From a recent NGAUS newsletter:

Senators said this week the Department of Veterans Affairs failed to notify 37,000 National Guard and Reserve members of their benefits because the department thought the troops were ineligible.

The service members were not sent benefit packages, according to a report from the VA’s Office of Inspector General. The report was brought up during a hearing of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Wednesday on whether the VA is doing a good job of telling reserve component troops of the benefits available to them.

“While the VA has targeted outreach programs in place to help service members, we still miss far too many veterans who need help and aren’t aware of the services and benefits they have earned,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., according to a report in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Murray has long criticized the VA and the Defense Department for not doing enough to ensure mobilized Guard and Reserve troops are aware of the benefits they’re entitled to. The VA defended itself at the hearing.

I got your criticism right here, Senator.

Something that it seems someone should be aware of is the overnotification that is done.

If I actually received anything important that I really needed to know about from the VA, I'd probably miss it. But the fact is that I receive so much from them that most of it goes straight into the trash unopened. After many months of receiving notice of benefits that I either was not actually eligible for or simply did not need, the noise to signal ratio has simply become too high.

Some of it I understand. A lot of it I don't. I've been told for years to "check with VA about benefits." Of course, sometimes it can be a matter of not knowing enough to be able to ask the question, but generally I'm more in favor of models that require people to be responsible for themselves.

Labels: Congress, Veterans