A new study out Wednesday from the Department of Veterans Affairs on disparities with benefits shows some progress, but also that there's still work to do.
The report is the first from the VA's new equity team launched last summer.
According to the study, in 2023 the VA looked at all mental health claims of close to 150,000 veterans who separated from active duty in 2017 and 2018.
It found while more Black veterans currently apply and receive slightly higher disability ratings than white vets, there's a gap when it comes to claims for mental health conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder.
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Black veterans had a lower grant rate of 70% compared to 76% for white veterans. The report said that gap has declined since 2017, showing some improvement.
Over the past year, the News4 I-Team, NBC News and five other NBC stations have been telling the stories of Black vets who fought for years for some of the same benefits given to their white counterparts.
The Government Accountability Office released a study last summer looking at disability claims data by race and ethnicity over a 10-year span from 2010 to 2020. It found Black vets received the lowest approval rating with 61% overall compared to white vets with 75%.
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The VA said its newest study showed that since 2017, Black vets have grant rates better or equal to others when they apply for disability compensation benefits within the first year of leaving the military and when they use a VA-accredited Veterans Service Organization.
Cindy Noel, an Air Force veteran who manages predischarge planning sites for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, said while she's grateful for the work being done, she thinks the VA needs to dig more into why claims are denied.
"But when you look at what's not being granted and the longer road it takes to get those denial turned around, that's a bigger issue,” Noel said.
The VA said as part of its action plan, it's visiting 15 or more Department of Defense installations to connect with servicemembers before they leave, updating training and conducting outreach directly to Black vets to make sure they're applying for benefits.
The VA said it will continue to study and address the issue of disparities.
This article was reported by Tracee Wilkins, Rick Yarborough and NBC Philadelphia’s Lucy Bustamante. The report was shot and edited by Steve Jones.
