According to an article in statesman.com, Wilmington, NC, written by Associated Press reporter Kevin Maurer, just a fraction of wounded veterans who could get better benefits have applied in the 2 years since Congress ordered the Pentagon to review disputed claims.
As of mid-March, only 921 vets have applied out of the 77,000 the Pentagon estimates are eligible, according to numbers provided to The Associated Press by the Physical Disability Board of Review. The panel was created in 2008 but started taking cases in January 2009.
To read the entire article, click here.
More than 230 cases have been decided, about 60% in favor of improving the veteran’s benefits, while an additional 119 cases were dismissed as ineligible.
At issue are disability ratings based on an injury’s severity and long-term impact. Veterans rated below 30% disabled with less than 20 years of service receive a one-time severance payment instead of a monthly retirement check. Also, their health care switches from the military to the strained VA system, and their families lose military health insurance, says the article.
A rating above 30% means monthly income and military health care for the family.
A disabled service member’s severance pay and monthly retirement is based on active-duty pay, years of service, and whether the service member’s injuries are combat-related.
Congress created the board after investigations found inconsistencies in how the military assigns ratings for the level of disability that soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines have before they are discharged. Veterans advocates protested that the military was manipulating disability ratings to save money, says the article.
The panel is managed by the Air Force and charged with reviewing appeals from former members of the armed forces who received disability ratings of less than 30% from September 11, 2001, to December 31, 2009.
[Source: statesman.com]
