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I’m not sure how “gaming” it is possible when the VA either performs (or contracts out) medical exams for a veteran’s specific claim and determines whether the

I’m not sure how “gaming” it is possible when the VA either performs (or contracts out) medical exams for a veteran’s specific claim and determines whether the veteran is eligible or not. It’s not like they just take a veteran’s word for it.

sedivy94 3y ago
I work on a military base and can attest to this. Many prior enlisted (veterans) feel that they get shafted (screwed or taken advantage of) by the contract between themselves and USG during their service. Their pay is low and transitioning back to a civilian lifestyle is incredibly difficult, despite their compulsory, Congress-mandated transition assistance training. Maximizing their disability claims is one way of getting what they deserve. The VA has a disability rating system that goes from 0% to 100%. Obtaining a 100% disability rating guarantees a certain amount of monthly income for life. The step increase in pay from 80% disability to 100% disability is large. There’s also a logarithmic function that makes it increasingly difficult to raise your disability rating after each disability claim. Hypothetically, losing your left leg might qualify for 50% disability, losing a second leg might qualify for 75%, and then losing an arm might qualify for 87.5%. Pretty horrendous. That being said, many service members aim to hack the system by making disability claims for everything under the sun. Service members often collect disabilities such as arthritis, lumbar disc degradation, knee injuries, sleep apnea, and depression. Like Pokémon - gotta catch ‘em all.
- docandrew 3y ago
  They can make a claim but it’s ultimately up to the VA’s doctors to determine whether they meet the criteria or not. That’s not hacking the system - they can’t get examined for something unless they first make a claim. The VA doesn’t perform preemptive exams to see what a veteran may or may not be afflicted with and informing the veteran so they can make the most conservative subset of possible claims.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
alistairSH 3y ago
Yet this article is claiming the opposite... there is some non-zero number of pilots receiving VA funds (for PTSD and similar health concerns) while not reporting those issues to the FAA.

sedivy94 3y ago

I work on a military base and can attest to this. Many prior enlisted (veterans) feel that they get shafted (screwed or taken advantage of) by the contract between themselves and USG during their service. Their pay is low and transitioning back to a civilian lifestyle is incredibly difficult, despite their compulsory, Congress-mandated transition assistance training. Maximizing their disability claims is one way of getting what they deserve. The VA has a disability rating system that goes from 0% to 100%. Obtaining a 100% disability rating guarantees a certain amount of monthly income for life. The step increase in pay from 80% disability to 100% disability is large. There’s also a logarithmic function that makes it increasingly difficult to raise your disability rating after each disability claim. Hypothetically, losing your left leg might qualify for 50% disability, losing a second leg might qualify for 75%, and then losing an arm might qualify for 87.5%. Pretty horrendous. That being said, many service members aim to hack the system by making disability claims for everything under the sun. Service members often collect disabilities such as arthritis, lumbar disc degradation, knee injuries, sleep apnea, and depression. Like Pokémon - gotta catch ‘em all.

docandrew 3y ago
They can make a claim but it’s ultimately up to the VA’s doctors to determine whether they meet the criteria or not. That’s not hacking the system - they can’t get examined for something unless they first make a claim. The VA doesn’t perform preemptive exams to see what a veteran may or may not be afflicted with and informing the veteran so they can make the most conservative subset of possible claims.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]

alistairSH 3y ago

Yet this article is claiming the opposite... there is some non-zero number of pilots receiving VA funds (for PTSD and similar health concerns) while not reporting those issues to the FAA.