Aid & Attendance (A & A) is an underutilized benefit available to any United States Military veteran (or surviving spouse) who meets the service, financial, and physical criteria. This benefit is an addition to a veteran’s monthly VA pension. Of the 7 million Michigan veterans, over 500,000 are eligible for the Aid & Attendance benefits. However, only 20,000(4%) are receiving this deserved benefit! The bottom line—due to government cutbacks the VA DOES NOT advertise this program.
Veterans seeking appeals for information on benefits used to be able to go to local service centers with paid workers to provide them with help. However, elimination of these local centers and workers due to state budget cuts have forced veterans to go through this process alone, or through the backlogged Ann Arbor facility. It takes an average of 8-12 months for a filer’s application to be processed and to receive a determination letter. Due to the current backlog of claims to be processed, this time frame can be much longer.
Thankfully, the VA now allows certified attorneys to represent veterans before its review boards. It is recommend that people looking to file for this important benefit take advantage of the assistance of those experienced with the bureaucracy of the VA since it can greatly reduce the time it takes to receive benefits. Plachta, Murphy & Associates, P.C., located in Grand Rapids, is proud to be one of the few firms in West Michigan certified to represent our beloved veterans and their families.For more information and eligibility requirements please visit http://pmalawpc.com/va.html or contact Government Benefits Specialist Rick Cross at (616) 458-3994 or by email.
Michele, The VA doesn't advertise becasue no federal agency is allowed to advertise. It has nothing to do with government cutbacks - they have never advertised this or any other benefit.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the added information.
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI beg to differ. The Government and VA has always been able to advertise--especially through PSA's. You can check out this link for recent increases in VA benefits advertising.
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/07/military_va_outreach_072408w/
Know your facts.
I defer to the experts. I don't know which of you is the expert, or whether this dispute is germane to the topic of a veteran getting his/her benefits, but I allow these comments to go through in the spirit of caveat emptor.
ReplyDelete