Interagency Commission Recommends Speedier Disability Claims Process For Returning Injured Veterans

27 Apr 2007

A presidential task force headed by Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson on Tuesday said that troops returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan should have an improved disability claims system and get more screenings for brain injuries, the AP/Baltimore Sun reports (AP/Baltimore Sun, 4/25). President Bush last month requested that Nicholson lead a task force of seven Cabinet members that will “focus and respond to immediate needs” of veterans and troops returning home from war. The commission was appointed in response to a two-part series in the Washington Post that profiled conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and examined the process by which injured soldiers seek disability compensation (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 3/7). The commission called for a joint electronic case-management system to be operated by the Department of Defense and the VA through which officials would be able to share files and track patients. The commission also called for the formation of a joint disability claims process in order to speed delivery of benefits and reduce discrepancies in the system. Case managers should be hired to help guide troops and their families through the disability claims process, and all returning veterans should be scanned for mild to moderate brain injury, which sometimes can emerge months after completing service, Nicholson said. Nicholson also requested additional funds to hire more staff to process benefit claims within 125 days, compared with the current average of 177 days. In addition, the commission recommended that action be taken to expedite housing claims and other services for returning service members and that eligibility for small-business loans be expanded for returning veterans. The Labor Department should work with injured veterans to aid their transition into civilian life, according to the commission (AP/Baltimore Sun, 4/25). In total, the panel recommended 25 ways to improve veterans’ care.

Read the rest of the article at Medical News Today.

~ by Brad on April 30, 2007.