aPPellaTerighTSandTheVaCaregiVerProgram
Military & Veterans affairs Committee Chairs : RobertBarton – RumbergerKirk & JanaeThomas – Quinteros , Prieto , WoodandBoyer , P . A .
whenthisprogramrunsas itshould , itprovides life-changingbenefitsto deservingveterans . whenit doesn ’ t , itleavesveterans hopelessandinthedark .
Jeremy Beaudette served in the Marine Corps for ten years . 1 During his combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan , he suffered several concussions , causing traumatic brain injury and leaving him legally blind . He was medically discharged from military service , and The Department of Veterans Affairs ( VA ) rated him 100 % disabled . The VA also granted Jeremy and his wife Maya participation in the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers ( PCAFC ), which aims to provide financial and clinical support to the family of a veteran who requires full-time supervision or assistance . Because of this program , Maya was able to quit her job and provide her husband with the care he needed .
A few years later , VHA reviewed Jeremy ’ s medical records during a routine reassessment and erroneously determined that he no longer needed full-time care . Accordingly , Jeremy and Maya were denied continued participation in PCAFC .
The Beaudettes filed an appeal to the Board of Veterans ’ Appeals , but never received a response . Accordingly , the Beaudettes filed a petition for extraordinary relief at the U . S . Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims , requesting that the court certify a class of all claimants who received an adverse
decision regarding PCAFC and provide them with appellate rights . The Secretary of the VA argued that entitlement to the benefits of PCAFC is a medical determination , not a legal one , and that the only way to appeal is to participate in the VHA Clinical Review Process , which is otherwise used when a patient disagrees with the course of treatment of a medical provider .
In 2021 , the Court determined that Congress unambiguously mandated the Board of Veterans ’ Appeals review of these types of decisions . 1 Consequentially , the Beaudettes had a right to have the Board review their appeal . Additionally , the Court certified a class of claimants who were denied or discharged from PCAFC , had exhausted the VHA appeals process , and were not afforded the right to appeal . The Secretary appealed this decision to the U . S . Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit .
While we wait for the Federal Circuit to review this case , we are seeing other issues arise with the VA ’ s handling of PCAFC , which are negatively impacting the very veterans this program was designed to help . These issues include controversy about VHA ’ s reassessment process , 2 flawed implementation of the program , 3 and misapplication of regulations . 4
When this program runs as it should , it provides life-changing benefits to deserving veterans . When it doesn ’ t , it leaves veterans hopeless and in the dark . Veterans and their advocates are keeping a close eye on developments and are hoping for positive change in the months ahead . n
1
Beaudette v . McDonough , 34 Vet . App . 95 , 99 ( 2021 ).
2
Quil Lawrence , VA revamps caregivers program : Those who already qualified must reapply , NPR ( Jan . 18 , 2022 , 5:08AM ), https :// www . npr . org / 2022 / 01 / 18 / 1073732623 / va-revampscaregiversprogram-those-who-alreadyqualified-mustreapply #:~: text = A % 20MARTINEZ % 2C % 20HOST % 3A , to % 20stay % 20on % 20the % 20program .
3
Dep ’ t of Veterans Affs . Off . of Inspector Gen ., Rep . 17-04003-222 , Veterans Health Administration : Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers : Management Improvements Needed ( 2018 ).
4
Veteran Warriors , Inc . v . Sec ’ y of
Veterans Affairs , 29 F . 4th 1320 , 1342-43 ( Fed . Cir . 2022 ).
Author : Morgan MacIsaac- Bykowski – Stetson University College of Law Veterans Law Institute
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