Posted on 04/02/2016 5:21:26 PM PDT by huldah1776
Army Sergeant Major Jesse Acosta has received notification from the VA that his benefits for a caregiver are ending in 90 days, at the end of May. The letter he received from the VA states “he is no longer appropriate for the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers.” They say they are pleased to inform him of this. According to the VA, even though Acosta, blinded by a mortar attack in Iraq, is still blind, they are excited (with an exclamation point to prove it) to let him know they have determined he’s “graduated,” and no longer needs a caregiver. Seriously?
Acosta served with distinction from 1975 until his retirement in 2010. In 2003 he joined the Individual Ready Reserve program until he was recalled to active duty in 2005. He deployed to Iraq in August. Everything changed on January 16, 2006 when he was struck by a mortar. His injuries included the loss of both eyes, injury to the frontal and temporal lobes of his brain, loss of part of his jaw and teeth, a back injury, a herniated calf muscle that won’t heal and loss of a kneecap so that one knee is bone on bone. He was not expected to survive when he arrived at the military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany.
But survive he did. Over the course of forty surgeries his jaw and eye sockets were reconstructed but his vision was lost forever. Today he’s a fine-looking man. In good shape, fit, his service dog by his side. You wouldn’t know looking at him that he’s been rated, in addition to his blindness, 70% disability from PTSD and 100% disability from TBI.
Jesse Acosta returned to his employer after Iraq, but he needs some assistance to do his job. Likewise, at home he needs some help. That’s what the caregiver provides: help getting to medical appointments, managing medication refills, help with paperwork and shopping. The daily things that sighted people take for granted. His service dog helps both with mobility and with PTSD. But the caregiver fills an essential need. Whether or not the VA agrees.
When I spoke with Jesse, he told me, “When the VA representative called to tell us the caregiver benefit had been canceled, we were told verbally that ‘the VA does not consider blindness a disability’.” You can understand how the VA might look at him…he’s employed, he has a service dog…and think his blindness does not completely disable him. But how humane is it not to take into consideration the effects of PTSD and TBI? The VA has treated him for both and they have complete records. He can appeal his case, of course. But how long will that take? Based on a 2012 VA report, about two and a half years.
By the way, here are the eligibility criteria from the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act,” Public Law 111-163:
Section 1720G (a) (2) ‘‘(2) “For purposes of this subsection, an eligible veteran is any individual who—
”(A) is a veteran or member of the Armed Forces undergoing medical discharge from the Armed Forces; ”(B) has a serious injury (including traumatic brain injury, psychological trauma, or other mental disorder) incurred or aggravated in the line of duty in the active military, naval, or air service on or after September 11, 2001; and ”(C) is in need of personal care services because of— ”(i) an inability to perform one or more activities of daily living; ”(ii) a need for supervision or protection based on symptoms or residuals of neurological or other impairment or injury…”
The act was intended, among other things, to assist members of veterans’ families who have left careers to care for veterans with catastrophic disabilities. However, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is failing to implement the law (Public Law 111-163) as Congress intended. Paralyzed Veterans of America testified on this point on March 11 before the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health. Carl Blake, Legislative Program Director for Paralyzed Veterans of America, said, “(VA) said the only way a caregiver will be eligible for this is if the veteran would have otherwise been institutionalized. Blake explained that such an interpretation would lower the number of families eligible for these benefits, such as monthly stipends and health-care benefits through the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA), to about 840. According to Blake that number is less than 25 percent of what Congress intended.
An article in the Illinois Statesman on Feb. 23, 2016 states that about 7,000 veterans who were receiving caregiver benefits are no longer getting them. “About a third were cut because VA staff members determined that they did not meet medical criteria for the support.” The program, passed into law in 2010, was never intended to be a permanent benefit. Only last year did the VA publish an official rule on how the program should be run. Stipends were to be provided to families as long as the veteran’s health met certain criteria. If the situation improved, the VA might remove patients from the financial part of the program.
Based on his experience, Jesse says, “I have never been VA friendly, and because I question and challenge the VA process, I truly believe I have been targeted in having this benefit canceled.” He was also quick to say he’s not the only one receiving this kind of treatment by the VA, and he launched into a story about another vet in the LA area whose VA care came from…are you ready? VA facilities in Long Beach, West Los Angeles, San Diego, Loma Linda, East Los Angeles and downtown LA. This is Southern California. That’s miles and miles of driving, not to mention hours of car time because of traffic, and then the expense on top of that. It’s no wonder that so many vets suffering from PTSD and TBI also have anger management problems. I can’t help but think the run-around treatment, some of it looking like harassment, that these vets experience from the VA is a factor in the number of veteran suicides. 22 a day. Still.
Sergeant Major Acosta served with distinction in the U.S. Army from 1975 until 2010. Among his many awards are The Legion of Merit, The Bronze Star, The Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal and six Army Commendation Medals.
What’s it going to take to get any reform in this mega-bureaucracy? The VA’s budget for fiscal year 2016 is $163 billion. The proposed 2017 budget includes an increase for VA funding. Maybe money isn’t the problem. Maybe it’s the structure of the VA, how large and unwieldy it is. Maybe it’s the entrenched culture of no accountability. I’ll grant that changes are being made. But how do we explain to the Jesse Acostas who served this country that it’s just too much trouble to take their cases individually? That in order to get through the number of cases, there’s more investment in blocking treatment than in authorizing it? Because that’s how it looks to me.
At the National Veterans Foundation, all of us wish that Acosta’s case was out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, it’s not. If you know a vet who needs help, here’s our LifeLine for Vets: 888.777.4443. It’s vet-to-vet, the only one of its kind.
Any other vets targeted or is this accepted practice through directives?
Another article:
Veteran who was denied VA benefits has died
don’t know why preview didn’t come up as usual...
“PHOENIX (KPHO/KTVK) -
There has been a devastating development in a story we first reported a month ago.
Army veteran John Marshall was fighting terminal cancer while at the same time, fighting the Phoenix VA for service-related benefits for his time served. Sadly, Marshall died this week. He was only 31 years old.
[READ: Army veteran dying of cancer fights for VA benefits]
Marshall left his hospital bed to share one of his dying wishes back in late February. “I just want the benefits for my family and for the kids and that’s why I’m doing this so it’s very tough,” he said.
Sadly, the husband and father of two young children lost his battle with soft tissue sarcoma on Tuesday night. He was still waiting to be granted benefits from the VA healthcare system.
Little Riley and her brother Colt don’t know their dad died yet. His wife Ashley doesn’t know how she’s going to take care of them now. “I’m a teacher and you don’t make a lot of money doing that, and that’s something I always wanted to do,” she said.
Marshall was a decorated combat veteran who tied his cancer to hours spent over burn pits in Iraq. The VA said it was a developmental defect. “When it came through and he was denied everything, it was very much a shock to him and to us,” she said.”
Posted: Mar 31, 2016 7:57 PM EST
Updated: Apr 01, 2016 3:47 PM EST
By Ashleigh Barry
Obama is taking that money to give to muslim “refugees” inside America.
30 plus years of service and 100% disability plus regular employment? He should be able to afford to pay his own bills.
One of my sons is a disabled vet. Obama sure has done nothing to fix the VA. My son has to travel over an hour one way to see the doctors he is assigned to see.
My family had to fight them for my sister in law , father in law and grandfather . You just have to keep fighting them when they turn you down like this .
I hope your comment is sarcasm.
Now Moochelle is REALLY proud of this country.
“He should be able to afford his own bills “
Really? The guy serves 28 year, then gets called to active duty, is severely wounded, permanently. The VA takes a way a benefit he is entitled to and that is your response? I hope the govt. takes away some of your benefits some day. What a nice guy you are.
Paging Donald Trump.
E-9 with over 30 years? Probably around $50,000 a year. 100 percent disability on top of that because he’s unable to work (no offset under CRSC). Same job he had pre-injury on top of that because he is able to work.
Lots of blind folks functioning on their own without those resources.
You don’t know what his retirement benefit is. Apparently, some of his service was in the Reserve Component and some was on Individual Ready Reserve. Your assumptions are flying out of your butt.
Try doing the math. Served with distinction from 1975. Went on IRR in 2003. 28 years. Active duty 2005. Injured 2006. Retired 2010. So roughly 33 years. I rounded down to ‘over 30’. Retired as a sergeant major (E-9). If he retired now, it would be over $60k. I was making a generous adjustment down because it was 6 years ago, and not allowing anything for COLA.
We have the same situation. And benefits denied for an ER visit to a non-VA facility, due to it was determined that his status was not serious enough.
You’ve missed one piece. In what component or components did he serve between 1975 and 2001? The could have been Regular Army, National Guard (either Title 10 or Title 32 or normal drill status) or Army Reserve with their many permutations. This article doesn’t tell what credit he had for retirement purposes. No doubt he was retired for military disability, but that doesn’t answer the question of what his retirement check looks like.
His VA with 100% and S rate for the 70% disability puts him at over 3200 from the VA alone. He has over 100K most likely combined. I recall my Col from Vietnam before he died he was an LTC (30) plus 100 % VA. He had over 10k a month. I do recall when the NCO’s I had got very little as I recall MSG’s over 20 with 1300 something and his VA was offset. Later he did well.
Pretty impressive if he made E-9 and served with distinction as a weekend warrior. Don’t have the numbers for 2010, but in 2013 there were only 3,687 E-9s (well less than 1%) in the entire US Army.
Thanks. That’s the aspect where I didn’t have any information.
So Called “Weekend warriors” can be found at all ranks from Private to General. The higher the rank, the more likely that they are an M-Day soldier as the full time positions tend to be lower grades. Of course, to make E-9 you are not just showing up on drill days.
Your number is for Active Duty only. Add 2102 for the Army National Guard and 1476 for the Army Reserve.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.