Skip to content
Elder Law Prof Blog
Katherine C. Pearson, Editor, and a Member of the Law Professor Blogs Network on LexBlog.com

Veterans Benefits

By rmorgan

Do you cover Veterans benefits in your classes?  The GAO just released a new report (GAO-13-643), VA Benefits: Improvements Needed to Ensure Claimants Receive Appropriate Representation.  The report looks at the effectiveness of the existing process for representatives and impediments to implementing the VA’s accreditation process.  The report concludes that the current process and educational requirements are insufficient, there is inadequate information given to veterans to let them know what to do if a problem occurs with their representative and veterans are particularly at risk by unaccredited representatives without help by the VA. The report recommends for steps: (1) sufficient staff and IT for the accreditation program;  tighten up the education requirements for all accreditations; improve claimant communication, and deal with the representative’s inappropriate practices.