Firms that help military vets with their disability claims can charge exorbitant fees : NPR

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A network of for-profit companies is helping veterans apply for disability funds by helping them navigate the VA’s tangled red tape. Critics of these companies call them sharks, while supporters say they are necessary, and that’s why veterans are willing to pay them. NPR’s investigative team followed the money and asked what, if anything, Congress was doing to regulate the board’s Wild West when it comes to veterans claims. Caley Fox Shannon and Quil Lawrence have the story.

CALEY FOX SHANNON, BYLINE: When Erik Jensen was a deep-sea diver for the Navy in the late ’70s, he wore a wetsuit that weighed more than he did.

QUIL LAWRENCE, BYLINE: His name was the Mark V. He had a heavy copper helmet and a thick rubber suit, like something out of an old science fiction movie.

ERIK JENSEN: We already had men on the Moon who were still using a diving suit invented in the 1880s. It was horrible to have to dive.

LAWRENCE: It took a toll on Jensen’s body. During his years of service, he also developed psoriasis, which decades later caused painful arthritis.

JENSEN: All my joints started to hurt. I woke up in the middle of the night. I couldn’t move my fingers or my wrists. It was just… it was like I was made of stone.

SHANNON: Jensen saw an ad online for a company called Trajector Medical. They help with VA disability claims. Here is their pitch. You only pay the company if your monthly VA check increases, and then they charge five times that increase.

JENSEN: If they don’t raise it, then you don’t owe us anything. And so I did well, it looks pretty good. You know, what do I have to lose?

LAWRENCE: It is illegal to charge veterinarians money to prepare an initial VA claim. Nonprofits like VFW do this for free and are accredited by VA. But almost two decades ago, Congress eliminated fines for violating this law. So while it remains technically illegal, without oversight, a cottage industry of VA claims consulting has exploded. In some cases, they might charge $20,000 or more.

SHANNON: In a recent NPR investigation, we heard from more than 350 veterans who have used companies like Trajector Medical. Many of them said that private companies offered valuable help and that they were happy to pay for it. Others, however, felt misled.

LAWRENCE: Like Jensen. He said Trajector exaggerated his symptoms and added additional health issues he didn’t ask them to claim. Jensen became a nurse after his diving years, and he didn’t think the medical evidence was up to par. Nevertheless, his claim via Trajector was successful, so he paid.

JENSEN: I’m embarrassed to say I ended up paying 12,000.

LAWRENCE: Trajector declined interview requests, but a representative said the company is not filing a claim. They only provide medical evidence to veterinarians.

SHANNON: There are many, many companies like Trajector across the country. Gage Coons is a former Navy mechanic who hired a company called Veteran Benefits Guide. He said it was worth the $5,000 he paid with his newly increased benefits check.

GAGE COONS: This process happened extremely quickly. It was boom, boom, boom, and I got my new grade in, I would say, four months. I was more than happy to pay this, especially with the amount you receive monthly, which helps considerably and especially in this economy.

LAWRENCE: As this industry grows, competing bills to regulate it are spreading through Congress. Accredited veterans service organizations are pushing lawmakers to support a bill called the GUARD Act, which would restore criminal penalties and reinvigorate the law. This is Kristina Keenan from the VFW.

KRISTINA KEENAN: These unaccredited companies that charge exorbitant fees to veterans – we call them claim sharks. And we’re really trying to focus on a federal solution to rein in these actors and ensure that they don’t continue to operate the way they have.

LAWRENCE: A competing bill, the Choice Act, would legitimize companies and put a cap on what they can charge.

SHANNON: While Congress is gridlocked, state lawmakers are busy. The result is a patchwork of conflicting laws from state to state. But veterans benefits are a federal program worth more than $170 billion a year. So Congress may need to intervene.

Caley Fox Shannon.

LAWRENCE: And Quil Lawrence, NPR News.

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