HELPED ANOTHER VET WIN HIS VA CLAIM – MY COLLEGE ROOMMATE FROM 1969

Paul (left) and Wes, San Diego 1967

PAUL HANSEN, my roommate from college days and friend through half a century, is very deaf. He hears sounds but needs powerful hearing aids to grasp the words. He and I were roommates during and then after college because I joined IBM in San Diego and recruited him. We even were occasional bunkmates in the Army, and travels over the years gave us the opportunity to stay in touch. I'm writing this note to remind all veterans that military service has made us  brothers and sisters; we should always help others, including getting them help from the VA when needed.

Paul was supposed to be best man at my wedding on June 14, 1969, but he instead found himself headed off for Army basic training. While at Fort Bragg he had an incident on the rifle range leaving him but totally deaf for days. He was seen at the base medical clinic but the damage was done: he gradually regained most of his hearing after a week of rest, but then year after year, each ear "rang" louder and louder as Paul's tinnitus developed. And so did his bilateral hearing loss worsen. A lot!

This was a half century ago. SP5 Paul Hansen was a traditional Army reservist, serving his initial six months of Active Duty, but no active duty after that to qualify him as a veteran, nothing making him eligible for VA care and benefits. Paul finished his service obligation and began life's journey in earnest.

Because we kept in touch and visited occasionally, I was able to notice Paul's hearing loss and urged him to apply to the VA. In fact, I even filled out his disability claim somewhere around 2014 or so. But Paul is a perfect example of procrastination, and the application lay somewhere, ignored until it got shuffled into some pile of documents never to be seen again. Okay, I'm a nag. Phone call after phone call, "how ya doin" was followed by reminding him to file with the VA.

Paul's hearing loss was significant, but the need was for him to establish veteran status with VA, entitling him to hearing aids but also vital health care for a multitude of other problems. The disability compensation of his claim was an insignificant concern  – Paul needed the wide range of VA benefits due disabled veterans and he'd never be one without getting around to submitting his claim.

It got to the point that we both realized it just wasn't going to get done, and with his permission I went ahead and applied to the VA for tinnitus and hearing loss disabilities. The initial obstacle of getting Paul to file finally accomplished, we next moved to finding proof of his Army rifle range problem. I filed a request with the Army's personnel records center in St. Louis and the vital proof of injury medical records were promptly sent to us. 

I then had to build an argument that even though he was a traditional from Reservist fifty years back, Paul's injury should entitle him VA care and benefits. Paul wasn't even a proper veteran per the law because he'd never performed a period of active duty after basic training. But have a medical background and I also knew a loophole: the law provides that Reservists and National Guard troops, if they have a disabling injury during their initial active duty or on subsequent training, that injury satisfies the law's requirements for full veteran status. Further, because Paul's training was during the Vietnam war he'd have a wider range of important coverages as a wartime veteran but only if he succeeded in his claim. 

I also wrote a lengthy report about the Army's history of troops' hearing injuries in the years before earplugs were even permitted on a rifle range. I quoted similar VA disability claims from other veterans where applicants had claims approved, even years later like Paul. Because of Paul's age and health, his claim needed to be approved on the first pass, not rejected for correction or appeal. Too often, claims have flaws that delay the process a year: we expected Paul would get a small 10% disability award for his hearing but worried about any delays.

This week, VA having approved his claim on the first pass, Paul Hansen became an honored disabled veteran. 40% disabled, not just 10% as I hoped. Another health issue still is under consideration and we're hoping it will put Paul over 50% disability, at which point all his medical care is provided free. Other benefits:

• #List of Benefits for Veterans 40-50% Disabled, plus compensation
  • Preventive care.
  • "Level 2" VA medical priority group
  • Inpatient (hospitalization) services.
  • Military PX and commissary use.
  • Ancillary services.
  • Mental health care.
  • Geriatrics and extended care.
  • Medical equipment/prosthetic items and aids.
  • Old age, low income pension
  • Medical travel.
  • Veteran-Directed Care program, a budget to help with activities of daily life.
  • Medication/supplies
    
    

The VA decision on his application came in the mail to announce his disability retroactive to December 2020, the date VA received his claim. Paul, faced with many health issues, is finally entitled to VA hearing aids and so many other benefits.

Here, I'll take a firm grasp on my initial urge to tell Paul what his retroactive check would have totaled if HE'D ONLY DONE AS I SUGGESTED SEVEN YEARS AGO.

A note: Paul's dad's Coast Guard bridge coat saved my life once, literally. But that's another story.

C-123 vets sue for USAF line of duty determination

Yesterday afternoon C-123 veterans filed suit  in the US District Court of Washington D.C., seeking USAF line of duty determinations (LOD) to recognize our Agent Orange exposures. We are represented by the firm of Perkins Cole LLP of Washington, D.C.

The military LOD is vital in protecting veterans' disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

GAO Attacks Disabled Military Retiree "Triple Dipping"

Fox News and other sources jumped on an AP report of a twisted, error-laden General Accounting Office report that 60,000 veterans are "triple-dipping" disability benefits. In a particularly offensive headline, the usually even-handed Washington Times labeled the veterans as "caught" doing it. But how can one be "caught" earning and then receiving the protection provided by law?

At least each of the articles did mention that earning and receiving such benefits is entirely legal. We say entirely appropriate, as well!

Senator Tom Coburn, generally considered an anti-military representative from Oklahoma, requested the study and described the veterans in derogatory terms.

GAO failed to emphasise that veterans, and indeed, all Americans, are entitled to collect the benefits provided by law or employment contract. We often pay into those programs, as with Social Security Disability Insurance.

GAO's most glaring error was failure to detail the identical programs of disability protection enjoyed by the rest of American society. Military members, just like the letter carrier, the VA records clerk, or the WalMart checker, on-the-job injuries result in medical protection of the employee and where appropriate, disability income. Unlike many civilian disability plans, a military member has no protection in the event his/her injuries are associated with drug or alcohol abuse, or being absent from duty...civilians' disability insurance plans generally kick in regardless of the injury or illness' cause, however on-the-job workers compensation plans generally address only situations directly job-related.

Just like civilian workers eligible for retirement based on years of service, military members earn that benefit as well, but only after 20 long years of often hazardous service, not the five years specified for most civilian workers to be vested in their company's plans. Everyone, civilian or military, completing the requirements of their particular situation, receives retirement benefits. Military members enjoy no advantage over their civilian friends but rather, must serve longer and often under far more hazardous conditions, as well as forfeit numerous civil liberties while earning a retirement.

Social Security Disability Income kicks in for long-term or permanent disability for both military and civilian workers, basing the amount paid on pre-injury earnings, and providing through MediCare vital medical coverage as well. Military members do receive expedited processing of claims, an action undertaken by Social Security itself. About half of the veterans cited are over age 60, at which point disability benefits are replaced with regular, earned retirement benefits as with all other workers covered by Social Security, which we all pay into our entire working careers.

All persons working for a "substantial wage," (generally $1,070/month or more) whether military or civilian and regardless of degree of disability, disqualify themselves for Social Security Disability. Military retirement, or being on injured status awaiting disability retirement and receiving full pay and benefits, is not work! It is work and receipt of a "substantial wage," not one's income, which triggers the Social Security Disability cutoff. Civilian worker, military member...no difference.

VA disability is where military members have different protections. Different percentage of disability are assigned for different illnesses and injuries, with non-service connected issues not considered. At one time, VA disability was based on military rank, but years ago everyone was put on the same basic amount...a private's amount. Extraordinary disabilities can increase the veteran's monthly amount, for instance being home-bound, massive trauma, blindness and other catastrophic situations. Allowances are also made for dependents, and some other programs such as children's educational benefits are provided.

All situations addressing military members are created by Congress, not the Armed Forces. No special plans for special employees, as is often the case in civilian companies providing different benefits for executives than for other staff. Congress established the Social Security Disability System, in which civilian and military members are treated equally other than with expedited claims.

So the GAO didn't make much of a point in their study, other than to create, through clever use of statistics and selective use of references, the perception that it is a better deal to loose an arm or leg in combat than in a civilian accident.

It is a false perception. The GAO seemed to emphasize disabled military receiving earned retirement, earned VA benefits and Social Security Disability, as if this was legal but shifty or greedy. It is not! We earn our benefits through decades of service, through payments into Social Security, and by on-the-job injuries for which VA provides protection. Receiving earned military retirement and receiving earned VA disability as well is no different than a postal worker receiving his retirement and also, if qualified, his VA disability check from any military service performed.

If Congress wishes the military not to qualify for Social Security Disability Income for which all servicemembers are taxed, it should address that issue by exempting the military but also not taxing them for Social Security.

If our civilian friends want to address military pay or VA disability issues, we suggest, "go fight your own wars."