Bills would help low-income vets on VA pensions

Kerry Scriber of West Palm Beach, Fla., said in an interview that he and his dog were injured and his VA-provided wheelchair damaged when he was struck while crossing the street in March 2008. Scriber, a former petty officer second class who served from 1974 to 1979, said the dog received minor injuries and quickly recovered, but he suffered broken bones in his face and pelvis. The wheelchair he needed to get around because of his muscular dystrophy was destroyed.

Scriber said he received two checks from the driver’s insurance company, one covering the cost of the wheelchair and a second for $10,000 that covered pain and suffering and miscellaneous expenses.

He turned over the check for the wheelchair to the Veterans Affairs Department, which provided him with another chair. He also reported receiving the $10,000 settlement, as he was required to do as a recipient of a pension provided to low-income veterans. Although his disability is not connected to his military service, he was receiving the pension because he is totally disabled and his income was less than $11,000 a year.

Two days after he notified VA of receiving the insurance payment, Scriber was informed his pension was being terminated because the settlement put his annual income over the eligibility threshold.

“There I was with barely enough money from Social Security to pay the mortgage on my house, let alone to have food,” Scriber said.

It took more than a year for Scriber to re-qualify for the pension, a process he said could have taken much longer had he not asked his congressman, Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., for help.

“I know of other people who lost their eligibility and it took four or five years to reapply,” Scriber said.

Hastings not only helped Scriber, he also introduced a bill, HR 4541, that would prevent the same thing from happening to other veterans.

Hastings’ Veterans’ Pensions Protection Act would exempt reimbursement of expenses related to accidents, theft, loss or casualty from being counted as income when determining if a veteran qualifies for pensions that are provided to those living below the poverty line who are not eligible for veterans’ disability compensation.

The bill would require VA to determine whether insurance payments exceed the cost of medical care and either the fair market value or reasonable replacement value of lost or damaged items, and to come up with a way to decide on a case-by-case basis how much of a settlement or court award for pain and suffering should not count as income.

“There is clearly something wrong with a law that cancels veterans’ pensions for a whole year following the award of an insurance payment, which was only intended to cover exceptional medical expenses,” Hastings said July 1 when his bill was considered by the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee’s disability assistance panel.

“Mr. Scriber did not break the law, nor did he commit any crime,” Hastings said. “It disheartens me that veterans are overlooked and mistreated due to flaws in VA regulations.”

Similar legislation is pending before the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. The Senate bill, S 3352, is sponsored by Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont.

Tester’s office issued a statement saying the senator’s interest in the bill came after he was contacted by someone facing the loss of a veterans’ pension if they received a settlement from a malpractice claim resulting from treatment provided by a VA doctor. Tester’s aides declined to provide more details on the veteran, citing privacy concerns.

A statement from Tester, issued May 12 as he introduced his bill, said, “It’s a matter of fairness that veterans shouldn’t be forced to choose between their pensions or compensation for wrongful injuries. These folks have earned their health benefits by putting their lives on the line for our country. It’s the right thing to do to make sure their pensions aren’t threatened through no fault of their own.”

What are the bills’ chances?

Passage of the Hastings’ and Tester’s legislation is not a sure thing, because while some veterans service organizations support the change, there is opposition.

Rick Weidman of Vietnam Veterans of America says the legislation is a good idea. “The VA practice of including all funds received from any sources, including one-time restitution of property for theft or fire, as income for those on nonservice-connected pension from VA was never a particularly wise one, and was often seen as just plain perverse and mean-spirited,” Weidman said.

VA doesn’t mind that the legislation would exempt reimbursement of actual expenses from being counted as income but it doesn’t want payments for pain and suffering to be excluded. Thomas Pamperin, VA’s associate deputy undersecretary for policy and program management, said at the July 1 hearing on Hastings’ bill that the whole idea of pensions for low-income veterans was to provide help to those in need. Payments for pain and suffering are available for veterans to spend, he said.

However, Veterans of Foreign Wars is concerned about the details. Eric Hilleman, VFW’s national legislative service director, said VA lacks the expertise to determine the proper value of damaged or lost items, which would be part of the required calculations. Trying to figure out the right amount would “further delay and complicate a relatively simple benefit,” Hilleman said.

Veterans’ pensions go to those with limited incomes who are either permanently and totally disabled, or are 65 and older. How much they receive is based on how much money they have and their number of dependents.

For example, single veterans with no dependents are eligible if they have less than $11,830 in annual income, with several exclusions for what counts as income. If they receive less than $11,830, VA provides a monthly pension that brings their total pay to that level. The income caps rise for those with dependents and for those who need aid and attendance for daily activities, such as dressing, eating and bathing.

Exclusions for certain types of income already exist in current law, including veterans education benefits, Social Security disability benefits, and insurance payments that directly reimburse medical expenses.