Could your parents afford to pay for your needed therapy - after a Traumatic Brain Injury - on $108.00 a month?
This post isn't intended to cast a poor light on the Doctors and Nuses who tend our wounded. This post is to help shed some light on something that is mostly kept in the dark. The aftercare and therapy that is not happening when Dr's hands are tied. The VA does what it can on the level of the Dr's and Nurses. How can we help change this? Below is the chart that shows how our men and women are compensated after they get out of the Military due to an injury related release. Did you know that they are releasing TBI (traumatic brain injuries) with little to ZERO follow up care/therapy. Then so many of them are only qualifying for 10% disability? The politicians need to step up and do something with the funding. Please, let your local and State Politicians know, this type of aftercare is unacceptable.
Disability CompensationContact your Veterans Service representative or VA Seamless Transition program representative to calculate your service-connected disability compensation. There are a number of factors that affect the amount of compensation you receive, i.e. injuries, number of dependents, years of service, etc. The charts below provide a sample calculation.
Compensation for Service Connected Disability (VA)
Monthly Rates of Compensation
Effective Dec. 1, 2004
10%........................................
Veteran Alone $108
With Spouse & Child $108
20%........................................
Veteran Alone $210
With Spouse & Child $210
30%........................................
Veteran Alone $324
With Spouse & Child $391
40%........................................
Veteran Alone $466
With Spouse & Child $555
50%........................................
Veteran Alone $663
With Spouse & Child $775
60%........................................
Veteran Alone $839
With Spouse & Child $973
70%........................................
Veteran Alone $1,056
With Spouse & Child $1212
80%........................................
Veteran Alone $1,227
With Spouse & Child $1406
90%........................................
Veteran Alone $1,380
With Spouse & Child $1581
100%......................................
Veteran Alone $2,299
With Spouse & Child $2523
* There are additional amounts of compensation available for veterans based on the type of injury sustained. Additionally, Marines whose service rated disabilities are rated at 30% or more may be entitled to additional compensation.VA Compensation Rate Table
Calculating Disability Retirement Pay
E-3 with over 3 years of Service and 40% Disability
E-5 with over 6 years of Service and 40% Disability
Two Methods - Select whichever is most favorable to you
Length of Service Method Basic Pay x 2.5% (0.025) x Years of service
$1641.00
x 2.5%
x 3
------------
$123.07/month
$2205.30
x 2.5%
x 6
------------
$330.79/month
Percent-disability method Basic-Pay x Percent Disability
$1641.00
x 40%
------------
$656.40/month
$2205.30
x 40%
------------
$882.12/month
Severance Pay = Base Pay X Yrs of Svc X 2
$9846.00
$26,463.60
Note: Figures calculated using average of "high-three" basic pay. Assumptions are that the Sgt was a Cpl in 2003 and Lcpl was a PFC in 2003. Each disability retirement will be accompanied by a line-of-duty investigation. If the disability is not due to your intentional misconduct or willful neglect, and if it was not incurred while AWOL, then you are entitled to disability severance pay in the amount of two month's basic pay per year of service to a maximum of twelve years.
13 comments:
Well, all I have to say is that the VA doesn’t do anything independent from the politicians who make the laws, set policies, set initiatives and control our budget and their buddies, political appointees who run things the way their political counterparts dictate. Politicians are cowards and they hide behind the people who are legally obligated to carry out their policies and take all the heat for their double dealing and who, by the way, are also not allowed to speak out in defense of themselves. For example, last year the Secretary of the VA, a presidential appointee, told congress that the VA was receiving adequate funding to meet all of it’s health care goals (which are set by congress) while the rank and file of the VA was crying out for additional funding because we were having to cut back on services right and left, mostly for Vietnam vets, just so we could try and do as much as possible for the most recent returnees.
I sure like you and the Bigun. Thanks for letting me rant back…I won’t be at all bothered if you would like to delete this. SB
SB,
I am totally on board with everything you said. I think we all know that VA( not the doctors and nurses but the Govt. side of the establishment) and politicians are synonymous with each other. I wouldn't dream of deleting your comment. I support the doctors and nurses who work hard for Our men and women. I do. My point here is that we all should be aware of how desperate it is for the soldiers who are returning and are unable to complete healing due to lack of funding. Funding that they need after the Government decides they are through with the soldier. We have to all be aware of what's going on in order to construct and enact change. I appreciate your feedback, very much.
Thank you so much for reading and commenting. Thank you for caring, I know your job must be hard when having to deal with the day to day bureaucracy.
Di
I work at the VA too. There is just not enough staff! and stupid policies come down from Washington that waste our time - we keep saying, this doesn't do anything to help patient care, it's just for the bean-counters.
I wish the politicians would have to get their healthcare at the VA system, so they can see first hand how much of a backlog there is. THEN MAYBE they would do something usefull. We are busting at the seams here in Houston.
Hey S.Baboo - the head dude said that there was enough funding? I call bullshit!!
Sorry Di - S. Baboo and I both work in mental health and all this gets really draining firsthand. But thanks for posting on this. It's really, really important. But you're right - There is lots of stuff on the news about active duty in Iraq, but once they come home, they're just sort of dumped on our doorstep without adequate care.
Jane,
Thank you for posting. It's important for the "civilians" to know, we aren't making this stuff up. My Dad spent 23 years active duty and he has serious health issues. He too is receiving less than adequate care now because they just don't have the manpower to help. He has been bumped 6 months out on his appointment times - because the Doctors and nurses at VA (FT Bragg) are overwhelmed. They were overwhelmed with patient care before the war, now...
This is very sad. We waste so much money on needless things, and we can't take care of our brave men and women of the armed forces. Thanks for opening our eyes.
Jahowie,
Thanks for reading.
I don't work in the mental health part but I do work for the VA and we bust our asses trying to get the job done! Most VA employees take their job very seriously (not to imply you said anything of the kind to imply we don't). SB is right about the funding and politicians! It is despicable! Keep up the good posts!
I figured Duane would pop in...and I feel bad for him, as a fellow G employee.
I would mention that I can't get the G to pay for a hotel when I travel out of town for surveillance, but that would be selfish and not nearly as ridiculous.
I think you guys hit the nail on the head. Funding. It's absolutely pathetic. It's embarrassing. Atrocious. Frankly, it's criminal. Lack of funding is killing my dad.
My dad served in Vietnam and came home physically disabled. Based upon his treatment, he didn't go back to a VA hospital for over 20 years! He was disabled but refused to go to the hospital that was supposed to treat him. Pop said the hospital was worse than the war! It took 20 years for my mom to talk him back into going, as she was tired of paying all the associated medical bills.
Now he is a guy with a degenerative spine and disintegrating pelvis, who needs a double hip replacement. He gets disability from the G. As he gets older...he's 63...it becomes more and more difficult to get increases in disability as he gets worse.
Every doc he's been to agrees, ALL of his increasing medical problems are associated with his military injuries. He just can't get them to increase his disability a decent amount.
Pop refuses to get the hip replacement because he can't afford to miss work. He doesn't get enough disability to cover his bills when he misses work for the surgery. Yet, he'll be in a wheelchair without the surgery.
Congress is listening to Ditka and all these NFL greats complaining about their retirement. Ditka calls these guys warriors!!!??? Gimme a break. Being a vet myself, that is insulting. Insulting that Ditka would insinuate such a thing and even more that our G would take time to listen when they could be taking care of REAL warriors, like my Pop.
To comment on Tri-dummy: "Every doc he's been to agrees, ALL of his increasing medical problems are associated with his military injuries. He just can't get them to increase his disability a decent amount." I'm not sure who really decides the whole service connection thing. I've written countless of letters basically saying, duh, yes this was caused by his/her military experience, then some administrative person denies it or decreases their service connection! It's very frustrating. I'm not sure if it's even medical personnel who are making the money decisions. Sorrr your dad is going through so much crap.
The gov't and country treated the returning Vietnam vets in a very shitty way, so to give some credit I think they are trying to do a little better with the Iraq people. Not much, but a little.
Diane- your post has brought up good discussion! Now, let's see what we can do practically with all our collective anger...
Interesting... in the area of healthcare that I practice in, I usually end up seeing the children of active military service people. I work in a town with an enormous AF Base and we deal with TriCare on a daily basis. I don't usually see the military member directly because they are forced to use the medical care on base (a whole different issue). Maybe it is because they are active duty but we have had a fairly positive experience (a little different situation here) with mililtary insurance issues. Yes, there is a ton of red tape, and yes the hoops are incredible and forget even trying to contact a base doc but overall I think the families of these children feel like they get what they need. I realize this is a little different but thought I might put a bit of a positive spin on things.
Additionally,
The core company that I work for is a rehab residence for TBI and SCI for young adults, age 18-55 usually. (They must be medically stable.) We are beginning to see more and more war related injures but are having a horrible time with funding. We are doing everything we can to try and help these people and their families but it isn't easy.
Sorry to write a novel, but I also have some passion about this.
Jane, I am working on just that - trying to see what we can collectively do to create a positive difference on this issue. Bear with me , I hope to have some resources soon. ;)
KT - feel free to write as much as you like. I am an Army Brat. I must say, as a child I always received top notch care. Sadly, it doesn't flow through to our veterans. I am hoping to find ways that we can all help change that.
Thank you for writing and for caring, all of you.
Di
Sounds like he will be getting the care he needs now. I wonder if some entry level clerk handles all the requests and says no to everybody; then after they complain, THEN it goes to someone who can and does approve the needed care. Nevertheless, these vets need care and our support. good post, Di. You know I have family over there right now.
xoxo
Jenny
You know my heart, you know my mind. I want to write more, but think I would not add to the great feedback.
Only this, maybe. As some who was in the infantry for ten years and familiar with the VA. As someone who suffered a TBI before even enlisting and getting about a half dozen massive concussions during my time in, the field of medicine dealing with TBI is lacking in the civilian world just as badly.
Someone with a TBI and considered low functioning may have a brain scan that looks as good as a someone who has never had one.
Regardless of the VA or private medicine, in relation to triage and post care, if its not broken, bleeding, hot or red, physicans will deny first with 'conservative care' then play catch up down the road.
I appreciate every doctor in the VA. And i love my country. Specifically in regards to head injuries, its not the governments fault or medicines fault its a lack of understanding that is slowly changing towards the positive in care.
I would rather get the TBI I got 20 years ago today, that is for sure.
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