VA wrongly tells veterans they're dead, cuts off benefits

SOURCE: FOX News

Snippet:

DUNEDIN, Fla. – Mike Rieker, a 69-year-old Vietnam Navy veteran, relies on his Veterans Affairs benefits to get him through the month. That's why the Pinellas County, Florida, resident was alarmed when his VA check didn't show up in his bank account Monday. He called the Department of Veterans Affairs office to find out why, and their response was stunning: The benefits had been suspended because he was dead.

Let that sink in for a minute. Vets from across the nation are being declared dead to save on the totals of the federal budget in my opinion. Every set of payments that can be stopped even for just a little while it saves the government money. If this is as wide spread as it seems it might represent large deficit reductions for the feds in the short run. I will be watching this for sure.

So if you're dead, do you have to not pay taxes?

Also could he file his life insurance claim early?

Something that might interest you along these lines.
My Father was injured during the Korean War. In the early 70's complications from his injuries made him disabled. From 1974 to 1990 he spent more time in a VA Hospital than he did at home. The doctors declared him 100% disabled, but, the Administration said that it wasn't service connected. We spent years jumping through hoops. We went through the records fire in St. Louis, the records were lost during the retreat and others. Finally they found his records, awarded him his disability and back pay, the problem was that he died on Tuesday, the check came on Thursday and they don't have to pay the estate.
To add insult to injury, his death was caused by complications from his injuries. He got out of the VA Hospital on Friday and collapsed on Sunday. I was doing CPR, my sister called an ambulance and we got him to the hospital. I got stuck with the bill for the ambulance and the Emergency Room because we didn't take him to a VA Emergency Room. The nearest VA Emergency room was 80 miles away.