CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has joined a bipartisan coalition of 42 state and territory attorneys general in urging the federal government to rescind changes that could unnecessarily delay benefits already earned by our nation’s veterans.
In a letter to Under Secretary for Benefits Paul Lawrence, the coalition is requesting that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) postpone and reevaluate changes made to its decades-old claims review policy while the nation faces a public health emergency.
“Our veterans have placed their lives on the line for our freedoms,” Morrisey said. “The least we can do is thoroughly examine any policy change to ensure that our veterans receive their benefits without waste of taxpayer resources.”
The existing policy has allowed accredited veterans service organizations (VSOs) 48 hours to review claims decisions prior to implementation.
In the letter dated July 1, the coalition urges the VA to hold off on any change until those involved, including veterans, can have more thorough discussions, including the reasons for a change, the implications it will have and whether alternative solutions exist that do not call for the complete elimination of the existing quality review.
The VSO review identifies and corrects errors in claims before the mistakes become part of the official record and are used as the basis to deny or diminish benefit awards. Mistakes caught later in the process can only be rectified through a lengthy and complex appeals process, which could leave veterans waiting to receive benefits.
West Virginia signed the Illinois- and South Dakota-led letter with the attorneys general of Alaska, American Samoa, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Guam, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.