Support Veterans with ALS and Their Survivors
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) to qualified survivors of service members and veterans. Eligible surviving spouses can also receive an additional $331.84 per month in DIC when a veteran who, at the time of death, was in receipt of or was entitled to receive compensation for a service-connected disability that was rated totally disabling for a continuous period of at least eight years. This extra payment is commonly referred to as the “DIC kicker.”

Currently, VA regulations recognize amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) as a presumptive service-connected disease and, due to its aggressive nature, veterans diagnosed with ALS are automatically rated at 100 percent once service-connected. Unfortunately, many veterans with ALS are unable to meet the eight-year DIC kicker requirement because the average life expectancy for a person with ALS is three to five years. Rarely do ALS veterans' surviving spouses qualify for the additional DIC benefit given the eight-year requirement.

PVA Position

ALS is an aggressive disease that leaves many veterans totally incapacitated and reliant on family members and caregivers. DIC kicker payments should be provided to the surviving spouses of veterans who die from ALS regardless of how long they were service-connected for ALS prior to death.

Please contact your elected officials and urge them to cosponsor S. 1590/H.R. 3790 , the Justice for ALS Veterans Act of 2023, which would allow the surviving spouses of veterans who died of service-connected ALS to receive the DIC kicker. H.R 3790 would also require a study about the feasibility of including other conditions beyond ALS in the future. 

    Subject
    Message Body
    Post
    Suggested Message
    Post
    Remaining: 0
  • Hide
    • Please call this number:

      Please do not close this window. You will need to come back to this window to enter your code.
      We just sent an email to ... containing a verification code.

      If you do not see the email within the next five minutes, please ensure you entered the correct email address and check your spam/junk mail folder.
      Enter Your Info
      Your Information
      By providing your mobile number, you agree to receive periodic call to action text messages from Paralyzed Veterans of America. Message and data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help. Reply STOP to unsubscribe. Message frequency varies. Privacy Policy  
      Are you a member of the Paralyzed Veterans of America?
      *
      Home Information

      Enter Your Info