The United States supports its veterans in many ways. In fact, the USA has some of the greatest benefits in the world for those who served in the armed forces. Unfortunately, navigating the bureaucracies the lie between a U.S. vet and his benefits can be daunting.
Wait times for veterans have improved over the last two decades, but are still far from ideal. In fact, it can take up to 90 days for a healthy veteran to book a doctor appointment. When a veteran is disabled, the difficulties of navigating the system are exacerbated. That’s where Disabled American Veterans (DAV) comes in. DAV is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping disabled veterans receive their rightful benefits.
According to the organization’s website, DAV provides more than 670,000 rides for veterans attending medical appointments and assists veterans with more than 292,000 benefit claims annually. In 2016, DAV helped attain more than $4 billion in new and retroactive benefits to care for veterans, their families, and survivors.
Not only that, but DAV also helps disabled veterans find employment.
“We are dedicated to a single purpose: empowering veterans to lead high-quality lives with respect and dignity,” says the organization’s website. “We accomplish this by ensuring that veterans and their families can access the full range of benefits available to them; fighting for the interests of America’s injured heroes on Capitol Hill, and educating the public about the great sacrifices and needs of veterans transitioning back to civilian life.”
The organization is currently fighting for the timely passage of Senate Bill 2193, the Caring for Our Veterans Act of 2017, bipartisan legislation approved by the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs last week to improve and modernize the care America provides her veterans.
“The brave men and women who have worn our nation’s uniform must have timely access to high-quality, comprehensive and veteran-centric care,” the organization said in a letter to Sens. Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer. “The majority of our members rely on VA to provide such care, but understand that VA must turn to private sector partners when it is not able to reasonably meet the demand for care in its health system.”
For more information on DAV, or to find out how you can help veterans get access to the benefits they are due, visit www.dav.org today.
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