In a special town hall event on Nov. 8, 2023, VA Secretary Denis McDonough addressed the top requested concerns from veterans and their families, caregivers and survivors.
The one-hour town hall was streamed live on YouTube. If you missed it, you can watch it here:
Why is it so difficult and take so long to increase a disability rating?
VA is determined to provide Veterans efficient, quality service and recognizes that timeliness is an important aspect of that service, which is why VA uses timeliness as an indicator to monitor the general effectiveness of the claims process. This past year, VA decided claims almost 20 days faster than the year before.
VA encourages Veterans that have questions about their claim or disability rating to contact VA at 1-800-MyVA411 (1-800-698-2411). Veterans can also meet in-person with a public contact representative at a local VA regional office.
Why is it so hard for us to get community care referrals when care is not available at VA?
Community care is a force-multiplier for VA care — it’s an essential part of our portfolio of care options for Veterans. That includes in-person, telehealth, or being seen at one of our clinical contact centers, such as VA Health Connect. In fiscal year 2023, over 2.4 million Veterans received community care, and over the past several years we’ve continued to make improvements to the overall community care experience. As of May 2023, our overall satisfaction score for community care was 85.3%, the highest ever.
To get a community care referral, of course, you have to be eligible based on your specific health care needs and circumstances. If you meet a least one of the six criteria, our staff is required to make it an option for you as long as the care is available through an in-network community provider. In-network is important because they have to meet our standards and requirements; this is how we make sure Veterans are getting high-quality care that’s properly coordinated with VA.
I’m a Veteran who lives too far from a VA national cemetery. I want my family to be able to visit me if they choose. What options do I have?
In addition to VA’s National Cemeteries, VA also works with State Cemetery partners who run their cemeteries in accordance with the very high standards the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) sets. We encourage you to look at the State and Tribal Cemeteries in your area that offer burials for Veterans and their spouse. Also, there are even smaller municipalities, such as counties, that have Veterans cemeteries as well.
Even if you choose to be buried in a private cemetery, NCA still can make and ship your earned government headstone or flat bronze marker absolutely free (there may be an installation fee that a private cemetery charges). Finally, if you go with a private cemetery and a private headstone, you still can have a medallion from VA affixed to your headstone that annotates your branch of military service.
When will VA propose a rule to allow for gender confirmation surgery?
VA is committed to delivering timely access to world-class health care and earned benefits to all Veterans, family members, survivors and caregivers. VA is actively working on a gender affirming surgery regulatory action.
Why does it take so long to get an answer on a Veterans appeal?
As a surviving spouse I need the help of that benefit to make ends meet, especially now with costs rising; it is very hard on one paycheck.
The Board of Veterans Appeals understands that many Veterans and appellants have been waiting a long time for a decision. We acknowledge that this wait can be very frustrating, and we want to explain why getting a Board decision can take a long time and what options are available to Veterans and appellants that may reduce the time they have to wait for a decision.
The Veterans Benefits Administration usually takes 12 to 18 months to review appeals and decide whether to grant some or all of the appeal. The good news is that the line is now moving faster because of increased resources and improved processes under the newer AMA system. I can report to you that in the last 5 years, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) has issued a total of 496,012 appeals decisions, 103,245 during fiscal year 2023 alone, a new historical record. However, we are also aware that despite the high numbers of decisions each year, there are still over 200,000 pending appeals waiting in line for a decision.
The Board notes this is down substantially from nearly 475,000 appeals waiting for a decision just 6 years ago, which is significant considering the increasing number of Veterans who have filed an appeal at the Board in recent years. We have Congress to thank for providing enough resources for the Board to hire more Veterans Law Judges, supporting counsel and staff to help resolve and process these appeals.
Is it possible to have a rating increase posthumously? My husband passed in 2019. Why aren’t benefits retroactive to 2012 when he first filed?
Accrued benefits may exist:
* if the decision was made within the past 12-months, which can still be appealed, or
* based on evidence in the file on the date of death, or
* if an eligible claimant continues a claim that was pending on the date of the Veteran’s death.
A claim pending on the date of death means a claim that had not been finally adjudicated on or before the date of death, including a claim in which the period to file an appeal has not yet expired. Claimants who wish to apply for accrued benefits should use VA Form 21P-601, “Application for Accrued Amounts Due a Deceased Beneficiary.”
The retroactive amount due and date of entitlement is dependent on many factors. Generally, decisions are considered final one year after the date of a decision notice, unless an appeal was filed. Claims filed after the one-year period expires establish a new entitlement date. This includes claims for increased rating evaluation. The ability to provide retroactive benefits once a claim is closed is limited to either authorization from Congress to provide an earlier effective date or for cases in which it is determined that VA made a clear and unmistakable error.
Are you aware that travel benefits do not work for everyone?
One of VA’s highest priorities is reducing barriers to VA health care and services. It is recognized transportation barriers may pose significant challenges for Veterans.
VA travel pay reimburses eligible Veterans and VA caregivers for mileage and other travel expenses to and from approved health care appointments. The Beneficiary Travel program is predominantly a reimbursement mechanism for mileage-based transport in privately-owned vehicles for Veterans who are 30 percent or more service connected, traveling for a service-connected condition, in receipt of VA pension or fall below VA income guidelines. In addition, these Veterans may be aided with Special Mode Transportation (e.g., ambulance, ground, or air), or common carrier such as taxi, or rideshares such as Uber, Lyft, bus or airfare.
Additionally, all Veterans may be provided cost-free transportation assistance through Veterans Transportation Services, available at over 125 VA medical centers. VA does an extensive amount of collaboration to connect Veterans to services provided by local state Veterans service agencies such as Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and other Veterans Service Organizations.
For more information on these programs, see www.va.gov/healthbenefits/vtp.
