Post by jcfromgnatflats on Jan 5, 2009 11:50:49 GMT -6
41-08 December 22, 2008
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS' AFFAIRS (VA) ADDRESSES MONTH OF DEATH DISCREPENCIES
WASHINGTON, DC-In mid December, 2008, Chairman of the Senate Veterans
Affairs Committee, Senator Daniel Akaka, sent a letter to VA Secretary James
Peake questioning the implementation of a Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA) policy with regards to surviving spouses of veterans and the payment of
benefits during the veterans' "month of death". Senator Akaka expressed
concerns that because of an apparent glitch in VA systems, widows may have
been denied millions of dollars in benefits over the last twelve years. In
1996, the Veterans Benefits Improvement Act (PL 104-275) gave veterans'
spouses the right to keep their partners' final month of benefits. It
instructed VA to make changes as needed to comply with the law, which took
effect for spouses of veterans who died after Dec. 31, 1996. What appears to
be the problematic part is that VA's system was never updated. As a result
many surviving spouses were either denied the final month of payment or
asked to send the checks back. In many cases, if the checks were already
deposited or spent, the U.S. Treasury moved to seize the money directly from
their accounts. Brad Mayes, Director of Compensation and Pension Service
(C&P), stated that VA had been working with Akaka's office on this issue,
and will continue to do so. He further stated that VA is presently stepping
up their outreach to reach spouses who may have been affected by this VA
oversight, and to ensure that they receive the proper benefits due to them.
VA is providing a fully staffed phone call center, reachable at
1-800-827-1000, to attempt to rectify the situation for those affected.
Surviving spouses can call the number and VA will immediately begin the
process of checking to ensure eligibility and delivering payments to those
who need it.
As the automated system was apparently not changed when the changes went
into place in 1996, VA is fighting through a backlog of information to
determine who has been denied benefits over a 12 year period. This is made
even more difficult by the fact 2 that VA is in the process of shifting data
collection and storage to a "virtual VA" mode through "paperless"
initiatives such as VETSNET. VA has asked Veterans' Service Organizations
(VSOs) to reach out to their constituencies and help those affected by this
situation to make contact with VA and begin the process of receiving the
compensation that they are entitled to. Any surviving spouses who feel that
they may have been affected by this error on the part of VA should contact
the 1-800-827-1000 phone number as soon as possible. American Legion service
officers are also strongly encouraged to check their files for any surviving
spouse that may have been adversely impacted by this glitch.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Ian de Planque,
Assistant Director for Claims Service, VA&R, at ideplanque@legion.org or
(202) 861-2700, Ext. 1604.
PETER S. GAYTAN, Director National Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation
Commission
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS' AFFAIRS (VA) ADDRESSES MONTH OF DEATH DISCREPENCIES
WASHINGTON, DC-In mid December, 2008, Chairman of the Senate Veterans
Affairs Committee, Senator Daniel Akaka, sent a letter to VA Secretary James
Peake questioning the implementation of a Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA) policy with regards to surviving spouses of veterans and the payment of
benefits during the veterans' "month of death". Senator Akaka expressed
concerns that because of an apparent glitch in VA systems, widows may have
been denied millions of dollars in benefits over the last twelve years. In
1996, the Veterans Benefits Improvement Act (PL 104-275) gave veterans'
spouses the right to keep their partners' final month of benefits. It
instructed VA to make changes as needed to comply with the law, which took
effect for spouses of veterans who died after Dec. 31, 1996. What appears to
be the problematic part is that VA's system was never updated. As a result
many surviving spouses were either denied the final month of payment or
asked to send the checks back. In many cases, if the checks were already
deposited or spent, the U.S. Treasury moved to seize the money directly from
their accounts. Brad Mayes, Director of Compensation and Pension Service
(C&P), stated that VA had been working with Akaka's office on this issue,
and will continue to do so. He further stated that VA is presently stepping
up their outreach to reach spouses who may have been affected by this VA
oversight, and to ensure that they receive the proper benefits due to them.
VA is providing a fully staffed phone call center, reachable at
1-800-827-1000, to attempt to rectify the situation for those affected.
Surviving spouses can call the number and VA will immediately begin the
process of checking to ensure eligibility and delivering payments to those
who need it.
As the automated system was apparently not changed when the changes went
into place in 1996, VA is fighting through a backlog of information to
determine who has been denied benefits over a 12 year period. This is made
even more difficult by the fact 2 that VA is in the process of shifting data
collection and storage to a "virtual VA" mode through "paperless"
initiatives such as VETSNET. VA has asked Veterans' Service Organizations
(VSOs) to reach out to their constituencies and help those affected by this
situation to make contact with VA and begin the process of receiving the
compensation that they are entitled to. Any surviving spouses who feel that
they may have been affected by this error on the part of VA should contact
the 1-800-827-1000 phone number as soon as possible. American Legion service
officers are also strongly encouraged to check their files for any surviving
spouse that may have been adversely impacted by this glitch.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Ian de Planque,
Assistant Director for Claims Service, VA&R, at ideplanque@legion.org or
(202) 861-2700, Ext. 1604.
PETER S. GAYTAN, Director National Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation
Commission