Printer Friendly Page
VA SAYS THERE IS NO AUTOMATIC DENIAL OF
FIRST-TIME
CLAIMS -- "We're unbiased arbitrators of the
law with
regard to veterans' rights and also to taxpayer
interest."
Although this story comes out of Ohio, the VA
spokesperson is singing the company tune...you would get the same answer
anywhere in the country.
For more about denials of VA claims, use the VA Watchdog search
engine...click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/ses
search.php?q=claim+deny&op=and
Story here...
http://www.mountvernon
news.com/local/07/08/22/va.refutes.html
Story below:
-------------------------
VA refutes claims about first-time denials
By Melissa Raines, News Staff Reporter
MOUNT VERNON — Questions about veterans’ access to disability benefits
in Ohio, and the discrepancy between benefits paid to Ohio vets and
those in other states, continue.
“We’re unbiased arbitrators of the law with regard to veterans’ rights
and also to taxpayer interest,” said Darlene Ehrler, public affairs
officer for the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in
Cleveland.
Last year, the Cleveland office processed just over 24,000 claims. The
VA will not say how many of those claims were granted, how many were
denied or how many are still being appealed.
“We do not track our grant or denial rates,” Ehrler said.
Many local veterans feel their disability claims receive first-time
denials as a matter of policy. The VA denies this. According to Ehrler,
“there is no inclination to do a first-time denial.”
“That is not a fair assessment. We decide each service-connected service
compensation claim on its own merits, and we have what’s called a duty
to assist obligation,” she said.
Knox County Veterans Service Officer Trent Ansel said he deals with
veterans all the time who have had claims denied, and who have become
frustrated with a system that may take years to adjudicate.
“We get so disheartened by the reactions they get out of Cleveland,”
said Ansel.
Ehrler said the accusation that the VA makes the disability claims
process difficult enough that many veterans simply give up the process,
or die waiting for an answer that takes many years, is unfounded.
“That’s been a low blow against VA for years,” she said.
After a VA internal study released earlier this summer revealed that
Ohio’s disabled veterans receive the least amount of disability pay, on
average, of veterans anywhere in the country, veterans, their advocacy
groups and Ohio political leaders demanded answers. Those answers have
been slow in coming.
“Well, I know what study you’re talking about and, unfortunately, we are
not really allowed to speak about that,” Ehrler said, referring the News
to a Washington, D.C., phone number. At press time, calls to that number
had not been returned.
Ohio disability benefits average $7,556; benefits in New Mexico, the
top-ranked state, average $12,395.
Congressman Zack Space, D-Dover, said the discrepancy concerns him, and
that one of his priorities since taking office has been to study the
veterans disability benefits system.
“We want to find out not just what’s wrong with it but how we can make
it better,” he said.
According to the Associated Press, the study showed that one-third of
the problems could be blamed on poor VA standards and inadequate
training.
Ehrler said that a VA review of the Cleveland office actually found its
accuracy in rating claims to be higher than the national average. When
asked if she thought this meant that the disparity between benefits paid
to Ohio’s veterans and those in other states meant other veterans were
receiving benefits that were too high, Ehrler answered, “I can’t speak
on that, and I certainly can’t speak on other offices, but I know that
our accuracy here is higher than the national average.”
According to Ehrler, the national accuracy rate is 89 percent;
Cleveland’s is 95 percent. Those figures are provided by VA reviews.
The Cleveland office processes claims for the entire state. Ehrler said
that ratings Veterans service representatives, who are primarily
attorneys and nurses, “actually look at the law in light of the medical
evidence” to determine if a veteran is eligible for benefits.
“If we are able to grant a benefit we certainly do, and we try to grant
as much as we can, and we only deny if we must,” she said.
However, according to the Associated Press, the study report found that
disability raters in regional offices often had too much power and
discretion in deciding how much pay to which a veteran was entitled.
Space agreed, and said improved training for the people doing the rating
is necessary.
Without accurate statistics about claims and their outcomes, it’s
impossible to know how many Ohio veterans have actually succeeded in
receiving benefits, and how many have given up or been turned down.
Space said he will continue to work with veterans and their advocacy
groups for resolutions to their concerns.
“We have an absolute obligation to the brave men and women who have
served our country,” he said.
-------------------------
Larry Scott --
