National
Director National
Director
Draft Gulf War Task Force Report Released (VA News Release March 31, 2010) WASHINGTON –The Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses Task Force has completed the final draft of a comprehensive report that will redefine how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) addresses the concerns of veterans who deployed during the Gulf War in 1990 and 1991. Notification of the draft written report will be published tomorrow in the Federal Register, and the draft written report identifies seven areas where VA will improve services for this group of veterans. Among these improvements, VA will reconnect with veterans from the 1990 – 1991 Gulf War, strengthen the training of clinicians and claims processors, and reenergize its research effort. VA will also proactively strengthen partnerships and medical surveillance to address the potential health impacts on Veterans from the environmental exposures on today's battlefields. Earlier this month, VA published a proposed rule that will enable VA to grant service connection on a presumptive basis for nine specific infectious diseases associated with military service in Southwest Asia after August 2, 1990, or in Afghanistan on or after September 19, 2001. The proposed rule change was based on a recent Institute of Medicine review of the scientific literature, and is a part of VA’s on-going Gulf War studies. This rule, when implemented, will make it easier for veterans to obtain disability compensation and related healthcare.
The mission of VA’s Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses Task Force is to
identify both gaps in services as well as opportunities to better serve veterans
of the Gulf War. Of the almost 700,000 service members who deployed to Operation
Desert Shield in 1990 and Operation Desert Storm in 1991, more than 300,000
have filed disability claims and over 85 percent have been granted service connection
for at least one condition.
VA’s
Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses Task Force recommendations build on the excellent
work and findings of The Gulf War Veterans Illnesses Advisory Committee, VA
Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Illnesses, the interagency Deployment
Health Working Group, and other related sources.
Some of the Task Force’s recommendations include: Improve data sharing with Department of Defense to notify veterans of potential exposures, monitor their long-term health and inform them about decisions regarding additional follow up Improve the delivery of benefits to veterans with Gulf War-related disabilities by reviewing and, if necessary, updating regulations affecting Gulf War Veterans; expanding training for VBA examiners on how to administer disability claims with multiple known toxin exposure incidents; improve VA healthcare for veterans through a new model of interdisciplinary health education and training; increase number of long-term, veteran-focused studies of veterans to enhance the quality of care VA provides; transition from reactive to proactive medical surveillance to help better manage veterans’ potential hazardous exposures; find new treatments for Gulf War veterans through new research; and enhance outreach to provide information and guidance to veterans about benefits and services available to them for injuries/illnesses associated with Gulf War service. As a first step, VA is seeking public comments on the draft written report before final publication. The public notice will be posted at www.Regulations.gov, and the draft written report will be open for comment for thirty (30) days. Comments may also be submitted via mail as described in the public notice. In addition, VA recognizes that a great number of Gulf War veterans use a computer on a daily basis to socialize their issues and concerns, so VA has also created a public discussion board on the seven recommendations at: http://yourgulfwarvoice.uservoice.com/. To view the report without making recommendations, you may view a copy on VA’s website at http://www1.va.gov/opa/vadocs/gwvi_draft_report.pdf.
"Women
Veterans: An Education and Empowerment Forum" to Focus on Women Veterans
(VA News Release March 29, 2010) WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) will invite women veterans and their advocates to a forum in July
to discuss the quality of VA health care, the provision of benefits for women,
and ways to improve access to the care and benefits for women veterans. This
forum will build on the momentum from 2008 quadrennial National Summit on Women’s
Veterans’ Issues and expand the dialogue necessary to enhance VA’s
benefits and services available to women veterans. The one-day forum will not
only help VA learn more from women veterans who depend on VA for care, but will
also develop tool kits for strengthening women veteran networks through work
with local VA facilities.
VA
has undertaken major initiatives to transform the department to meet the unique
health care needs of women Veterans and provide the best quality care at every
VA medical center. In addition, the agency is working to shorten the delays
for claims processing, improve access to VA health services for minority and
rural veterans, end veteran homelessness, and ease the transition back to civilian
life. Health care improvements include comprehensive primary care and specialized
medical care at every VA medical center, enhanced mental health care specifically
for women veterans, staffing every VA medical center with a Women Veterans Program
Manager, a mini-residency on women’s health for primary care physicians,
and a multi-faceted research program on women’s health.
The
Department’s 2011 budget provides $217.6 million to meet the gender-specific
health care needs of women veterans, an increase of $18.6 million (or more than
9 percent) over the 2010 level. VA’s 2011 budget proposal will enable
the establishment of a peer call center and social networking site for women
combat veterans. This call center would be open 24 hours a day, seven days a
week.There are about 1.8 million women Veterans among the nation’s total
of 23 million living veterans. VA estimates women veterans will comprise 10.5
percent of the Veteran population by 2020. Providing Access to Veterans for
the eBenefits Web Application (Fast Letter 10-08April 1, 2010 to Director (00/21)
all VA Regional Offices and Centers) This letter establishes Compensation and
Pension (C&P) Service policy for employees who use the Defense Management
Data Center (DMDC) Security Online Web Application and the Department of Defense
(DoD) Self-Service Access Station for the purpose of creating and updating eBenefits
accounts for veterans and beneficiaries. Additionally, it provides information
regarding eBenefits access levels, roles and responsibilities of administrators
and users, and training. C&P Service is committed to safeguarding veterans’
and beneficiaries’ private information and ensuring that DMDC web-security
policy is based on current VA privacy and security policies and procedures.
Background:
The President’s Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded
Warriors (Dole/Shalala), established by Executive Order 13426 in March 2007,
recommended the creation of a web portal to provide wounded, ill, and injured
service members, veterans, their family members, and care providers a single
and transparent access point to online benefits, as well as related content
and services. In response, VA and DoD collaborated on developing the eBenefits
Portal, where VA has primary responsibility for the project and is designated
as the lead agent. Since its initial conception, eBenefits has expanded beyond
its original scope and is now intended to be an interactive web portal for all
veterans, all servicemembers, and their families. On or about April 5, 2010,
eBenefits will launch version 2.3 that will allow servicemembers and veterans
to check the status of C&P claims, review payment history, obtain home loan
certificates of eligibility, and access My HealtheVet through a single sign
on.
Registration
and Level Access: Individuals can create an eBenefits account if they are active
duty, retired, National Guard or Reserve, veteran (non-retiree) or a family
member. All persons must be registered in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility
Reporting System (DEERS) before an account can be created. It is anticipated
as a result of VA and DoD data exchanges that most individuals seeking to register
will be in DEERS. Those that are not should call the eBenefits Help Desk at
1-800-983-0937 for further instructions. The amount and type of information
individuals may view through eBenefits depends on their access level. There
are two types: Level 1 and Level 2. Access levels may also be referred to as
credentials, e.g. Level 2 credential. Within eBenefits, DoD will provide the
capability for servicemembers, veterans, and beneficiaries to have a DoD Self-Service
Logon (DS Logon) account for the purpose of accessing DoD and VA self-service
functions available on the Internet.
Level
1 Access: To obtain Level 1 access, individuals will need to register through
the eBenefits website at https://www.ebenefits.va.gov/ebenefits-portal/. Level
1 credentialing will allow access to information that is entered into eBenefits
by individuals, such as "Favorite Links," or categories of benefits
that are of interest. It's a lower form of access than Level 2, but can be easier
to obtain. A VA home loan certificate of eligibility may be received with a
Level 1 credential. Upon completing the eBenefits registration form, a one-time
activation code will be displayed and registrants will then be directed to the
DEERS DoD Self-Service Access Center to activate their DoD Self-Service Logon
and get a username and password. They can then return to eBenefits, click the
Login button and use their username and password to log in. Level 1 access requires
no In-Person-Proofing (IPP). IPP is the act of verifying a veteran’s or
beneficiary’s identity. It is also referred to as In-Person-Authentication
(IPA).
Level 2 Access: Level 2 credentialing will allow access to personally identifiable information in VA and DoD systems such as claim status, VA payment history, and Tri-Care. Military separation documents may also be retrieved with a Level 2 credential. Servicemembers may obtain Level 2 access if they register using their common access card (CAC) since they would be considered already proofed. Military retirees are also considered proofed and may obtain Level 2 access using their Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) Logon. Most veterans will register for eBenefits without a CAC or a DFAS Logon; therefore, they will require IPP to obtain Level 2 access. Veterans will also be able to obtain a Level 2 DS Logon if they have a Level 2 My HealtheVet account. Upon logging in to My HealtheVet, they will be prompted to visit Veterans who are enrolled as a patient in the VA Health Care System may obtain MyHealtheVet Level 2 access. NOTE: Scheduling someone for a Compensation and the eBenefits web portal and request a DS Logon, which will then be mailed to them. Pension examination does not enroll him or her as a patient in the VA Health Care System. Additional information about My HealtheVet may be found at http://www.myhealth.va.gov/. VBA Roles and Responsibilities: http://vbaw.vba.va.gov/bl/21/publicat/Letters/FL10/FL10-008.doc
Submit
questions concerning this fast letter to VAVBAWAS/CO/BAS/eBenefits. /s/ Bradley
G. Mayes, Director, Compensation and Pension Service
Enclosure 1: http://vbaw.vba.va.gov/bl/21/publicat/Letters/FL10/FL10-008E1.doc
Enclosure 2: http://vbaw.vba.va.gov/bl/21/publicat/Letters/FL10/FL10-008E2.doc
Enclosure 3: http://vbaw.vba.va.gov/bl/21/publicat/Letters/FL10/FL10-008E3.doc
Enclosure 4: http://vbaw.vba.va.gov/bl/21/publicat/Letters/FL10/FL10-008E4.pdf
Enclosure 5: http://vbaw.vba.va.gov/bl/21/publicat/Letters/FL10/FL10-008E5.pdf
The
following changes have been added to the M21-1MR Main Page, changes by date:
(http://vbaw.vba.va.gov/bl/21/M21-1MR/changes-by-date.htm)
M21-1MR, Part I, Chapter 1, Sections B and C
M21-1MR, Part III, Subpart iii, Chapter 1, Sections A and B
For a detailed list of all the changes made to these chapters, please refer
to the Transmittal Sheet in the Changes by Part or Changes by Date link at the
top of the MR
These are not my words, as you can see, but I think this information is important
and I’m giving up my space in the newsletter to bring it to you.
