lump-sum payment proposal rejected

Tom Philpott reports on military.com:

The Veterans’ Disability Benefits Commission has examined and rejected a proposal that the VA begin offering veterans with lower-rated disabilities a lump-sum payment instead of lifetime monthly compensation. The 13-member commission reached its decision unanimously last week at a public meeting in Washington D.C. It did so after being briefed on the pros and cons of lump-sum VA disability payments, and hearing arguments against the idea from veterans’ service organizations. . . .

Joseph V. Violante, legislative director for Disabled American Veterans, testified Oct. 19 against the lump-sum settlements, on behalf of 13 veterans’ groups and service associations. Later, in an interview, Violante said he was surprised to learn that commissioners, that same day, directed their staff to prepare a decision paper recommending rejection of all lump-sum options. . . .

Veterans should be relieved, said Violante. Those tempted by lump sums, he said, "would be giving up a lot of their benefit . . . and would face the possibility of not being able to re-open their claim should conditions worsen."

This decision is good news for veterans. If the lump-sum payment option were to be enacted, many veterans would lose the ability to reopen their claims and ask for increases in the percentage of their service-connected disability, and resulting increase in their monthly disability payments.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this system, the VA rates claims on a percentage basis, from 0%, 10%, etc., up to 100%. You guessed it: initially many claims are rated at a very low percentage. Over a period of many years, the veteran may reopen their claim, or go through the appeals process to increase the percentage of disability, and thus the amount of compensation. Many disabilities are rated too low initially, and many disabilities become more severe with age. A lump-sum payment would leave veterans vulnerable as they aged, and unable to access compensation.

So, for whatever reason, the right outcome is in the works! A delightful change of pace from a system that is so adversarial to veterans in general.