“Veterans, their families and their survivors are entitled to benefits that keep pace with the cost of living,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “VA is also using the latest technology to provide Veterans and their families with access to current information about their benefits.”

The new compensation rates will range from $127 monthly for a disability rated at 10 percent to $2,769 monthly for 100 percent. The cost of living adjustments (COLAs) also apply to disability and death pension recipients, survivors receiving Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, disabled Veterans receiving automobile and clothing allowances, and other benefits. The full rates are available on the Internet at www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/Rates/#BM01.

Under federal law, COLAs for VA’s compensation and pension rates are the same percentage as for Social Security benefits. The last COLA for VA benefits was in 2008 when the last Social Security increase occurred.

“Veterans receiving VA disability and pension payments can now check their new 2012 COLA increase online,” said Under Secretary for Benefits Allison A. Hickey. “I encourage all Veterans, their dependents and survivors to sign up for eBenefits, VA’s popular website that recently crossed the one million mark in registrations.”

In close collaboration, the Department of Defense (DoD) and VA jointly developed the eBenefits portal as a single secure point of access for online benefit information and tools to perform multiple self-service functions, such as checking monthly benefit rates, filing a claim, or checking its status.

Veterans may enroll in eBenefits and obtain a Premium account by verifying their identity in-person at the nearest regional office or online depending on their status, or calling VA’s toll free number at 1-800-827-1000.

Servicemembers may also enroll in eBenefits using their Common Access Card at any time during their military service, or before they leave during their Transition Assistance Program briefings.

VA is enhancing its online eBenefits services with newer features such as online selection of Veterans organizations or other advocates to represent applicants for benefits where representation is desired.
Another new feature automates messages sent to Veterans and Servicemembers to notify them of benefits that they may be eligible to receive based on recent life events, such as military separation or marriage.

The site also continues to consolidate access to other VA and DoD systems through the portal, recently incorporating a gateway to vocational rehabilitation benefits under VA’s VetSuccess program.
Web access to information and benefits management tools for Servicemembers, Veterans and their families is part of VA and DoD’s lifetime engagement strategy from an individual’s entry into the military through the twilight years in civilian life as a Veteran.

VA provides non-taxable compensation and pension benefits to over four million Veterans, family members, and survivors. Disability compensation is a non-taxable monetary benefit paid to Veterans who are disabled as a result of an injury or illness that was incurred or aggravated during active military service.

For more information about VA benefits or new payment rates, visit www.vba.va.gov or call 1-800-827-1000. You can also contact VetsFirst at http://helpdesk.vetsfirst.org/.

If a rating evaluation or percentage has been in effect for 20 years or more, the Department of Veterans Affairs may not reduce the rating to a lower percentage, unless again it is found that fraudulent evidence or actions were involved in obtaining the assigned evaluation.

For those individuals who do not meet the 10- and 20-year Protected Disability Rating regulations, it is a case by case basis. Technically speaking, a designation of service-connection and an established evaluation can be reduced or removed at any time if the (VA) receives evidence that service-connection is not warranted; or if regarding evaluations there is evidence that the condition has improved and no longer meets the severity levels of symptomatology as assigned in the Rating Schedule.

It must also be taken into consideration that an issued Permanent and Total rating is not in fact a protected rating. In these cases, the Permanent portion of the rating refers to the assumption that the disease or disorder is permanent and unceasing in nature and is not likely to improve. In these cases routine clinical evaluations are no longer required by the VA. However, this does not ensure that the rating is protected. If at any time prior to the 10- and 20-year regulations there is evidence presented to the VA that the condition has improved and was not related to military service it is still subject to a possible reduction if warranted.

If the VA is in receipt of such evidence supporting removal or reduction of a rating and benefits, they are required by law to notify the veteran that they are proposing to reduce their benefits due to the designated reasons. The veteran then has 60 days to provide the VA with evidence as to why his or her service-connection or evaluation should not be removed or reduced.

VetsFirst strongly encourages our veterans to consult your appointed representative any time you are submitting evidence, filing claims for benefits and other various inquiries for this reason. We are here to ensure that the evidence and claims submitted do not contain negative information that could potentially impair your rating and will assist you with potential actions and outcomes to deal with such situations.

Melanie Cercone
Veterans Service Representative

The VA has recently issued new regulations that establish a *presumption of service connection for veterans who are diagnosed with ALS anytime after their separation from active military service.

ALS is a neuromuscular disease that affects up to 30,000 people in the U.S. It often progresses very quickly and is almost always fatal. ALS causes degeneration of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that leads to muscle weakness, muscle atrophy and spontaneous muscle activity. Currently, the cause of ALS is unknown and there is no effective treatment.

The National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine (IOM) studied ALS in veterans and found that they suffer from ALS in higher numbers than in the general population. Based on the IOM’s 2006 report, the VA determined that because ALS progresses so rapidly, there may not be time for veterans to obtain the medical evidence that would normally be needed to prove that their ALS is related to their military service. To save precious time, the VA will presume service-connection for veterans who have had at least 90 days of active service and who are diagnosed with ALS anytime after their separation from service.

BUT – THERE IS A CATCH. The presumption will automatically be applied to claims that are filed after September 23, 2008 (the date of the new regulations), or that are pending at the VA, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims or the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit as of that date. This means that if the VA denied a claim for service connection for ALS before September 23, 2008, the VA will not reconsider that claim automatically. The veteran will have to notify the VA about the previous denial of benefits and request that the VA consider the claim under the new regulation.

The Federal Circuit’s decision reversed the CAVC’s 2006 decision in Haas v. Nicholson, in which the court struck down as unduly restrictive a VA regulation that required a veteran’s actual presence within Vietnam to be eligible for disability compensation under the Agent Orange Act of 1991. By a 2-1 majority, the Federal Circuit ruled that the VA had the authority to sever existing Agent Orange-related disability payments and deny new claims from “blue water” veterans.

Agent Orange, a now outlawed chemical defoliant that contained the highly toxic substance dioxin, was sprayed by U.S. forces across Vietnam to clear jungle vegetation that could provide cover to the enemy.The VA appealed Haas to the Federal Circuit because including blue water veterans in the group of veterans who are eligible for disability payments based on diseases that have been recognized as related to Agent Orange exposure would cost the government an additional $3.3 billion over 10 years.

The controversy is based on a provision of the VA’s claims processing manual that requires VA claims adjudicators to award service connection on a presumptive basis for certain diseases if blue water veterans had received the Vietnam Service Medal. That medal was awarded to all military personnel who served in Vietnam, its contiguous waters or the airspace above it, from July 1965 through March 1973.

On appeal, the Federal Circuit disagreed with the CAVC’s finding that the VA’s requirement that a veteran must actually set foot in Vietnam for presumptive service connection for an Agent Orange-related disease was too restrictive, in part because ships sailing offshore could have been exposed to dioxin from windborne coastal spraying and from dioxin run-off into the ocean from inland waterways.

The Federal Circuit majority opinion stated that Congress’ use of the phrase “served in the Republic of Vietnam” in the Agent Orange Act was not specifically defined and that such ambiguity left it up to the VA to define that requirement for presumptive service connection as it deems appropriate.

The dissenting judge disagreed, stating that the majority did not consider that by allowing presumptive service connection for Agent Orange-related diseases, Congress intended to make it easier, rather than more difficult, for exposed veterans to receive VA disability benefits. Consequently, the judge believed that the phrase should be liberally interpreted.The National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP), whose attorneys represent Mr. Haas, plans to ask the Federal Circuit for en banc reconsideration before all of the court’s seven judges.