CBO TO VETS' COMMISSION: FEW VETS GET Social Security Benefits!

[Gimpy]

CBO TO VETS' COMMISSION: VERY FEW VETERANS RECEIVE SSDI BENEFITS -- Congressional Budget Office says only 15% of vets on VA compensation get SSDI benefits.

Thanks to the group of Brothers who traveled from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. to attend the latest meetings of the Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission (VDBC).

Here is a portion of the email they sent: "The Veterans Disability Benefits Commission ( VDBC ) has been using Orwellian "Double Speak" to attempt to cut, trim, eradicate, alter, and, in some cases, actually invert EARNED Veteran Entitlements. Entitlements, bestowed by a grateful Nation, upon Veterans who answered the call to protect and defend the Constitution over the last 140 years. A posse of benefits experts, led by Charles Clarke, Bill Perry, & Eddie Jay, engaged in battle with the Government Accounting Office bean counters, and the extremely partisan VDBC ."


I don't have transcripts available yet, but the Institute of Medicine (IOM) presented their PTSD study which upheld the current diagnostic and assessment standards. More info here... http://www.vawatchdog.org/old%20news...-09-2006-8.htm

And, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) had some interesting information.

They say that only 15% of vets getting VA comp also get SSDI benefits.

This certainly doesn't seem to indicate any type of widespread abuse of the system as some on this commission and in Congress have indicated.

It appears that many more vets could get SSDI if they applied for it.

Story below:


-------START--------


Few Disabled Veterans Taking Advantage of Social Security Disability Benefits


The Congressional Budget Office(CBO) reports only 15% of those receiving veterans? disability are also getting Social Security disability benefits.


Columbia, MD (PRWEB) July 15, 2006 -? The Congressional Budget Office reports only 15% of those receiving veterans? disability are also getting Social Security disability benefits.


In a recent statement made to the Veterans? Disability Benefits Commission, Allison Percy, principal analyst at the Congressional Budget Office, reported only ?15% of veterans who are receiving VA disability compensation also receive payments from SSDI.?


Federal law grants disability payments through the Social Security Act on top of veterans disability benefits. Disabled veterans are the only group of individuals who are permitted to receive SSA disability in addition to Veterans Administration disability benefits.


Ms. Percy pointed out that neither the 15% figure, nor any other data available, indicates ?the extent to which Social Security Disability (SSDI) payments are received by veterans with service-connected disabilities rated at 100 percent or by those with lower-rated service-connected disabilities who also have additional disabilities unrelated to their military service, or the likelihood that veterans will receive both types of payments depending on the type of disability.?


In response to the latter, Frederick Johnson, author of ?How To Apply For & Win Social Security Disability Benefits,? says, ?At least in the 9th Circuit, the Administration has made note of the similarity of the standards of judgment for disability for both veterans and SSDI claimants by ruling that those who have been awarded disability by the Veterans Administration, should also be granted SSDI.?

As to the other questions, Ms. Percy invited the Veterans Disability Benefits Commission to provide the answers. ?The research that the commission is undertaking now has the potential to provide far better information about the role that SSDI plays in providing income support for some disabled veterans. The [CBO agency takes as a premise that the clearest view of any policy question can best be found by seeking accurate and unbiased data sources and by examining those data in an objective manner. Consequently, CBO sees only advantages to learning more about the degree to which the totality of federal benefits (including SSDI payments) enables veterans with service-connected disabilities to have a standard of living comparable to that of other veterans.?


?If the comments I?ve heard from vets is any indication, the military branches do a very poor job of letting disabled veterans know about the SSDI program,? Mr. Johnson added.


----------END----------

[billyguns]

Thanks for the info Gimp.

[SuperScout]

Qualifying for disability benefits under Social Security is a much tougher standard to meet than for various disability ratings from the Veterans Administration. Examining the SS DI language objectively, one almost has to be a slightly animated carrot to qualify, ergo few veterans would fit that category. It is the highly form of burearcratic double-speak to deal with the SSA on disability questions.

[Robert Ryan]

Thnks Gimpy, agree Supescout. It took me 3 tries to gett SSDI even though I was 100% (with UI) without UI I'm rated 80%.

[MORTARDUDE]

Good info Steve. thanks !

Larry