Newsbytes November 21, 2025 

In this issue:
FRA  Attends FUSU Event 
House Passes Annual COLA ACT
House Hearing Examines VA Disability Exams 
Marines Defend U.S. Embassy
VA Cancels Over $272 Million In Medical Bills

FRA  Attends FUSU Event 
DLP Theo Lawson attended an evening hosted by the Friends of Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (FUSU) at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C. The event, themed “Caring for Those from the Battlefield to the Ballfield,” honored the service and sacrifice of military medical personnel who care for wounded warriors, active-duty members, veterans, and their families. 

The event provided exclusive 15-minute previews of two compelling documentaries: Fighting for Life and Curveballs. The trailers for both films were shared as part of the program’s promotion and can be viewed here: 

Fighting for Life trailer: https://vimeo.com/1094766198/43005afaf5 

Curveballs trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts8z2wGCXY4 

Attendees also took part in a powerful panel discussion and Q&A session that highlighted the extraordinary care provided to service members across the military medical community. The discussion included a spotlight on an all-amputee veterans’ baseball team whose perseverance and teamwork reflect the resilience seen throughout the wounded warrior community. 

FRA is grateful for the opportunity to attend this meaningful event and appreciates FUSU’s continued commitment to recognizing the strength, resilience, and healing shared across the military and medical communities. This event provided great insight that allows the association to help advocate for policies that strengthen the military medical communities and improve care for those who defend our nation. 

House Passes Annual COLA ACT
The House this week passed S. 2392, the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Act of 2025, sending the bill to the president’s desk. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mike Bost emphasized the importance of the legislation, noting that it ensures disability compensation and survivor benefits keep pace with inflation each year. 

The COLA Act is one of the most critical annual measures affecting veterans. It aligns VA disability compensation, Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), and other key benefits with the Social Security cost-of-living increase. Without this yearly adjustment, rising prices for essentials, such as food, housing, transportation, and medical needs, would erode the value of veterans’ earned benefits. 

For disabled veterans and surviving families, the COLA increase is not optional, it is necessary to maintain financial stability in the face of inflation. Many rely on these payments as primary income or to offset costs related to service-connected conditions. Ensuring benefits keep pace with the economy protects purchasing power and prevents veterans from falling behind when expenses rise. 

FRA strongly supports the timely passage of the COLA Act each year and will continue to advocate for policies that safeguard the financial well-being of veterans, survivors, and their families. 

House Hearing Examines VA Disability Exams 
The House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs held an oversight hearing titled “Improving Outcomes for Disabled Veterans: Oversight of VA’s Medical Disability Examination Office.” Lawmakers reviewed how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) manages its contracted medical disability examinations (MDEs), which play a major role in determining veterans’ disability benefits. In fiscal year 2024, more than 3 million exams were conducted, 93 percent by contractors, at a cost of over $5 billion. High-quality exams lead to faster and more accurate benefit decisions, while errors can result in delays and repeated evaluations. 

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), represented by Director Elizabeth H. Curda, highlighted ongoing concerns from its August 2025 report. These included incomplete Disability Benefits Questionnaires (DBQs), inadequate oversight of contractor quality action plans, and significant delays in Special Focused Reviews for complex conditions such as traumatic brain injury and military sexual trauma. GAO also identified approximately $2.3 million in performance incentive overpayments to contractors due to improper calculations. All five of GAO’s recommendations to strengthen oversight remain open. 

VA officials reported progress, noting that more than 3 million disability claims and 3.3 million exams were completed in fiscal year 2025. Average exam wait times improved to 26.4 days, and monthly audits reflected a 97.2 percent aggregate quality score. VA has recovered the incentive overpayments, standardized calculation procedures, and introduced a direct feedback mechanism for examiners. Reviews of military sexual trauma exams have been completed, with additional reviews, such as those for Gulf War Illness and traumatic brain injury, scheduled through 2027. 

The hearing also highlighted VA’s efforts to reduce unnecessary in-person exams by improving the use of existing medical records and expanding scheduling coordination between VA health and benefits systems. These changes aim to increase flexibility, including more telehealth options. However, examiners reported challenges with outdated DBQs and inconsistent contractor support, which can affect exam accuracy. 

FRA will continue monitoring these developments as Congress presses VA to close remaining GAO recommendations and ensure veterans receive timely, high-quality exams that support the benefits they have earned through service. The association strongly encourages a standardized system which would produce consistency in the examination process. 

Marines Defend U.S. Embassy 
U.S. Marines guarding the American Embassy in Port-au-Prince came under fire on November 13 when suspected members of the Viv Ansanm gang alliance launched an unexpected attack. Marines returned fire and quickly neutralized the threat, and no injuries were reported. According to Marine Corps spokesperson Capt. Steven J. Keenan, the troops acted decisively under strict security protocols. 

The incident reflects the growing instability in Haiti, where gang coalitions now control as much as 80 percent of the capital. Violence has surged throughout 2025, displacing more than a million people and overwhelming local security forces. Embassy personnel remain under severe movement restrictions, and a Level 4 travel advisory continues due to pervasive crime, kidnappings, and civil unrest. 

This attack is part of a broader pattern of U.S. military responses to Haiti’s deteriorating security environment. Marines were last dispatched to reinforce the embassy in 2024 during a partial evacuation, and U.S. forces have routinely supported humanitarian and stabilization missions in the region. 

The Fleet Reserve Association recognizes this event as a stark reminder of the conflicts and dangers facing our Marines, Sailors, and Coast Guardsmen around the globe. Service members deployed to high-risk environments continue to stand watch in defense of U.S. personnel and interests, often under extreme and unpredictable conditions. 

VA Cancels Over $272 Million In Medical Bills
The Department of Veterans Affairs announced it will forgive more than $272 million in potential medical bills that accumulated after community care copayment processing was paused in early 2023 due to technical failures in the Program Integrity Tool (PIT). The PIT system is designed to consolidate community care claims data and ensure accurate payments to providers and proper billing to veterans. When the system stalled, copayments that would normally be billed were neither processed nor collected, leaving veterans unknowingly accruing significant medical debt. 

With the issue unresolved at the time of the administration transition, the backlog was inherited by the Trump Administration, which directed VA to resume proper PIT-related copayment processing and eliminate the financial burden these accumulated bills would have placed on veterans. VA resumed normal billing operations on November 11, 2025. 

VA Secretary Doug Collins emphasized that the department is committed to protecting veterans from unexpected financial hardship, noting that resolving the backlog ensures veterans are not blindsided by debt caused by administrative failures. 

FRA welcomes VA’s decision to relieve veterans of this potential debt and encourages any veteran with questions about their health care, copayments, or benefits to contact VA or submit inquiries online: Contact us online through Ask VA