VA revamps caregivers program: Those who already qualified must reapply

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VA revamps caregivers program: Those who already qualified¹ must reapply

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Veterans Affairs is expanding its popular post-9/11 caregiver program to include vets⁴ from Vietnam and Korea, but caregivers currently in the program say they're being purged⁵ in the process.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

The Department of Veterans Affairs has a very popular program that pays a stipend⁶ to those who care for post-9/11 veterans, often family members. In 2018, Congress revamped it to include Vietnam-era and older vets. But with this new law, all current caregivers must reapply to stay on the program. And they're not all guaranteed to qualify, as NPR's veterans correspondent, Quil Lawrence, reports.

QUIL LAWRENCE, BYLINE⁷: Expanding the caregiver program to include Vietnam vets and older - that seemed more than fair to Stacy Taylor. She just never thought it would mean that she'd get dropped.

STACY TAYLOR: When you meet my husband or see it on paper, I look at his charts, it's like, well, he absolutely needs a caregiver.

LAWRENCE: Forty-five-year-old Tom Taylor served in the Coast Guard until an accident in 2014 fractured his spine⁸.

TAYLOR: He's a C7 quadriplegic, has use of his arms but no real use of his hands - so no grip dexterity⁹, no fine motor skills, stuff like that. So I have been his caregiver since day one.

LAWRENCE: The VA notified thousands of caregivers like Taylor that they'd need to reapply to the program. To qualify now, a veteran must need help with what the VA calls an activity of daily living, an ADL. Taylor says her husband needs help with eating, dressing¹⁰, bathing and getting between his bed and wheelchair. But apparently¹¹, that wasn't enough.

TAYLOR: We had our final of the three phone and video interviews on the 28 of December. And we got the notification via phone call on the 30 of December. So it doesn't really seem like they did a very lengthy¹² review by any means.

LAWRENCE: Taylor says that's incredibly fast by VA standards. The other way a caregiver can qualify is if the veteran needs supervision¹³, protection or instruction. That's where Gennette Burgess figured her husband would qualify.

GENNETTE BURGESS: He trips and falls frequently. He has - his balance is really thrown off because of the injuries to his ears from the blast. But it's also thrown off by his traumatic brain injury and the fact that he's missing his right leg.

LAWRENCE: Dan Burgess lost his leg to a bomb in Afghanistan. His other leg is what's called a limb salvage¹⁴, missing some muscle and skin. It's the brain injury and PTSD that Gennette worries about, though. She says he's liable to injure himself if she's not there. Just tracking her husband's health issues, she says, is a full-time¹⁵ job.

BURGESS: We aren't young. He was 33 when he was injured, and he's 43 now. And time is not friendly on our side right now because as he ages, the injuries are just getting worse.

LAWRENCE: Burgess says her evaluation¹⁶ started December 1.

BURGESS: December 14, Christmas Eve, we got two certified¹⁷ letters from the VA that we had to sign for. They stated in there that he did not need supervision. You are no longer needed, basically. That's how it makes you feel.

LAWRENCE: The rejection¹⁸ letters are generic¹⁹, with no specific reasons or explanations. There is a chance to appeal, and both Burgess and Taylor say they will. But they're anxious. The VA says the law requires them to do this review. Several thousand caregivers from the current post-9/11 program probably won't qualify under the new rules, says VA's Meg Kabat.

MEG KABAT: And those caregivers are still caregivers. They're still doing caregiving. They just don't qualify for this particular program. They qualify for a lot of other programs.

LAWRENCE: For example, many of these vets still get the VA's highest level of monthly disability payment and free health care. But losing the stipend is hard, especially when caregiving remains²⁰ a full-time job. Kabat says VA recognizes it may be a difficult transition. Many caregivers left behind careers. They've been out of the workforce²¹ for years. To cushion that blow, VA says no one will be removed before October this year, with an additional grace period after that before the stipend checks stop. But Kabat says the VA secretary is aware of concerns about this process.

KABAT: We continue to look at how we're implementing²² this particular law. And if we're not doing it well, then we're going to make some changes because certainly, our goal is to help veterans thrive.

LAWRENCE: And in some ways, it's now easier to qualify. Veterans no longer have to link their need for care specifically to a war wound. A Vietnam vet³ who's developed Alzheimer's, for example, could now be eligible²³. And the program is growing as thousands of newly eligible veterans from Vietnam, Korea or even World War II qualify. Their caregivers have been waiting decades for this kind of help.

Quil Lawrence, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF HYPNOTIC BRASS ENSEMBLE'S "PURPLE AFTERNOON")

1 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 vet   

n.兽医，退役军人；vt.检查

参考例句：

• I took my dog to the vet.我把狗带到兽医诊所看病。
• Someone should vet this report before it goes out.这篇报道发表之前应该有人对它进行详查。

4 vets   

abbr.veterans （复数）老手，退伍军人；veterinaries （复数）兽医n.兽医( vet的名词复数 )；老兵；退伍军人；兽医诊所v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的第三人称单数 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• I helped train many young vets and veterinary nurses too. 我还帮助培训了许多年青的兽医和护士。 来自互联网
• In fact, we've expanded mental health counseling and services for our vets. 实际上，我们已经扩大了退伍军人的心理健康咨询和服务。 来自互联网

5 purged   

清除（政敌等）( purge的过去式和过去分词 )； 涤除（罪恶等）； 净化（心灵、风气等）； 消除（错事等）的不良影响

参考例句：

• He purged his enemies from the Party. 他把他的敌人从党内清洗出去。
• The iron in the chemical compound must be purged. 化学混合物中的铁必须清除。

6 stipend   

n.薪贴；奖学金；养老金

参考例句：

• The company is going to ajust my stipend from this month onwards.从这一个月开始公司将对我的薪金作调整。
• This sum was nearly a third of his total stipend.这笔钱几乎是他全部津贴的三分之一。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

9 dexterity   

n.(手的)灵巧，灵活

参考例句：

• You need manual dexterity to be good at video games.玩好电子游戏手要灵巧。
• I'm your inferior in manual dexterity.论手巧，我不如你。

10 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

11 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

12 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

13 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

14 salvage   

v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救

参考例句：

• All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.抢救失事船只的一切努力都失败了。
• The salvage was piled upon the pier.抢救出的财产被堆放在码头上。

15 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

16 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

17 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

18 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

19 generic   

adj.一般的，普通的，共有的

参考例句：

• I usually buy generic clothes instead of name brands.我通常买普通的衣服，不买名牌。
• The generic woman appears to have an extraordinary faculty for swallowing the individual.一般妇女在婚后似乎有特别突出的抑制个性的能力。

20 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

21 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

22 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

23 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。