CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – As the Montgomery County Veterans Service Organization (MCVSO) works to address ongoing concerns from Veterans and their families, the organization reports there may be new disability benefits available for many of them following recent legislation.

The MCVSO helps Veterans apply for a variety of benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In Montgomery County, 14% of the population is made up of Veterans, and, according to MCVSO Director Anthony Kester, 55% of those claim disability benefits in Montgomery County. That percentage is double the state average of 27%.

Addressing Veteran concerns

At the City Council meeting on Thursday, council members heard an update on the efforts of the organization.

Kester explained that the top three concerns Veterans are faced with, according to the data, are healthcare, disability benefits and transportation. He said the organization has made progress in tackling those issues, most notably in healthcare.

“They will be opening in January a VA clinic in the actual Blanchfield Hospital. So now we will have a second clinic. We’ll have the Weatherly Clinic and then we’ll have the Fort Campbell VA clinic that we can get our Veterans to before we get a larger facility,” he said.

In addition to a second clinic, Kester reports that disability benefits for Veterans are up over previous years. He noted these funds have a direct impact on the local economy.

“$460 million came in last year in economic impact. So, that’s houses, cars, education (and) entertainment dollars. It benefits us all. We want to keep that money in Montgomery County and grow our Veterans and our businesses.”

He attributed that amount to the number of VSO officers working in Montgomery County.

The economic impact for Montgomery County was $315 million in 2017, and it has grown steadily over the past few years. According to Kester, by 2022, that amount should be over half a billion dollars.

To address transportation issues, the organization continues to offer phone appointments and remote services.

“All during COVID, we did phone appointments, so we did remote services. And we still have Veterans that are still reluctant to come out, whether it be just for health concerns or transportation issues,” Kester said. “We still extend that (remote services) to our Veterans.”

In 2021, the organization filed nearly 9,200 claims for Veterans.

PACT Act 2022

The PACT Act is a new law that expands VA health care and benefits for Veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances. This law helps provide generations of Veterans and their survivors with benefits, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The PACT Act:

• Expands and extends eligibility for VA health care for Veterans with toxic exposures and Veterans of the Vietnam, Gulf War, and post-9/11 eras.
• Adds more than 20 new presumptive conditions for burn pits and other toxic exposures during the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and other hostile locations.
• Adds more presumptive-exposure locations for Agent Orange and radiation.
• Requires VA to provide a toxic exposure screening to every Veteran enrolled in VA health care.

“It’s America’s promise to address the compensable toxin exposure, and it covers all eras,” Kester said. “We have some additional benefits for Vietnam Veterans for Agent Orange. One of the largest presumptive they’ve added is hypertension.”

He noted that the federal government has also added new areas for Veterans who served in Vietnam, the Gulf War, and other conflicts. In the instance of Vietnam era Veterans, men and women serving in Guam, American Samoa and Thailand, among other areas, are now eligible for certain benefits.

“Whether it be the Veteran or a surviving spouse, there is no statute of limitation. If that Agent Orange Vietnam Veteran died 30 years ago of a heart attack or a stroke, and had hypertension, we can now service connect that. The VA will send them a letter at their last known address saying, ‘We knew that you filed this claim. Please come back and ask for it again.'”

Kester explained that in some instances, families may have moved since that Veteran died, so they are working to reach out to families who may have been impacted by these factors.

To find details on the services offered by the Montgomery County VSO, visit the website or call 931-553-5173.

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Updated once on VA.gov, updated everywhere

VA is empowering Veterans to manage their information through a simplified, personalized experience on VA.gov, called VA Profile. Once signed into the VA.gov website, Veterans can view, update and change their contact information, such as phone number, email, home and mailing address.

VA Profile updates VA databases across the network, which removes the burden from Veterans calling multiple VA administrations with the same information, at times impacting delivery of services.

VA Profile improves VA systems by synchronizing and sharing Veteran data across the VA enterprise, giving VA customers control, visibility and ownership of their information. In turn, employees have the up-to-date information they need to personalize interactions and provide excellent customer service.

More than 7.5 million Veteran contact information profiles have been created or updated since May 2018, and more than 700,000 of those updates were made online through VA.gov.

When VA has the most up to date information, it updates near-real-time access to critical Veteran data systems to support healthcare activities, including prescription refills, appointment reminders, lab and test results, and other important communications from their VA medical center.

It also actively synchronizes VBA contact information for disability compensation, pension, claims and appeals, enrollment, and Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E).

VA Profile reaches out to Veterans in multiple ways

VA Profile is part of a Veteran’s journey from the very early stages of their interaction with VA. VA Profile helps establish profile information for transitioning service members so that VA is ready to serve them from day one of their new Veteran life. In partnership with the DoD, VA launched the VA Solid Start program where military and contact information is used to proactively assist Veterans to receive VA benefits and services around 90, 180 and 365 days post-separation.

VA Profile information also helps serve Veterans and Non-Veterans during times of emergencies. At the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic, VA sent out a total of over 36 million text messages to more than 9 million Veterans with timely information and resources about VA’s services and support.

VA Profile has made wider outreach possible for research opportunities, too. For example, it enabled VA to quickly contact more than 300,000 women Veterans to gather information on topics most meaningful to them.  

What information is synchronized?

VA Profile provides a single source of truth for Veteran data across all VA systems. It synchronizes name, phone/email, address, military personnel data, awards, disability ratings, health benefits and other demographic information. VA Profile began sharing contact, health plans, and benefits information to assist community partners through the health information exchange, contributed to the new Electronic Health Record system and centralized scheduling solution.

Providers and Veterans can communicate securely about mental health assessments through the MyHealth Checkup Mobile app that leverages VA Profile phone numbers and emails.

VA Profile innovations efforts are planned to collect insurance, loans and education data, interaction history, communication preferences, information about persons associated with the Veteran (non–Veterans), such as spouse, dependents, beneficiaries, power of attorney, fiduciary, caregivers, Veteran service organizations, and crisis indicators (pandemic, natural disaster, homelessness) for outreach, determination of benefits eligibility, and other services.

Improving Veterans Experience

VA Profile is the ‘behind the scenes wiring’ connecting systems and serving data to improve Veteran experiences. Veterans will be able to choose how they would like VA to communicate with them. VA profile is committed to providing valuable benefits and service to our Veterans by reducing address errors and increasing data quality, which improves timely and accurate delivery of important information to Veterans, their families, caregivers and their survivors.

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