NPN benefitsBlog

How the Military Has Repaid Iraq Vets With Permanent Disabilities

Bob Woodruff of ABC News has an interesting article recently, How the Military Has Repaid Iraq Vets With Permanent Disabilities. Why Soldiers With Traumatic Brain Injuries and Permanent Handicaps Are Considered Partially Disabled. The article, part of a series by Woodruff, is about how Americans are treating it's returning heroes who have traumatic brain injuries(TBI). It's estimated that 10-15% of Iraq GI's will returning to an ungrateful nation with serious TBI injuries they will have to live with the rest of their lives

According to Woodruff's article, veterans looking to the VA for disability compensation and assistance often have to prove they were exposed to blasts and have to follow an endless paper trail to substantiate injuries and medical records. The problem is that their injuries are such that they cannot pursue this endless runaround that would be difficult even for someone without injuries. The bottom line is with no one to provide assistance to these disabled veterans there is no help forthcoming. I'm also reminded of the neglect of Iraq veterans with a troubling statistic I saw from the DoD several months back noting that although more than 3 out of 10 soldiers met the criteria for a “mental disorder”, fewer than half of them received help.

It's a crying shame. We will wonder as a nation why the costs will pop up in other areas in the coming years. Look for our nation's homeless shelters to do a booming business serving unserved veterans. As a Vietnam Vet, I am reminded of the song Deja Vu All Over Again.

Dodd Introduces Disabilities Savings Act of 2008

On March 11, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), senior member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and Chairman of its Subcommittee on Children and Families, announced the introduction of the Disabilities Savings Act of 2008 at an event with Autism Speaks Co-Founders Bob and Suzanne Wright, Stuart Spielman, the father of a teenage son with Autism, Kathy Neas of Easter Seals, and families of children with autism and other disabilities.

The legislation is a significant move to help families for their children with lifelong disabilities. Senator Dodd notes that the legislation "provides families with an important tool to save the money they need for their unique needs and provide for their children long after they are gone.”

This legislation has a long way to go in a year filled with election politics, but this has a good chance of passage. What this does is removes the administration of support programs that help children with lifelong disabilities from the Social Security Administration. Currently such support is only available to families who can afford legal help to develop and administer what is called a Special Needs Trust. Moreover, Senator Dodd's DSA proposes to allow for job supports such as "employment training and support, transportation, and other related services". Such a move would make the use of the Social Security work incentives which are poorly administered by SSA less used. Access now is such a hassle that families don't use them when they are needed.

Below is a description of the program from Senator Dodd's office:

Disability Savings Act of 2008

Purpose:
To encourage individuals with disabilities and their families to save private funds for disability-related expenses to supplement, not supplant, benefits provided by other sources (including Medicaid and private insurance) so that people with disabilities can maintain health, independence, and quality of life.

Overview:

This legislation encourages individuals with disabilities and their families to save personal funds for their unique disability-related needs in Disability Savings Accounts (DSAs). The establishment of DSAs will promote the investment of private funds in the long-term well-being of individuals with disabilities through tax-advantaged savings tools, including a refundable tax credit for low-income savers, while protecting the beneficiary’s access to critical public supports.

Specifics:

DSAs will provide a tax-advantaged mechanism for individuals with disabilities to save money.

* Funds expended from the DSA for specific services such as education, medical services, employment training and support, transportation, and other related services will be tax-free.

* Interest on accounts with a balance of $250,000 or less is tax free.

* Low income earners will receive a refundable matching tax credit of up to $1000 for their contributions to the DSA.

* Funds from college savings plans and special needs trusts for the same beneficiary can be rolled into the DSA without penalty.

Beneficiaries of the account must be determined to be blind or disabled by the Social Security Administration or the Disability Determination Service of a state and be under the age of 65. The account can be held and managed by the beneficiary, their spouse or family member, or a legal guardian through a financial institution. The DSAs are designed to be easier to manage and set up than current savings mechanisms, which often require the expensive services of an attorney. Beneficiaries or their representative can expend funds directly from the account for services. Assets held in the fund will not be counted against eligibility for Medicaid and SSI or other federal support services.

Knowledge of Eye Health Lacking with Most Americans

Most Americans do not know the risks and warning signs of diseases that could blind them if they don't seek timely detection and treatment, according to recent findings of the "Survey of Public Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Related to Eye Health and Disease".

Seventy-one percent of respondents reported that a loss of their eyesight would rate as a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10, meaning that it would have the greatest impact on their day-to-day life. However, only eight percent knew that there are no early warning signs of glaucoma, a condition that can damage the eye's optic nerve and result in vision loss and blindness.

Fifty-one percent said that they have heard that people with diabetes are at increased risk of developing eye disease, but only 11 percent knew that there are usually no early warning signs. Only 16 percent had ever heard the term "low vision," which affects millions of Americans. Low vision is vision loss that standard eyeglasses, contact lenses, medicine, or surgery cannot correct, making everyday tasks difficult to do. Simple tasks like reading the mail, watching TV, shopping, cooking, and writing become challenging.

Hispanic respondents reported the lowest access to eye health information, knew the least about eye health, and were the least likely to have their eyes examined among all racial/ethnic groups participating in the survey. Forty-one percent of Hispanics reported that they had not seen or heard anything about eye health or disease in the last year, compared with 28 percent of Asians, 26 percent of African-Americans, and 16 percent of Caucasians.

New EEOC Rules for Vets with Service Connected Disabilities

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued two new question-and-answer guides for providing technical assistance for employers and veterans on workplace issues affecting veterans with service-connected disabilities.

The new guide for employers explains how protections for veterans with service-connected disabilities differ under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). The document further describes how the ADA in particular applies to recruiting, hiring, and accommodating veterans with service-connected disabilities. The EEOC enforces Title I of the ADA, which prohibits employment discrimination against people with disabilities in the private sector and state and local governments. The U.S. Department of Labor enforces USERRA, which applies to the reemployment of veterans with and without service-connected disabilities.

The second publication answers questions that veterans with service-connected disabilities may have about the protections they are entitled to when they seek to return to their former jobs or look to find their first, or new, civilian jobs. The document also explains changes or adjustments that veterans may need, because of their injuries, to apply for, or perform, a job, or to enjoy equal access to the workplace.