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As of Aug. 11, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) updated portions of the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities(VASRD, or Rating Schedule) that evaluate infectious diseases, immune disorders and nutritional             deficiencies.  The collection of federal regulations used by the Veterans Benefits Administration helps claims processors evaluate the severity of disabilities and assign disability ratings.  “VA is in the process of updating all  15 body systems of the VASRD to more accurately reflect modern medicine and provide Veterans with clearer  rating decisions,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “By updating the rating schedule, Veterans receive decisions  based on the most current medical knowledge of their condition.”

The complete list of updates to the rating schedule is available online. Claims pending prior to Aug. 11, will beconsidered under both the old and new rating criteria, and whichever criteria is more favorable to a Veteran will be applied. Claims filed on or after Aug. 11, will be rated under the new rating schedule

Updating the rating schedule for conditions related to infectious diseases, immune disorders and nutritional deficiencies, enables VA claims processors to make more consistent decisions with greater ease and ensure Veterans understand these decisions. VA remains committed to improving its service to Veterans continuously and staying at the forefront of modern medicine as it has for decades

By awarding the contract, the VA can now lift the “gag” order which was awarded by the judicial system and             clinics and hospitals in region 4 can start to award contracts to physicians and speciality clinics.

            The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) awarded a contract Aug. 6 to TriWest Healthcare Alliance to serve    as Third Party Administrator in managing Region4 of VA’s new Community Care Network (CCN).

            The Community Care Network is the department’s direct link with community providers that will ensure VA             provides the right care at the right time to Veterans.

            Region 4 includes VA medical centers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. 

   “This contract award reflects our ongoing commitment to increasing Veterans’ access to care,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “As part of VA’s modernization efforts, we designed the new network based on feedback from Veterans and other stakeholders, along with lessons learned from the Veterans Choice Program. We are confident that CCN will greatly improve customer service for Veterans and timeliness of payments to community providers.”

CCN will be the standard contract vehicle that allows VA to provide access to care for Veterans from community care providers using industry-standard approaches and guidelines. Until CCN is fully-implemented nationwide,  TriWest Healthcare Alliance will continue to support Veteran community care through its community provider network.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is preparing to process Agent Orange exposure claims for “Blue Water Navy” Veterans who served offshore of the Republic of Vietnam between Jan. 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975. These Veterans may be eligible for presumption of herbicide exposure through Public Law 116-23, Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019, which was signed into law June 25, 2019, and goes into effect Jan. 1, 2020.

The new law affects Veterans who served on a vessel operating not more than 12 nautical miles seaward from the demarcation line of the waters of Vietnam and Cambodia, as defined in Public Law 116-23. An estimated 420,000 to 560,000 Vietnam-era Veterans may be considered Blue Water Navy Veterans. To qualify, under the new law, these Veterans must have a disease associated with herbicide exposure, as listed in 38 Code of Federal Regulations section 3.309(e). Agent Orange presumptive conditions are: o AL amyloidosis Chloracne or similar acneform disease, o Chronic B-cell leukemias, o Diabetes mellitus Type 2, o Hodgkin lymphoma, formerly known as Hodgkin’s disease, o Ischemic heart disease, o Multiple myeloma Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, formerly known as Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma , o Parkinson’s disease, o Peripheral neuropathy, o early-onset Porphyria cutanea tarda, o Prostate cancer, o Respiratory cancers (lung, bronchus, larynx or trachea), and o Soft-tissue sarcoma (other than osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Kaposi’s sarcoma or mesothelioma

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently revised its directives permitting religious literature, symbols and displays at VA facilities to protect religious liberty for Veterans and families while ensuring       inclusivity and nondiscrimination.

The move aims to simplify and clarify the department’s policies governing religious symbols, and spiritual and             pastoral care, which have been interpreted inconsistently at various VA facilities in recent years, resulting in unfortunate incidents that interrupted certain displays.

 Effective July 3, these changes will help ensure that patrons within VA have access to religious literature and symbols at chapels as requested and protect representations of faith in publicly accessible displays at facilities    throughout the department.

 “We want to make sure that all of our Veterans and their families feel welcome at VA, no matter their religious beliefs. Protecting religious liberty is a key part of how we accomplish that goal,” said VA Secretary Robert        Wilkie. “These important changes will bring simplicity and clarity to our policies governing religious and spiritual symbols, helping ensure we are consistently complying with the First Amendment to the             U.S.Constitution at thousands of facilities across the department.”

 The new policies will: 

 Allow the inclusion in appropriate circumstances of religious content in publicly accessible displays at VA facilities.

 Allow patients and their guests to request and be provided religious literature, symbols and sacred texts during visits to VA chapels and during their treatment at VA.

 Allow VA to accept donations of religious literature, cards and symbols at its facilities and distribute them to VA patrons under appropriate circumstances or to a patron who requests them.

On the 75th anniversary of the GI Bill, freshman U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala (D-FL) is taking aim at for-profit colleges, introducing a bill 19 JUN that would close a loophole she says props up substandard schools that view veterans as “cash cows.” Shalala’s proposed “Defending all Veterans in Education Act,” or DAVIE, would change what is known as the 90/10 rule, which allows for-profit colleges to receive federal student aid if they generate at least 10% of their revenue from sources other than federal dollars. The bill would change the requirement to an 80/20 ratio. It also would make schools count GI Bill benefits as federal dollars. Currently, GI Bill payments are not counted as federal monies in the calculations, allowing for-profit schools to include them as contributing to the 10% requirement

Congress is considering a bill to expand the pool of healthcare providers able using telemedicine to treat the nation’s veterans. The VA MISSION Telemedicine Clarification Act of 2019 (HR 3228), introduced 12 JUN by U.S. Rep Earl 52 “Buddy Carter” (R-GA), would enable professional trainees to take part in the Department of Veterans Affairs’ “Anywhere to Anywhere VA Care” program, which allows the VA to treat veterans via telehealth no matter where they live. The bill aims to correct what its sponsors say is a flaw in the VA MISSION Act of 2018. That bill, signed into law in June 2018, opened the door to the use of connected health technology by authorizing the “Anywhere to Anywhere VA Care” program, unveiled one year earlier by then-Secretary Robert Shulkin, but it restricted care delivery to doctors. Dig Deeper “The telemedicine section of the bill was designed to allow VA covered practitioners to provide telehealth services across state lines to increase veteran access to VA services (but) missed a large population of health care providers,” Carter said in a press release. “This meant that only doctors could provide services through telehealth, not students, interns, residents or fellows. This is a major problem especially for interns, residents and fellows who have graduated medical school and are training to become full time doctors because they are not able to get the necessary experience in telehealth at the VA until the time they become fully licensed.” “Increasing the use of telehealth at VA health centers is critical to ensure veterans are able to receive the care they need no matter where they live,” Carter added.

VA Secretary Robert Wilkie addressed the Student Veterans of America (SVA) National Conference last week via live stream from Washington, D.C. In his speech, Wilkie outlined his priorities and the role the Veterans      Experience Office (VEO) plays in the department’s improvement. “Customer service is what our [VEO] team is all about,” said Wilkie. “VEO is about listening to Veterans like you, and then making improvements based on your feedback.” One way VEO has used feedback is by creating a helpful product called the VA Welcome Kit. The kit, which was      designed with student Veterans in mind, was first introduced and tested at the SVA National Conference last year     in San Antonio, Texas. This year, after refining the kit, VEO passed out hundreds of them before Wilkie’s speech.   “The Welcome Kits can help guide you,” said Wilkie. “Whether it’s time to go to school, to get a job, to buy a house … or make plans for your own care as you age.”

            WHAT IS IN THE KIT? The Welcome Kit has guides and checklists to help Veterans apply for education benefits, VA health care, disability ratings, and caregiver benefits. The kit also includes a booklet explaining eligibility and VA processes. Additionally, it maps out the life of a             Veteran from transition out of the military to retirement and care. Veterans can use this map to find out where they are in the VA system

“Tired of waiting” is a phrase often associated with appeals. But since the implementation of the Appeals Modernization Act, Veterans who disagree with VA’s decisions on their compensation claims have had a new and      quicker way to receive a second look. That benefit has now been extended to Veterans stuck in the legacy appeals process.   Dave McLenachan, director of VBA’s Appeals Management Office, unveiled the Decision Review Process last  week in a VBA Facebook Live, noting that Veterans with appeals in the old process can—as soon as they receive a Statement of the Case (SOC) or Supplementary Statement of the Case (SSOC)—elect to transfer their appeals  into the AMA process. The opt-in notice will be included with SOCs and SSOCs, and must be returned to VA within 60 days. The benefits of opting in are eye-popping: appeals in the legacy process average 3-7 years for a single decision;  the current average for claims in the AMA is 36 days. And lest you think the AMA “leads to quicker denials,” consider that since RAMP started, AMO has processed more than 75,000 claims and awarded more than $378 million in retroactive benefits.   Mr. McLenachan also busts a few myths. My favorite is the “effective date protection”—your “backpay” date—  which actually improves effective date provisions as long as a Veteran continually pursues the review of her             claim.  That “continually pursues review” leads into the next busted myth: AMA is not a one-and-done; if the Veteran disagrees with the decision VA makes, she can move her claim into another lane, and there is no limit to how many times she can use the lanes, or in which order. None of the options go away! That means a Veteran could potentially receive three or more decisions (if they continue to disagree) in AMA before ever receiving one in the legacy appeals process!.

On April 10, 2019, Representative Bruce Westerman (AR) introduced H.R. 2201, a bill that would concede Agent Orange exposure to all veterans who served at military installations in Thailand during the Vietnam Era for purposes of determining their eligibility for VA benefits.

While VA’s internal manual acknowledges herbicide exposure for specific military occupational specialties on the perimeter of eight Thai Royal Air Force Bases, statutes and regulations do not automatically recognize veteran exposure to herbicides while serving in Thailand during the Vietnam Era. 

H.R. 2201 would automatically concede Agent Orange exposure for all veterans who served at military installations in Thailand during the Vietnam Era, regardless of the base, duty on the perimeter or military occupational specialty.  As a result, the presumptive diseases currently associated with Agent Orange exposure would be applicable to all veterans who served at military installations in Thailand during the Vietnam Era.

Consistent with DAV Resolution No. 174, DAV supports the concession of exposure for Agent Orange to veterans who served at military installations in Thailand; this will allow for presumption of service connection for the recognized diseases.  Please use the prepared electronic letter or draft your own to urge your Member of Congress to support and cosponsor H.R. 2201.

Standing up for veterans is vital and we thank you for your advocacy.  Your actions help make DAV a highly influential and effective organization in Washington.  Thank you for all you do for America’s veterans and their families.

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“…we will accept nothing less than full victory.” – Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower

On June 6, 1944, 75 years ago, Allied troops landed on the shores of Normandy to fight Nazi Germany. We honor the lives of those who made the ultimate sacrifice defending our freedom, and we honor the sacrifices made by Veterans who lived to tell their stories.