Establishing Justice in U.S. Veteran Disability Claims

By Guest Writer Nicholas Sweitzer

Ex-servicemembers of the United States are routinely being denied fundamental human rights by their federal government, despite their honorable service for the common national defense. In the 2020 census, the U.S. Government estimated the veteran population to be roughly 19.4 million, meaning this demographic is anywhere between 6.4% to 7.5% of the American adult population. Tragically, all stages of the disability-related claims process have become increasingly difficult for United States Veterans. For 33 years, The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, a government agency overseeing the benefits and healthcare for ex-servicemembers and the family members that survive them, has fundamentally neglected their duty of care and eroded the very social contract the United States was constituted on. Several structural issues in the claims process lead the nation’s protectors down a tumultuous path for compensation, reconciliation, and justice. 

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department temporarily closed its 56 regional offices to the public, sites where veterans would typically go to consult with VA-accredited representatives on their health and disability-related claims. The Department would later respond to the public health crisis by moving consulting services virtually. However, the U.S. government acknowledges that veterans are “slightly less likely to go online either at home or at any location when directly compared with the U.S. population. In 2015, roughly 66% of veterans used the Internet at home.” Additionally, a national survey conducted in 2016 by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development found that veterans comprised a gargantuan 9.2% of all homeless U.S. adults. The National Institutes of Health explains, “Reduced hospitalizations, delayed surgeries, and even a rise in cases of serious mental illnesses were reported during the pandemic. Veterans with COVID-19 not only suffered symptoms from the disease but also had a higher risk of further development of in-hospital complications involving multiple organs.”

Despite the Department of Veterans Affairs reopening some operations at regional offices, the public health crisis has certainly exacerbated the disability-related claim backlog, as Veteran service officers (VSOs) are spread way, too, thin for the amount of caseload. A major violation is present in the wait times associated with the veteran claims process. Once a Veteran has finished submitting their initial disability-related claim at their regional VA office, the petitioner must then wait on average 104 days for a regional decision to be made on the claim. After, a higher appeal to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals can make a veteran wait on average 291 days or longer to receive a claims decision. Receiving a final VA decision can take much longer, as claims can be remanded. This very slow turnaround time on critical medical decisions should be understood as a direct result of the VA system being routinely ignored and underfunded by our public officials. For perspective, in 2022, 4 percent of all federal spending went to the Department of Veterans Affairs, compared to 12 percent for the Department of Defense. Some federal pro bono representation for appealing final decisions to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, established in 1988, can be offered to veterans in financial hardship, but for a timely appeal the organization must assist veterans within 120 days of receiving a final decision from the Board.

Several representatives in the United States Government have acknowledged the inadequacy of the current VSO system in a bill introduced by California Congressman Mike Levin (D) on July 21st, 2021. The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed H.R.4601: The Commitment to Veteran Support and Outreach Act (CVSO) on December 1st, 2022. Currently, the bill is awaiting passage by the United States Senate and has been referred to the Senate’s Committee on Veterans Affairs. Rep. Mike Levin says, “The CVSO Act will authorize $50 million annually for five years for competitive grants to expand the work of CVSOs or comparable entities.” A small drop in the pail that could go a long way to bring bountiful gains to marginalized veterans in dire need. 

We must all remember that the cost for effective, present solutions will always be cheaper than the costs associated with violation and reconciliation. Ultimately, the snail-paced, hyperpolarized legislative process in the United States means that much-needed changes to the claim process will likely face an arduous uphill battle before being enacted. All the while, millions of United States Veterans and their family members are left in the dark at the earliest stages of the claims process without any certainty of improvements. The social contract must be refurbished in the interest of those that paid the ultimate sacrifice to fight authoritarianism and fascism in support of democracy and freedom.