DAV Magazine — July/August 2016
LEGISLATIVE Update
1
Appeals reform moving forward in Congress
Over the last several years, the doubling of disability claims being filed with the Department of Veterans Affairs has led to a proportionate increase in appeals and, thus, more lengthy decision times and backlogs.
DAV, in a joint effort with multiple veterans service organizations (VSOs), helped broker a breakthrough with VA officials this spring that could lead to major reform of the claims and appeals process.
“Over a very compressed but intensive couple of months that included a number of closed-door, allday sessions, we were able to reach general consensus on principles and features of a new appeals system,” said DAV National Service Director Jim Marszalek. “We were able to build on similar efforts from an earlier workgroup that put together the ‘fully developed appeals’ legislation that passed the full House and the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees.”
A workgroup that included leaders from DAV, other major VSOs, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) was convened in March to modernize the claims and appeals process. The goal was to create a simpler and more efficient system to provide veterans with timely, transparent and fair resolution of their claims and appeals.
The core principle of the new framework is providing veterans with multiple options, or “lanes,” to challenge an initial decision on a claim, each designed for different circumstances. One lane would be for a quick review of a claim based on the same evidence but by a higher-level VBA claims adjudicator; a second lane would be for submitting additional evidence and having the entire claim readjudicated as a supplemental claim by VBA; and a third lane would be for filing formal appeals to be reviewed at the Board by a veterans law judge.
To ensure veterans have the maximum opportunity to receive the correct decision in a fair and timely manner, a veteran not fully satisfied with the result of a decision from one lane would have one year to seek another review in a different lane, while still preserving an effective date for benefits based upon the original filing of the claim. For example, a veteran could go straight from an initial decision on a claim to an appeal to the Board. If that decision were unfavorable—but it helped the veteran understand what evidence was needed to support the claim— the veteran would then have the option to submit that evidence as a supplemental claim without fearing an effective-date penalty for choosing to go to the Board first.
“Enactment of this appeals reform legislation would not only improve the experience of veterans and deliver more timely results, but it could also improve quality,” said Marszalek. A hearing on comprehensive appeals reform legislation was held in May by the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and further legislative action is possible this fall.
2
Legislation proposed to increase specialized care for women veterans
Rep. Corrine Brown, ranking member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, introduced H.R. 2054, a bill that would provide increased access to VA health care for women veterans.
The bill would require the VA to ensure continuous availability of gender-specific services at every VA health care facility, including community-based clinics.
As documented in DAV’s September 2014 report, “Women Veterans: The Long Journey Home,” women veterans are the fastest growing demographic in the VA’s current treatment population, but VA has struggled to keep pace with the rate of growth. DAV made a series of recommendations both to the VA and Congress to improve services and programs to ensure they meet the unique needs of women veterans. The Brown bill is a direct outgrowth of DAV’s efforts.
In addition to Brown’s bill, Rep. Julia Brownley introduced H.R. 2915, the Female Veteran Suicide Prevention Act. If enacted, this bill would identify mental health and suicide prevention programs that are the most effective with the best outcomes among at-risk women veterans. The bill would require the VA to report the results of this analysis to the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees.
“According to VA, the suicide rate is six times higher for women veterans compared to civilian women,” DAV National Legislative Director Joy Ilem testified before the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. “Increased suicide rates are also reported among women who have experienced military sexual trauma.”
VA experts are examining the many reasons suicide rates among women veterans are higher, including military sexual trauma. Ilem noted, “It was interesting to learn that women veterans who used VA health services were 75 percent less likely to die by suicide than women veterans who did not use VA, suggesting timely access to care is essential for suicide prevention.
“We do, however, suggest that there be improved access for women veterans to specialized inpatient and residential mental health programs to ensure recovery and effective reintegration,” added Ilem. “VA must ensure all its mental health programs meet the unique needs of women veterans, including safety and privacy concerns.”
3
Homeless veterans in need of support
Sen. Richard Blumenthal introduced S. 1885, the Veteran Housing Stability Act of 2015. This bill would expand service and assistance to include veterans who are homeless, at risk of becoming homeless and with very low incomes. This expansion would also assist veterans moving into transitional housing with eventually gaining permanent residential occupancy. In addition, this bill would expand the current definition of “covered veteran” to include a veteran who is enrolled in the VA homeless registry.
According to the DAV 2015 Veterans Pulse Survey, 25 percent of veterans see homelessness as one of the biggest challenges facing veterans today.
“That is a significant number,” said DAV Assistant National Legislative Director Shurhonda Love. “That tells us that a quarter of our veteran population have seen or experienced this sad epidemic. The law needs to change to protect our nation’s heroes. The Veteran Housing Stability Act can do just that.”
This legislation would require the VA to implement case management oversight for veterans enrolled in the homeless registry and participating in programs falling under the homeless veteran category. The bill would also designate intense case-management sites in three locations with the highest homeless veteran populations, plus three in suburban or rural areas. It would also permanently authorize the National Center for Homelessness Among Veterans.
The bill would require the VA to conduct outreach, educating housing authorities and others with housing resources about the needs of veterans and the benefits of having veterans as tenants, while building upon community relationships. It would establish criteria to use for determining success or failure of the services provided and would require related reports.
Appeals reform moving forward in Congress
Over the last several years, the doubling of disability claims being filed with the Department of Veterans Affairs has led to a proportionate increase in appeals and, thus, more lengthy decision times and backlogs.
DAV, in a joint effort with multiple veterans service organizations (VSOs), helped broker a breakthrough with VA officials this spring that could lead to major reform of the claims and appeals process.
“Over a very compressed but intensive couple of months that included a number of closed-door, allday sessions, we were able to reach general consensus on principles and features of a new appeals system,” said DAV National Service Director Jim Marszalek. “We were able to build on similar efforts from an earlier workgroup that put together the ‘fully developed appeals’ legislation that passed the full House and the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees.”
A workgroup that included leaders from DAV, other major VSOs, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) was convened in March to modernize the claims and appeals process. The goal was to create a simpler and more efficient system to provide veterans with timely, transparent and fair resolution of their claims and appeals.
The core principle of the new framework is providing veterans with multiple options, or “lanes,” to challenge an initial decision on a claim, each designed for different circumstances. One lane would be for a quick review of a claim based on the same evidence but by a higher-level VBA claims adjudicator; a second lane would be for submitting additional evidence and having the entire claim readjudicated as a supplemental claim by VBA; and a third lane would be for filing formal appeals to be reviewed at the Board by a veterans law judge.
To ensure veterans have the maximum opportunity to receive the correct decision in a fair and timely manner, a veteran not fully satisfied with the result of a decision from one lane would have one year to seek another review in a different lane, while still preserving an effective date for benefits based upon the original filing of the claim. For example, a veteran could go straight from an initial decision on a claim to an appeal to the Board. If that decision were unfavorable—but it helped the veteran understand what evidence was needed to support the claim— the veteran would then have the option to submit that evidence as a supplemental claim without fearing an effective-date penalty for choosing to go to the Board first.
“Enactment of this appeals reform legislation would not only improve the experience of veterans and deliver more timely results, but it could also improve quality,” said Marszalek. A hearing on comprehensive appeals reform legislation was held in May by the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and further legislative action is possible this fall.
2
Legislation proposed to increase specialized care for women veterans
Rep. Corrine Brown, ranking member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, introduced H.R. 2054, a bill that would provide increased access to VA health care for women veterans.
The bill would require the VA to ensure continuous availability of gender-specific services at every VA health care facility, including community-based clinics.
As documented in DAV’s September 2014 report, “Women Veterans: The Long Journey Home,” women veterans are the fastest growing demographic in the VA’s current treatment population, but VA has struggled to keep pace with the rate of growth. DAV made a series of recommendations both to the VA and Congress to improve services and programs to ensure they meet the unique needs of women veterans. The Brown bill is a direct outgrowth of DAV’s efforts.
In addition to Brown’s bill, Rep. Julia Brownley introduced H.R. 2915, the Female Veteran Suicide Prevention Act. If enacted, this bill would identify mental health and suicide prevention programs that are the most effective with the best outcomes among at-risk women veterans. The bill would require the VA to report the results of this analysis to the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees.
“According to VA, the suicide rate is six times higher for women veterans compared to civilian women,” DAV National Legislative Director Joy Ilem testified before the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. “Increased suicide rates are also reported among women who have experienced military sexual trauma.”
VA experts are examining the many reasons suicide rates among women veterans are higher, including military sexual trauma. Ilem noted, “It was interesting to learn that women veterans who used VA health services were 75 percent less likely to die by suicide than women veterans who did not use VA, suggesting timely access to care is essential for suicide prevention.
“We do, however, suggest that there be improved access for women veterans to specialized inpatient and residential mental health programs to ensure recovery and effective reintegration,” added Ilem. “VA must ensure all its mental health programs meet the unique needs of women veterans, including safety and privacy concerns.”
3
Homeless veterans in need of support
Sen. Richard Blumenthal introduced S. 1885, the Veteran Housing Stability Act of 2015. This bill would expand service and assistance to include veterans who are homeless, at risk of becoming homeless and with very low incomes. This expansion would also assist veterans moving into transitional housing with eventually gaining permanent residential occupancy. In addition, this bill would expand the current definition of “covered veteran” to include a veteran who is enrolled in the VA homeless registry.
According to the DAV 2015 Veterans Pulse Survey, 25 percent of veterans see homelessness as one of the biggest challenges facing veterans today.
“That is a significant number,” said DAV Assistant National Legislative Director Shurhonda Love. “That tells us that a quarter of our veteran population have seen or experienced this sad epidemic. The law needs to change to protect our nation’s heroes. The Veteran Housing Stability Act can do just that.”
This legislation would require the VA to implement case management oversight for veterans enrolled in the homeless registry and participating in programs falling under the homeless veteran category. The bill would also designate intense case-management sites in three locations with the highest homeless veteran populations, plus three in suburban or rural areas. It would also permanently authorize the National Center for Homelessness Among Veterans.
The bill would require the VA to conduct outreach, educating housing authorities and others with housing resources about the needs of veterans and the benefits of having veterans as tenants, while building upon community relationships. It would establish criteria to use for determining success or failure of the services provided and would require related reports.
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