Lambros Law Office LLC

Naming an Advance Designee for Social Security

For many years, people have had the right to designate an agent to handle a number of different legal, business and medical matters. That includes finances, medical decisions, wills and even funerals. What Americans have not been able to do until now, says the article “Social Security and you: New Advance Designation for Representative Payee” from The Dallas Morning News, is designate an agent to handle Social Security benefits.

As of April 6, 2020, the Social Security Administration announced that there is a new option that lets a recipient make an Advance Designation that names a person to serve as your “representative payee.” This is a really big deal, but it hasn’t received too many headlines.

Maybe that’s because under this law, anyone could apply to be a representative payee, receiving someone else’s Social Security payment and using it to pay the recipient’s living expenses. There’s a lot of room for abuse.

The best way forward? Make a decision and name a person while you have capacity. The Advance Designation option is only available to “capable” adults and emancipated minors who are applying for or receiving Social Security benefits, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Special Veterans Benefits.

A Social Security recipient can name as many as three people, who could serve as a representative payee if the need arises. There’s a lot of flexibility: you can withdraw your choices, change the order of the three people and name new people at any time. Just in case anyone forgets who they named, Social Security is going to send a notice each year, listing advance designees for review.

How will it work? When the SSA believes a person needs help managing benefits, they will contact the advance designees. The SSA reserves the right to discard your choices and make its own appointment.

How do you make the designation? Go online to the SSA website, especially now when phone, in-person and in writing are all either backlogged or not possible to do right now. After you’ve created and successfully logged into the mysocialsecurity website, you’ll see a box titled “Advance Designation of Representative Payee.” It will be towards the bottom of the page. You’ll need the name, phone number and a description of the relationship you have with the person.

Who should you name? The SSA prefers family members, friends or qualified organizations. Your choices should be made carefully. The people you name need to be trustworthy, good with finances, organized and have no prior felonies. They will need to be able to maintain good records and receipts and be available and responsive, if the SSA requests an audit or an in-person visit.

When should you do this? How about now? Like having a will and an estate plan, this is not something that you should put off. And as you are likely at home, there’s no reason not to!

Reference: The Dallas Morning News (April 19, 2020) “Social Security and you: New Advance Designation for Representative Payee”

∗ For more information about this and other similar topics, please visit: www.LambrosLawLLC.com or call us at: (401) 383-9899

Having Vets Train Service Dogs Makes Good Sense, But It’s Not Law Yet

Pending legislation recognizes the invaluable help that service dogs can provide to veteran’s health and mental health. Having a service dog also reduces the amount of medication many vets need, and gives them back their mobility. However, this bill has been pending for a long time.

Military Times’ recent article, “Should veterans be able to train and adopt service dogs at the VA’s expense?” says the bill has 136 co-sponsors, 45 Democrats and 91 Republicans.

The grant program is devised to defray costs from veterinarian appointments, medical procedures, diagnostic tests and medications.

The legislation was introduced in September to instruct the Department of Veterans Affairs to execute a pilot program on dog-training therapy, pairing veterans diagnosed with PTSD with service dogs and encouraging them to train the dogs themselves.

When the program is concluded, the vets would be able to adopt their dogs to continue the therapy.

Representative Michael Waltz, R-Fla., another co-sponsor of the bill and an Army veteran, questioned why the VA doesn’t cover the costs of getting and training a service dog.

“This should be part of the menu of what the VA provides. […] The benefits are clear,” Waltz said. “Our veterans right now are finding [service dogs] through their own means or through wonderful veterans services.”

Nonprofit organizations associated with providing and training the dogs would be responsible for the training cost and some of the food, while the dogs are being trained.

Last summer, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland announced that retired military working dogs are in search of families, homes and couches.

Adapting to civilian life after leaving the military continues to be a struggle for many vets. A 2019 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report found that more than 6,100 veterans died by suicide in 2017, and nearly 60% had been diagnosed with a mental health disorder or problems with substance abuse.

At a news conference about the pending bill, one Vietnam War veteran said that his service dog gave him back his life, when he was on the verge of suicide.

Reference: Military Times (November 19, 2019) “Should veterans be able to train and adopt service dogs at the VA’s expense?”

∗ For more information about this and other similar topics, please visit: www.LambrosLawLLC.com or call us at: (401) 383-9899

Why Don’t Border National Guardsmen Receive Veteran Benefits?

Two thousand National Guard troops were ordered to the U.S.-Mexico border in April 2018 to help Homeland Security, and they work alongside U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents every day.

However, Colorado Public Radio’s recent article, “Even After Years In Uniform, Some National Guardsmen Don’t Get Veterans Benefits,” reports that some of those guard troops who worked along the border in uniform may never receive veterans benefits.

To qualify for Veterans Affairs benefits, such as health care or GI Bill education benefits, individuals are required to serve 180 days continuously on active duty. That means being requested by the federal government under specific circumstances.

National Guard troops are usually under the control of a state's governor, who can call them up to help with natural disaster;. However, there are a variety of orders that can be used to mobilize Guard members. Despite the fact that President Trump called guard troops to the border and the federal government paid for the operation, in most cases, the kind of orders they were under do not qualify those troops for benefits.

Representative Mike Levin, a California Democrat, chairs a veterans subcommittee that recently held a hearing on the issue.

"We haven't followed a very basic principle," Levin said, "which is if you're expected to be doing the same sort of thing, putting your life on the line for whatever particular mission, I believe you should be able to get the same pay and benefits."

Representative Levin said Congress has been slow to respond to the changing role of the guard, which has been used more consistently since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

"The expectations and the demands placed on our national guard and reserves that perhaps weren't there previously, we have to make sure that federal policy reflects that," he said.

In 2016, Congress changed the law, so anyone who retires from the guard or reserves after 20 years has honorary veteran status, no matter the amount of time they spent in active service. However, this legislation didn’t allow them to qualify for federal benefits.

The guard troops also are not eligible for long-term mental health care in the VA health system. There were an estimated 919 suicides in 2017 among guard and reserve members. None of them qualified for care from the VA.

Reference: Colorado Public Radio (November 29, 2019) “Even After Years In Uniform, Some National Guardsmen Don’t Get Veterans Benefits”

∗ For more information about this and other similar topics, please visit: www.LambrosLawLLC.com or call us at: (401) 383-9899

What States Will Be Home for Veterans in the Near Future?

Where will the veterans who survived the Gulf War, Post-Gulf, Post-9/11 and Vietnam wars live until 2045?

Rebecca Burgess, an expert on veterans with the American Enterprise Institute, spoke at a national conference earlier this year about how geography and demographics impact perceptions from the public and politicians about veterans. However, getting data was difficult.

"In fact, the more one tries to piece together a clear picture of veteran demographics, the less coherent the data seem to be," Burgess wrote in her study. "States, counties, and the federal government seem to arrive at different outcomes in terms of veteran numbers, even using the same projection model, VetPop 2016."

Military.com’s recent article, “These States Will Be the Most Popular for Veterans in the Next 25 Years,” explains that VetPop 2016, or "Veterans Population Projection Model 2016," is data from the VA that’s used by the agency and other groups, such as Congress, for policy planning and budgeting.

Burgess said she examined the VA's data and compared it to other sources, like the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. She found that the actuarial projections didn’t always agree. Burgess said that the VA's core data about veterans is nearly 20 years old and the Census Bureau stopped collecting veteran status data with the 2010 Census. However, she says, visualizing where vets will be over the next three decades will offer at least two benefits: providing the best idea of where VA resources will be most needed in the future and which congressional districts might see veteran policies soon become an electoral issue.

The VA has estimated that the overall veteran population will drop about 40% in 25 years. Burgess's research shows geographic population shifts, grouped by states and counties from 2015 to 2045.

Unlike the general shifts in the veteran population, with most veterans in the South and West, high numbers of Vietnam-era vets remain in the Northeast and Midwest—especially compared to the West. Already with the Gulf War and post–Gulf War veterans, the data shows higher numbers in the Southeast, but a good number (in the 240,000–300,000 range) who reside in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Post-9/11 vets are moving to Texas, but also going to Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia and Washington State.

Burgess wants to see better data gathering, from the Census Bureau, as well as the VA. She said that Congress should require all future Censuses to include questions about veterans, and the VA should develop an updated veteran population projection model, whether or not the Census starts collecting data.

Reference: Military.com (November 26, 2019) “These States Will Be the Most Popular for Veterans in the Next 25 Years”

∗ For more information about this and other similar topics, please visit: www.LambrosLawLLC.com or call us at: (401) 383-9899

“Blue Water” Benefits for Vietnam Veterans

After waiting decades for “blue water” disability benefits, there’s a real concern among lawmakers in the House that the VA won’t be able to start distributing these benefits.

Military Times reported in its recent article that asks “Will VA be ready to process new ‘blue water’ Vietnam veterans benefits next year?” VA officials have promised that they will start processing cases in January 2020. However, critics and veterans’ advocates want that to happen more quickly. Advocates have also demanded that the White House speed up the timeline for the benefits.

“These people have waited too long, and we finally have the legislation in place,” said Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., ranking member on the House Veterans’ Affairs committee’s panel on disability assistance. “We need to get it done.”

Last summer, President Trump signed into law a bill that finalized presumptive benefits status for “blue water” veterans who served on vessels off the coast of Vietnam during the war.

Under Veterans Administration regulations, vets who served on land in the war are presumed to have toxic exposure related to spraying of the defoliant known as Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. However, sailors on ships off the coast of Vietnam weren’t given the same concession.

However, the new law will see as many as 90,000 veterans become eligible for the new presumptive status, which will mean thousands of dollars in disability benefits each month.

This legislation let VA officials delay processing those cases until the beginning of 2020, even though some cases were already being considered, due to a federal court ruling earlier in this year.

Advocates and some members of Congress have complained that the delay has put another unfortunate burden on veterans, who have suffered from Agent Orange exposure for decades.

In an update hearing before the committee, Veterans Affairs Deputy Under Secretary for Field Operations, Willie Clark emphasized that the delay was required to get department systems prepared for the anticipated onslaught of blue water claims.

Other lawmakers said they were concerned that the VA is not including veterans who were on submarines, despite evidence that sailors on board would also have been susceptible to the same toxic exposures.

Reference: Military Times (October 31, 2019) “Will VA be ready to process new ‘blue water’ Vietnam veterans benefits next year?”

∗ For more information about this and other similar topics, please visit: www.LambrosLawLLC.com or call us at: (401) 383-9899

What Will This Year’s Cost of Living Increase Be for Veterans?

The annual Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment act was signed into law by the President recently. However, it won’t be as big as the last one received. A number of veterans benefits will have the same annual increase as Social Security recipients.

The Military Times’ recent article asks the following: “Veterans benefits will see a cost-of-living bump this year, but how much?” According to the article, the veterans benefits covered include disability compensation, compensation for dependents, clothing allowances, and dependency and indemnity compensation checks.

The measure is typically merely a formality—it passed Congress again this year with no opposition. However, the bill is required annual work for lawmakers, because federal statute doesn’t link annual COLA increases for the two separate payouts.

Legislative efforts in recent years to make the increases automatic for veterans haven’t been successful.

Navy veteran Elaine Lauria, D-Va., sponsored the measure. She termed it an important way for lawmakers to honor their commitment to individuals who served honorably in the armed forces.

“Providing quality benefits to our veterans and their dependents can change lives,” she said.

The official cost-of-living boost for Social Security beneficiaries won’t be announced, until next month. However, multiple analysts have said they expect it to be below the 2.8% adjustment awarded last year.

The annual COLA calculation is based on a series of economic indicators. This includes the private sector wage growth.

In the last ten years, Social Security recipients (and those getting veterans benefits) have had no annual increase three times. It has only gone above 2% twice in that time.

The link between the veterans’ cost-of-living increases and the COLA for Social Security usually comes later in the fall.

This year, because of the federal calendar and timing for check distributions, veterans won’t see these increases until December.

Reference: Military Times (September 30, 2019) “Veterans benefits will see a cost-of-living bump this year, but how much?”

∗ For more information about this and other similar topics, please visit: www.LambrosLawLLC.com or call us at: (401) 383-9899

Big Win in Federal Court Decision on Veterans Affairs

The Veterans Administration wrongfully refused to reimburse veterans who needed emergency medical care at non-VA facilities and were forced to pay out-of-pocket, reports MSN in the article “Court rules VA must pay veterans' ER bills, a decision that may be worth billions to vets.” In addition to the decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans also struck down the VA regulation that blocked those payments.

"All of this is unacceptable," said the ruling, which ordered the VA secretary to "re-adjudicate these reimbursement claims."

Plaintiffs' attorneys say that, based on past estimates by the VA, the department is now responsible for between $1.8 billion and $6.5 billion in reimbursements to hundreds of thousands of veterans who’ve filed or will file claims between 2016 and 2025.

Former Coast Guardsman Amanda Wolfe, who is one of the plaintiffs in the case, told NBC News "I'm just overjoyed. I think it means change, it means that veterans don't have to be afraid of receiving care, emergency care. They can have that sense of security that sense of peace knowing they are covered if they have emergency care."

"I served side by side with some of these veterans who were impacted and to think that this is going to make a difference for them is what is most important to me."

In 2015, the court struck down a previous version of the internal VA rule that denied coverage for an emergency claim when another form of insurance covered, even a small portion of the bill. The court said the regulation violated a 2010 federal law.

The recent ruling held the department violated the same federal law with its revision of the reimbursement regulation. The Court said the new rule, issued last year, actually created another issue for vets, by forbidding the VA from reimbursing medical expenses for emergency services at non-VA facilities.

In 2016, Wolfe went to the ER because her appendix was about to burst. After a quick recovery, she figured she was okay because she had two kinds of insurance, a private plan she paid for and her VA benefits.

Wolfe’s private insurance covered most of the more than $20,000 bill for her hospital stay. However, six months later, the VA denied her claim for the remaining $2,500. This put her in an unexpected financial bind. She paid off the bill in 2017 but has been fighting for reimbursement ever since. This year, her case made it all the way to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

A VA's Inspector General released a report in August that found that in just one recent six-month period, the VA left roughly 17,400 veterans to pay out-of-pocket for $53 million in emergency medical treatment the government should have covered.

The executive director of the National Veterans Legal Services Program, which represented Wolfe in the case, stated that this decision rights a terrible injustice. Veterans will finally be reimbursed.

Reference: MSN (September 11, 2019) “Court rules VA must pay veterans' ER bills, a decision that may be worth billions to vets”

∗ For more information about this and other similar topics, please visit: www.LambrosLawLLC.com or call us at: (401) 383-9899

Senior Veterans Should Apply for These Benefits

Senior budgets are part of the challenge of aging. For veterans, there’s good news from a recent article from U.S. News & World Report, “Veteran Benefits for Assisted Living,” that says some senior living companies are working to help veterans obtain benefits that can help with their costs.

Note that the VA won’t pay for a veteran’s rent in an assisted living facility. However, VA benefits may pay for some of the extra services required, like nursing assistance, help with bathing and toileting, and possibly meals.

There are a variety of benefits that may help, based on a vet’s specific service history and eligibility. The most commonly used benefits are the Aid & Attendance Pension. Another common benefit is the Survivor’s Pension for spouses of a deceased veteran with wartime service.

The VA’s Aid & Attendance and Housebound program is part of the pension benefits paid to veterans and survivors. The VA says these benefits are paid, in addition to a monthly pension. A vet must satisfy one of the potential conditions, including:

• Requiring the aid of another person to perform personal functions, like bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, or staying safe from hazards;
• Being disabled and bedridden, above what would be thought of as recovery from a course of treatment, such as surgery;
• Being a patient in a nursing home due to physical or mental incapacity; and
• Having very poor eyesight (5/200 corrected visual acuity or less in both eyes) or a field of vision limited to five degrees or less.

Vets may qualify for these benefits, which are added to the standard monthly pension, when he or she is “substantially confined to your immediate premises because of permanent disability,” the VA says. Eligibility for the program is based on a case by case basis and involves a review by the VA.

Like any other government benefit, it’s important to start the application process early, rather than waiting until a crisis hits and benefits are critical. The goal is to maximize the use of the money saved, so that the individual can afford high-quality care for as long as possible, and the hope is that the VA benefits will help to do that. An experienced estate planning or elder law attorney who routinely works with veterans and their families will be an important resource.

Reference: U.S. News & World Report (August 12, 2019) “Veteran Benefits for Assisted Living”

∗ For more information about this and other similar topics, please visit: www.LambrosLawLLC.com or call us at: (401) 383-9899

Help with Housing and Legal Services For New Jersey Veterans

The first of two new laws benefitting veterans in New Jersey is the Securing Electronic Records for Veterans Ease (SERVE) Act. As reported by TAPinto.net in a recent article, “New Law Will Assist NJ Veterans with Housing, Legal Services,” landlords will now be required to include federal military or veteran housing allowances as income, when evaluating potential tenants, if they are either military service members or veterans.

“The benefit of this law is that it will help veterans secure rental housing,” said John Armato (D-Atlantic). “It is also beneficial to those military service members or veterans that are full-time students who often have limited or no income.”

“Our veterans have made so many sacrifices for our country,” said Assemblyman Vincent Mazzeo (D-Atlantic). “We should always look for ways to make their lives easier. They have earned and deserve such consideration.”

The second law modifies the current law for the New Jersey Homeless Veterans Grant Program. It directs the Adjutant General of the Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs (funds permitting) to enter into contracts with public or private entities to fund some of the legal services that these entities provide to homeless veterans and veterans at risk of homelessness.

“New Jersey has between 1,500 and 2,000 homeless veterans,” said Armato, a U.S. Air Force veteran, who served in the Philippines Islands and Korea. “These statistics are unacceptable, and this law looks to correct such disturbing figures by helping these veterans get the services that they need and deserve.”

The Adjutant General would make certain that, to the extent practicable, contracts signed under this section are made with entities located in the northern, central, and southern regions of the state. The legal services would include legal services for the following:

1. Housing issues, including eviction defense, representation in landlord-tenant cases and representation in foreclosure cases;
2. Family law, including assistance in legal proceedings for child support, divorce, estate planning and family reconciliation;
3. Income support including assistance in obtaining public benefits; and
4. Criminal defense, including for matters symptomatic of homelessness, like outstanding warrants, fines and driver’s license revocation.

The bill also calls for helping vets with any other legal services, as the Adjutant General deems appropriate.

“Sadly, our veterans comprise some of the highest rates of unemployment, homelessness and suicide in our communities,” said Assemblyman Joe Danielsen (D-Middlesex, Somerset) who served in the U.S. Army Reserves’ 78th Division here in New Jersey and comes from a long line of veterans in his family.

Both of these laws take effect immediately. The legislation is considered a step in the right direction, but there needs to be more work done to help veterans and service members.

Reference: TAPinto.net (August 5, 2019) “New Law Will Assist NJ Veterans with Housing, Legal Services”

∗ For more information about this and other similar topics, please visit: www.LambrosLawLLC.com or call us at: (401) 383-9899

Congress Addresses Bills for Veterans

An article from radio.com, “Congress introduces bills to increase veteran benefits, refund home loan fees, help women veterans,” provides a detailed list of new legislation recently introduced by Congress on behalf of veterans.

Cost of living adjustment (COLA). Senators Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Jon Tester, D-Mont., chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, introduced the "Veterans Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act," which aims to increase veteran disability benefits from Veterans Affairs.

The COLA for veterans will mirror the increases to Social Security recipients and is decided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index annually.

“My top priority is to ensure that veterans and their families receive the benefits they earned while serving our country,” Isakson said. “I’m proud to introduce this legislation to increase benefits for disabled veterans in keeping with rising costs of living.”

Home loan fee refunds. Tester and Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., introduced a bill to make certain that the VA repays disabled veterans for home loan fees wrongfully charged.

An Inspector General report revealed that the VA wrongfully charged nearly 73,000 disabled veterans $286.4 million in home loan fees. The VA has been aware of the fact that it owes those veterans the money, since at least 2014.

"The (VA's) failure to uphold this responsibility has unduly burdened disabled veterans. This bill ends the VA’s practice of unlawfully charging veterans who qualify for funding fee waivers. Ensuring the VA implements a process to reimburse veterans who weren’t required to pay in the first place and prevent veterans from unfair penalties in the future must be a priority,” Boozman said.

Care for women veterans. Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Ill., introduced the Caring for Women Veterans Act, which would create an annual VA report to make certain that women veterans receive quality healthcare from VA hospitals.

The population of women veterans will nearly double by 2043, and advocates say the VA must modernize to ensure that all VA facilities are equipped to provide comprehensive services for all veterans.

Veteran burials. Another bill from Boozman and Tester is designed to assist state cemeteries in meeting federal standards for veteran burials.

Senator Testor affirmed that as a nation, we owe it to veterans to ensure that state and tribal cemeteries are well-maintained and receive the proper care. Helping cemetery workers access the specialized training they need is another way to honor the men and women who have served our country.

Reference: radio.com (July 15, 2019) “Congress introduces bills to increase veteran benefits, refund home loan fees, help women veterans”

∗ For more information about this and other similar topics, please visit: www.LambrosLawLLC.com or call us at: (401) 383-9899