Veteran Information Network

11/03/2025

10/29/2025

Putting Veterans First: Is the Current VA Disability System Keeping Its Promise? October 29, 2025 04:00 PM Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room G50 Agenda                                      WITNESS LIST The Honorable Cheryl Mason, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Veterans...

10/08/2025

06/05/2025

Dental Insurance for Veterans
Learn about VA’s Dental Insurance Program and the options it offers Veterans. Find out if you’re eligible, and how to enroll in a plan that meets your needs and budget.

In this episode, the SITREP covers VA’s Dental Insurance Program and the options it offers Veterans. For additional videos and resources, on this topic, ple...

04/28/2025

Dear RACGWVI Colleagues,
The VA Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses (RACGWVI) will hold a committee meeting on May 13 & 14, 2025. This meeting is virtual, and you can join online or via phone. See details below.ia theater of operations during the 19901 Gulf W
Day 1
May 13, 2025: 9:00am-4:30pm Eastern Time (ET)
Join Online https://veteransaffairs.webex.com/veteransaffairs/j.php?MTID=m4bc9353f2ed5d501c073d5fa180ac894
Meeting Password: GWvets1991! (Case sensitive)
Join by Phone (Toll-free): 1-833-558-0712; Meeting access code: 2824 514 5988
Meeting of the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnessesa3 – 14, 2025
Day 2
May 14, 2025: 9:00am-Noon ET
Join Online https://veteransaffairs.webex.com/veteransaffairs/j.php?MTID=m28f3dca07f0bcea6a4f77e62f352389c
Meeting Password: GWvets1991! (Case sensitive)
Join by Phone (Toll-free): 1-833-558-0712; Meeting access code: 2819 527 4020
At this meeting, the committee will focus on discussion of the Gulf War roadmap and strategic planning.
*The meeting will include time reserved for public comments before the meeting closes on May 13, 2025.*

03/25/2025

Veterans Claims and Resource Event
The Kansas Office of Veteran Services (KOVS), with the support of the Wichita and St. Louis VA Regional Offices, will be hosting a Veterans Claims and Resource Event at Veterans Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas.
This event offers Veterans, family members, caregivers, and survivors an opportunity to enroll in VA healthcare, file claims for VA disability, talk to Veteran Organizations, and more (see flyer).
Date/Time: 22-23 April, 2025 from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; 24 April 2025 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Address: 600 N. 7th St. Kansas City, KS. 66101
Please help us in passing the word about this great opportunity by printing the flyer and distributing it widely.

02/17/2025

Presumption of Soundness

Many veterans have things denied because the VBA did not apply the McKinney v. McDonald, Mar 11, 2016, 28 Vet.App. 15 (2016) court decision. Remember that if something does not meet the level for a disability on the entrance exam, the VBA cannot say it was preexisting.
The Court held that a determination as to whether a “defect,” under 38 U.S.C. 1111, is or is not noted on an examination for the purpose of determining the presumption of soundness will be based on whether disability compensation benefits are available for the condition for which the veteran seeks. (The Court indicated that although the focus of the case was on "defect," because the meaning of "defects," "infirmities," and "disorders" are broad and overlapping, the same rationale for interpreting "defect" narrowly under section 1111 applies equally to "infirmities" and "disorders.")
The Court held that when the level of hearing loss noted on an entrance examination does not meet VA’s definition of hearing disability under 38 C.F.R. 3.385, that hearing loss is not a defect. Therefore, the Court held that, in this case, since the veteran’s hearing loss shown on the entrance examination did not meet the requirements of 38 C.F.R. 3.385, he was entitled to the presumption of soundness under section 1111.

01/23/2025

Survivors of veterans with VA-backed loans face inaccurate information, delays, and other frustrations when dealing with mortgage servicers, a new report found, complicating an important financial process during a time of grief.
Read more at:

Assumptions for VA-backed loans should be a smooth process. Instead, some are taking years to complete.

12/04/2024

The PACT Act significantly expanded veterans’ eligibility for disabilities that VA presumes are related to exposure to toxic substances. The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted this review to determine whether Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) staff processed PACT Act claims for presumptive disabilities in accordance with applicable laws and procedures before denying them.
This report highlights that claims processors sometimes requested unwarranted examinations, which delayed claims processing and burdened veterans, or the processors did not return examinations for clarification when there was insufficient or conflicting information. Claims processors also sometimes requested medical opinions to determine service connection for disabilities the PACT Act presumed to be connected to service. These errors resulted in unnecessary payments for examinations and medical opinions, as well as underpayments to veterans. Additional errors had the potential to affect veterans’ benefits, such as when claims processors prematurely based decisions on inadequate or inconsistent examination results before denying veterans’ claims.
The OIG team also identified errors in claims processing that, while correctly denying service connection, resulted in an estimated $1.4 million in unnecessary costs for unwarranted examinations and medical opinions in the six-month review period. Underpayments were also identified totaling about $56,700 for two veterans’ claims during the same period who were improperly denied service connection. The team also found an estimated minimum of 870 potential errors that could affect veterans’ benefits. The OIG acknowledges that VBA has taken steps to address these kinds of errors for examinations, but that work is ongoing.
Read the full report

The PACT Act significantly expanded veterans’ eligibility for disabilities that VA presumes are related to exposure to toxic substances.

11/27/2024

The President signed H.R. 7777, the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2024, into law on November 25, 2024. The law authorizes a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for veterans receiving VA disability compensation and clothing allowance and for survivors receiving dependency indemnity compensation (DIC) payments.

The adjustment, based on the yearly change in the cost of living as determined by the Social Security Administration (SSA), will take effect on Dec. 1, 2024, and will be reflected in veterans’ and survivors’ Jan. 1, 2025, compensation payments.

The COLA adjustment is intended to help cover rising costs of living, such as groceries, housing and health care. For more information, click here.

11/23/2024

There are a number of veterans who have a VA rating and are doing drill days for the National Guard or the Reserves. this link will help them understand how they pay withholding works.

If you click om the "Next Section" link it will give you examples.

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