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DoD AND VA ANNOUNCE EXPEDITED DISABILITY
EVALUATION
SYSTEM PROCESS -- "This new policy should allow
service
members and their families to focus on the
essentials of
recovery, reintegration, employment and
independent
living, with the combined assistance from DoD and
VA."
The following is a DoD news release.
Story here...
http://www.defenselink.m
il/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=12457
Story below:
Your comments accepted at bottom of
page.
Share story/email link.
-------------------------
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 049-09
Defense Department Announces Expedited Disability Evaluation System
Process For Combat Wounded
The Department of Defense announced today, in collaboration with the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), a process designed to expedite a
service member seriously injured in combat from military to veteran
status, by waiving the standard Disability Evaluation System (DES),
resulting in receipt of benefits in three to four months, compared to a
recovery and standard DES process that would normally take much longer.
“This new policy should allow service members and their families to focus
on the essentials of recovery, reintegration, employment and independent
living, with the combined assistance from DoD and VA,” said Acting Under
Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Michael L. Dominguez.
“The policy supports our belief that there must be a distinction for those
who incur devastating disabilities in combat.”
The expedited process applies to service members whose conditions are
designated as “catastrophic” and whose injuries were incurred in the line
of duty as a direct result of armed conflict. A catastrophic injury or
illness is a permanent, severely disabling injury, disorder, or disease
that compromises the ability to carry out the activities of daily living
to such a degree that a service member or veteran requires personal or
mechanical assistance to leave home or bed, or requires constant
supervision to avoid physical harm to self or others.
 Service
members who participate in the expedited process will be rated by DoD at a
combined rating of 100 percent, and the VA will identify the full range of
benefits, compensation and specialty care offered by the VA. Dominguez
emphasized that the new process is optional for qualifying service
members.
“Service members and their families will be empowered to decide, after
counseling on the options and potential concerns and benefits, the most
appropriate choice for their situation,” said Dominguez.
The policy provides special consideration and exception for members who
retire under the expedited DES process to reenter the service with a
waiver, should they subsequently request reentry to the service after
recovery and rehabilitation.
The expedited policy differs from the DES pilot program, currently
underway to test a new process design eliminating the duplicative and time
consuming elements of the current standard disability processes at DoD and
VA. Key features of the DES pilot include one medical examination and a
single-sourced disability rating. To date, more than 1,000 service members
have participated in the pilot during the last 14 months.
-------------------------
posted by Larry Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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