New Trial on Single DoD and VA Disability Examination Pilot Study

 

For all BVA board, membership, regional group contacts,

As you may remember the Dole Shalala Commission made about 31 key recommendation about fixing the current disability system as a result of there investigation into the problems surrounding the last March Walter Reed scandal. Well one of the key recommendation was to pilot test a single disability examination so wounded service members would not have to navigate through both disability systems slow medical boards and physical examination processes.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 29, 2007

 

VA/DOD Commence Single Disability Examination Pilot for Wounded Warriors Evaluation to Provide Smoother Transition to Disability Benefits and Compensation

 

WASHINGTON -- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) this week began a pilot program to test a new single disability evaluation system for wounded warriors at the three major military medical facilities in the Washington D.C. area.

This initiative is designed to eliminate the duplicative and often confusing elements of the current disability processes of the two departments.  Key features of the disability evaluation system (DES) pilot include one medical examination and a single-sourced disability rating.

The single disability examination pilot is another improvement as a result of the President’s Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors (Dole/Shalala) and is aimed to simplify health care and rehabilitation for injured service members and veterans.

This pilot program will seek to ease the transition of wounded service members through the disability evaluation system to reentry into the civilian community with more efficient delivery of disability compensation at the time they leave military service.

VA is providing the medical professionals performing the examinations.  The pilot is being conducted for service members at the Washington, D.C., VA Medical Center, Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and the Malcolm Grow Medical Center at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., and will run for one year.  Throughout the pilot, VA and DoD officials will monitor progress to determine potential expansion into other locations.

The pilot includes all non-clinical care and administrative activities, such as case management and counseling requirements associated with disability case processing from the service member’s initial referral to a Military Department Medical Evaluation Board to VA’s compensation.

 

The take away message from this is also that on December 13, 2007 Chairman Bob Filner of House Veterans Affairs Committee is holding a round table discussion with the various veteran service organizations on both the recommendations of the Dole Shalala and the Veterans Benefits Disability Commission findings and come up with some key provisions that will be the start of a packet of new legislation in January. We fully expect a large number of pieces of legislation making dramatic changes to the current veterans’ disability system to come flying out in the early part of the next session of congress. While most of this will be targeted at the current returning wounded warriors from Iraq and Afghanistan, other changes to the system for all disabled veterans obviously could occur. So, this will warrant close follow-up and appropriate legislative responses to any changes that would affect Blinded Veterans Association members.

Tom Zampieri

Director Government Relations

Blinded Veterans Association