Veteran Affairs Updates

Compiled from VA press releases

Veterans Claims
To achieve the Administration’s commitment on claims processing, more than 1,000 full-time employees - all dedicated to helping veterans directly or to deciding their claims - were added to the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) in the first 180 days of the Bush Administration, marking the largest increase in VBA’s workforce since the Vietnam War.

The President’s FY 2002 budget also provides a 13-percent increase for the VBA that will help address one of the Administration’s top priorities for the VA - improving the timeliness and accuracy of claims processing. That funding commitment will add more than 860 employees to the VA’s compensation and pension program.

Veterans Health Care

The VA medical care budget proposed by the Administration provides a $1 billion increase to support veterans’ health care. That budget includes funds to begin implementing the VA Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES) program recommendations that will improve the quality and accessibility of health care services for veterans.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi announced the establishment of six new VA Parkinson’s Disease Research, Education and Clinical Care Centers in February. One of the centers being established is in Philadelphia.

Veterans Burial Options

Principi has continued and expanded initiatives to increase accessibility of burial options for an aging veteran population. He has also worked to decrease the wait time for headstones and markers. The NCA scanning initiative, an electronic scanning process for headstone and marker applications, was completed. All facets of headstone and marker application processing are faster and more accurate. This project significantly decreased the wait time for families to receive their headstones and markers.

Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance

The maximum amount of Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance increased from $200,000 to $250,000, effective April 1, 2001. VA coordinated system and procedural changes to implement the new law and notify service members of the change.

VetPop2000

Principi approved VetPop2000, the latest actuarial model providing VA’s official estimate of the veteran population and its projection through the year 2029. The new population model and its projections are more accurate, comprehensive and accessible. The data will enhance assessments of legislative and program impact, future costs, workload and resource placement.

Veterans Enterprise Center

Principi opened the new Veterans Enterprise Center in February as part of the VA Small and Disadvantaged Business program. The center is a one-stop resource for veterans who own or want to start their own businesses. It offers information about loans, business management programs, online training and procurement opportunities at all levels of government. The center is associated with the Small Business Administration, the Department of Labor and the Association of Small Business Development Centers.

Veterans’ Group Life Insurance

The VA is cutting premium rates for Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI) policyholders between the ages of 30 and 59. This affects more than a quarter-million veterans and includes about 70 percent of those who maintain policies through the regular payment of premiums. Policyholders will see the premium reductions and additional discounts reflected in their first premium bill after July 9.

Depending upon the age of policyholders, premium rates will decrease from 5 percent to 24 percent. For example, policyholders with $100,000 in coverage between the ages of 55 and 59 will see a $4 drop in their monthly premiums to $84, while the group from 45 to 49 years of age will have a $10 monthly reduction to $32, a $120 yearly savings.

VGLI is a program that allows former military personnel to convert their Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance coverage to lifetime renewable, five-year term life insurance. There are about 392,300 veterans covered under VGLI policies with a total face value, or basic insurance amount, of about $37.4 billion.

Homeless Veterans Council

The VA announced plans to form an advisory committee to evaluate policies and programs affecting homeless veterans. It is anticipated that the Homeless Veterans Council will be operational for at least six years.

The 15-member committee will include health care specialists, benefits counselors, mental illness and substance abuse professionals, education and training experts and social workers knowledgeable about permanent and transitional housing. The group will include at least one veteran who had been homeless and had benefited from homeless programs.

East Orange - New Center For War-Related Illnesses

May 10, Principi approved the selection and funding of two new centers that will specialize in studying the treatment of war-related illnesses among military patients and veterans.

One of the two Centers for the Study of War-Related Illnesses will be located at the VA medical center in East Orange.

“We’ve learned that combat casualties do not always result in visible wounds,” Principi said. “Inevitably, some veterans return with health problems that, while difficult to diagnose, are no less debilitating.”

Traditional medical care for service members and veterans tries to prevent and treat casualties caused directly by combat. However, experience from the Gulf and Vietnam wars has shown this approach does not address all the health care needs of combat veterans. The centers will develop ways to minimize illness and injury that can be implemented before, during and after future conflicts and peacekeeping missions. Additionally, the centers will explore ways to improve care for active- duty patients and veterans.

“Modern medicine cannot fully explain the causes of some of the illnesses suffered by returning veterans. Therefore, finding curative therapies is difficult,” said Dr. Frances M. Murphy, VA’s Deputy Under Secretary for Health. “Finding effective prevention and treatment will be the primary purpose of these two new centers.”

Toll-Free Agent Orange Helpline

Vietnam veterans now have a national toll-free helpline to answer questions about Agent Orange exposure, health care and benefits. The new helpline is 1-800-749-8387.

Callers can speak directly to VA representatives Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. E.S.T., or access a 24-hour automated system.

They can leave voice mail messages to have information sent to them or listen to recordings about exposure to Agent Orange, VA benefits, health care and disability compensation.

Diabetes-Agent Orange Benefits

Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange with “Type 2” diabetes are now eligible for disability compensation. VA offices are already accepting claims from eligible Vietnam veterans.

Veterans affected by the new rule will receive a priority for VA health care, and, depending upon the severity of their illnesses, disability compensation that ranges from $101 to $2,107 monthly.

The VA estimates that about 9 percent of the 2.3 million Vietnam veterans still alive have Type 2 diabetes. The illness is characterized by high blood sugar levels caused by the body’s inability to process the hormone insulin. Approximately 16 percent of veterans currently receiving care in VA medical facilities have been diagnosed with diabetes.

The number of diseases recognized by VA as associated with Agent Orange (service connected) has steadily increased since the early 1990s. The following conditions are also considered service–connected for veterans who served in Vietnam: chloracne (a skin disorder); porphyria cutanea tarda (a liver disorder); acute or subacute peripheral neuropathy (a nerve disorder); and certain cancers, including non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, soft tissue sarcoma, Hodgkin’s disease, multiple myeloma, prostate cancer and respiratory cancers (including cancers of the lung, larynx, trachea and bronchus).

Toll-Free Spina Bifida Hot Line

Vietnam veterans now have a new national toll-free hot line to answer their questions about health care benefits for their children who have spina bifida. The number for the hot line, operated by the VA, is 1-888-820-1756. Callers can speak to a benefits adviser Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

An after-hours phone message will allow callers to leave their names and telephone numbers for a return call the next business day. The hot line is managed by VA’s Health Administration Center in Denver.

New Regional Liaisons to Work with Veterans Groups

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi announced the creation of a new network of six regional liaisons who will work with state and local elements of veterans service organizations (VSOs).

“VSOs are our partners in developing solutions, as well as in identifying problems,” Principi said. “By strengthening our ties to the VSOs at the state and local levels, we can improve VA’s service to veterans.”

Working with community-based veteran organizations, including state directors of veterans affairs, the liaisons will attend conventions, meetings and other functions to provide a communications channel between veterans and VA. They will also coordinate outreach activities to inform veterans and the public of VA programs.

New Jersey’s liaison is Paul A. Spera, of Attleboro, Mass., former National Commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States.

Office of Policy and Planning

Claude M. (Mick) Kicklighter, a retired Army lieutenant general, is the new Assistant Secretary for the Office of Policy and Planning at the VA. He will be responsible for reviewing policy and programs to assess whether they meet the intent of lawmakers and the needs of veterans and their families.

Editor's Note: News from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs can be found on their Web site at HTTP://WWW.VA.GOV Updates from U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs