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January 17, 2009
Wounded troops still waiting to file new appeals of disability ratings
The AP (1/8) reports that even though Congress mandated creation of a Department of Defense board to review disability appeals in Dec. 2007, "wounded troops are still waiting to file new appeals of disability ratings."
A disability rating "above 30 percent means a service member gets a monthly retirement check, and his or her family is eligible for care at military hospitals," whereas "those rated below 30 percent get severance payments that are taxed," and their families "no longer receive government-provided healthcare."
Previously, "veterans could only seek a lengthy review from a military panel that rarely changed them." According to Retired Army Lt. Col. Mike Parker, the "military often doesn't rate a veteran's most disabling condition. For example, Parker said a soldier had a degenerative eye disease that would have given him over 30 percent disability, but the Army only rated his shin splints, which got a 10 percent rating."
Related Links:
- "Wounded troops still waiting," Devener Post,/i>, January 8, 2009.
Posted by admin at January 17, 2009 12:23 PM