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ALS claims from OIG
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Berta
We all know this but it bears repeating:
VA Provides Benefits to Veterans with ALS and Families
Military veterans, regardless of the branch of service, the era in which they served, or whether they served during a time of peace or a time of war, are at a greater risk of dying from ALS than if they had not served in the military. For reasons as yet unknown, veterans are, in fact, twice as likely to be diagnosed with ALS as the general population.
In 2008, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) implemented regulations to establish a presumption of service connection for ALS, thanks to the efforts of The ALS Association, key members of Congress, and advocates. Under the regulations, the VA presumes that ALS was incurred or aggravated by a veteran’s service in the military. As a result, veterans with ALS and their families and survivors are eligible for “service connected” benefits.
Anyone who served at least 90 days of continuous active duty in the U.S. military may qualify for VA benefits. Survivors of veterans may be eligible for benefits, including monthly compensation, regardless of when their loved one was lost to the disease.
http://web.alsa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=va_provides_benefits
I got from this from the OIG this AM_---VERY disturbing:
“The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted this review to determine whether Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) staff accurately decided veterans’ claims involving service-connected Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease.”
And in part :
“About 45 percent of ALS claims completed from April through September 2017 had erroneous decisions. These errors resulted in estimated underpayments of about $750,000 and overpayments of about $649,000 to a total of 230 veterans. These errors were due to the complexity of these claims. ALS claims can involve a wide range of medical complications, evaluations, and special monthly compensation (SMC) levels, and most rating personnel do not decide ALS claims often enough to maintain proficiency. Also, the OIG determined that VBA staff generally did not tell veterans about additional SMC benefits that may be available.”
The full OIG report is here:
https://www.va.gov/oig/pubs/VAOIG-18-00031-05.pdf
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