Filipino Veterans Equity and Benefits – Part Three: Appeals

PART 3: THE APPEAL PROCESS – for all Claims

I am sharing this information in hopes that it will make the Veterans Benefits Appeals process more understandable, especially for Filipino veterans and their families trying to receive their Filipino Veterans  Equity Compensation.

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DISCLAIMER: The information provided below was gathered from various documents provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs. In a short period of time I have done my best to figure out the requirements and interrelationships of the benefits, eligibility, etc. I am not an expert, nor do I claim to be. I share this information in the hopes that having it all in one place will be of help. This information was gathered on June 7^th, 2010, and changes regularly.  PLEASE contact your local VA office for assistance and updated information.

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The claim appeal process is handled by the Bureau of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA).  The VA provides one easy-to-understand pamphlet, “How Do I Appeal” at http://www.bva.va.gov/How_Do_I_APPEAL.asp .

Here are the steps to the Appeal Process, mostly in the VA’s words:

1. You file a Claim. It’s recommended that you have a representative help you with your claim and appeal. The representative can help make the process move faster. Representatives from the Veterans Services Organizations (VSOs) have offices in most VA offices.
2. VA makes a Decision on Your Claim and mails you the decision.
3. You are Not Satisfied.
4. You Send a Notice of Disagreement (NOD) within one year of the original decision’s mail date. Note: After you send your NOD, you can request your file be reviewed by a Decision Review Officer (DRO) from your local VA office.
5. VA receives your NOD, then creates and sends you a detailed Statement of the Case (SOC) with VA Form 9 Appeal to Board of Veterans, also known as the Substantive Appeal Form.
6. You submit VA Form 9 within 60 days of the date the SOC was mailed, or within one year of the original decision’s mail date, whichever is LATER. You also ask for a personal hearing.
   1. You can request a personal hearing with a local DRO at any time.
   2. Or on VA Form 9 you can request a hearing with a Member of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA) either in person or by videoconference.
7. You have the hearing, which is an informal meeting.
   1. At this time you make sure the Board Member hears anything you think is important for your application review, and you may add evidence to your claim.
   2. No decision is made at this time.
8. A transcript of the hearing is provided to the Board Member, a review is completed, and a decision is made by the BVA.
9. You receive the BVA’s decision.
   1. If the application is Allowed, you can expect a check in the mail. This is a final decision.
   2. If the decision is to Remand, you are being asked for clarification or further information before the BVA can make a decision. Provide the information so the review can be completed.
   3. If the decision is to Deny, this is a final decision by the BVA. You can appeal the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals.
10. If the Decision is to Deny, you can
    1. Go back to your local VA and try to reopen your claim;
    2. File a motion asking the BVA to reconsider or review again because there was a “clear and unmistakable error” (CUE) in the Board decision;
    3. File an appeal with the U.S . Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims;
    4. Do nothing.

Throughout the Appeal Process, give as much full detail as possible, and make sure your local VA office knows your correct address while your claim is being decided. Also, put your claim number on all letters or other evidence you send to the VA.

TIMING

In October 2009, the VA expanded the Board of Veterans’ Appeals to include 60 Veterans Law Judges to decide benefit claims and “remove the backlog of benefits decisions.”

Health insurance claims appeals are considered “rated claims,” and currently are taking 700 days to move through the system.

Because Filipino Equity Compensation claims are considered “non-rated claims”, it has been strongly  recommended that an expedited process be created specifically for these appeals.

This would help move the backlog, and hopefully manage to contain the frustration level of the veterans and their communities.

FILIPINO VETERANS EQUITY COMPENSATION – SUMMARY

The VA has taken on what has become a gargantuan task. It has an impaired ability to make swift decisions to address growing problems related to overloads in the existing systems. Unfortunately the result is that the discontent among rapidly aging veterans and their communities continues to grow.

The creation of a small group focused on ensuring an organized system for information accessibility and distribution would provide significant relief from the anxiety created from little or no information.

To decrease the backlog of appeals claims, an expedited process should be put in place for these “non-rated claims.”

Finally, with such a large number of unexpected claims, the original Compensation Fund of $198 million will run out.  Financial solutions must be identified and secured.

Overall, the VA is doing a decent job of trying to manage a herd of impatient elephants. Unfortunately, we are quickly losing our Filipino veterans who have waited for almost two-thirds of their lifetimes to receive what the U.S. government now agrees they are due.

As each day passes, patience becomes thinner and thinner, and the possibility of bringing a mutually satisfactory completion to this more than 60-year ordeal fades further and further away.

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