Injured Ohio veterans get 2nd-lowest disability payments in nation

If you're among the more than 85,000 Ohio veterans receiving disability payments, you might be tempted to heed the advice once given to America s 19th-century fortune seekers.

"Go west, young man . . . "

Say, to New Mexico, where 27,010 veterans get an average annual disability benefit that is $4,801 higher than the $8,090 Ohio gives to its vets.

Or to Oklahoma, where disabled vets receive $4,185 more than Ohio's in average yearly payments.

Or west. as in West Virginia, where the compensation is $3,857 higher.

According to the latest annual report issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Benefit Administration, Ohio ranked second-to-last in the nation in disability compensation in 2006.

The state average annual disability benefit was only $112 higher than Indiana's, here 47,693 vets receive payments. It's a step up from 2005, when Ohio was dead last.


The longstanding issue of disparity in average annual disability payments between states heated up last year in hearings before the U.S. House Committee on Veterans Affairs.

Last week, Rep. Zack Space of Ohio, a member of the committee, introduced the Veterans Disability Fairness Act, which calls for increased scrutiny of the VA's compensation program.

"The veterans living in Ohio sacrificed as much as veterans living elsewhere," Space, a Democrat from Dover, said at the time. "There is no reason that a veteran here should receive less than veterans in other states."

Monthly tax-free disability payments are awarded to veterans for injuries they receive or diseases incurred while on active military duty.

Compensation is based on the severity of a disability, which is assigned a rating depending on a veteran's earning capacity. That rating is set in 10 percent increments, up to 100 percent for total disability.

Still, payment disparities exist between states. One factor cited by government reports is the difference in the way some VA workers evaluate disability claims. For example, a veteran with a post-traumatic stress disorder claim can be evaluated as being a little disabled in one state and a lot disabled in another.

Such a subjective process could result in a different disability-percentage rating and thus different benefit payments for veterans.

Government reports also note that disability benefits can vary according to a veteran s period in the military and branch of service and the degree of training for claims officers, as well as the percentage of veterans applying for and receiving compensation.

Also, those retiring from military careers tend to get higher payments, as do enlisted versus officer veterans.

"There should be a standard rate for all veterans across the U.S.," said Frank Anderson, 54, of East Cleveland, adding that he has a 100 percent disability from an automobile accident that occurred during his service in the Army.

Disabled veteran Hank Vasil said the lack of an effective method of transferring medical records from the military to the VA makes it harder to file disability claims and therefore can result in a disparity in payments.

Vasil, 60, who said he has worked as a veterans service representative for the state of Ohio, believes some vets don't get the benefits they should because they don't know how or choose not to apply.

"Veterans are ill-educated as to what their rights are," said Vasil. "Other times a lot of it has to do with a person's pride. He may feel he doesn't warrant it [a disability award], that somebody more severe should have it."

Space's bill would require the VA to collect and monitor regional data on disability ratings, review and audit the system used to rate disabilities and periodically evaluate the performance of individual raters.

"It's simply a matter of equity and fairness . . . standing up for what's right for those who stood up for our country," he said. "It's kind of hard to contest that."

"Gov. Ted Strickland is well aware that Ohio has historically been behind other states in the collection of veterans benefits, and that's why he has proposed establishing a Cabinet-level department of veterans affairs," said Keith Dailey, a spokesman for the governor.

He added that this department -- currently under consideration by the state legislature -- would work closely with county and local veterans service organizations to better provide our veterans and families with the tools they need to obtain the benefits that they have earned and which they deserve.

Additionally, the VA says it has taken steps to address the disparity of benefits between states, according to agency spokesman Steven Westerfeld.

Those steps include implementing national standardized training for rating specialists, standardizing the medical evaluation of disability claims, increasing oversight and review of rating decisions, and designing a procedure for routine monitoring of claims data to check for consistency.

The VA also is exploring ways to consolidate parts of the rating process into one location and developing a skills-certification process for the specialists who determine disability ratings, Westerfeld said.

But Army veteran Larry Scott, who runs the Web site vawatchdog.org, said there may be practical limits to what the VA can do.

Scott said the VA lacks a common training program and supervisor structure for claims officers.

"In theory, there should be one huge office handling all claims for all vets. That's physically impossible. It'll never be done," he said. "So what you have is kind of like McDonald's technically, all the restaurants have the same recipe, but you'll still get disparities in various parts of the country."

Vietnam vet Richard Healy, 61, of Lakewood, fears that legislative attempts to address the disparity issue would result in a one-size-fits-all rating system and remove interpretation of a disability based on an individual's medical or psychological condition and needs.

Healy said he has helped veterans file claims for the past 31 years on behalf of Disabled American Veterans and that energy should be put into making the current system work better and faster.

"Every one of us is different," he said. "If a doctor, for instance, says a veteran is minimally disabled for [post-traumatic stress disorder], what does 'minimally' mean?"

Interpretation is a big factor.
Ohio veterans on low end of totem pole for disability benefits

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