MY TURN: VA Math does make sense under the 'whole person' methodology

This is in reply to Mary Merrill’s question in the letter to the editor Aug. 21, 2024, about VA Math and when does 30% and 50% equal 60%. The answer to Ms. Merrill’s question is it doesn’t, it equals 70%. Which still begs the question, why not 80%? 

The VA uses a system called combined ratings, which rates the severity of a veteran service-connected condition(s) individually. It is predicated on the concept of “Whole Person Remaining.” The idea behind this methodology is that if a person has no disabilities, that person is a 100% whole person or equal to one person. This means there can never be any rating for any ONE person more than 100%. So, if you have a 30% disability rating, it concedes that you are 30% disabled and 70% whole. Therefore, each subsequent rating of disability is a reduction of the whole person or 100% rating system.

For example, if a veteran is 50% rated for a service-connected illness or injury, that number is subtracted from 100% (or one whole person) leaving the remaining 50% to be used in the calculation of subsequent disabilities. So, if the veteran has a disability rated at 50% and then 30%, the second severe disability is calculated using 30% of the 50% remaining, or 15%. This equals 65% and since the VA rounds either up or down (in this case up) the final rating yields 70%.

This methodology arranges the disabilities in the exact order of their severity, starting with the highest rated disability and then combined with the use of a combined ratings table, rates each disability accordingly. As you can imagine, this is not a straightforward arithmetic equation using the simple percentages as Ms. Merrill suggests.

The calculation is further complicated by the fact that some veterans have bilateral conditions, which means a bilateral factor needs to be considered for a final disability rating to be determined. Then the VA also rounds either up or down the final rating to the nearest 10%. For example, if the final combined rating is 56% the VA rounds up to 60%, but if the final combined rating is 54%, they will round down to 50%.

This system is not arbitrary and is not designed to outrage anyone. Instead, it is a systematic mathematical equation designed to rate a veteran based on his/her own unique set of disabilities along with the severity of each disability. Such a system can yield veterans who benefit from the way the calculation is derived while some do not with the goal of evaluating a veteran on the severity of the disability. And in case you are wondering if a veteran who is rated over 100% receives a disability rating over 100%, the answer is no. 

To recap, based on the whole person remaining equation, the largest rating any ONE veteran can receive is 100% because he/she is only one person. The highest rating I have seen (so far) for a single veteran is over 500% and as you may have already guessed with a whole person methodology that veteran is rated at 100% even though his disability ratings yield a much higher value. If we apply Ms. Merrill’s suggestion, this would mean that this veteran would be compensated at the rate of five persons, which would be illogical. If you think about the logic behind the mathematical calculation, it does make sense and is not an unfair practice but a systematic way of valuing the whole person as one.

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Terri Maceyka is a Coeur d'Alene resident.