Veterans Benefits Blog

The Department of Veterans Affairs has requested a significant increase in its funding because of an increase in all claims and growth in the severity of disabilities among veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The severity of disabilities means higher ratings and larger benefit checks for recipients.

In addition to being more severe, veterans' disabilities have become more complex. The average disability claim lists 8.5 disabilities, double the number of disabilities claimed by veterans a generation ago. The average annual pay for disabled veterans in 2000, adjusted for inflation, was $8,927. Today, the average disability pay is $11,737.

This story about a WWII veteran falls into the Better Late Than Never category. A southern Ohio veteran who fought at the Battle of the Bulge finally got his full disability benefits. He almost froze to death in January of 1945 and sat out the remainder of the war. His daily reminder of that time is the severe stiffness and skin disorders caused by extensive frostbite. And he fought for 60 years to get benefits for his injuries, finally receiving full disability benefits in 2005.

A TV station in Biloxi, MS, WLOX, is reporting on its investigation into challenges experienced by veterans who are seeking disability benefits. The station began working on the story in part because of many phone calls and emails from frustrated and confused veterans.

 If you have applied for VA disability benefits in the past year and are still waiting for an answer - any answer - you are probably stuck in the VA's disability benefits backlog. Nearly half a million vets are waiting just to hear whether their claims were processed.

Some for-profit colleges, sometimes called career colleges, may be preying on veterans and trying to take advantage of the educational benefits many veterans receive. Senator Dick Durbin, D-IL, plans to introduce legislation to take away the financial incentive for proprietary schools to enrol veterans in their programs. These colleges have been accused of misleading students - not just veterans - who often graduate with certificates and associates' or bachelor's degrees that are difficult to convert into jobs.

The Veterans Administration will give Persian Gulf War veterans an additional five years to qualify for benefits for undiagnosed illnesses, sometimes known as Gulf War Syndrome. What this means is that veterans with undiagnosed illnesses may still be able to qualify for disabiity benefits, even though the original deadline of December 31, 2011, has passed.

Most disabled veterans know that they can tap into an array of VA benefits. However, knowing this and actually receiving payments are different things entirely. Obtaining veterans benefits can be complicated and presents numerous challenges. That's why the Department of Veterans Affairs holds "supermarkets" around the country to help veterans get started.

Congress presented the Department of Veterans Affairs with a holiday bonus - a 3.6 percent increase in discretionary funding for 2012. Although not as much as the White House requested, this appropriation for veterans' benefits represents a greater increase than many other federal agencies received.

When you are trying to obtain veterans disability benefits, having the advocacy of a national firm that focuses on helping veterans can be of great assistance and look out for your rights. Although it should be easy, getting benefits from the VA can be confusing and intimidating, with a unique set of rules and a language of its own. Focus on veterans benefits - that is all we do. We understand the process and can help you obtain the benefits you need and deserve.

At Rep For Vets^TM, we assist clients across the United States who have encountered roadblocks while trying to obtain their veterans disability and other VA benefits. We know how to get you back on track.

Contact our office by e-mail or call us at 1-888-5 REPVET (573-7838) to discuss your situation.

Our VA Benefits Blog

We established this blog to provide valuable information to military veterans everywhere who are having trouble obtaining the benefits to which they are entitled. We will regularly update this blog, posting on a wide range of VA benefit topics, Including veterans disability benefits, veterans education benefits, veterans health care benefits, veterans family and survivor benefits and other veterans service-related benefits.

We welcome your participation in the discussions on this blog. Feel free to comment on posts that interest you.

It's important to note that the stories and cases reported on this blog are not meant to implicitly or explicitly depict cases actively handled by our firm. In most cases, the blog will simply be covering cases similar to those we are interested in handling.

Contact Our Office

Contact us online or call us at Call 1-888-5 REPVET (573-7838) for more information.

We've blogged about Compassionate Allowances and the Medical Listing of Impairments before. Both share a very important role: they offer expedited avenues for individuals with severe impairments who meet specific requirement to receive their benefits as quickly as possible. 

The Medical Listing of Impairments includes 14 different subgroups that classify specific impairments for each of the major body systems that the Social Security Administration considers to be severe enough to prevent an individual from doing any gainful activity, regardless of his or her age, education, or past work experience. Some individuals will, without a doubt, "meet" a Medical Listing. Some individuals, on the other hand, may "equal" a Medical Listing. This means that, although they do not specifically meet the requirements, the severity of their impairment is equal to that of an individual who does meet the requirements.

As always, we're constantly on the look out for ways to help our clients. While the Compassionate Allowance and Medical Listing of Impairments are wonderful tools, they are not all inclusive. The Social Security Administration recently released a Program Operating Manual System (POMS) update regarding the finding of a disability based on the Listing of Impairments. Within the update, an example is used to explain an "unlisted impairment." This example compares an individual with chronic migraine headaches to the requirements of Medical Listing 11.03 (a Listing for non-convulsive Epilepsy).

At current time, a Medical Listing of Impairment for migraine headaches does not exist--but, that doesn't mean they aren't disabling. At Binder and Binder®, we know that headache sufferers may endure recurring headaches, migraines and cluster headaches, and these can keep them from working, spending time with their kids, and functioning normally in the world. We're constantly on the lookout for ways to help our clients when it comes to proving their disability.