Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States Issues Joint Statement on FY 2019 Budget for Veterans Programs
"Chairman Isakson, Ranking Member Tester, and members of the committee, on behalf of the co-authors of The Independent Budget (IB)--DAV (
"The IB's recommendations include funding for all discretionary programs for FY 2019 as well as advance appropriations recommendations for medical care accounts for FY 2020. The full budget report recently released by the IB addressing all aspects of discretionary funding for the
"This insufficient level is reflected in the "Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 and Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act, 2017" as approved and amended by
"The IB veterans service organizations (IBVSO) believe that the FY 2019
"The Administration's revised budget request for medical programs includes
"The IBVSOs share growing concerns about the massive growth in expenditures in community care spending in FY 2019, which includes
"
"The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA) significantly raised the defense and non-defense discretionary spending caps in FY 2018 and FY 2019, and the President has signed these new caps into law. In light of the BBA, the Administration modified its FY 2019 budget request to account for these new cap levels.
For FY 2019, the IB recommends
* Current Services Estimate
* Increase in Patient Workload
* Additional Medical Care Program Costs
* Total FY 2019 Medical Community Care
"The IBVSOs believe that significant attention must be placed on ensuring adequate resources are provided through the Medical Services account to ensure timely delivery of high quality health care. The budget shortfall this fiscal year is emblematic of the insufficient funding that has plagued, and may continue to plague, the
"Additionally, we believe the Administration's advance appropriation request for
"Our recommendations for
"Our medical programs funding recommendation for FY 2019 is adjusted in the baseline for funding within the Medical Services account based on
Additional Medical Care Program Costs:
"The Independent Budget report on funding for FY 2017 and FY 2018, delivered to
Long-Term Services & Supports
"The Independent Budget recommends a modest increase of
Prosthetics and Sensory Aids
"In order to meet the increase in demand for prosthetics, the IB recommends an additional
Women Veterans
"The
"Additional funds are needed to expand and repair
Reproductive Services (to Include IVF)
"
Emergency Care
"
"The requested
Extending Eligibility for Comprehensive Caregiver Supports
"Included in this year's IB budget recommendation is funding necessary to implement eligibility expansion of
Medical Community Care
For Medical Community Care, the IB recommends
* Current Services Estimate
* Increase in Patient Workload
* Total FY 2019 Medical Community Care
"Our recommended increase includes the growth in current services to include current obligations under the Choice program. The Choice program is a temporary mandatory program funded under emergency designation and is outside the annual budget process that governs discretionary spending.
"We also believe funding
Medical Support and Compliance
"For Medical Support and Compliance, The Independent Budget recommends
"For
"For FY 2020, the IB recommends approximately
"
"For
Emerging Research Needs
"IBVSOs believe
* post-deployment mental health concerns such as PTSD, depression, anxiety, and suicide in the veteran population;
* gender-specific health care needs of the
* new engineering and technological methods to improve the lives of veterans with prosthetic systems that replace lost limbs or activate paralyzed nerves, muscles, and limbs;
* studies dedicated to understanding chronic multi-symptom illnesses among Gulf War veterans and the long-term health effects of potentially hazardous substances to which they may have been exposed;
* innovative health services strategies, such as telehealth and self-directed care, that lead to accessible, high-quality, cost-effective care for all veterans; and
* leverage the only known integrated and comprehensive caregiver support program in the
Million Veteran Program
"
"Accordingly, the IBVSOs recommend
Construction Programs
"Each year
"In its FY 2018 Budget Request,
"It is time for the projects that have been in limbo for years or that present a safety risk to veterans and employees to be put on a course to completion within the next five years. To accomplish this goal, the IBVSOs recommend that
"The IBVSOs also recommend, as outlined in its Framework for Veterans Health Care Reform, that
Research Infrastructure
"State-of-the-art research requires state-of-the-art technology, equipment, and facilities. For decades,
"The IBVSOs believe that
"In FY 2018,
"To ensure that
State Veterans Home Construction Grants
"Grants for state extended-care facilities, commonly known as state home construction grants, are a critical element of federal support for the state veterans' homes. The state veterans' home program is a very successful federal-state partnership in which
"State homes provide more than 30,000 nursing home and domiciliary beds for veterans, their spouses, and gold-star parents of deceased veterans. Overall, state homes provide more than half of
"State construction grants help build, renovate, repair, and expand both nursing homes and domiciliaries, with states required to provide 35 percent of the cost for these projects in matching funding.
"With almost
Grants for State Veterans Cemeteries
"The State Cemetery Grant Program allows states to expand veteran burial options by raising half the funds needed to build and begin operation of state veterans cemeteries. NCA provides the remaining funding for construction and operational funds, as well as cemetery design assistance. Funding additional projects in FY 2019 in tribal, rural and urban areas will provide burial options for more veterans and complement
"We are pleased to hear Secretary of Veterans Affairs
"While improvements to information technology (IT) systems are an important part of
"We call on
General Operating Expenses (GOE)
"
"The IB recommends approximately
Compensation Service Personnel
"In recent years VBA has made significant progress in reducing the claims backlog, which was over 610,000 claims in
"However, the trends on accuracy have gone the other direction. In
"In addition, VBA has a backlog of non-rating related claims, such as for dependency status changes, that must also be addressed in a timely manner. While continued advancements in the functionality of e-Benefits and other IT systems have been allowed veterans and their representatives directly make dependency changes more quickly, this non-rating related workload is too often given low priority status in Regional Offices. VBA must provide the resources and attention necessary to consistently complete this work in a timely manner.
"It is also critical that VBA have sufficient funding for IT development and maintenance. In particular, VBA must devote additional resources to stakeholder IT enhancements in order to allow VSOs to more efficiently submit and review claims they represent. This will not only provide better service to veterans, it will also reduce some of the burden and workload that would otherwise fall on VBA personnel.
"Another major driver of VBA workload is appeals processing. There were approximately 470,000 pending appeals of claims decisions at various stages between VBA and the
"Last year,
"Over the past several years,
"For FY 2019, the IBVSOs recommend an additional 900 FTEE for VBA. Of those, 500 should be allocated to the Compensation Service to address the pending and future appeals workload; another 350 should be allocated to address the growing backlog of non-rating related work such as dependency claims; and 50 should be allocated to the Fiduciary program to address increased workload in recent years, particularly related to veterans participating in
"Finally, as the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017 continues to be fully implemented, including RAMP, VBA must develop more accurate workload, production and staffing models in order to accurately forecast future VBA resource requirements.
VR&E Service Personnel
"The Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Service (VR&E), also known as the VetSuccess program, provides critical counseling and other adjunct services necessary to enable service disabled veterans to overcome barriers as they prepare for, find, and maintain gainful employment. VetSuccess offers services on five tracks: re-employment, rapid access to employment, self-employment, employment through long-term services, and independent living.
"An extension for the delivery of VR&E assistance at a key transition point for veterans is the VetSuccess on Campus (VSOC) program deployed at 94 college campuses. Additional VR&E services are provided at 71 select military installations for active duty service members undergoing medical separations through the
"Over the past four years, program participation has increased by an estimated 16.8 percent, while VR&E staffing has risen just 1.8 percent.
"In 2016,
"In order to achieve the 1:125 counselor-to-client ratio established by
"
"With the enactment of the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act (P.L. 115-55), the Board in 2018 will be developing and implementing the new appeals system scheduled to begin in
"Once the new appeals system is stood up in 2019, overall workload coming into the Board is expected to begin leveling off, or perhaps begin to decrease, as veterans take advantage of the expanded options to resolve appeals at the AOJ level. Thus, it is too early to project whether the Board will require more or less resources in its future state.
"For FY 2018, the Board is projecting that it will produce 81,000 decisions, the highest total in the Board's history, though there will still remain a significant backlog of appeals in the pipeline to the Board.
"For FY 2019, the IBVSOs do not recommend any additional staffing increases at the Board; however, it is critical that the Board complete the hiring and training of new personnel as rapidly as possible. Further, it will be critical for
"The
"In a strategic effort to offer all veterans burial options within 75 miles of their home, the NCA continues to expand and improve the national cemetery system by adding new and/or expanded national cemeteries. Due to a continued increase in demand for burial space which is not expected to peak until 2022, NCA must continue to expand national cemeteries and provide more burial options for veterans. This much-needed expansion of the national cemetery system will help to facilitate the projected increase in annual veteran interments, and will simultaneously increase the overall number of graves being maintained by the NCA to 3.7 million in 2018 and 4 million by 2021.
"The IBVSOs strongly believe that
"In order to minimize the dual negative impacts of increasing interments and limited veteran burial space, the NCA needs to:
* Continue developing new national cemeteries;
* Maximize burial options within existing national cemeteries;
* Strongly encourage the development of state veteran cemeteries; and
* Increase burial options for veterans in highly rural areas.
"With the above considerations in mind, The Independent Budget recommends
Administration Legislative Proposals
"The Independent Budget supports the proposal to include in
Treatment of
"The Independent Budget opposes the proposal to end the current practice of offsetting a veteran's copayment debt with reimbursements it receives from that veteran's health plan. This will shift the cost of over
"The IB also opposes the proposal to impose punitive enforcement to make veterans pay over
Clarify Evidentiary Threshold for Ordering VA Examinations
"
Elimination of Payment of Benefits to the Estates of Deceased Nehmer Class Members and to the
"
Clarify Chemicals at Issue for Purposes of Presumptive Service Connection for Veterans Serving in the
"
Amendment of Policy to Eliminate Pay Cap for Registered Nurses
"The Independent Budget supports
Legal Services for Homeless Veterans
"Legal issues are often a significant barrier to homeless reintegration. The Independent Budget supports the proposal to authorize
Modernizing
"The Independent Budget supports the proposal to clarify that
"Extend the
"The Independent Budget supports extending
"Spousal and Dependent Inscriptions on Veteran Headstones and Markers
"The Independent Budget supports
"
"1$10 billion under P.L. 113-146 enacted
“Bureaucratic Challenges to Hurricane Recovery in Puerto Rico.”
Symbility Solutions to Announce Full Year and Q4 2017 Results
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News