Research - Rehabilitation - Re-Employment

Sgt. Shaft 10/21/2002

We haven't noticed anything lately in your column about the class action lawsuit aimed at restoring to retired veterans of World War II and the Korean Conflict the lifetime health care they were promised in writing when they joined the military before 7 December 1956, and so I am therefore writing to ask you to highlight this worthy effort once again. 

Under the expert guidance of attorney, Medal of Honor recipient, former POW, Col. George “Bud” Day, the lawsuit has already received a unanimous favorable ruling from 3 members of the Washington, DC federal court. The government appealed its loss and so the case was heard by the full court in March, with a decision expected very soon. 

"Class Act" is Col. Day's name for the suit, which seeks a refund of Medicare Part B premiums (up to $10,000 per plaintiff) and a return to full, no cost health care for military retirees. Any military retiree age 65 or over who entered active duty prior to 7 Dec 56, served 20 or more years active service, and has enrolled/paid for Medicare Part B is eligible for the class action -- and it is now time to sign up along with the thousands of others who have already joined. 

For more information retirees can call toll free 1-800-972-6275, go to the web site www.classact-lawsuit.com, email Class Act at lawsuit@classact-lawsuit.com or write Class Act Group., 32 Beal Parkway SW., Ft Walton Beach, FL 32548-5391. (The web site even has a signup form all ready to be sent.)

Government officials have dishonored our nation by openly reneging on the earned full medical care these veterans and their families were promised, and then by having the nerve to fight this case at taxpayer expense through a series of courts. The government penny-pinchers need to be warned that they cannot get away with this. Our valiant troops fighting in Afghanistan and soon perhaps in Iraq and elsewhere deserve to know their government will honor its solemn promises to them, too, even when the current crisis is over. 

If you fit the parameters of the class, or are the widow/widower of someone who did, you can send this loud and clear message now by signing up as a member of the class.

Respectfully,

Mrs. T. E. C.(wife of retired Navy Korean vet)

Dear Mrs. C.

The following is a chronology of the Class Act Group’s federal lawsuit:

• July 1996 Plaintiffs file suit for monetary damages in U.S. District Court in Pensacola, Florida, alleging age discrimination, deprivation of property, and breach of contract.
• June 1997 District Court dismisses plaintiffs’ allegations of age discrimination, but agrees to hear further argument on their deprivation-of-property and breach-of-contract theories.
• August 1998 District Court denies plaintiffs’ entire petition and refuses to certify the case as a class action (that is, to open the suit to other potential claimants).
• December 1998 Plaintiffs appeal to U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal for the Federal Circuit.
• March 2000 Federal Circuit hears oral arguments of the parties.
• February 2001 Three-judge panel of the Federal Circuit overturns the District Court decision and finds that military retirees who entered service before June 7, 1956, had been promised free lifetime health care in return for a career of military service and were due compensation of up to $10,000 each for the government’s failure to live up to that promise.
• June 2001 Approving a request by the government, the Federal Circuit vacates the panel’s ruling and orders a rehearing by the full court (all judges of the Federal Circuit).
• March 6, 2002 The full Federal Circuit hears oral argument in the case. Its decision is pending.

Shaft Kudos
Congratulations to House veteran chairman Chris smith for his yeoman work on the GI Bill. Chairman Smith (R) NJ recently announced a second major increase in the G.I. Bill college education benefit authorized by his legislation which took effect October 1st, raising the monthly benefit from $800 to $900. The final increase raising the monthly benefit to $985 will take effect next October 1st.

Smith's GI Bill legislation, the Veterans Education and Benefits Expansion Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-103), authorized three increases to the Montgomery GI Bill program that will eventually raise the lifetime benefit by 46% from $24,192 (prior to October 1, 2001) to $35,460 on October 1, 2003. 

"The GI Bill is one of the most successful government programs ever developed, having benefited over 21 million military veterans and helping to create the modern middle class," said Smith, who chairs the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. "However in recent years, inflation and escalating college tuition rates had seriously eroded the value of the GI Bill, causing fewer veterans to participate in the program". 

Under the GI Bill program, a military servicemember who elects to participate in the program pays $100 a month for 12 months while on active duty. Upon separation, a veteran who served for three years would be eligible for 36 months of educational assistance benefits at a qualified education institution, including vocational and other professional training courses. The monthly benefit, $900 beginning October 1st, can be used to pay for tuition, books, college fees, room and board, and other living expenses while attending school. For veterans who served for two years on active duty, the monthly benefit is slightly lower, rising to $732 beginning on October 1st, and then to $800 next October 1st.

"The GI Bill not only helps our veterans and our educational institutions, it is also the military's top recruitment and retention tool," said Smith. "With our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines embarked upon a war to defend our nation against terrorism, we must ensure that these brave men and women get all of the assistance they need to help them in their transition back to civilian life. The GI Bill is and will remain a cornerstone of that effort," he said.

Send letters to Sgt. Shaft, c/o John Fales, P.O. Box 65900, Washington, D.C. 20035-5900; fax to 301-622-3330; call 202-462-4430 or email sgtshaft@bavf.org.

BAVF Home | Who We Are | Sgt. Shaft | Flag Week | Links | Financials | Search | Contact BAVF

BAVF - P.O. Box 65900, Washington, D.C. 20035-5900

Copyright BAVF 2002