The Department of Veterans Affairs will temporarily suspend discharges and decreases in support under its Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC), which provides stipends for households where family members are unable to work because they are providing care for severely wounded post-Sept. 11 veterans.
VA Secretary Robert Wilkie, who is the son of a gravely wounded Vietnam veteran, said it is essential for the VA to fix issues with the caregiver program.
“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,” Wilkie said in a statement.
After reports that some families were being dropped from the program, the VA said it reviewed PCAFC and made changes to improve and standardize it. But some families said they couldn't get back in, according to an NPR report.
Federal lawmakers pushed Wilkie to impose a ban on removing families from the program during a Dec. 19 joint hearing on the VA.
Cmdr. Rene Campos, USN (Ret), MOAA's senior director of government relations for veterans health, said she is grateful VA is soliciting feedback on the program from MOAA and other veteran service organizations. The moratorium shows VSO feedback is making a difference, she said.
“The end result will be a better and more responsive system for both caregivers and veterans,” Campos said. “The suspension signals that the secretary and his staff heard loud and clear from MOAA and other veteran and stakeholder organizations about the ongoing inconsistencies in determining eligibility and program administration in the field. In the long run, putting more eyes on the program through this internal review will let the field administrators, veterans and caregivers know VA is serious about getting this program right, and hopefully it will ensure broader and more permanent program compliance across the system.”
[RELATED: MOAA Continues Push for More Caregiver Support]
It's critical for the program to be successful because it will have long-term effects on the outcomes of the caregiver provisions in the VA MISSION Act, which will expand caregiver services to veterans of all eras, Campos said.
The suspension does not affect the current application process. VA medical centers are continuing to accept and approve applications to the program based on eligibility criteria, according to the VA.
Benefits ended at the request of the veteran or caregiver, by the local program or due to long-term hospitalization or death are exemption from the temporary suspension.
The VA said it will continue to solicit feedback on the program.
Since 2011, the caregiver program has helped more than 38,000 family caregivers. Families receive an average monthly stipend ranging from $660 to $2,600, based on the level of assistance require and the location of the veteran, according to the VA.
Under the program, caregivers who do not have insurance are granted access to health care, assistance with travel related to the veteran's care, mental health care, and other service and support.
For more information on PCAFC, visit the VA's caregiver website. For more information about caregiver resources, visit MOAA's online caregiver portal, presented in conjunction with the Elizabeth Dole Foundation.
