On Monday, the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department proposed new guidelines designed to lower the copayment for veterans purchasing prescription drugs. Following internal research, the VA found that approximately 80 percent of the veterans eligible for the rule change would save up to $5 per month's supply of a prescription. Six percent would see an increase.
Modern Healthcare reported that the proposal is a part of the larger wave of heated discussion concerning prescription drug prices that has swept across the country. Poll after poll has confirmed skyrocketing prescription costs as one of the average American's biggest concerns. Some presidential candidates have gained serious ground by focusing on the problem in their stump speeches.
In the VA's current procedure, the drug copay for non-exempt veterans is $8 to $9 for each month-long prescription. If the new rules are instituted, future rate increases would be turned down in favor of a new, three-tiered system that would categorize the drugs based on the amount of their copay costs. Tier 1, under which the majority of all medications would fall, would cost $5. Tier 2, meanwhile, would cost $8, and Tier 3 $11. According to DisabledVeterans.org, all veterans who are currently exempt would remain so.
Under the revamped guidelines, which would officially go into effect Jan. 1, 2017, a copay cap of $700 would be instituted. That is a big drop from the current $960 cap. Modern Healthcare relayed that by the VA's estimates, the amount of veterans saving from the cap would jump from a meager 2 percent to 9 percent.
Veterans advocacy organizations like the American Legion have yet to announce an opinion on the proposed changes, citing a lack of information. As a significant shift in the way veterans benefits are put to use, the groups will meet to discuss the new guidelines shortly.
While the VA provides many benefits to veterans who can get to their care centers, the fact of the matter is that a lot of former servicemembers are simply incapable of doing so.
Fortunately for those veterans, who may be plagued by a number of health and mobility issues, though, the VA also provides treatment at home through its popular Home Based Primary Care program, according to a report from the Connecticut Post. In many cases, all a veteran has to do to receive this kind of care, rather than making the often arduous trips to VA hospitals, is live within a 30-minute drive or so of their nearest center.
The care can then be recommended by a doctor or hospital administrators, but individuals can also ask for it themselves, the report said. If approved, a nurse will visit a veteran in his or her home and provide care, medical advice, and other information that may be critical to supporting the servicemember's ongoing health.
Veterans ought to have as much information as possible about the services for which they may be eligible that can help them in their everyday lives. Working with the VA or advocacy groups, or doing research on their own often goes a long way as a result.
One of the big problems that many veterans may encounter as they return to civilian life is that getting ready for job interviews can be challenging. However, one group in Columbus, Ohio, is working to ensure veterans can walk into any job interview confidently.
H.E.R.O.E.S. Care and a number of local businesses in Columbus recently worked together to provide free suits and accessories to veterans, according to a report from Columbus television station WBNS. The event was a major success, with more than 100 suits being given away in just two days.
"It's pretty amazing the way this whole thing has come together," Mitch Stafford, a U.S. Army captain and organizer of the event, told the station. "Most of these veterans that have come in and out of here have deployed, have been away and have been in harm's way. They deserve this. They deserve every opportunity that we can afford them."
Veterans should always be prepared to reach out to groups such as these, the VA, and others to make sure they are getting as much access to whatever help they need as possible. Taking that step can do a world of good for a veteran who may be struggling for any reason.
Many veterans may need financial help and other assistance once they are done with their service, and a large and growing number of organizations now exist to help them in this regard. One such group operating in Ohio is specifically focused on helping former servicemembers find reliable housing.
Iron Soup Historical Preservation is a group that renovates abandoned homes in Northeastern Ohio into multi-unit apartments, and allows veterans to live in them rent-free while they get back on their feet, according to a report from WKBN. Right now the organization is working on two homes in Campbell, Ohio – about halfway between Pittsburgh and Cleveland – but has a goal of renovating as many as 160 apartments for veteran use.
The group has also received significant donations from outside parties, including those of furniture, cabinets, tiles, and other home necessities, the report said. Further, all the work on these properties is done by volunteers. Therefore, the cost of renovating each unit often doesn't get to be much more than a few thousand dollars.
"There are all kinds of units around here," Iron Soup Historical Preservation Executive Director Linda Gens told the station. "They can all be rehabbed and it doesn't take much money. Our veterans are fighting, dying, getting maimed and everything for us, and they're homeless? They should be in a home. They should not be on the street somewhere."
This type of organization is always looking for two things: Veterans to assist, and volunteers. Being one or the other – or even both – can go a long way toward helping these groups reach their goals, which is to provide as much help as veterans need whenever they may need it.
Veterans have many needs in their everyday lives, and fortunately many organizations exist to help them in this way. That is certainly the case for a VFW auxiliary group in Chicago, which helps to connect veterans with dentists who can provide them with free dental work.
The group, known as Smiles for Veterans, has only gotten off the ground in the last few years, but has already helped a number of veterans gain access to free dental care that is not covered by the VA, according to a report from Fox 32 Chicago. The group was started by Patricia DeVore, who was inspired to help with this issue by the problems her own brother – also a veteran – faced in getting quality dental care after he left the service. Specifically, DeVore said her brother talked about wanting to be able to confidently smile at people once again.
"You deal with what you get," Charles Medalis, a Vietnam War veteran who was recently helped by the group, told the station. "The same thing in the service, you deal with what you get. I had several infections in my mouth, so they said they could pull my teeth, but they wouldn't give me dentures. [Getting this help] gives you more confidence. Now I can smile. Before, I'd never let my mouth be open wide enough to be seen."
Groups that help veterans deal with everyday financial or medical needs provide an invaluable service to these men and women, and are likewise important to support themselves. Veterans who need any type of assistance should always be on the lookout for such organizations, as the groups' help could go a long way toward helping to improve the veteran's lives.
Veterans entering their life after service often have a whole lot of questions about using their military benefits. They don't know who to ask, they're too embarrassed to ask, or they did ask and never received a good answer.
It is for all of these scenarios that this blog exists. Veterans can use this collection of some of the most frequently asked questions as a guide to navigating the Department of Veterans Affairs Disability process and utilizing the veterans benefits they deserve.
How long until the process is complete?
This is typically one of the first questions veterans ask, and unfortunately, the answer can be quite a shock. According the VA's official website, the amount of time it takes to reach a decision on a compensation claim varies depending on a host of factors, including the complexity of the disability, the number of disabilities claimed, and the amount of evidence required to verify a claim.
A veteran will typically receive a decision within six to eight months, but it has been known to take longer. This is only a partial answer, however. To be completely satisfied with their VA claim, most veterans will be in for a period of years, not months. In order to receive all the benefits they're due, most veterans are in for a two-to-four-year haul.
Is there any surefire method for approval?
Yes, actually, but some veterans may not like it. The easiest way to get VA approval is to seek treatment. A disturbing number of veterans have been turned down in the past because they either never sought treatment or there were inexplicable gaps in their treatment histories.
Veterans must be able to prove that their condition is chronic and seriously in need of treatment. For example – say you want to file a claim for a shoulder injury, but you were discharged in 1982 and didn't ever visit a doctor about your shoulder until only a few years ago. It's unlikely that the VA will grant service because there's no record of your shoulder being a chronic problem.
Why are some veterans connected for a specific claim, but others denied on it?
This is another one of those questions without a cheery answer, but the simple explanation is that every veteran has a different medical history and unique medical claim. Veterans who are turned down on the same type of claim their friend was connected on are rarely happy about it, however, unless the two experiences were identical it's impossible to truly compare them.
Can you receive VA Disability and still work?
Even if a veteran is totally, 100 percent connected to VA Disability, they are allowed to be employed in both full- and part-time positions. There is only one real exception to this, and that is for veterans receiving Individual Unemployability.
This, according to the VA's website, is a special benefit payable only to those veterans whose service-connected disabilities render them incapable of holding down a job consistently. The only other possible exception is those former servicemembers receiving a pension. Depending on how much they are paid, they may not be able to work.
Matthew and Cori Maple had long dreamed of establishing a nonprofit organization to help veterans. An Army veteran himself, Matthew finally got the opportunity to do so this holiday season. News Channel 11 of Fort Wayne, Indiana reported that the Maples' "Clothes for Joes," though new, has already made a big impact of local veterans.
"I've had a few friends that I served with that ended up being homeless throughout the years," Matthew told the news station. "Being around the homeless population, knowing what's out there, knowing how many of those guys are actually veterans – it breaks my heart to see guys who gave their life for our country have nothing."
Rather than sit around and do nothing, Matthew and Cori took action. They put a flyer for donations up on Facebook, and before long their local Texas Roadhouse pledged its support. According to News Channel 11, two trucks were required to transport nearly 100 coats to the local shelter.
"The day we took it over there, it was probably five or 10 vets outside," Matthew recalled. "Just some of their reactions … to see guys break down in tears and overwhelmed with happiness and joy. To see these guys get the gratification of knowing that someone is doing this for [them], made it all worthwhile."
The Maples weren't the only ones who made collecting coats for veterans their mission. In Reading, Massachusetts, the Reading Fire Fighters Association made sure that Alex Reinoso of the Veterans Northeast Outreach Center had plenty of winter gear to carry back to the men and women he serves after dropping by the fire station on Dec. 22.
Altogether, Reading Patch reported, the firefighters delivered 47 coats – both brand new and very lightly used – as well as 57 new hats and 23 new pairs of gloves. Not to exclude the veterans' children, more than 20 toys were also delivered to the outreach center.
Those who make a living working with their hands, or who build for a hobby, know well the unique feeling of focus and relaxation it can create. The staff behind Backyard Farm and Garden USA in Brazil, Indiana certainly know how it goes. It's a big part of the reason they've brought veterans to work in the shop.
The Tribune-Star reported that the shop specializes in custom metal and wood work, making everything from playhouses to chicken coops.
Shop owner Mark Smith, who served as an Army medic in Iraq, moved from California to Brazil to support his friend, a fellow veteran.
"I got started because I wanted to work with veterans directly," he told the Tribune-Star. "There is a therapeutic quality to using your hands and creating something. I feel that woodworking works for veterans. It seems to be a good fit."
According to Backyard Farm and Garden USA's website, the company seeks to help veterans adjust to their life after service through good, meaningful work. Patriotism isn't the only reason they've caught on, however. The projects they custom-build have become quite popular, with local businesses requesting special items, families relying on Smith's shop for playgrounds for their children and farmers trusting nothing but Smith's chicken coops.
In Santa Cruz, California on Wednesday night, veterans and their families were treated to the very first Operation Love Our Vets Christmas dinner. According to KSBW, the event's organizers thought of the night as no more than the kind of thank you these men and women deserve in their life after service.
Nearly 300 pounds of piping hot brisket – provided, at least in part, by Freedom Meat Lockers, the Register-Pajaronian reported – were on the menu as veterans and their spouses and children sat down at long tables in Santa Cruz's Veterans Memorial Building.
"We're simply doing what needs to be done. And we have a dual message: To civilians, get up and do something; and to veterans, know you're loved, thank you for your service," Operation Love Our Vets founder Lisa Tkoch told KSBW. "We are just doing what needs to be done. It's a damn shame that it's not done, but we're happy to fill that gap until otherwise."
Great food wasn't the only gift Tkoch's organization extended. Around $16,000 in donations assured that veterans were also presented with warm winter gear, as well as sleeping bags and other small essentials. Not to leave the kids out, Operation Love Our Vets made sure to provide plenty of toys.
All of this generosity didn't go unappreciated.
"The VA has a lot of shortcomings right now," said Army veteran Justin Baker. "They're leaving a lot of holes that need to be filled. The money seems to just disappear and so it's important for the civilians to fight for the veterans like we fight for them."
Wednesday night's dinner gave veterans the chance to reconnect and swap war stories like the good old days. With its success, Operation Love Our Vets is sure to seek a repeat next Christmas.
Sometimes a person's last moments can be among their best. As Staff Sgt. Matthew James Whalen was wheeled on a gurney down the halls of the Plaza Fort Worth Medical Center in Texas, family, friends and, according to a blog on KTVU, a full honor guard, were there to commemorate his passing and the good he was doing.
On Saturday, Dec. 19, Whalen was diagnosed with a brain hemorrhage from which he could not possibly recover. Fox 59 reported that on Monday, his family decided to take the 35-year-old Army veteran off life support and donate his organs to two fellow veterans who desperately needed them.
Whalen's friend Sean Hatton posted a video on Facebook that captured his emotional final moments. Hatton wrote that "In his final act on this Earth, it's only fitting that he gave his life and in return saved two others. And it's almost as if it were meant to be that the two donor recipients happened to be veterans."
"There is no SOP or protocol for this type of ceremony, but with the help of Matt's wife Hannah, all of his family, the nursing staff, and an Honor Guard we were able to show our love and appreciation in the best way we could," Hatton continued. "All of you out there scattered throughout our country this close to Christmas can rest assured tonight. Your prayers and kind words these last couple days have carried the Whalen family and the support was truly felt."
Whalen and his wife Hannah both served in multiple deployments as STRIKE soldiers in the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division. The father of three will undoubtedly be missed, especially at this usually jovial time of year, but there's no question that Whalen did something incredibly honorable for his fellow veterans.