Individual Unemployability to end

[Paul Albertine]

Military Times:

WASHINGTON — The White House’s proposed $186.5 billion budget for Department of Veterans Affairs operations next year includes more than $13 billion for medical care outside VA and $3.6 billion in savings from benefits trims.

The proposal, officially released Tuesday and now facing months of scrutiny on Capitol Hill, represents another sizable boost for the department, which over the last decade has seen annual increases while other government agencies have faced funding reductions.

President Trump’s plan calls for a $4.4 billion increase in discretionary funding for the department, roughly a 6 percent increase from fiscal 2017 levels. The $82 billion total discretionary request is nearly twice as large as the department’s entire budget in fiscal 2001, before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Officials said the VA spending request reflects that “veterans’ access to timely, high quality health care is one of this administration’s highest priorities.” But they also promised their focus is on “providing veterans with the most efficient and effective care and benefits,” and proposes several trade offs to pay for program expansions.

The most dramatic of those is an end to Individual Unemployability benefit payments to retirement-age veterans, a move expected to save $3.2 billion next year alone and $41 billion over the next decade.

Under current policies, the Individual Unemployability program allows VA to award payouts at the 100-percent disabled rate to veterans who cannot find work due to service-connected injuries, even if they are not deemed 100-percent disabled. The number of program recipients has tripled since 2000, reaching almost 339,000 in fiscal 2016.

Trump has proposed stopping those payouts once veterans are eligible for Social Security retirement benefits, arguing the practice now amounts to “the duplication of benefits.” It would impact more than 225,000 veterans receiving the payouts today.

All veterans receiving benefits checks from the department would also be affected by a plan to “round down” cost-of-living increases to the nearest dollar, which was VA policy from the late 1990s until 2013.

VA officials say the move would save $20 million in fiscal 2018 and cost individual veterans “no more than $12 per year.” But the idea has proven controversial in the past, and is likely to face opposition from outside advocates.

[Howard Jacobs ROH]

So total and permanent doesn't mean a thing??  I jumped from 80% to 100% with the unemployability but I'm also 100% for prostate cancer which is not total and permanent (that's a different subject alone). There is a little extra that you can receive over the 100% as long as you have 2 disabilities rated at 80 or higher and they call it home bound. I questioned my rep about it and he said you don't have to be home bound to receive it... plus it was an automatic addition.   So.... if I loose the unemployability... there will be no change because of the cancer... unless it disappears or they remove the prostate then they will consider me cured and I will loose the 100% for the cancer and return to my previous % before the unemployability.  I did not qualify for Social Security but I get medicare through my ex... it's nice to have as a back up and I pay for the part-B.  So now I guess I will have to prepare to live off my previous $ before all this came about..........it's going to suck big time.

[Paul Albertine]

Don't panic, the purpose ...hopefully, of the post was inform...call your congressional rep, senator etc and be heard on the subject ..let them know your opinions, concerns ... there are still elections and politicians still have to be re-elected, and veterans are a large group of voters...  nvr give up

Hope you are with family and friends on memorial day..".to anyone who put on the uniform, and stood the watch, I salute you"

Be well brother