More Than a Yellow Ribbon...

by: liberaltexan

Mon Jan 05, 2009 at 08:44 PM CST

As reported by Miller-McCune veterans are returning home to find that the Department of Veterans Affairs is not providing the support for veterans that it should. According to the article veterans face a wait of six months to two years to receive benefits.

Those who appeal a VA decision to deny their disability claims have to wait an average of 1,608 days, or nearly four and a half years, for their answer. During this process, veterans often fall through the cracks into homelessness, hopelessness and self-medication with alcohol and illegal drugs.

As military members are returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan many are experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In the hyper-masculine culture of the military it is difficult for many veterans to admit that they may have PTSD, much less seek the help that they need. This problem is compounded by the amount of time it takes to receive a claim from the VA; it can take months of submitting and resubmitting paperwork until veterans can receive the medical benefits they need.

Since the start of the Iraq war, the backlog of unanswered VA disability claims has grown from 325,000 to more than 600,000. In the six months ending March 31, 2008, a total of 1,467 veterans died waiting to learn if their disability claim would be approved.

However, the system that has been set up by the VA is much like the system that has been set up by many health insurance companies; a system of promotion based on denials.

The VA promotes claims adjudicators based on how many cases they clear, not on whether they make the right decision. "A VA claims official is required to clear 12 claims a day," Roche notes. "If they deny your claim, they can take an 'end product credit.' So as far as statistics go, they have cleared a claim. "Denying 12 claims a day is an easy thing to do."

Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have filed a lawsuit against the federal government; the veterans are alleging that they were illegally denied disability benefits despite being diagnosed with severe cases of PTSD.

"The veterans allege that they each were discharged from duty after an Army review board concluded that they had suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and thus could no longer serve. Yet, in violation of federal law, the suit contends, the veterans' disabilities were not rated severe enough to qualify them for both ongoing disability payments and medical coverage for themselves and their families."

New York City has taken steps of its own to reach out to homeless veterans; $2.3 million was spent remodeling veterans shelter in Long Island City and another $14.8 million has been given to two apartment buildings where onsite counseling is provided within walking distance of James J. Peters V.A. Medical Center.

According to Change.gov President Elect Barack Obama has pledged to "end benefit disparities, bring homeless veterans in off the street, strengthen mental health care, add billions of dollars in additional Department of Veterans Affairs funding, and reform a system that often places barriers between veterans and the benefits they have earned." It is imperative that we hold him to his promise.

When Army General Eric Shinseki was announced as the nominee for Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs by President Elect Barack Obama, Shinseki said, "If confirmed, I will work each and every day to ensure that we are serving you as well as you have served us. We will pursue a 21st Century VA that serves your needs."

These needs are going to continue to increase as veterans return home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and as the country continues to go through a recession it will continue to strain the private organizations and charities that provide help for veterans. The Department of Veterans Affairs must provide the money and personal to help provide assistants for our nation's homeless veterans, because just one veteran living on the streets or living without the health care they need is a national disgrace.

For more information on homeless veterans visit:
National Coalition for Homeless Veterans

Political and social thought...
to the Left of College Station