A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims has ruled unanimously that the Department of Veterans Affairs ignored “plain language” of a 2010 statute meant to protect VA-enrolled veterans from out-of-pocket costs when forced to use non-VA emergency medical care. [more]
Released 4/14/16 | Tags: Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims has ruled unanimously that the Department of Veterans Affairs ignored the “plain language” of a 2010 statute meant to protect VA-enrolled veterans from out-of-pocket costs when forced to use non-VA emergency medical care. The panel ordered the Board of Veterans’ Appeals to vacate its decision to deny Air Force veteran Richard W. Staab roughly $48,000 in health care costs he was forced to pay following open-heart surgery in December 2010. The board “failed to properly apply the statute and relied on an invalid regulation” to deny Staab’s claim, the court ruled. [more]
Released 4/14/16 | Tags: Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
The Department of Veterans Affairs must cover $48,000 in emergency medical bills at a non-VA hospital accrued by a veteran who qualifies for Medicare, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims ruled. Richard Staab served in the Air Force as a radio operator from 1952 to 1956. He suffered a heart attack and one or more strokes in 2010 and was hospitalized at a non-VA hospital, where he subsequently underwent open heart surgery. He was discharged six months later. The VA refused to pay his medical bills, saying he was ineligible because he was covered by Medicare — though Staab sought reimbursement for medical expenses not covered by Medicare: $48,000 in laboratory and other hospital services. [more]
Released 4/14/16 | Tags: Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
Veterans who had to medically retire from the military because of combat-related injuries during the last two decades have lost out on thousands of dollars in severance pay because the Defense Department improperly taxed those payments. It’s unclear how many veterans have been affected, but the nonprofit National Veterans Legal Services Program estimated it could be close to 14,000 vets who were wrongfully taxed, going back as far as 1991, for a total of $78 million in lost compensation. [more]
Released 4/7/16 | Tags: Congressional Legislation, Veteran's Benefits
A recent study by the National Veterans Legal Service Program (NVLSP), Swords to Plowshares and Harvard Law School’s Veterans Legal Clinic found that 125,000 veterans with bad paper discharges have been wrongfully denied access to VA health care and benefits due to VA’s strict interpretation of character of discharge eligibility. [more]
Released 4/6/16 | Tags: Discharge Upgrades, Veteran's Benefits
The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is looking into whether a contractor thoroughly reviewed the files of Vietnam veterans who might deserve benefits for illnesses linked to exposure to Agent Orange. A contractor that pre-screens veteran files for evidence of those illnesses often spent just minutes reviewing each file, internal company documents show. [more]
Released 3/31/16 | Tags: Agent Orange
This time, critics are going after the V.A. to denying benefits to a record number of veterans who have served since the 9-11 attacks. At least 125,000 American veterans who served our country since September 11th are being treated by the V.A. as though they never even put on a uniform. The Department of Veterans Affairs has ruled them ineligible for veterans benefits, not because they didn’t sacrifice, but because they left the military without an honorable discharge. [more]
Released 3/31/16 | Tags: Discharge Upgrades, Veteran's Benefits
Critics of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs are going after the VA for denying benefits to a record number of veterans who have served since the September 11th attacks. The report from the veterans advocacy group Swords to Plowshares, the National Veterans Legal Services Program and Harvard University shows at least 125,000 veterans have been ruled ineligible for benefits because they left the military without an honorable discharge. [more]
Released 3/31/16 | Tags: Discharge Upgrades, Veteran's Benefits
A high rate of military veterans are being turned away by the VA, according to a new report. CNN's Jake Tapper looks for answers. [more]
Released 3/31/16 | Tags: Discharge Upgrades, Veteran's Benefits
In what would be the biggest change in veterans benefits since the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, a vets group is petitioning the Department of Veterans Affairs to offer health care to vets kicked out for minor misconduct. The San Francisco-based non-profit group Swords to Plowshares, along with the the National Veterans Legal Services Program, and the Veterans Legal Clinic at Harvard Law School, is launching a public campaign behind the effort Wednesday. A private effort has been underway for months, after the group sent a petition to V.A. Secretary Bob McDonald in December 2015. [more]
Released 3/30/16 | Tags: Discharge Upgrades, Veteran's Benefits