{"id":74519,"date":"2023-11-13T18:13:42","date_gmt":"2023-11-13T18:13:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/11\/13\/vets-tap-businesses-for-va-disability-claims-help-but-theres-a-cost\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:03:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:03:00","slug":"vets-tap-businesses-for-va-disability-claims-help-but-theres-a-cost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2023\/11\/13\/vets-tap-businesses-for-va-disability-claims-help-but-theres-a-cost\/","title":{"rendered":"Vets tap businesses for VA disability claims help, but there\u2019s a cost"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When Navy veteran Melissa Washington wanted to reapply for an increase in her disability benefits, she selected a for-profit firm \u2014 Veteran Benefits Guide<\/a> \u2014 to cut down on the paperwork and preparation she\u2019d have to do herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI knew a lot of people who had already been through the process, and I wanted to try for myself,\u201d said Washington, who runs the Women Veterans Alliance<\/a> in Sacramento, Calif. \u201cIt was all laid out clearly: the fees, the procedures. They helped me get up to a 100% rating, and it was all very professional.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 51-year-old, who has been out of the service for almost 30 years, said the process cost her a few hundred dollars and just a few months of waiting. She said she will recommend the process to friends and clients interested in getting help with their claims<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Veterans advocates say it\u2019s illegal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese for-profit companies have never even tried to play by the rules,\u201d said Ryan Gallucci, executive director of the Veterans of Foreign Wars<\/a> national headquarters. \u201cThese are predatory consulting agreements that can be perpetual and nonsensical. Companies are spending millions on advertising their services to veterans even as we see lawsuits piling up against them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how any of them can legitimately say their service is a real value to veterans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The legality surrounding firms that provide assistance in preparing veterans\u2019 disability paperwork has been an issue in the veteran community for years. But the problems are coming into new focus now with last year\u2019s passage of the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act <\/a>(better known as the PACT Act), which massively expanded eligibility for disability payouts for former military members<\/a> exposed to burn pit smoke<\/a> and other toxins during their time in service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The legislation led to record levels of claims filed and benefits awarded. VA leaders said they received more than 2.4 million applications in fiscal year <\/b>2023, up 39% from the previous year. The department paid out $163 billion in benefits, also an all-time high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With so much money at stake, lawmakers have long been wary of outside consultants taking in money meant to compensate veterans for military injuries. But industry executives have portrayed their work as a necessary option for the increasingly complicated benefits system, one where tens of thousands of veterans are left waiting for months for needed financial assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Nov. 1, a coalition of those for-profit companies launched a new effort \u2014 the National Association for Veterans Rights<\/a> \u2014 to promote \u201cethical and transparent business practices among companies engaging with the service-disabled veteran community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal is to improve the reputation of the industry and establish best practices for how those companies operate, with an eye toward gaining the blessing of federal regulators for their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, critics are hoping to stamp out the firms completely, adopting legislation that will all but eliminate their ability to operate. On Tuesday, officials from VFW, Disabled American Veterans, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors and more are planning a press conference attacking \u201cclaim sharks that offer high-priced assistance and suspect medical advice … without following the well-established professional and ethical standards of VA accreditation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VA leaders discourage the use of for-profit firms in disability filings but so far have not directly entered the debate. Veterans are left wondering how best to access thousands of dollars a month in financial aid for successfully navigating VA\u2019s disability claims system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s money that can mean the difference between financial distress and peace of mind, but only if they receive it.<\/p>\n\n\n\t