An NPR investigation revealed that VA contractors that started with the intent of helping disabled veterans are now aggressively overbilling them and ruthlessly sending bill collectors after them to greedily maximize their corporate profits while the VA does nothing about it.
A US Army veteran used a for-profit consultant firm named 'Trajector Medical' to process his VA disability benefits claim. After weeks went by, he then cancelled their services and used a non-profit advocacy group to process his claim.
When the VA finally rated him 70% disabled, qualifying him for free health care and a monthly disability check, the Soldier then heard back from "Trajector Medical" in the form of a bill for $4,500. The disabled veteran had no idea how the company even knew he'd gotten a decision from VA as he cancelled his service with them.
NPR discovered there are other such nefarious companies ruthlessly taking advantage of disabled veterans known as "claim sharks," using hi-tech and robo-calls to sleuth out their marks, all supposedly legal.
There are approximately 5.5 million US veterans with a service-connected disability as of Aug 2024. In 2023, about 30% of the 18.5 million veterans in the US had service-connected disabilities.
Remarkably, Secretary of Veteran's Affairs Douglas Allen Collins has served as a chaplain in the USAF Reserve since 2002, and was promoted to Colonel in 2023.
Link: Homeless US Veterans
America is #1 thanks to us Veterans, right?
