The May 22 edition of WARRIOR CONNECTION was a discussion on
disabled veterans caregivers problems and needs and call for action
supported by the following information:
This is bad
part to quote and get an amendment from House side to fix! Now for the
bad which is: Expands the VA’s Program of Comprehensive Assistance for
Family Caregivers to all generations of veterans.
Subtitle D—Family Caregivers
SEC. 231. EXPANSION OF FAMILY CAREGIVER PROGRAM OF
DEPARTMENT OF VETE...
The May 22 edition of WARRIOR CONNECTION was a discussion on
disabled veterans caregivers problems and needs and call for action
supported by the following information:
This is bad
part to quote and get an amendment from House side to fix! Now for the
bad which is: Expands the VA’s Program of Comprehensive Assistance for
Family Caregivers to all generations of veterans.
Subtitle D—Family Caregivers
SEC. 231. EXPANSION OF FAMILY CAREGIVER PROGRAM OF
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.
(a) FAMILY CAREGIVER PROGRAM.—
(1) EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a)(2)(B) of
section 1720G of title 38, United States Code,
is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(B) for assistance provided under this sub-
section— 11 ‘‘(i) before the date on which the Secretary
submits to Congress a certification that the De-
partment has fully implemented the information
technology system required by section 232(a) of
the Jason Simcakoski Memorial Act, has a seri-
ous injury (including traumatic brain injury,
psychological trauma, or other mental disorder)
active military, naval, or air service on or after
September 11, 2001;
‘‘(ii) during the two-year period beginning
on the date specified in clause (i), has a serious
injury (including traumatic brain injury, psy-
chological trauma, or other mental disorder) in-
curred or aggravated in the line of duty in the
active military, naval, or air service-
‘‘(I) on or before May 7, 1975; or
‘‘(II) on or after September 11, 2001;
or ‘‘(iii) after the date that is two years after
the date specified in clause (i), has a serious in-
jury (including traumatic brain injury, psycho-
logical trauma, or other mental disorder) in-
curred or aggravated in the line of duty in the active military,
Keith Nordeng
May 13 at 6:09pm
http://www.veterans.senate.gov/…/isakson-blumenthal-unveil-…
Page 120 of the bill
ONCE AGAIN 90-91 veteran are LEFT OUT. What the F?
Veterans First Act specifically addresses
Changes
the culture at the VA by improving accountability to make it easier for
the VA Secretary to remove bad actors at all levels of the department.
(Good)
Expands the VA’s Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers to all generations of veterans. (Bad)
Strengthens
the Veterans Choice program by establishing prompt payment standards
and streamlining the requirements for community medical providers to
enter into agreements with the VA. (Good)
Enhances education benefits
for veterans, surviving spouses and children, and allows thousands of
mobilized Reservists to earn GI Bill eligibility. (Good)
Addresses the crisis of opioid over-prescription among veterans.
(Good)
Enhances research on the potential health effects from toxic exposure to veterans and their descendants. (Very Good)
Strengthens programs to combat veteran homelessness (Good)
.
Improves
the disability claims and appeals process by requiring the VA to launch
a pilot program that will cut down the massive backlog of appeals
awaiting action. (Good)
Now for the bad which is: Expands the VA’s
Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers to all
generations of veterans.
Subtitle D—Family Caregivers
SEC. 231. EXPANSION OF FAMILY CAREGIVER PROGRAM OF
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.
(a) FAMILY CAREGIVER PROGRAM.—
(1) EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a)(2)(B) of
section 1720G of title 38, United States Code,
is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(B) for assistance provided under this sub-
section— 11 ‘‘(i) before the date on which the Secretary
submits to Congress a certification that the De-
partment has fully implemented the information
technology system required by section 232(a) of
the Jason Simcakoski Memorial Act, has a seri-
ous injury (including traumatic brain injury,
psychological trauma, or other mental disorder)
active military, naval, or air service on or after
September 11, 2001;
‘‘(ii) during the two-year period beginning
on the date specified in clause (i), has a serious
injury (including traumatic brain injury, psy-
chological trauma, or other mental disorder) in-
curred or aggravated in the line of duty in the
active military, naval, or air service-
‘‘(I) on or before May 7, 1975; or
‘‘(II) on or after September 11, 2001;
or
‘‘(iii) after the date that is two years after
the date specified in clause (i), has a serious in-
jury (including traumatic brain injury, psycho-
logical trauma, or other mental disorder) in-
curred or aggravated in the line of duty in the active military, naval, or air service; and’’.
Military Update: A
showpiece of the Veterans First package that the Senate Veterans
Affairs Committee unveiled last week is a multi-billion-dollar
initiative to phase in for older generations of severely injured
veterans robust caregiver benefits first enacted in 2010 only for the
Post-9/11 generation.
Though it’s only part of a huge omnibus bill
containing many veteran reform measures that senators previously
introduced as separate bills, the plan to expand caregiver benefit
coverage carries the biggest price tag. The early estimate is $3.1
billion over its first five years.
For in-home caregivers of
thousands of vets with severe physical or mental injuries, it would mean
cash stipends for their time and effort, health insurance if caregivers
have none, guaranteed periods of paid respite to avoid caregiver
burnout and training to enhance patient safety.
Sen. Patty Murray
(D-Wash.), prime architect of the caregiver expansion plan, negotiated
with Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), the committee chairman, to secure a
modified plan that could be funded with budget offsets and gain
bipartisan support on the committee. That should improve its chances of
becoming law despite still formidable obstacles ahead.
Perhaps the
biggest is lingering disappointment over how the current caregiver
program operates. Though it is delivering benefits to spouses and
parents caring for 31,000 severely disabled veterans of the Post-9/11
era, the program remains underfunded, understaffed and lacking modern
software to screen applications, track care needs or verify levels of
caregiver support and program managers’ responsiveness.
The
Government Accountability Office found many problems including too few
Caregiver Support Coordinators who run the program locally. The program
remains so “badly mismanaged” as to leave the House Veterans Affairs
Committee, chaired by Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), doubtful that the VA
can handle a vast expansion of eligibility, a committee staff member
said.
“While the intent of the Senate bill is admirable,” the
staffer said, “we have an obligation not to expand existing programs
without first ensuring they function correctly.”
But Isakson
agreed with Murray that, rather than allow weaknesses in the current
program to block expansion to older veterans, they should phase in
eligibility for older generations on a schedule that gives VA time to
fix problems while it incentivizes Congress to provide needed funding.
VA
promises to have a modern IT system in place for the program by
December this year. The Senate package would require the VA secretary
within a year to certify that problems GAO identified have been fixed.
Then within another year VA would begin to accept benefit applications
from caregivers of veterans who served during the Vietnam War or
earlier. Two years later, VA would start to accept applications from
caregivers of severely injured veterans who served in the period between
Vietnam and 9/11.
The pool of pre-9/11-era caregivers likely to
be eligible for benefits if the program is expanded could be as high as
80,000, VA reported last year.
With up to 400 new caregivers of
Post-9/11 veterans qualifying for benefits every month, program costs
are climbing steadily, from $453 million in 2015 to $650 million this
year and $725 million is sought for next year.
There are problems
with the program, but the VA alone isn’t to blame, said Adrian Atizado,
deputy legislative director for Disabled American Veteran whose national
service officers field caregiver complaints. Congress underfunded it.
Meanwhile, DAV and other advocates were slow to sound alarms over the
underfunding, poor staffing and the sketchy information about the
program that VA has given caregiver applicants and injured vets.
“I
totally disagree with the House’s interpretation that it should not be
expanded because of how the program is running now,” said Atizado. “I do
share their concern about completely opening it up immediately.” But
the Isakson-Murray phased expansion, he said, is a “reasonable
compromise.”
In a statement, Miller said the omnibus deal reached
by the Senate committee is a positive development. If it clears the
Senate, “I look forward to immediately engaging in conference committee
negotiations in order to move a VA reform package to the president’s
desk,” Miller said.
Rather than compile one massive piece of
legislation as the Senate committee opted to do, the House committee
shepherded 21 separate bills on veterans’ issues through the House,
which now await Senate action.
Beside differences in approaches,
there are differences in priorities. The House committee said the most
pressing VA need is tougher accountability rules so executives who put
their own interests ahead of veterans can swiftly be reprimanded or
fired. Miller and staff view their House-passed accountability bill, HR
1994, as much stronger than provisions embraced by Isakson and Sen.
Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), the committee’s ranking Democrat, at their
Veterans First press conference.
Though the House sought no
expansion to the caregiver program, staff noted that all of its
House-passed veteran bills are fully paid for with spending offsets
verified by the Congressional Budget Office.
Isakson said he and
colleagues also found offsets to pay for the Veterans First package,
with its estimated annual cost of $4 billion over 10 years, and without
cutting prized veteran benefits. The offsets no longer embrace a
controversial idea to cut by half the monthly housing stipend for family
members who use transferred Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits.
Instead
Isakson would cap total VA employee bonuses paid annually, mandate
higher VA home loan funding fees, and “harmonize” the GI Bill housing
stipend lower to reflect a total five-percent dampening of Basic
Allowance for Housing rates over five years being imposed on active duty
force members.
Murray said she doesn’t know if Miller and his
House colleagues will support the caregiver expansion when they
conference on veteran issues.
“I do know that this program is about
putting veterans’ needs first and supporting the men and women who put
their own lives on hold to take care of veterans,” Murray said. “Taking
care of our veterans should never be a partisan issue.”
Send
comments to Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA, 20120,
email milupdate@aol.com or twitter: Tom Philpott @Military_Update
Tom
Philpott has been breaking news for and about military people since
1977. After service in the Coast Guard, and 17 years as a reporter and
senior editor with Army Times Publishing Company, Tom launched “Military
Update,” his syndicated weekly news column, in 1994. “Military Update”
features timely news and analysis on issues affecting active duty
members, reservists, retirees and their families.
Visit Tom Philpott’s Military Update Archive to view his past articles.
Tom also edits a reader reaction column, “Military Forum.” The online “home” for both features is Military.com.
Tom’s freelance articles have appeared in numerous magazines including The New Yorker, Reader’s Digest and Washingtonian.
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on the extraordinary ordeal and heroism of Col. Floyd “Jim” Thompson,
the longest-held prisoner of war in American history, is available in
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Senators want caregiver benefits phased in for older veterans
By Tom Philpott
Special to Stars and Stripes
Published: May 5, 2016
·
Shundra
Johnson holds a wheelchair for her husband Coast Guard Lt. Sancho
Johnson as he gets into a car while traveling to the Navy's wounded
warrior training camp for the 2015 DoD Warrior Games, May 29, 2015.
Shundra is also her husband's caregiver.
EJ Hersom/Department of Defense
Related
Senators unveil Veterans First Act
Senators
took fresh steps this week in the slow effort to reform the beleaguered
Veterans Affairs Department and hold it more accountable just as news
broke of a new scandal — cockroaches in food at a VA hospital in
Chicago.
Summit highlights difficulties of veterans’ caregivers
Torrey
Shannon provides round-the-clock care for her husband, retired Staff
Sgt. Dan Shannon, who survived a gunshot wound to the head in Iraq. He
needs to live in a remote area because severe post-traumatic stress
disorder and brain injury has left him overwhelmed by cities. Despite
this, she said she has struggled to get the support she needs as a
veteran’s caregiver.
· As veterans come home, a new generation of caregivers
American
troops were serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan five years ago when
President Barack Obama signed the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health
Services Act, a comprehensive piece of legislation acknowledging the
critical role of caregivers for seriously injured post- 9/11 veterans.
A
showpiece of the Veterans First package that the Senate Veterans’
Affairs Committee unveiled last week is a multibillion-dollar initiative
to phase in for older generations of severely injured veterans robust
caregiver benefits first enacted in 2010 only for the post-9/11
generation.
Though it’s only part of a huge omnibus bill
containing many veteran reform measures that senators previously
introduced as separate bills, the plan to expand caregiver benefit
coverage carries the biggest price tag. The early estimate is $3.1
billion over its first five years.
For in-home caregivers of
thousands of vets with severe physical or mental injuries, it would mean
cash stipends for their time and effort, health insurance if caregivers
have none, guaranteed periods of paid respite to avoid caregiver
burnout and training to enhance patient safety.
Sen. Patty Murray,
D-Wash., prime architect of the caregiver expansion plan, negotiated
with Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., the committee chairman, to secure a
modified plan that could be funded with budget offsets and gain
bipartisan support on the committee. That should improve its chances of
becoming law despite still formidable obstacles ahead.
Perhaps the
biggest is lingering disappointment over how the current caregiver
program operates. Though it is delivering benefits to spouses and
parents caring for 31,000 severely disabled veterans of the post-9/11
era, the program remains underfunded, understaffed and lacking modern
software to screen applications, track care needs or verify levels of
caregiver support and program managers’ responsiveness.
The
Government Accountability Office found many problems, including too few
Caregiver Support Coordinators who run the program locally. The program
remains so “badly mismanaged” as to leave the House Veterans’ Affairs
Committee, chaired by Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., doubtful that the
Department of Veterans Affairs can handle a vast expansion of
eligibility, a committee staff member said.
“While the intent of
the Senate bill is admirable,” the staffer said, “we have an obligation
not to expand existing programs without first ensuring they function
correctly.”
But Isakson agreed with Murray that, rather than allow
weaknesses in the current program to block expansion to older veterans,
they should phase in eligibility for older generations on a schedule
that gives VA time to fix problems while it incentivizes Congress to
provide needed funding.
VA promises to have a modern IT system in
place for the program by December this year. The Senate package would
require the VA secretary within a year to certify that problems GAO
identified have been fixed. Then within another year VA would begin to
accept benefit applications from caregivers of veterans who served
during the Vietnam War or earlier. Two years later, VA would start to
accept applications from caregivers of severely injured veterans who
served in the period between Vietnam and 9/11.
The pool of
pre-9/11-era caregivers likely to be eligible for benefits if the
program is expanded could be as high as 80,000, VA reported last year.
With
up to 400 new caregivers of post-9/11 veterans qualifying for benefits
every month, program costs are climbing steadily, from $453 million in
2015 to $650 million this year; $725 million is sought for next year.
There
are problems with the program, but the VA alone isn’t to blame, said
Adrian Atizado, deputy legislative director for Disabled American
Veterans, whose national service officers field caregiver complaints.
Congress underfunded it. Meanwhile, DAV and other advocates were slow to
sound alarms over the underfunding, poor staffing and the sketchy
information about the program that VA has given caregiver applicants and
injured vets.
“I totally disagree with the House’s interpretation
that it should not be expanded because of how the program is running
now,” said Atizado. “I do share their concern about completely opening
it up immediately.” But the Isakson-Murray phased expansion, he said, is
a “reasonable compromise.”
In a statement, Miller said the
omnibus deal reached by the Senate committee is a positive development.
If it clears the Senate, “I look forward to immediately engaging in
conference committee negotiations in order to move a VA reform package
to the president’s desk,” Miller said.
Rather than compile one
massive piece of legislation as the Senate committee opted to do, the
House committee shepherded 21 separate bills on veterans’ issues through
the House, which now await Senate action.
Besides differences in
approaches, there are differences in priorities. The House committee
said the most pressing VA need is tougher accountability rules so
executives who put their own interests ahead of veterans can swiftly be
reprimanded or fired. Miller and staff view their House-passed
accountability bill, HR 1994, as much stronger than provisions embraced
by Isakson and Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, the committee’s
ranking Democrat, at their Veterans First press conference.
Though
the House sought no expansion to the caregiver program, staff noted
that all of its House-passed veteran bills are fully paid for with
spending offsets verified by the Congressional Budget Office.
Isakson
said he and colleagues also found offsets to pay for the Veterans First
package, estimated to cost $4 billion over 10 years, without cutting
prized veteran benefits. The offsets no longer embrace a controversial
idea to cut by half the monthly housing stipend for family members who
use transferred post-9/11 GI Bill benefits.
Instead Isakson would
cap total VA employee bonuses paid annually, mandate higher VA home loan
funding fees, and “harmonize” the GI Bill housing stipend lower to
reflect a total 5 percent dampening of Basic Allowance for Housing rates
over five years being imposed on active-duty force members.
Murray
said she doesn’t know if Miller and his House colleagues will support
the caregiver expansion when they conference on veteran issues.
“I
do know that this program is about putting veterans’ needs first and
supporting the men and women who put their own lives on hold to take
care of veterans,” Murray said. “Taking care of our veterans should
never be a partisan issue.”
Send comments to Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA, 20120 milupdaSenators want caregiver benefits phased in for older veterans
By Tom Philpott
Special to Stars and Stripes
Published: May 5, 2016
Shundra
Johnson holds a wheelchair for her husband Coast Guard Lt. Sancho
Johnson as he gets into a car while traveling to the Navy's wounded
warrior training camp for the 2015 DoD Warrior Games, May 29, 2015.
Shundra is also her husband's caregiver.
EJ Hersom/Department of Defense
Related
Senators unveil Veterans First Act
Senators
took fresh steps this week in the slow effort to reform the beleaguered
Veterans Affairs Department and hold it more accountable just as news
broke of a new scandal — cockroaches in food at a VA hospital in
Chicago.
Summit highlights difficulties of veterans’ caregivers
Torrey
Shannon provides round-the-clock care for her husband, retired Staff
Sgt. Dan Shannon, who survived a gunshot wound to the head in Iraq. He
needs to live in a remote area because severe post-traumatic stress
disorder and brain injury has left him overwhelmed by cities. Despite
this, she said she has struggled to get the support she needs as a
veteran’s caregiver.
· As veterans come home, a new generation of caregivers
American
troops were serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan five years ago when
President Barack Obama signed the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health
Services Act, a comprehensive piece of legislation acknowledging the
critical role of caregivers for seriously injured post- 9/11 veterans.
A
showpiece of the Veterans First package that the Senate Veterans’
Affairs Committee unveiled last week is a multibillion-dollar initiative
to phase in for older generations of severely injured veterans robust
caregiver benefits first enacted in 2010 only for the post-9/11
generation.
Though it’s only part of a huge omnibus bill
containing many veteran reform measures that senators previously
introduced as separate bills, the plan to expand caregiver benefit
coverage carries the biggest price tag. The early estimate is $3.1
billion over its first five years.
For in-home caregivers of
thousands of vets with severe physical or mental injuries, it would mean
cash stipends for their time and effort, health insurance if caregivers
have none, guaranteed periods of paid respite to avoid caregiver
burnout and training to enhance patient safety.
Sen. Patty Murray,
D-Wash., prime architect of the caregiver expansion plan, negotiated
with Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., the committee chairman, to secure a
modified plan that could be funded with budget offsets and gain
bipartisan support on the committee. That should improve its chances of
becoming law despite still formidable obstacles ahead.
Perhaps the
biggest is lingering disappointment over how the current caregiver
program operates. Though it is delivering benefits to spouses and
parents caring for 31,000 severely disabled veterans of the post-9/11
era, the program remains underfunded, understaffed and lacking modern
software to screen applications, track care needs or verify levels of
caregiver support and program managers’ responsiveness.
The
Government Accountability Office found many problems, including too few
Caregiver Support Coordinators who run the program locally. The program
remains so “badly mismanaged” as to leave the House Veterans’ Affairs
Committee, chaired by Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., doubtful that the
Department of Veterans Affairs can handle a vast expansion of
eligibility, a committee staff member said.
“While the intent of
the Senate bill is admirable,” the staffer said, “we have an obligation
not to expand existing programs without first ensuring they function
correctly.”
But Isakson agreed with Murray that, rather than allow
weaknesses in the current program to block expansion to older veterans,
they should phase in eligibility for older generations on a schedule
that gives VA time to fix problems while it incentivizes Congress to
provide needed funding.
VA promises to have a modern IT system in
place for the program by December this year. The Senate package would
require the VA secretary within a year to certify that problems GAO
identified have been fixed. Then within another year VA would begin to
accept benefit applications from caregivers of veterans who served
during the Vietnam War or earlier. Two years later, VA would start to
accept applications from caregivers of severely injured veterans who
served in the period between Vietnam and 9/11.
The pool of
pre-9/11-era caregivers likely to be eligible for benefits if the
program is expanded could be as high as 80,000, VA reported last year.
With
up to 400 new caregivers of post-9/11 veterans qualifying for benefits
every month, program costs are climbing steadily, from $453 million in
2015 to $650 million this year; $725 million is sought for next year.
There
are problems with the program, but the VA alone isn’t to blame, said
Adrian Atizado, deputy legislative director for Disabled American
Veterans, whose national service officers field caregiver complaints.
Congress underfunded it. Meanwhile, DAV and other advocates were slow to
sound alarms over the underfunding, poor staffing and the sketchy
information about the program that VA has given caregiver applicants and
injured vets.
“I totally disagree with the House’s interpretation
that it should not be expanded because of how the program is running
now,” said Atizado. “I do share their concern about completely opening
it up immediately.” But the Isakson-Murray phased expansion, he said, is
a “reasonable compromise.”
In a statement, Miller said the
omnibus deal reached by the Senate committee is a positive development.
If it clears the Senate, “I look forward to immediately engaging in
conference committee negotiations in order to move a VA reform package
to the president’s desk,” Miller said.
Rather than compile one
massive piece of legislation as the Senate committee opted to do, the
House committee shepherded 21 separate bills on veterans’ issues through
the House, which now await Senate action.
Besides differences in
approaches, there are differences in priorities. The House committee
said the most pressing VA need is tougher accountability rules so
executives who put their own interests ahead of veterans can swiftly be
reprimanded or fired. Miller and staff view their House-passed
accountability bill, HR 1994, as much stronger than provisions embraced
by Isakson and Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, the committee’s
ranking Democrat, at their Veterans First press conference.
Though
the House sought no expansion to the caregiver program, staff noted
that all of its House-passed veteran bills are fully paid for with
spending offsets verified by the Congressional Budget Office.
Isakson
said he and colleagues also found offsets to pay for the Veterans First
package, estimated to cost $4 billion over 10 years, without cutting
prized veteran benefits. The offsets no longer embrace a controversial
idea to cut by half the monthly housing stipend for family members who
use transferred post-9/11 GI Bill benefits.
Instead Isakson would
cap total VA employee bonuses paid annually, mandate higher VA home loan
funding fees, and “harmonize” the GI Bill housing stipend lower to
reflect a total 5 percent dampening of Basic Allowance for Housing rates
over five years being imposed on active-duty force members.
Murray
said she doesn’t know if Miller and his House colleagues will support
the caregiver expansion when they conference on veteran issues.
“I
do know that this program is about putting veterans’ needs first and
supporting the men and women who put their own lives on hold to take
care of veterans,” Murray said. “Taking care of our veterans should
never be a partisan issue.”
Send comments to Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA, 20120
milupdate@aol.com
te@aol.com
Act
Subtitle D—Family Caregivers
SEC. 231. EXPANSION OF FAMILY CAREGIVER PROGRAM OF
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. Specifically the donut hole created by the dates.
‘‘(I) on or before May 7, 1975; or
‘‘(II) on or after September 11, 2001;
or
‘‘(iii) after the date that is two years after
the date specified in clause (i), has a serious in-
jury (including traumatic brain injury, psycho-
logical trauma, or other mental disorder) in-
curred or aggravated in the line of duty in the
Form to send comments to house veterans affairs committee. https://republicans-veteranforms.house.gov/forms/writethecommittee/
