A limit to how much VA can deduct from disability pay to cover erroneous overpayments, and to how long the department can wait to bill beneficiaries, are among measures proposed to protect veterans as part of a new Senate bill.
The VA Debt Fairness Act, S. 805, was introduced by Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). It would shield veterans from repaying costs connected to VA accounting mistakes. Currently, funds are recouped by withholding some or all of a veteran's monthly disability payments, which can cause financial hardships for veterans and families.
“Punishing disabled veterans for the VA's accounting mistakes is a cruel way to serve those who have sacrificed the most for our country,” said Tester, ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. “Veterans rely on their VA disability benefits to pay for their homes or medical care. This bill will protect veterans their families from unnecessary financial difficulty when the VA has sloppily managed its books.”
Overpayments from the VA have increased since 2013, according to a VICE news report. In one recent year, the VA sent about 200,000 overpayment notices to veterans.
The bill would:
- Only allow the VA to collect debts that occur as a result of an error or fraud on the part of the veteran or their beneficiary.
- Limit the VA's deduction from a veteran's monthly payment to 25 percent in order to recoup overpayment or debt.
- Prevent the VA from billing veterans for debts incurred more than five years prior.
- Require the VA to provide veterans with a way to update their dependency information on their own, eliminating a key processing delay for veterans, which frequently contributes to the VA making overpayments.
Amanda Dolasinski is MOAA's staff writer. She can be reached at amandad@moaa.org. Follow her on Twitter @AmandaMOAA.
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