Caregiver Program Not Avail To All

[kate7772]

Why is it that the caregiver program does not apply to veterans of the Vietnam, WWII, etc eras?

Why should it be limited to certain ones? Seems almost an age discrimination thing.

Kate

[georgiapapa]

kate7772,

It all comes down to money. Personally I believe if it is offered to one group it should be offered to all groups. I don't harbor any ill feelings toward post 9/11 vets but it angered me when I heard former VA Secretary Shinseki tell congress the VA did not need additional funding. Shinseki should have asked for additional funding for the Caregiver Program and any other programs which are not offered to all groups of veterans. What makes one group more entitled than another group? JMO

[Navy04]

My wife is my Care Giver on the Highest Tier and I will tell you guys that this program is almost impossible to get on, and that is why I think that it is focused on post 911 Vets. The same program that is offered thru the SSA's SSDI is a lot easier, less restrictions and there are a lot of folks on it, due to just how easy it is to get approved for. I spoke to an SSA big wig in Austin, Texas and she informed me that he program is going to go bust in the near future due to just how easy it is to get on, and that the SSA needs to improve the requirements for the program. I myself was approved for the SSDI care taker program, and declined it, not because I need the money, which I do, because this care giver is one of the actual honest programs offered to post 911 wounded warrior Vets. It took us over 5 months to get approved, and a lot of Docs and folks where involved in the process. Basically if a Vet is very bad off there are many programs out there, a lot of us just don't want to go thru the long process to get approved. Remember that this program is for Vets that have multiple Physical and Mental disabilities. I have tried to help multiple Vets that had one or the other issues, or multiple simple complications, and were not approved for the program. In the long run for the sake of these programs, I wish that all Govt and State programs had such stringent guidelines, and there would not be so many fakes out there, taking funds away from Vets that really need and deserve the funds. Sorry for the rambling. Sorry to hear of your troubles, and good luck

[georgiapapa]

As vets with multiple physical and mental disabilities age their conditions usually worsen and they often have even more need for a caregiver. Unfortunately, many of the older vets are widowers or have older spouses with their own medical issues and these vets often can not afford to hire an outside caregiver. Older vets are not asking for less stringent guidelines, they just want to be treated the same as younger vets. There is no legitimate excuse for the caregiver program not being offered to pre 9/11 vets. JMO

[Navy04]

I was told by my VA caregiver coordinator that the reason for this program being offered only to post 911 Vets, is due solely to the high numbers of Recent War Vets coming home disabled, versus previous Wars. I read in a brochure a few months ago at the VA, that less than 2 vets per 10 in previous wars came home with disabilities, and something like 7 out of 10 in this recent War will require Mental or Physical health care in the near future.

[georgiapapa]

Navy,

I am glad you have the Caregiver program available to you but a seriously disabled veteran in need of a caregiver is a seriously disabled veteran in need of a caregiver regardless of what war they fought in. I could argue that veterans having the most serious disabilities for the longest period of time should be given preference for the Caregiver program.

In regards to the stats on vets returning home with disabilities, this may be true because pre 9/11 vets did not have the same level of medical care in war zones as post 9/11 vets. The vets from the pre 9/11 wars suffered more KIAs and less WIAs than post 9/11 vets. I guess the VA doesn't think it is worth spending the money on the older vets because they can just wait for us to die off. JMO