Qualified disabled military retirees earned and deserve full concurrent receipt of their DoD retirement pay and VA disability compensation, which come from separate budgets for separate purposes. Today, most disabled military retirees are forced to choose one or the other in what has become known as the “disabled veterans’ tax.”
Military health-care programs must also be fully funded, without additional enrollment fees or co-payment increases for beneficiaries. TRICARE coverage should be made permanent for members of the Reserve components, as well. Military personnel who sustain injuries or illnesses while on duty must be given fair and timely discharge processing, and their transition to civilian life and/or VA health care made seamless and effective for rejoining civilian society and the workforce. The American Legion strongly supports a continuum of care for disabled veterans after they re-integrate.
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