Surviving spouse tells subcommittee VA caregiver appeals can leave families destitute; lawmakers consider fixes

Julie Guliff, a surviving spouse who applied for the VA's Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) on behalf of her husband, told the House Veterans' Affairs subcommittee that the VA appeals and records process left her "widowed, homeless, alone, destitute, and heartbroken." She urged passage of the Veterans Caregiver Appeals Modernization Act (H.R. 38 33) to prevent similar outcomes.

Guliff recounted years of caregiving for a veteran with service‑connected disabilities and stage‑4 prostate cancer, describing repeated application denials, record‑sharing problems across VA facilities and private providers, and delays that extended through appeals. She said her husband's PCAFC application remained unresolved when he died in October 2022, and subsequent appeals were denied because, she said, "due to the death of the veteran, the appeal for eligibility of PCAFC benefits must be denied as a matter of law." Guliff said the board declined to consider evidence accumulated after the agency's original decision.

Witnesses and VA officials described how the caregiver application and appeals pathways differ from other VA appeals. Dr. Colleen Richardson, executive director for the Caregiver Support Program at the Veterans Health Administration, explained that "as long as we have the information available to us ... we are able to render decision and retroactively pay" unpaid stipends when a veteran dies, but emphasized that eligibility hinges on meeting program requirements and on evidence availability. Richardson said about 86% of PCAFC initial applications are adjudicated in under 90 days and that roughly 30–33% of applications are approved; she also described separate clinical appeal tracks and the AMA (Appeals Modernization Act) process that have posed implementation challenges.

Advocates urged statutory changes to ensure evidence submitted after a veteran's death can be considered and to make the caregiver application and appeals processes more reliable. Representative Mike Johnson (note: committee participants) and others asked detailed questions about record sharing, staff training and timelines. Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) and other advocates said better data collection, clearer standards for retroactive payments, and inter‑facility information sharing would reduce the risk that families are left without benefits after a veteran dies.

VA witnesses noted operational constraints. Dr. Richardson said eligibility decisions require specific evidentiary steps and that some applications are denied when evaluators conclude a veteran "does not need in‑person personal care services." She said that when a veteran is denied at an eligibility step, caregivers may be offered enrollment in the Program of General Caregiver Support Services (PGCSS).

Lawmakers did not adopt legislation during the hearing. Members said they would work with VA and advocates to clarify whether evidence filed after a veteran's death should remain part of an active appeal and how to ensure timely, consistent adjudication of caregiver claims and appeals.