Since 9/11, 2.4 million brave men and women have deployed around the world in support of the Global War on Terrorism. The percentage of those returning with service-connected disabilities is staggering. Due to improvements in military medicine and technology, many warriors are surviving combat injuries that would have previously been fatal. These injured veterans return home and struggle daily with the aftermath of physical sacrifices made on the battlefield.
In the fiscal year 2015, WWP Benefits Service secured more than $70 million in veterans’ benefits dollars. With a success rate above 85 percent, WWP files thousands of claims each year and changes the lives of injured veterans, their families, and caregivers.
As of March 2016, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) states that VBA employees have been completing more disability and compensation claims than ever before; however, more than 345,000 disability compensation and pension claims are still pending – more than 80,000 of those have been awaiting a rating decision for more than 125 days.
According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, almost 2,000 homeless veterans were pulled off the streets from 2014 to 2015. Still, an annual count conducted in January 2015 revealed approximately 48,000 homeless veterans across the country.
As these nationally reported numbers continue to affect the veteran community, the need becomes evident to help injured veterans make the most of their benefits. Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) believes long-term financial and medical support plays a critical empowerment role in the recovery process, which is why essential programs and services were created to support this area – one such program is Benefits Service.
To help injured veterans, family members, and caregivers successfully transition to life after injury, the WWP Benefits Service program provides the tools needed to navigate the complexities of the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Working closely with each agency, the Benefits Service team walks injured veterans, family members, and caregivers through every step of the transition process; ensuring claims are filed and processed correctly – the first time.
Unlike traditional models of veterans’ services, the WWP Benefits Service program takes a comprehensive approach to the claims process. WWP staff works individually with injured veterans to understand their unique needs, provide information and education on the claims process, advise them of benefits options, file benefits claims, help to obtain necessary evidence, and stay connected with them through the life cycle of the claim.
In the fiscal year 2015, WWP Benefits Service secured more than $70 million in veterans’ benefits dollars. With a success rate above 85 percent, WWP files thousands of claims each year and changes the lives of injured veterans, their families, and caregivers. Recently, WWP was able to secure a 100 percent “permanent and total” (P&T) disability rating for an injured veteran. The P&T rating is reserved for service-connected conditions that have no likelihood of improvement. Veterans with this rating will maintain it for a lifetime without requiring future examinations. In this specific case, the effective date of this veteran’s rating was retrograded to the date of his initial claim, accruing more than $100,000 in back-owed compensation.
Since its inception, more than $200 million in total veterans’ benefits dollars has been secured through the WWP Benefits Service program. (https://www. woundedwarriorproject.org/programs/benefits-service.aspx)
By Vesta Anderson
About Wounded Warrior Project
The mission of Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) is to honor and empower Wounded Warriors. WWP’s purpose is to raise awareness and to enlist the public’s aid for the needs of injured service members, to help injured servicemen and women aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs. WWP is a national, nonpartisan organization headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. To learn more about WWP and the Warrior Care NetworkTM program, visit www.woundedwarriorproject.org (Photos courtesy WWP)
