VA Caregiver Moratorium

It’s Official: VA Issues Formal Moratorium On Caregiver Purges

It is official; Veterans Affairs has temporarily ceased purging veterans’ caregivers from the VA Caregiver Program after pressure from Congress over unlawful discharges.

Two days after getting pressure over failures to launch its new Caregiver client management software, VA Secretary Robert Wilkie announced his agency will stop purging caregivers.

Presently, agency clinicians refuse to follow basic standards of ethics when discharging caregivers from the program costing families of severely disabled veterans tens of thousands of dollars per year in lost income. Monthly payments range from $660 to $2600 to reimburse caregivers for lost income they would otherwise earn if they were not caring for their veteran family member.

RELATED: Wilkie Tells Congress He Will Stop Unlawful Purge

The same care could cost $5000 or more for in-home care or around $8000 or more for assisted living care. VA would be required to pay this if caregivers did not exist meaning use of caregivers actually saves taxpayers money and keeps veterans in their home.

Anyway, after Wilkie made the statement to Congress, he issued the below moratorium against continued processing of caregiver discharges until VA figures out why it keeps kicking deserving caregivers out of the program.

Wilkie Press Release

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today that it will temporarily suspend discharges and decreases in level of support from its Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers because of continued concerns expressed by Veterans, caregivers and advocates about inconsistent application of eligibility requirements by VA medical centers.

“It is essential that we get this right,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “This affects one of our most vulnerable Veteran populations and we need to make sure we have consistency on how we process and evaluate benefit applications across VA.”

The suspension does not impact the current application process. VA medical centers are continuing to accept and approve applications to the family caregivers program based on current eligibility criteria along with processing appeals and monitoring eligible Veterans’ well-being at least every 90 days, unless otherwise clinically indicated.  

Termination of benefits exempted from the suspension include those made at the request of the Veteran or caregiver, by the local Caregiver Support Program for cause or noncompliance or due to death, permanent institutionalization or long-term hospitalization of a Veteran or caregiver.

In addition to initiating an internal review, VA will continue to solicit feedback from external stakeholders.  VA is reviewing policy changes as well as pursuing long-term legislative and regulatory changes.

The VA Caregiver Support Program has aided more than 38,000 family caregivers since 2011. Participating families receive an average monthly stipend ranging from $660 to $2,600, based on the level of assistance required by the Veteran and the geographic location of the Veteran and caregiver.

Participating caregivers also receive access to health care if the caregiver does not have insurance, assistance with travel related to care of the Veterans, mental health care and additional service and support.

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10 Comments

  1. As a Vietnam vet l receive in home care from the VA. I’m fortunate to have it. My medication is paid for. Plus I’m taken care of. I know I’ve been affected by Agent orange. But if I was compensated, I would give it to the guys who need it more than me.

  2. Too late for me. Because of this I justice, my disabled veteran son committed suicide. Now I forever live with his pain!

  3. “Termination of benefits exempted from the suspension include those made at the request of the Veteran or caregiver, by the local Caregiver Support Program for cause or noncompliance or due to death, permanent institutionalization or long-term hospitalization of a Veteran or caregiver.”…Did anyone NOT see the Crater in the paragraph? My wife and I have been through this even after the VA got notice my TBI has worsened and petroleum byproducts are at toxic levels in my bloodstream and cannot afford the legal assistance that is needed to get the money that is needed for medical assistance.

  4. I feel the VA betrayed the MOST vulnerable Vets, the old, the Vets that can’t take care of themselves, etc, the ‘easy pickings’. I mean they already admitted (What more do you need to hear!) their bonus’ were TIED to kicking Vets out of the program! I can’t even imagine why Congress doesn’t have an investigation up and running by now, and don’t see any mention of it anywhere in other articles too. The standard “we are going to review our policies” comes out as it typically does. Well, who in the HELL made the policy of kicking Vets off the program and therefore getting more $$$ for doing it!!! There are some really, really unethical people that should be fired and this whole scam really disgusts me.

  5. Logic, logic, logic – when you know better you do better!

    It goes without saying that veterans, and people in general, need to be taken care of in a moral
    and ethical manner. However it is even more appauling when there are programs designed to do just that and are even more cost effective and not being utilized.

    This process of using government funds ineffectively is what I have noticed in a lot of the issues that have been brought to our attention on this website. And, perhaps I am again stating the obvious, but I am no mind reader, a great amount of the issue have been acknowledged and attempts to remedy the situation has been implemented.

    The issue appears to be with the people managing the programs and the funds. It’s not as if the issues were being ignored, they have been acknowledged and programs have been designed to begin to address and remedy the situation (I use the word “begin” purposely because every process in the beginning is an unproven action and allowed to grow and develop through the process of implementation).

    With that being said, where’s the MONEY, show me the money trail. I think a lot of the mismanagement is due to people CTAes. Some of the money is being withheld to use in other areas that were mismanaged (or just stolen in some way or another) and this is the cause for all our problems. It’s not as though the funds have not been allocated to the Department of Defense. In my simple mind it looks like there are a lot of Ponsi schemes going on in ALL government agencies. Just saying.

    Godspeed

    1. That’s exactly it. Employees of the VHA and VBA get a lot of kickbacks from bonuses to lavish vacations. Contractors and associates get large sums of money too.

      They already make a 6 figure income they don’t earn. Add bonuses, lavish trips and corrupt contract bids and I think we all know where the money is going.

      The American tax payers give generously to veterans and as a patriot commented yesterday a lot of them want to see the best for us.

      I play a lot of ps4 with people my age and younger and I’ll admit the ratio of shitbags to responsive citizens is large. Most indoctrinated sheep don’t give a fuck about anyobe but themselves because they are spoiled, entitled trash which never had to work hard and had it all handed to them. But those responsive citizens to veterans plight are disgusted when I tell them how much money the VA gets in a budget, how large their salaries are and how misspent the funds are. I’ve spoken with a lot of people who are very disgusted with the fact that IF veterans are able to get a whole promise they will make $35k a year.

      Many have commented (rightly so) that those paultry crumbs does not a decent life make. As one friend put it “yeah you guys and for that matter soldiers get crumbs while everyone else is living the high life off your backs.” Coming from working class people who never served but understand what it’s like to live in the “haves vs have not” new world order system.

      It’s clear that VA employees make too much money with no oversight. It’s time to put a guard dog outside the chicken coop and wait with a shotgun for Mr Fox to show up. In other words, guard the chicken coop and throw the entire book at anyone caught not doing their job, committing fraud or engaging in shady practices.

      The worst offenders should just be hung to set an example and as a deterrent. Hang enough of them and sooner or later nobody will want to play passive aggressive fuck fuck games because it’s not a fuckin joke. Peoples lives and their families lives are directly impacted by some shitlords at the VA throwing attitudes around and fucking about.

      Someone sooner or later is going to have to be held liable for all the lives lost and money stolen. They didn’t earn shit if they didn’t serve and the money incentive is part of the problem. It’s the same in the civilian sector.

      What a shit world we live in. I pray daily for accountability and stretched necks for the offending criminals. I hope I am still young when it happens so that not only I can enjoy what’s left of my youth in relative comfort and financial security but I can have the pleasure of seeing the next generation of warriors not have to go through this.

      1. It’s just wrong what Salisbury VA did to Veterans, your so right. The emotional abuse the Veterans and Caregivers have had to take from these so call Social Workers, telling the Veteran Walter Reed is wrong is outrageous. This must be enacted asap, families are suffering, and its wonderful people like you Ben have brought this concern forward. God Bless Disabled Veterans.org. Veterans, Wives, Husbands, and Families are grateful to you. Also, the Caregivers Hotline needs to retrained in compassionate care.

  6. Remember veterans,

    If you want to kill yourself and simply cannot be talked out of it and nothing anybody says or does will change your mind then please, do the following:

    Take rat fuck middle and upper management VA employees souls with you. It may be a sin to kill yourself but you might get bonus points one way or the other. Towards redemption or favors, at least.

    Remember what drill sergeant said: never show up to a party empty handed. They might have better beer ;).

  7. Let’s see…if the incentive still exists to puff-up performance bonus stats by making it *appear* any Veteran is improving, this will happen again and I’m not trying to be a christmas grinch, but I think this was just a smokescreen because the assholes don’t know what else to do because…THEY GOT CAUGHT!!!

    ‘Nuff Said

  8. Well I hope so, and it’s about time, and that’s official. and when the VA finally figures out why deserving caregivers were purged in the first place, it can apply that knowledge to fix other programs in the system that are ERRONEOUS.

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