Number of veterans who die waiting for benefits claims skyrockets
Long wait times contribute to delays of tens of thousands of benefits, pensions
By Aaron Glantz on December 20, 2012 - 12:00 a.m. PST
Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, said the data confirmed the worst fears of many veterans and members of Congress.
“The common refrain we hear from many veterans is, ‘Delay, deny, wait till I die,’ ” said Miller, who called the burgeoning backlog of benefits claims a “national embarrassment.”
Nationwide, about 900,000 veterans and their families have been waiting about nine months for a decision on their claims, with those in America’s major urban areas waiting the longest. As of October, the most recent month for which numbers are available, the average wait time for a veteran was 15 months in Chicago, 16 months in New York and a year and a half in Los Angeles.
http://www.baycitizen.org/veterans/s...eid=23f9563460