Veterans, complained that the review would divert resources from the VA’s backlog of several hundred thousand disability claims yet to be processed.
…
If the current review finds a veteran’s claim does not include adequate proof of a “stressor” — the specific event or events that trigger the mental illness — the veteran will be asked to provide more information and could ultimately lose benefits.
…
Col. Charles Hoge, chief of psychiatry and behavior services at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, said that while most service members with PTSD can identify incidents that affected them deeply — for instance, their worst firefight, losing a buddy or seeing injured children — “the reality is that there are also stressors that are ongoing.”
Hoge has found evidence of PTSD symptoms in about 15 percent to 17 percent of service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-1028712.php
Another way of the "SHRUB" administration showing its support for the G.I. that served and is serving in his Iraq Fiasco as well as Afghanistan .
And a total disgrace to the the Veteran that did his time for this government!
This is how the "SHRUB" and his Chickenhawk NeoCon SOB'S support the G.I.'S and Vets of the U.S. of A. XicanoPwr.
They will not be happy until they take away every disability check that any Vet now gets! Bank on that!
Then they will whack the Military pensions---watch!
Hang Tough ~
Good post here.... exposing the quiet workings of our backstabbing govt... while they create and cause more casualties in their corrupt crusade around the globe, those here in America, civilian and veterans will suffer with less incomes and higher inflated costs. It's the growing trend sheeple.... but proud that you support the most corrupt underhanded govt regime in our history. Always note how this govt shuffles $100s of billions to other countries and themselves.... yearly!
Below is the VVA's take on the situation.
http://www.vva.org/TheVeteran/2005_07/gov.htm
July/August 2005
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
The Continuing Fight For Adequate VA Funding
What has become abundantly clear is that there is a widespread, concerted, and coordinated effort to delegitimize veterans in order to cut medical care funds as well as veterans’ benefits (primarily compensation and pension) funds in order to save money for other priorities.
VVA has no opinion as an organization on those other priorities, whether they be the war in Iraq or the large tax cuts that became the first tax cuts of any kind during wartime in our nation’s history. But it appears that the pie is shrinking deliberately for all other needs. Therefore, the growth of spending for veterans—by those lights—must be held below inflation or reduced to fulfill those other priorities.
Now we have the Inspector General weighing in with a report supposedly on disparities in adjudication of veterans’ claims that is being used by the administration to question the validity of PTSD claims, instead of trying to fix their very broken adjudication system. And we have the four-year failure of the Department of Labor to publish regulations even to try to enforce the Jobs for Veterans Act, which would give veterans, particularly disabled veterans and recently separated veterans, priority of service at all programs funded by or through federal funds from Labor.
CUTTING THE ROLLS
Bill Russo, chief of Regulations for the VA’s Compensation and Pension Service, gave a presentation on Individual Unemployability. He explained that the VA had established a policy that all veterans unable to secure and hold a substantially gainful occupation because of a service-connected disability will be rated as totally disabled. While IU was established in 1941, regulations do not define what a “substantially gainful occupation” actually is.
Russo noted that the number of veterans rated totally disabled on the basis of IU has doubled in the past six years. Veterans with PTSD and other mental conditions account for some 88,000 of the more than 213,000 veterans who currently receive IU.
Deputy Inspector General Jon Wooditch and Assistant IG Mike Staley presented the results of the IG report on variances in VA disability payments. Ron Aument, Deputy Under Secretary for Benefits, gave the Veterans Benefit Administration response to the IG report.
There is a significant disparity in compensation payments to veterans. Illinois is at the back of the pack, with an average of $6,961; in New Mexico, the average is more than $12,000. The national average is $8,370. Why does this exist? It’s mostly a matter of demographics, the VA representatives explained. Also, a veteran represented by a veterans’ service officer receives on average $5,000 more than a veteran who represents himself. Enlisted men and women receive some $1,775 more than officers. Military retirees receive more. Vietnam veterans receive some $2,300 more than veterans in the next highest period of service.
Although some variance in compensation “is to be expected,” Wooditch said, the magnitude of the variance needs looking into. The IG’s preliminary conclusion about why there is such inconsistency in benefits ratings cites several likely culprits. First and foremost is what he called “an antiquated rating schedule.” Since over 90 percent of the rating schedule has been updated since 1990, this is not an accurate statement.
Wooditch noted that the problem is not in ratings for physical wounds; these are consistent from state to state. The inconsistency lies in evaluations of PTSD and other mental-health conditions. He said that PTSD compensation rose from some 120,000 cases in FY1999 to some 200,000 cases in FY 2004. He said that the cost of PTSD compensation has risen from some $1.7 billion to more than $4 billion over the same time period. He said that compensation for PTSD, which represents 9 percent of all compensation cases, is 21 percent of the total compensation outlay. He also said that of some 2,000 cases that the IG looked into, they found an error rate of about 25 percent, accounting for some $824 million in 2004. Part of the problem, Wooditch opined, is that there is a “disincentive to get better.”
The IG sent a questionnaire to 1,992 rating adjudicators; 1,342 of them responded. Fully 25 percent reported insufficient staff as the main problem. Wooditch, echoing administration statements, said that one possible remedy is to give lump-sum payments to any veteran with a disability rating of 20 percent or less. This could free up staff to do quality work on other compensation cases, he said.
VVA believes that it might also help VA to adjudicate PTSD claims more equitably if they used their own manual and protocol for the Compensation and Pension exam, which they do not, because they say it is too expensive. They also do not use that manual in training their adjudication staff. It is no wonder, since they do not follow their own procedures, that there is no consistency in the ratings from regional office to regional office, or even adjudicator to adjudicator in the same office.
Wooditch said that fraud is also one of the culprits, but “we do not know how much fraud exists.” In a five-year period, the IG’s office discovered some 8,500 cases of fraud totaling some $600-plus million. He did not go into great detail, however, seemingly preferring to let the media and others draw the implication that all these problems may be the fault of veterans, instead of an ineffective system.
In the very brief public-comment period, a former VA adjudicator said that this perceived disparity is familiar. “It’s the same problem now as in 1980,” he said. He noted that more than 90 percent of all claims are handled without any criticism. “PTSD and other mental disorders are driving this train,” he said.
Below is the VVA's take on the situation.
http://www.vva.org/TheVeteran/2005_07/gov.htm
July/August 2005
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
The Continuing Fight For Adequate VA Funding
What has become abundantly clear is that there is a widespread, concerted, and coordinated effort to delegitimize veterans in order to cut medical care funds as well as veterans’ benefits (primarily compensation and pension) funds in order to save money for other priorities.
VVA has no opinion as an organization on those other priorities, whether they be the war in Iraq or the large tax cuts that became the first tax cuts of any kind during wartime in our nation’s history. But it appears that the pie is shrinking deliberately for all other needs. Therefore, the growth of spending for veterans—by those lights—must be held below inflation or reduced to fulfill those other priorities.
Now we have the Inspector General weighing in with a report supposedly on disparities in adjudication of veterans’ claims that is being used by the administration to question the validity of PTSD claims, instead of trying to fix their very broken adjudication system. And we have the four-year failure of the Department of Labor to publish regulations even to try to enforce the Jobs for Veterans Act, which would give veterans, particularly disabled veterans and recently separated veterans, priority of service at all programs funded by or through federal funds from Labor.
CUTTING THE ROLLS
Bill Russo, chief of Regulations for the VA’s Compensation and Pension Service, gave a presentation on Individual Unemployability. He explained that the VA had established a policy that all veterans unable to secure and hold a substantially gainful occupation because of a service-connected disability will be rated as totally disabled. While IU was established in 1941, regulations do not define what a “substantially gainful occupation” actually is.
Russo noted that the number of veterans rated totally disabled on the basis of IU has doubled in the past six years. Veterans with PTSD and other mental conditions account for some 88,000 of the more than 213,000 veterans who currently receive IU.
Deputy Inspector General Jon Wooditch and Assistant IG Mike Staley presented the results of the IG report on variances in VA disability payments. Ron Aument, Deputy Under Secretary for Benefits, gave the Veterans Benefit Administration response to the IG report.
There is a significant disparity in compensation payments to veterans. Illinois is at the back of the pack, with an average of $6,961; in New Mexico, the average is more than $12,000. The national average is $8,370. Why does this exist? It’s mostly a matter of demographics, the VA representatives explained. Also, a veteran represented by a veterans’ service officer receives on average $5,000 more than a veteran who represents himself. Enlisted men and women receive some $1,775 more than officers. Military retirees receive more. Vietnam veterans receive some $2,300 more than veterans in the next highest period of service.
Although some variance in compensation “is to be expected,” Wooditch said, the magnitude of the variance needs looking into. The IG’s preliminary conclusion about why there is such inconsistency in benefits ratings cites several likely culprits. First and foremost is what he called “an antiquated rating schedule.” Since over 90 percent of the rating schedule has been updated since 1990, this is not an accurate statement.
Wooditch noted that the problem is not in ratings for physical wounds; these are consistent from state to state. The inconsistency lies in evaluations of PTSD and other mental-health conditions. He said that PTSD compensation rose from some 120,000 cases in FY1999 to some 200,000 cases in FY 2004. He said that the cost of PTSD compensation has risen from some $1.7 billion to more than $4 billion over the same time period. He said that compensation for PTSD, which represents 9 percent of all compensation cases, is 21 percent of the total compensation outlay. He also said that of some 2,000 cases that the IG looked into, they found an error rate of about 25 percent, accounting for some $824 million in 2004. Part of the problem, Wooditch opined, is that there is a “disincentive to get better.”
The IG sent a questionnaire to 1,992 rating adjudicators; 1,342 of them responded. Fully 25 percent reported insufficient staff as the main problem. Wooditch, echoing administration statements, said that one possible remedy is to give lump-sum payments to any veteran with a disability rating of 20 percent or less. This could free up staff to do quality work on other compensation cases, he said.
VVA believes that it might also help VA to adjudicate PTSD claims more equitably if they used their own manual and protocol for the Compensation and Pension exam, which they do not, because they say it is too expensive. They also do not use that manual in training their adjudication staff. It is no wonder, since they do not follow their own procedures, that there is no consistency in the ratings from regional office to regional office, or even adjudicator to adjudicator in the same office.
Wooditch said that fraud is also one of the culprits, but “we do not know how much fraud exists.” In a five-year period, the IG’s office discovered some 8,500 cases of fraud totaling some $600-plus million. He did not go into great detail, however, seemingly preferring to let the media and others draw the implication that all these problems may be the fault of veterans, instead of an ineffective system.
In the very brief public-comment period, a former VA adjudicator said that this perceived disparity is familiar. “It’s the same problem now as in 1980,” he said. He noted that more than 90 percent of all claims are handled without any criticism. “PTSD and other mental disorders are driving this train,” he said.
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