WEEKLY NVS UPDATES � August 13, 2007
HERBICIDE EXPOSURE PRESUMPTION EXTENDED TO USS INGERSOLL
CREWMEMBERS
The USS Ingersoll (DD 652)
operated as a Navy destroyer gunship providing fire support for military ground
operations along the
CLOTHING ALLOWANCE PAYMENTS
Clothing allowance may be paid to a veteran who has a
service connected disability or a disability that requires he or she wear or
use a prosthetic or orthopedic device that wears out or tears clothing. A
service-connected anatomical loss or loss or use of a hand or foot is presumed
to require the use of a prosthetic or orthopedic device that wears out the
clothing. The clothing allowance may also be paid if the veteran uses,
for a service-connected skin condition, medication prescribed by a physician
which causes irreparable damage to the veteran's outer garments. A skin
condition requiring use of medication is not considered static, and a redetermination is required each year.
The application form for the clothing allowance is VA
Form 10-8678 Application for Annual Clothing Allowance. However, any
communication from a veteran describing the device or medication used and
requesting payment of the clothing allowance is considered a claim for this
benefit.
Annual clothing allowance claims should be sent to the VA Medical
Center or Outpatient Clinic of jurisdiction, for the attention of the
Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service.
To be eligible for the 2007 clothing allowance, the veteran
must be found to meet the eligibility requirements on August 1, 2007. At the end
of July 2007 computer-generated letter/applications are issued to veterans
whose records are set to require annual redetermination
of clothing allowance eligibility.
The 2007 clothing allowance payments for veterans who have
been authorized recurring payments and for others whose awards are input on or
before the last processing cycle of August will be issued on September 1.
Checks for clothing allowance awards input after the last processing cycle of
August will be issued in about seven to ten days after the award is
authorized.
The 2007 clothing allowance is
$662.00. Veterans who are receiving their compensation payments by direct
deposit will receive the clothing allowance payment by direct deposit.
SURVIVOR BENEFIT PLAN
(SBP) ANNOUNCES �PAID-UP YEARS�
Effective October 1, 2008, SBP participants who reach 70
years of age and have made 360 payments (30 years), will no longer have to pay
premiums for continued SBP coverage and will be placed in �Paid-up SBP� status.
Paid-up SBP provisions were mandated by the National Defense Authorization Act
for fiscal 1999. The law also established a paid-up status, also
beginning on October 1, 2008, for participants in the Retired Serviceman�s Family Protection Plan once they reach 70
years of age.
No action is required of SBP participants to be placed in Paid-up SBP
status. Once the eligibility criteria has been met, the Defense Finance
and Accounting Service will automatically stop deducting premiums from qualifying
military retired pay accounts.
The law establishing Paid-up SBP does not allow for refunds of premiums paid
before October 1, 2008, even though a retiree may have reached age 70 and made
360 or more premium payments.
DFAS is currently developing changes to the military retiree pay systems that
will monitor the number of SBP premiums paid and the age of the
participant. The system updates are targeted for a May 2008 completion
date. At that time, SBP participants who will be eligible for Paid-up SBP
status on October 1, 2008, or will meet eligibility within a short time of the
implementation date, will be notified by mail of their impending paid-up
status.
Those military retirees who become eligible for Paid-up SBP status after the
initial group will be notified of their SBP status on their December 2008
annual Retiree Account Statements that will note the number of premiums paid to
date. Each RAS issued after December 2008, whether annually or as a
result of a pay change, will include the Paid-up SBP premium �counter,� based on DFAS records, to help retirees monitor their
eligibility status.
More information on Paid-up SBP, including frequently asked questions and news
updates, should be available at the DFAS Web site at www.dfas.mil/retiredpay.html
within the next several months.
NEHMER
As part of the CLL Nehmer review process, Central office has requested
priority shipment of claims files to be temporary transferred to the
On July 19, 2007, the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied the Government's appeal of a
district court order holding that the 1991 final stipulation and order in this
case, which provided that VA would make certain retroactive benefit payments
within the scope of then existing law, will apply through "September 30,
2015, or until such other time as Congress shall establish, should it enact
another extension" of the Agent Orange Act.
On July 23, 2007,
representatives from Department of Justice, Office of the General Counsel, and
Veterans Benefits Administration appeared before Judge Henderson, to show cause why it should not be held in contempt for violating
his orders. At issue are two items concerning VA�s adjudication of chronic lymphocytic leukemia claims: (1)
Judge Henderson alleges that VA, in its periodic status report, has
misrepresented the number of cases reviewed by the Philadelphia Resource Center
by counting more than once rating decisions that had to be corrected and
reviewed more than once; and (2) he does not find credible VA's explanation
that a production slowdown during the holiday period can be attributed to
vacation and excess leave during that time. A decision is currently
pending.
PELEA v. NICHOLSON
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled
today that the estate of a veteran�s widow may not
continue to pursue her unadjudicated claim for
benefits based on the veteran�s military service.
Congress has provided separate systems of benefits for veterans and for their
surviving family. Chapter 11 benefits for the veteran end on the last day
of the month before the veteran�s death, and the
surviving family benefits may obtain unpaid benefits owed to the veteran at the
time of the veteran�s death.
The Federal Circuit Court has consistently held that a veteran�s claim under chapter 11 does not survive the veteran�s death, and that Chapter 13 of Title 38 provides
for and governs DIC benefits. However, like a veteran�s
benefits, the surviving spouse�s benefits terminate
on the last day of the month before the spouse�s
death as well.
The Court stated that it seems most unlikely that Congress intended
to provide more favorable treatment for veteran�s widows
than it provided for veterans, who are the primary focus of the veteran�s benefits legislation.
Remember, we as service officers serve the veteran, not the
estate. The court has distinguished in this decision the clear view that
the law grants benefits to the veteran during his lifetime, and the surviving
spouse during theirs, but the right to benefits does not pass on to the estate.
This decision may be found at www.fedcir.gov
This Update is a service provided by the National Veterans Service
of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. It is intended as a summary of items of
potential interest to and use by Department Service Officers and their
staff. Readers are encouraged to thoroughly review the original documents
which are the source of items found in this Update.