Special Compensation for Assistance with Activities of Daily Living - S.C.A.A.D.L.
This special compensation is not necessarily brand new, but it's something that is not well known and is also something that could help a number of individuals - not necessarily a soldier wounded in combat.
A long story short, SCAADL is compensation paid to a service member who has a permanent injury or illness that is classified as catastrophic. It's intention is to offset and prevent loss of income while meeting the needs of the service member. In many situations, the caregiver (wife, mother, friend, etc.) for the service member has to leave their job, cut back their hours or in many cases hire additional help for when they need to continue working to ensure the safety of their job.
SCAADL has the potential to help a large number of individuals, but from our family's personal experience, many families and individuals are falling through the cracks. Let me rephrase: our soldiers, injured in the line of duty... soldiers injured fighting for our freedom... are missing out. I'm not okay with that.
Josh (my husband) was injured down range in a mounted IED explosion last October (2011). He was hospitalized for about 3 weeks and then med evac'd back to his duty station in mid November. Upon being discharged, our Warriors in Transition Battalion (WTB) should have started the ball rolling for our SCAADL application. In fact, we didn't know it even existed for months. When we finally learned that we qualified (a no-brainer considering his multiple spinal injuries), there was quite a bit of confusion as to WHO was responsible for filling out the application. Was it the Nurse Case Manager (NCM)? Was it his Primary Care Manager (PCM)? Another long story short, 4 months passed before an application was submitted. The hardest 4 months of Josh's recovery - when he required the most assistance (you name it, he couldn't do it)... and we missed out because our WTB chain of command dropped the ball.
Much is very specific to each individual case, but here are a few things we learned:
1. It's a law - not an allotment given by the Army, so there's less room for fudging and things are pretty cut and dry.
2. There are three tiers of compensation: High, Medium, Low that are each tied to a monthly compensation amount of roughly $1,600; $1,000; and $400 respectively.
3. The NCM should fill out the application in which the head physician will then sign off on. At least that's how it finally worked out for us. The Occupational Therapist might know all that is concerned with the ADLs, but the NCMs usually work very closely with both the service member AND the physicians.
4. This is also time sensitive. There are specific situations where inpatient care does not disqualify you, but generally speaking, it's given to outpatient individuals. Once initially discharged from inpatient care, the application should be submitted as quickly as possible. What we've been told is that they will not back-date a form and when our first was submitted, the email that came back from MEDCOM said that a date older than 2 weeks would not be accepted. We have not seen this anywhere in writing, but this is what we were told. In fact, we have yet to find in writing anything about the back dating. The point: get it done asap.
Something else to keep in mind: like I mentioned earlier, this doesn't just apply to our combat wounded. While Josh was in the PT clinic for a session, I ran into an individual that we'd seen a number of times before during his sessions. Turns out, she was permanently injured "in the line of duty". Her story is unique because of her "job" but NOT uncommon. She applied to move over to the WTB but is having trouble. I worry that because of the delay and the lack of knowledge surrounding the SCAADL, that she too will fall through the cracks. She is here alone. No family. Her co-workers are a team that travel quite a bit. This is an individual that would surely benefit from the special compensation. Am I sure that she would qualify for it? Not 100% positive, but knowing that her injuries are catastrophic by definition, and that it's permanent, I'd be willing to gamble. I photocopied the info and suggested she look into it.
What about the other soldiers that were injured or med-evac'd with Josh? They have fallen through the cracks as well and this breaks my heart. I got a letter the other day from the wife of a wounded warrior - her husband was combat injured long before SCAADL was enacted into law and she is JUST now hearing about it.
Currently, we're looking for maximum visibility on this issue through MEDCOM... and frankly, anyone that will listen, read, etc. We've received company level support from within the WTB, but the buck stops there. THE biggest advocate in this issue has been our local Ombudsman. If you go to your health care providers and they know little about what's going on - go to your Ombudsman. If your local representative is anything like ours, then they will take very good care of you.
Thanks to this Ombudsman, we're fighting to create that visibility. But like anything else, it will take time to fix. Are you a wounded warrior? Do you know one? Are you a caregiver of a service member? Please, please look into the fact sheets and ask your health care providers.... and spread the word!
Here are a few helpful links to info on the SCAADL
Fact Sheet from the Warriors in Transition Command:
http://wtc.army.mil/factsheets/wtc_SCAADL_fact_sheet.pdf
SCAADL Calculator:
http://militarypay.defense.gov/Tools/scaadl.html
DoD Instruction on SCAADL:
http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/134112p.pdf
...and to get REALLY technical, use this link to search the United States Code - Title 37, Section 439
http://uscode.house.gov/search/criteria.shtml
14 comments:
So how long did it actually take for your SCAADL to be processed and start receiving it?
Submitted the original form on 24 Feb backdated to November with November's physical status. It was rejected because "the date was older than 2 weeks." We did a brand new form with current ADL status and a current date - submitted around 12 March. We saw the allotment in mypay... must have been the midmonth pay. What they ended up doing was using the date from when we first submitted the form (24 feb) so the allotment was all of march and part of feb. Need to bump with our ombudsman to see if we're going to be able to get backpay from between Nov and Feb.
Do you happen to know if they do any type of back pay? I think this is terrible that they don't tell soldiers and their families about this...I have had to quit my job and take care of my husband for the last year...and still to this date he is still going through surgeries. I emailed my husbands NCM and asked why we haven't been told about this, still waiting to hear back.
Sister, I wish! I don't have a firm "yes" or "no" answer for this. I am so sorry that you've had to sacrafice yet again!! Your case is exactly what the SCAADL was set up to avoid!
If you haven't already signed up for the scaadl, I'd get that done first. Then, I'd work through your local omsbudsman - if your husband's squad leader or NCM don't know who it is, let me know and I'll see if I can track a local contact down for you.
We got a memo from his company commander supporting our plea for back pay and stating that knowing about SCAADL just wasn't within our scope of responsibility... the BN commander refused to support the memo (which is sad, because his endorsement would have really helped). So, we sent a personal statement along with the memo from the company commander up to medcom somewhere at Ft. Lewis - the omsbudsman was the person that handled this for us.
After a couple of weeks, we checked back with him and he explained that because it was going up to a pretty high seat in the ranks, that it would take awhile to hear back.
I'm so sorry that your family is missing out on such a huge financial blessing! It's sad that such a huge program has struggled so much in getting it's feet on the ground. ...yet another sacrafice our husbands are making. Keep me posted!
There is no backdate for the SCADDL however it is a very good tool for i myself is a recipiant and i just found out about it late last year and my injury was in 2010 would have been great to know back because my wife had to quit her job to take care of me
You are 100% correct. Because it's a law, it's not as flexible as the run-of-the-mill Army policy. We knew headed into this that we'd been burnt. Bottom line, the doctors were willing to backdate the forms based on medical documentation, but the commander of the WTU battalion was unwilling to admit that his unit had "dropped the ball". Our ultimate goal was really to create as much visibility as possible. Goal accomplished. Through the omsbudsman, this issue was pushed up to the highest level of MEDCOM up at Ft. Lewis. We knew we'd be turned down for compensation from NOV-MAR... a drop in the bucket, compared to your loss, my friend. This would, I'm sure, have made life a bit easier for your family! So, now, we spread the word... not just in the WTUs, but in the line units, as not all injuries are "combat" but are still incurred "in the line of duty" and would, I assume, still qualify. yes? no?
Is there a website that gives further explanation/examples of the activities that the soldier needs assistance with..? We have dealt with the same thing of not knowing about this program. Our PA really dropped the ball. My husband was getting Epidural Steroid Injections for a Spinal Injury sustained in Afghanistan ..he ended up being one of the patients that received a Meningitis tainted injection ... SOOOO 3 months later and 32 round trips from Ft Campbell to Nashville ..We were just made aware of this AND the fact that we will be reimbursed for all the gas/travel expenses we have incurred..!
Here's a link to the actual form that the PA will need to fill out - the DD Form 2948:
http://www.wtc.army.mil/factsheets/SCAADLDDForm2948.pdf
While it doesn't list specifics, it does list what areas they will be looking at (eating, bathing, etc.) so, at least you can bring it in with you. I would print out a copy for you and a copy for the doctor to fill out - but make notes in yours - ie. maybe your husband can't shower without the assistance of a shower transfer bench and standyby assistance. Sadly, they won't back date it, so he might very well have needed quite a bit more assistance in the beginning. With all of the categories, they'll look at what kind of adaptive equipment he has (or should have had), like a shower bench, maybe a cane or a walker, a grabber to assist... but "stand by assistance" is a big one if there are issues with balance, etc.
Also, as we enter tax season -if itemizing is an option for you, you are able to claim mileage to and from ALL medical appointments on your taxes! For instance - it's a 25 min drive to our kiddos doctor and to our OB - 50 miles round trip! The miles, and thus the gas bill really adds up! Just make a list for your records of the date/time/location of the appointments - track the mileage using mapquest, and then based on the gas milage your car gets you'll be able to get a flat average cost of the drive to just use with the rest of the appts. And, if you used a civilian pharmacy at any point, you can claim the cost of your perscriptions there too.
What might help when it comes to looking at the ADLs... take a look at the TSGLI where it goes into the ADLs... it has been awhile, but looking there might help spell them out a bit more.
I'll "chew" on this a bit and get back to you if I think of anything else. SO sorry that this is such a struggle... it shouldn't be this hard to get help, and it breaks my heart! Nag the PA until it gets done! :)
I too learned of SCAADL from another soldier while at physical therapy. He asked me if I was receiving SCAADL payments from the Army to help off-set the cost of my wife's lost income, and compensation for her extra health care duties here at home taking care of me. I told him that I had never heard of it. At that time I had been in the WTU at Ft. Campbell for 8 months, and was well into, almost thru, the MEB process. I went to see my NCM the next day to inquire about it. She looked at me as though I had suggested doing something sinful. She reluctantly pulled the paperwork and began to explain the process to me. The whole time she had an expression of disgust on her face and a tone of disdain in her voice. I was able to get her to send an email to the Voc. Rehab. and to my PCM setting up the necessary appointments. My wife and I went to all of the Appointments together. First to the Voc. Rehab. for the initial interview and paperwork, then to My PCM for the next part, and finally we went to our interview/meeting with my First SGT and Commander. They both explained that we had completed all of the necessary steps and they signed the forms right there in front of us. We were told that it might take 6 to 8 weeks til we see it on my LES, but not to worry, that we WOULD receive back payment from the date it was signed by my Commander and First SGT. That was 3 months ago. I have followed up with my NCM every week. I have utilized my Commander and First SGT's open door policy twice, for each. I have been to see the BN S-1 every week after having waited 8 weeks. I have emailed MEDCOM multiple times. Called the Pentagon SCADDL Rep. The only thing I haven't done, is go to my Ombudsman. I am going to see him on Monday. What, if anything, else can I do? My wife deserves to be compensated for what she does, and frankly, as an E-4, I don't make enough to provide all the needs for a family of five. Thank you for getting the word out!-Wounded Warrior Ft. Campbell, KY
Sounds like you've done all of the right things!!! Do you have a copy of the actual form that they submitted for your SCAADL? If not, see if your NCM or someone else has a copy, just to have on hand for the date on the bottom.
The Omsbudsman is surely the way to go here, but your right, it's time to fire up some other engines. A tidbit that we learned when trying to get back pay, was that in addition to refusing back pay (which I get... a law is a law verses an army policy that can be bent) when the form goes through MEDCOM, if it has a date that is too old, they will kick it back. (Maybe 30 days, I can't specifically remember now).
I'd open up a case with your post IG (a place where having an actual copy of the DD 2948 is handy as well as dates that you've utilized open door policies, etc.), as well as with patient advocacy at the hospital. The first place that I would stop after the omsbudsman though, would be to your hospital IG. There is one here at Fort Bliss, but I'm not sure if that is just because Bliss is big with a large retired population, or maybe this is just where a rep is located for the region. Here's a link to what I'm talking about:
http://www.wrmc.amedd.army.mil/StaticContent/WRMCIG.htm
Either way, when you head in, spell it out just like you did for me and throw in all of the dates and extra details. Depending on your injuries, maybe add milestones to the time line too - like, cast was removed on this date; walked for the first time in therapy on this date, etc.
Also, I'm sure you've looked into the Wounded Warrior Project for yourself, but Operation Homefront has a group for wives of combat vetrans - Hearts of Valor. They offer online support and they also pair up with another organization, Hope for the Homefront, and offer retreats for spouses all over the country. Just wanted to make sure you'd heard about that too!
Best of Luck Wounded Warrior - We'll never be able to thank you enough for your sacrafices.
Thank you for all the good advice. I was told today that I am to report to the BN Commander tomorrow. I must admit that I am a little nervous. I may have rattled a little too loud. Wish me luck.
I'm an Army Occupational Therapist at a military hospital in the US and have just taken over the SCAADL evaluation process from the WTU due to inaccuracies with the entire process of completing the DD 2948.
I've read where you think that the NCM should be the one completing the form, but in our case they have deferred that task to the OTs. I'm not sure why the NCVs are not completing the DD2498, but that's a battle that I'll fight in the future.
For now, since I have been tasked with this, what sorts of hints or tips can you provide me so that I can be the most helpful to the injured soldiers that I see?
Thanks!
I AM AN OT IN A WTU IN THE US AS WELL. I TOO HAVE THE TASK OF EVALUATING THE SOLDIER HOWEVER THE PCM HAS THE AUTHORITY TO CHANGE ANYTHING AFTER I HAVE PUT MY NAME ON LINE 11A. I THINK THE OT CAN PLAY A ROLE IN THIS PROGRAM HOWEVER I FEEL IT SHOULD BE AN EVALUATION THAT IS DOCUMENTED IN AHLTA AND THEN THE PCM OR NCM CAN REFER TO THE NOTE TO FILL OUT FORM DD2948. I REFUSED TO BE A PART OF THIS PROGRAM FOR SOME TIME DUE TO THE FRAUDULENT CONCERNS THAT HAVE OCCURED AT MY INSTALLATION AS WELL. I AM NOW FACING DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS AS I HAVE BEEN ACCUSED OF FRAUDULENT DOCUMENTATION BECAUSE THE EVALUATION WAS NOT 100% HANDS ON IN OUR "ADL APARTMENT". THIS DOUMENTATION WAS 100% ACCURATE IN MY PROFESSIONAL OPINION. I AM PULLING INFORMATION TO SUPPORT MYSELF IN MY DEFENSE AND THUS FOUND THIS POST. I AM A THERAPIST WITH GREATER THAN 25 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AND WOULD NEVER COMPLETE ANY DOCUMENT FRAUDULENTLY OR PUT MY CAREER AND LICENSE ON THE LINE. SO JUST A WORD OF CAUTION TO THE OT, KNOW THAT WHEN YOU SIGN 11A, IF YOU SEND IT ELECTRONICALLY, IT CAN BE CHANGED. JUST DO YOUR JOB AS AN OT AND YOU WILL SERVE YOUR SOLDIER TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITY. THERE IS NO MAGIC. THE SOLDIER EITHER NEEDS ASSISTANCE OR THEY DONT. ALWAYS CONSIDER THE MENTAL ASPECT AS WELL. WHAT A SOLDIER CAN DO ONE TIME WITH A THERAPIST IS NOT NECESSARILY AN INDICATION OF WHAT THEY CAN SAFELY DO UNATTENDED AT HOME THUS A COMPLETE EVALUATION IN AN "ADL APARTMENT" IS NOT ALWAYS NECESSARY. IT COULD ACTUALLY PRODUCE FALSE INFORMATION THAT COULD RESULT IN INJURY TO THE SOLDIER. I HAVE FOUGHT MY INVOLVEMENT WITH THIS AND NOW FACING HUMILIATION FOR SOMETHING THAT I DID NOT DO. I AM 100% DEDICATED TO MY SOLDIERS BUT MY FAMILY AND MY CAREER HAVE TO BE PROTECTED. THIS IS A GREAT PROGRAM, SOLDIERS SHOULD BE INFORMED AND SHOULD RECEIVE WHAT THEY DESERVE. PLEASE KNOW THAT THESE ISSUES ARE OCCURING IN DIVISION AS WELL, NOT JUST THE WTU'S. THANKS TO THE OT'S THAT ARE HELPING OUR SOLDIERS AND A SPECIAL THANKS TO THE SOLDIERS, THEIR WIVES AND THEIR FAMILIES FOR THEIR SERVICE AND SACRIFICES.
So how long did you end up receiving SCAADL?
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