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Resolutions
Adopted by the 56th National Convention of the Blinded Veterans
Association
and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Responses Thereto
RESOLUTION: 5-01
RESOLVED, that the Blinded Veterans Association,
in convention assembled in Las Vegas, Nevada, on this 1st day
of September 2001, urges VA to establish a centralized funding
mechanism to ensure stable funding for the special disability
programs.
VA opposes this resolution. Public Law (P.L.) 107-135,
Sec. 203 "Maintenance of Capacity for Specialized Treatment
and Rehabilitative Needs of Disabled Veterans" (the capacity
legislation includes requirements for special disability programs.
Network Directors’ performance plans have specific requirements
for addressing and maintaining capacity. Therefore, it is not
necessary to centralize the funding for these programs to be financially
viable. VERA allocations for special programs have had multiple
reviews to ensure resources for veterans’ health care remain
equitable.
RESOLUTION: 7-01
RESOLVED, that the Blinded Veterans Association,
in convention assembled in Las Vegas, Nevada, on this 1st day
of September 2001, urges VA to re-write its section on eye examinations
in its manual to include an example of central visual loss (the
current manual example refers only to peripheral visual loss)
and to include a list of eye conditions that require a visual
field study before rating decisions are made.
VA concurs with the intent to strengthen guidance
to the field regarding VA blinded rehabilitation service programs.
The final revision of the eye section of the rating schedule is
nearing publication. It should be published within six months,
and possibly much sooner than that. Once that happens, we will
look at the eye part of the manual and decide what needs to be
replaced or removed or otherwise revised. We are planning to provide
an eye-training letter to the field that is about 20 pages long
and will contain many examples, since there are a large number
of technical changes in the revised rating schedule. The training
letter may eliminate the need for some manual provisions.
Regarding the list of conditions requiring visual
fields, VA would hesitate to provide a list that might be considered
an exclusive list rather than relying on the eye expert’s
knowledge about specific conditions. However, we will consider
this when we process any needed manual changes.
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