Doing right by our vets

Reform will help appeal decisions on disability

The backlogs, delays and other scandalous shortcomings at the Department of Veterans Affairs have been crying out for reform for years. So it is a shame that the wall-to-wall coverage of Charlottesville, Va., Afghanistan and President Donald Trump’s tweets drowned out the news that he had signed a promising measure on the VA.

The Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act is aimed at the long-outdated process veterans use to appeal decisions regarding their disability status. That process can take up to five years. This forces veterans who may legitimately qualify for disability compensation to do without critical care they need or pay the medical expenses themselves while they wait for a decision.

The VA distributes $63.7 billion a year in disability compensation payments to more than 4 million veterans who have disabling conditions related to their military service.

This measure will overhaul the appeals process for veterans who are initially denied disability payments, letting veterans file “express appeals” if they waive their right to a hearing or the ability to submit new evidence for their claim.The bill’s sponsors have said they hope it will reduce wait times to less than a year, helping eliminate a backlog of about 450,000 pending appeals.

Making it easier for veterans who need disability compensation to get it in a timely manner is a just and progressive reform.