Veterans
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The board is currently on track to meet and exceed its FY 2018 total goal of reviewing a historic 81,000 appeals by Sept. 30, 2018.
This pace paves the way for implementation of the Appeals Modernization Act, which has a target implementation date of Feb. 14, 2019, and will offer Veterans more choice and control over their claims and appeals process.
“I’m proud of the board for its dedication and commitment toward resolving appeals decisions for Veterans, and striving to reach a historic fiscal year goal of 81,000 appeals decisions delivered to Veterans,” said VA’s Acting Secretary Peter O’Rourke. “The board’s significant increase in results for Veterans and their families serves as another strong example of the department’s commitment to getting it right for veterans.”
In FY 2017, Congress allocated the board approximately $42 million, which was used to hire additional staff, primarily more than 200 decision-writing attorneys and 24 veterans law judges. The increase in staff, along with streamlining several processes, contributed to the result.
VA’s Board of Veterans’ Appeals’ mission is to conduct hearings and decide appeals in a timely manner.
VA’s disability appeals process is a complex, multi-step adjudication process that uses “open records,” which allows veterans to submit medical and lay evidence at any point from the beginning to the end of the process, including while the claim is pending on appeal; this may, in turn, require VA to develop further evidence on the Veteran’s behalf.
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For information about the association and it 97th annual reunion in Jacksonville, Florida from Sept. 19 to 23, contact Mike Davino at
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The 2018 theme, “InnoVAtion to Implementation,” highlights VA researchers’ role in identifying and testing new ways to prevent and treat illness and disease, and translating those ideas into everyday health care for veterans and other Americans.
“Most veterans will be familiar with the slogan ‘improvise, adapt and overcome,’ said Acting VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “This captures the forward-leaning spirit of the VA research community.
For more than nine decades, VA’s researchers have eagerly taken on problems affecting the health of our veterans and searched for new solutions and better ways of addressing those health issues.
The results of VA’s research have improved health care dramatically – not only for veterans, but for all Americans and people around the world.”
VA medical centers will mark Research Week with special events such as tours of research facilities, lectures, poster displays and luncheons to honor the veterans who participate voluntarily in VA studies.
Events at VA medical centers nationwide will showcase the work of VA researchers in areas ranging from drug discovery, informatics, rehabilitation technology to mental health, caregiving and complementary and integrative health.
One focus of the events will be VA’s Million Veteran Program (MVP), now one of the world’s largest genomic databases, with well over 650,000 veterans enrolled.
More than 20 research studies using MVP data are already underway, on topics ranging from heart and kidney disease to mental health.
To learn more about the contributions of VA researchers, past and present, visit www.research.va.gov.
For more information on local and national events marking National VA Research Week, visit www.research.va.gov/researchweek.
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Previously, it was unclear whether VA providers could furnish care to veterans in other states through telehealth because of licensing restrictions or state-specific telehealth laws.
This new rule exercises federal preemption to override those state restrictions, paving the way for VA to expand care to veterans using telehealth.
VA worked closely with the White House Office of American Innovation and the Department of Justice for implementation of the new rule.
“This new rule is critical to VA’s ‘Anywhere to Anywhere’ initiative,” said VA Acting Secretary Robert Wilkie. “Now that the rule has been finalized, VA providers and patients can start enjoying the full benefits of VA’s telehealth services.”
By enabling veterans nationwide to receive care at home, the rule will especially benefit veterans living in rural areas who would otherwise need to travel a considerable distance or across state lines to receive care.
The rule also will expand veterans’ access to critical care that can be provided virtually — such as mental health care and suicide prevention — by allowing quicker and easier access to VA mental health providers through telehealth.
VA first announced the proposed rule, titled “Authority of Health Care Providers to Practice Telehealth,” at a White House event last August, during which VA and President Donald Trump launched the “Anywhere to Anywhere” initiative.
In the announcement, VA also unveiled VA Video Connect, a video conferencing app for veterans and VA providers.
Through this new rule, VA providers will be able to use VA Video Connect and other forms of telehealth to furnish care to Veterans anywhere in the country, including in the veteran’s home.
To learn more about VA’s telehealth “Anywhere to Anywhere” initiative, visit VA’s Office of Connected Care at www.connectedcare.va.gov.
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Previously, it was unclear whether VA providers could furnish care to veterans in other states through telehealth because of licensing restrictions or state-specific telehealth laws.
This new rule exercises federal preemption to override those state restrictions, paving the way for VA to expand care to veterans using telehealth.
VA worked closely with the White House Office of American Innovation and the Department of Justice for implementation of the new rule.
“This new rule is critical to VA’s ‘Anywhere to Anywhere’ initiative,” said VA Acting Secretary Robert Wilkie. “Now that the rule has been finalized, VA providers and patients can start enjoying the full benefits of VA’s telehealth services.”
By enabling veterans nationwide to receive care at home, the rule will especially benefit veterans living in rural areas who would otherwise need to travel a considerable distance or across state lines to receive care.
The rule also will expand veterans’ access to critical care that can be provided virtually — such as mental health care and suicide prevention — by allowing quicker and easier access to VA mental health providers through telehealth.
VA first announced the proposed rule, titled “Authority of Health Care Providers to Practice Telehealth,” at a White House event last August, during which VA and President Donald Trump launched the “Anywhere to Anywhere” initiative.
In the announcement, VA also unveiled VA Video Connect, a video conferencing app for veterans and VA providers.
Through this new rule, VA providers will be able to use VA Video Connect and other forms of telehealth to furnish care to Veterans anywhere in the country, including in the veteran’s home.
To learn more about VA’s telehealth “Anywhere to Anywhere” initiative, visit VA’s Office of Connected Care at www.connectedcare.va.gov.
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Event registration is at 4:30 p.m. with the walk at 5 p.m. at the Clearlake VA Clinic, 15145 Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake. The event will begin at the rear of the building.
The walk and roll benefits homeless veterans and promotes health and wellness.
Donations of socks and personal hygiene items will be accepted for homeless veterans.
A raffle will be held after the walk. A raffle entry comes with donation.
For more information call 707-995-7225.
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“The RAND study adds to a growing list of research confirming what many veterans and VA employees believe – VA provides high-quality care,” said VA Acting Secretary Robert Wilkie. “We are constantly striving to improve our care at VA, but this should encourage veterans and the public that VA care is in many instances as good as or better than the private sector.”
The study, which was published online April 25, compared each VA facility to three non-VA facilities with similar geographic settings (rural/urban,) size (number of beds) and complexity of care.
The analysis focused on three of the six “Domains of Quality of Care” as defined by the Institute of Medicine, (now known as the National Academy of Medicine) including safety, effectiveness and patient-centered care.
The authors of the RAND study analyzed inpatient and outpatient performance measures used by VA and non-VA hospitals.
On inpatient care, VA hospitals performed on average the same or significantly better than non-VA hospitals on 21 of 26 measures.
VA performed significantly better than commercial and Medicaid Health Maintenance Organizations on 28 of 30 measures, with no difference on the other two. There was a wide variation in performance across VA, but an even wider variation among the non-VA hospitals.
For more information, see the quality data available on VA’s Access to Care website at www.accesstocare.va.gov.
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Interested applicants can apply to work in any of Thompson’s offices, including in Napa, Santa Rosa, Vallejo and Washington, DC.
“As a combat Vietnam veteran, serving our veterans and finding ways to incorporate their expertise into my work is one of my top priorities,” said Thompson. “So I am honored to have the opportunity to add one of our nation’s veterans to my staff and include their knowledge into our work to serve our district. All eligible veterans are encouraged to apply and take advantage of this great chance to continue in public service.”
The duties of the position could include, but is not limited to working as a constituent services representative helping local constituents resolve issues with federal agencies, attending local events and meetings on behalf of your Member of Congress, and performing legislative work.
The Wounded Warrior Fellowship Program was established by the House of Representatives to provide employment opportunities for wounded or disabled veterans within member offices.
The program is limited to veterans who meet all of the following requirements:
– Honorably discharged and released from active duty within the last five years;
– Terminal pay grades at or below E-5 or O-3; and
– Twenty percent or greater service connected disabilities (waived if you have a Purple Heart).
Please note that veterans who are in receipt of a 20-year or Temporary Early Retirement Authorization retirement are not eligible for the program.
Interested veterans should go to https://www.usajobs.gov/ and search “Wounded Warrior Fellowship Program” for more information and how to apply.
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These two opportunities will allow eligible veterans to receive a review of a decision on a claim much faster than the current appeals process.
“VA is committed to transforming the appeals process,” said VA Acting Secretary Robert Wilkie. “This is evidenced by the success of Rapid Appeals Modernization Program which has seen over 12,000 veterans opt-in. In addition, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals has issued approximately 46,000 decisions this fiscal year — nearly 23,000 more decisions than last year at this time. We are on pace to reach a historical fiscal goal of 81,000 decisions.”
First, VA will expand the Rapid Appeals Modernization Program, or RAMP, by removing the requirement that veterans first receive an invitation from VA in order to elect participation in the program.
RAMP, which was initially launched in November 2017 as an invitation only program, allows eligible veterans with a disability compensation appeal early access to the Higher-Level Review and Supplemental Claim Lanes outlined in the Appeals Modernization Act.
By removing the invitation requirement, veterans will have the opportunity to benefit from the new, more efficient decision review process, versus continuing to wait in the legacy appeal process. As of March 31, RAMP reviews were completed in an average of 52 days.
Second, in May, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals will launch its Early Applicability of Appeals Modernization, or BEAAM, pilot project.
Under this project, the board will partner with the National Organization of Veterans’ Advocates, Paralyzed Veterans of America and the California Department of Veterans Affairs to identify 50 Veterans who are dissatisfied with a recent decision on their benefits claim.
These veterans will participate in a study that allows them the option of appealing directly to the board or seeking a review in RAMP. In this study, the board will collect preliminary data about veteran choices and experiences.
In October, the board will begin deciding appeals from RAMP decisions using the features of the Appeals Modernization Act, specifically its new, separate Direct, Evidence and Hearing dockets.
The expansion of RAMP, combined with the BEAAM, will allow VA to collect valuable data about implementation of the Appeals Modernization Act.
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