Since the draw-down of forces in Iraq, and the expected return of thousands of soldiers from Afghanistan in the coming years (did you know that March 2014 was the FIRST month in 10 years where no American soldiers died in Afghanistan?), it is becoming very clear that the new generation of Veterans don’t know a lot about Veterans Benefits.
Beyond that, however, is the problem that Veterans, VA employees, BVA Judges and CAVC Judges do not share a common language – everything thinks words mean 1 thing, but the other group says it means something else.
A lot of Vets – and civilians alike – confuse the different parts of the VA. While the VHA (health care) is making great strides to improve its services and deliveries, many folks hear of the stories of VBA (benefits) delays, and don’t understand that it is benefits Veterans are having the BIG difficulties with.
While I believe that one of the big problems with the VA is that the right hand (VHA) and the left hand (VBA) don’t talk to each other, when handling our VA Claim or Appeal, we need to be careful that we don’t confuse the 2 major parts of the VA.
So here is a basic overview.
What is Veterans Affairs?
The US Department of Veterans Affairs provides patient care and federal benefits to veterans, and in some cases their dependents and survivors.
Also known as the VA, it is one of the largest Federal government Agencies. It is organized in 3 parts: the VHA, the VBA, and the National Cemetery Administration.
1. VHA (Veterans Health Administration)
The largest of the 3 Administrations within the VA, the VHA administers Veteran Health Care Programs.
The VHA consists of 1,400 Outpatient Treatment Centers and Hospitals, staffs overt 255,000 employees, and is connected to over 107 Academic Health Systems. The VA claims that over 65% of physicians in the US have trained in VA facilities.
Veterans seeking health care must apply, at which time they are assigned to one of the Eight Priority Groups:
Visit this link to learn which Veterans are included in each of the 8 Priority Groups.
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2. VBA (Veterans Benefits Administration).
The VBA administers Title 38 VA Benefits claims including claims for service-connected disability compensation, survivor Accrued Benefits and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), veteran and survivor pensions, education benefits, housing benefits and assistance, home loans, vocational rehabilitation benefits, and many other veterans assistance services.
The VBA is organized into 56 Regional Offices (or VAROs as they are sometimes called).
There are VAROs in every state, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. The VARO receives the claim, develops the evidence to support the claim, and issues an initial decision on the claim.
Click here to find your VA Regional Office.
The BVA is also a part of the VBA. The BVA is the Board of Veterans Appeals. After the VARO regional office decides a claim, a Veteran has a chance to appeal any part of the VA’s decision he or she disagrees with to the BVA.
There are only 64 Veterans Law Judges, 12 of whom are “supervisory” , and they handle approximately 38,000 Veterans Benefits Appeals each year.
3. National Cemetery Administration.
In the 1970s, the Department of the Army transferred the National Cemetery Administration to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
This portion of the VA administers funeral benefits for Veterans – including military burials, markers, funerals and honors, certificates and flags, and burial reimbursement for some veterans.
