JFAV NEWS

April 5, 2010

Thousands of vets missing out on better benefitsThousands of vets missing out on better benefits

Los Angeles--- The Justice for Filipino American Veterans (JFAV) learned today through news wires that only a fraction of wounded veterans who could get better benefits have applied in the two years since Congress, acting on concerns the military was cutting costs by downplaying injuries, ordered the Pentagon to review disputed claims.

The JFAV is planning to sue the DVA for denying more than 17,000 Filipino World War II veterans of their lump sum claims. Out of the 36,000 who filed for the claims only 8,000 were given by the DVA.

Injustices Continues

If this is true to the experience of Filipinos, it much the same as the American veterans. As of mid-March, only 921 vets have applied out of the 77,000 the Pentagon estimates are eligible, according to numbers provided to The Associated Press by the Physical Disability Board of Review.

The panel was created in 2008 but started taking cases in January 2009.

More than 230 cases have been decided, about 60 percent in favor of improving the veteran's benefits, while an additional 119 case were dismissed as ineligible.

Advocates and even the board members themselves want the review panel to do a better job of getting the word out.

At issue are disability ratings based on an injury's severity and long-term impact. Veterans rated below 30 percent disabled with less than 20 years of service receive a one-time severance payment instead of a monthly retirement check. Also, their health care switches from the military to the strained VA system, and their families lose military health insurance.

A rating above 30 percent means monthly income and military health care for the family.

A disabled service member's severance pay and monthly retirement is based on active-duty pay, years of service and if the service member's injuries are combat-related.

Congressional Investigation

Congress created the board after investigations found inconsistencies in how the military assigns ratings for the level of disability that soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines have before they are discharged. Veterans advocates protested that the military was manipulating disability ratings to save money.

Orin Higgins, 30, injured his back while he was stationed in Korea. The Army discharged him on medical grounds in May 2006 with no benefits, even though the injury hampers everyday chores.

"Tying my shoes is difficult," said Higgins, from Mountain Grove, Mo. "I can't get a job because all I know is construction and roofing and you can't do that with a bad back."

Higgins appealed his Army rating to the Physical Disability Board of Review in May 2009 and was approved for a higher rating by the board in February. "I think they've righted a wrong," he said.

The panel is managed by the Air Force and charged with reviewing appeals from former members of the armed forces who received disability ratings of less than 30 percent from Sept. 11, 2001 to Dec. 31, 2009. Before Congress created the streamlined process, veterans could appeal but were subjected to a lengthy review by a military panel that rarely changed the ratings.

Under the new system, the board makes a recommendation in an average of about eight months. The recommendation is sent to the service secretaries, who more than 90 percent of the time have accepted the board's review, according to numbers provided by the board.

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