Recent moves seek to make it easier for veterans to get help

Veterans advocates are hailing a series of recent moves geared toward making it easier for former service members to access government programs designed to help them.

In September, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs began streamlining its claims process to shorten the time to win disability compensation to as little as 30 days — far shorter than the VA’s often-missed 120-day standard before.

The month before, President Donald Trump, who promised as a candidate to improve veterans benefits, signed legislation to overhaul the process by which veterans may appeal decisions on benefits claims. That would allow veterans to file “express” appeals if they waive certain rights, such as to have an appeal hearing or to submit new evidence. The overhaul is to take effect next year.

And early this month, Trump signed an executive order directing the departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security to jointly develop a plan to ensure that the 60 percent of new veterans who currently do not qualify for enrollment in VA health care — primarily because they can’t prove a service connection to their psychological needs — will automatically qualify for psychological services for at least one year following their military discharge.

Veterans advocates have said the moves will help former service members get the assistance they are due.

Supporters say newly discharged veterans often are unaware of VA services or reluctant to make use of them. This can deprive them of needed help in making the often difficult transition from soldier to civilian.

And they say because it can sometimes take a half-year or more for the VA to respond to a claim — and that appeals can last several years — veterans can face extreme financial hardship as they wait for cash benefits to help pay for food or rent.

Ken Rosenblum, the former director of the Veterans Legal Clinic at Touro Law School, said soldiers who are about to leave the armed forces often decline to register with the VA because they don’t want to be branded as physically needy or psychologically unstable.

He said creating a pathway by which discharged military personnel could seamlessly transition into the VA’s health system could boost the number of veterans who get help.

“The challenge for the military and the VA is to get to the vets before they get out,” said Rosenblum, a Vietnam veteran and former military lawyer, who said too little was done to prepare troops of his era as they departed the military service.

The VA’s streamlining initiative, known as the Decision Ready Claims program, is an optional initiative that offers veterans and their survivors faster decisions on compensation, pension, and survivor benefit claims.

Under the initiative, the VA partners with such veteran service organizations as Veterans of Foreign Wars, who will help veterans prepare and submit claims to the VA. Claims preparers working for veteran service organizations ensure that evidence needed in support of a claim, including medical exams and military service records, is included with the claim submission.

The VA is counting on this collaboration to produce claims that are more complete and accurate, resulting in a faster process, according to the agency.

Long Island Congress members from both parties characterized the moves as steps in the right direction.

“It certainly seems to fill a gap,” Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) said of Trump’s executive order. “It provides mental health the first year out which I think is the right thing. We have to get more details, but it is certainly a positive first step.”

King said the streamlined claims process could address a perennial complaint from veterans, who often wait months before receiving a decision.

“I know it has been a real issue to get these claims processed,” King said.

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) also reacted positively.

“This is a great move,” Suozzi said of the executive order. “Veterans mental-health issues and reducing veterans suicides is an issue I am very passionate about. This is a good step forward.”

But some concerns remain.

John Rowan, president of Vietnam Veterans of America, said the expedited appeal requirement that veterans waive their right to a hearing or to present additional evidence could backfire, preventing veterans with new evidence from amending their appeal.

And he said the level of competency among veteran service organization claims officers can vary widely, placing veterans seeking help at the luck of the draw.