Pentagon set to launch new disability system

[unhappycamper]

Pentagon set to launch new disability system
By William H. McMichael - Staff wruter
Posted : Thursday Oct 18, 2007 19:31:15 EDT

The Defense Department will soon unveil a new, streamlined disability evaluation system that, in tandem with the Department of Veterans Affairs, will replace the current cumbersome process with a single exam and single disability rating.

According to a copy of the plan obtained by Military Times and confirmed by Pentagon officials, veterans medically retired from service will be able to apply for, and get, VA benefits immediately.

Overall, the time spent in the system, from the point a service member is found unfit for duty until he or she begins receiving VA disability payments, will be cut “by about half,” said to Bill Carr, undersecretary of defense for military personnel policy.

The plan is the Pentagon’s best effort to make some fixes to the system immediately, without having to seek congressional approval. A broader, longer-range plan unveiled by the White House Oct. 16, based on recent recommendations from a blue-ribbon commission, will require congressional approval and will take longer to implement.

The Pentagon’s interim plan will be phased in with a pilot program to be launched in late November at three military hospitals: Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.; National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.; and Malcolm Grove Medical Center at Andrews Air Force Base, Md.

The plan will expand to other facilities as officials evaluate its effectiveness, with the emphasis on facilities that treat greater numbers of troops wounded in the wars. Carr said expansion will take place “as fast as it can.”


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/10/military_jointdisability_071018w/