2026-02-13T10:00:46.862Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/13/politics/veterans-affairs-disabilities-benefits-pay-companies-louisiana
一名目前居住在中西部的陆军战斗老兵在结束兵役时身受多处伤。他在2000年代末部署到阿富汗期间，车辆触发简易爆炸装置（IED）后患上了创伤性脑损伤。
但当这位被CNN称为亚当的老兵向美国退伍军人事务部（VA）提交伤残赔偿申请时，他感觉自己在两个方面都被辜负了。
首先，他表示，VA的流程令人困惑，该部门花了四个月才回复他——告知他没有资格获得任何福利。然后他寻求一家公司的帮助，该公司承诺指导他完成整个流程并收取费用，但最终他仍然没有获得任何福利，反而背负了数千美元的账单。
“他们实际上对我几乎一无所获，”亚当提到那家外部公司时说道。他要求使用化名以保护隐私。
亚当的故事几十年来一直在退伍军人中上演。
退伍军人本应能够直接通过VA申请福利金，并且能够免费从非营利性和政府附属组织（称为退伍军人服务组织，VSO）获得填写文书工作的帮助。这些VSO获得了政府认证以协助退伍军人。
然而，由于文书工作繁琐且VSO通常因工作量过大而无法及时提供帮助，许多退伍军人转而求助于收取费用的私人公司。
批评者称这些顾问为“索赔鲨鱼”——盈利性咨询公司声称帮助退伍军人获得更高赔偿，同时从中抽取一定比例的费用。这些咨询公司未经VA认证，而VA的认证流程包括接受评估和通过背景调查，旨在确保对该过程的一定程度的监督。
与此同时，一些盈利性咨询公司被指控使用不诚实的策略来获取更高费用，无论是直接向退伍军人多收费，还是向VA虚报客户情况以从更高的赔偿金额中获得更大的提成。
盈利性顾问公司则辩称，他们帮助退伍军人获得更多福利——一些退伍军人对此表示同意——并且大多数退伍军人来找他们是因为他们认为自己从VA那里没有得到应有的赔偿。这些公司声称，他们不是在为退伍军人准备文书工作，而仅仅是帮助他们在复杂的系统中导航，因此不违反联邦规定。
退伍军人守护（Veterans Guardian）的联合创始人比尔·泰勒认为，像他这样的公司应该被允许在法律框架内运作，这也将为该行业带来更多监管，并减少他所说的一些“不良参与者”的“掠夺性行为”。
“我们不仅希望保护退伍军人的选择权，而且我们可以在提供保护的同时做到这一点，”泰勒说。
一些州已试图规范该行业。去年，路易斯安那州成为第一个通过法律规范未获认证索赔顾问的州，该法律对其费用设限并要求他们进行某些披露。该法案借鉴了一项在国会停滞不前的类似版本。
一些盈利性咨询公司对这些州法律表示欢迎，但VSO则不然。
但上周，联邦法院宣布路易斯安那州法律违宪并予以废除。起诉该州法律的退伍军人团体主任、律师约翰·威尔斯表示，各州不应干涉联邦福利的监管。
“如果其他州试图制定类似法律，我们将采取行动，”威尔斯说。
VA发言人彼得·卡斯珀罗维奇告诉CNN：“VA正在继续审查这个问题，同时，我们正在努力让退伍军人更容易获得他们应得的VA福利和服务。”
“当VA发现欺诈或可疑行为时，它会与适当的执法机构合作以保护退伍军人、家属、护理人员和幸存者，”他说。“但我们也希望确保退伍军人有选择的权利，特别是如果他们对可获得的免费选择不满意的话。”
他补充说，VA已努力简化退伍军人的索赔流程，包括通过更快、更直接的沟通以及更快地获取医疗记录。
自2006年国会取消对协助退伍军人处理VA索赔收费的刑事处罚以来，索赔顾问的数量激增，此举旨在帮助退伍军人应对有时极其复杂的流程。
二十年后，退伍军人和立法者对这些公司是否为满足未满足的需求提供了合法服务，还是利用了弱势群体的退伍军人存在分歧。
数十亿美元的利益受到影响，2024财年约有670万退伍军人从VA获得福利。
“根据你提出的索赔类型，通过政府申请退伍军人福利可能是一个复杂的过程，”迈克尔·米萨尔表示，他曾于2016年至2025年1月担任VA监察长。
虽然他不认可盈利性公司，但他说：“我了解到退伍军人对VA复杂的福利申请流程感到沮丧。一些未获认证的代理机构会说，‘我们可以简化繁文缛节，我们可以让这个过程更快’。”
但反对者称，由此兴起的行业问题百出。
“当一个企业的商业模式建立在退伍军人获得更高伤残索赔的基础上时，这只会导致不良行为，”上个月在国会圆桌会议上作证的退伍军人倡导组织“美国瘫痪退伍军人协会”的杰里米·维拉努埃瓦说。
据米萨尔称，由于这些公司的性质不受监管，很难准确估计目前在美国有多少这样的公司在运作，但最大的公司在多个州开展业务，处理数百万美元的索赔。
过去，VA曾质疑一些私人索赔公司的工作。前任VA管理部门曾向一些索赔顾问发出停止和终止函，警告他们可能因与退伍军人合作填写索赔表格并收取费用而违反联邦法律。
但据米萨尔称，这些函件往往收效甚微，VA也没有跟进，从而限制了其效果。
VSO通过展示他们正在提供这些服务来维持其认证和与VA的关系，他们反对盈利性咨询公司。
“我们认为这些公司四处收取退伍军人的钱，而他们无权这样做，这在道德上是应受谴责的，”退伍军人服务组织全国协会（VSO National Association of County Veterans Service Officers）主席安德鲁·坦根表示。
正在等待的一起告密者诉讼指控美国最大的索赔咨询公司之一退伍军人守护（Veterans Guardian）操纵医疗评估，指导退伍军人以特定方式陈述症状，并引导申请者获得可能带来更高赔偿的诊断——这些指控退伍军人守护已予以否认。
在给CNN的声明中，退伍军人守护表示：“该投诉由一名前员工提出，该员工因不良行为被解雇，此后一直被指控骚扰和网络跟踪其他退伍军人守护员工。我们将继续为自己辩护，驳斥这些不准确的指控。”
今年12月，在退伍军人守护试图驳回一起诉讼后，一名法官裁定，一起由退伍军人提起的针对该公司的诉讼（称其收取非法费用）可以继续进行。
该公司在一份声明中表示：“我们坚决否认这些指控，并将积极捍卫公司免受这些无理索赔，同时继续为我们的退伍军人客户开展重要工作。”
泰勒本人也是一名退伍军人，他表示自己与VSO的经历促使他在2017年创立了自己的公司。当他即将退伍时，在北卡罗来纳州的布拉格堡（美国最大的军事基地之一）很难找到能免费帮助他的人。
“当时只有一个VSO可用，”泰勒说。“想预约简直是运气。”
泰勒称，退伍军人守护经常雇佣其他退伍军人和军人配偶——这些人能理解其他退伍军人。他说，他在每个流程步骤都使用“专家”，包括那些能与退伍军人讨论创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）的专家，或提供关于如何回应VA来信的建议。他表示，公司还开发了一个AI系统来简化某些步骤，为退伍军人更快地获得结果。
泰勒称，总部位于北卡罗来纳州的退伍军人守护去年帮助了45,000名退伍军人，并声称获得更高福利的“成功率”接近90%。他补充说，超过70%的退伍军人守护客户在尝试免费替代方案后才来找他们。
“那么问题是，我们为什么做得这么好？”泰勒说。“为什么人们推荐其他人来找我们？以及为什么这么多退伍军人在使用了某种免费服务后还来找我们？”
盈利性咨询公司通常宣传他们可以为退伍军人获得更高的“伤残评级”——这是VA根据退伍军人受伤和疾病的综合严重程度评定的0-100%的评级系统。评级越高，赔偿金额越多。
密歇根州的海军退伍军人塞缪尔·谢德告诉CNN，他多年来一直试图提高自己的VA伤残评级，并为心脏病申请更好的福利。谢德说，他首先尝试自己与VA合作，然后寻求当地VSO的帮助。
“他们没有取得任何进展，”谢德说。
他表示，VSO会收集他的信息，每3-4个月检查一次他的索赔，但VA至少需要六个月才能回应。
“你甚至无法打通底特律的VA电话，”谢德说，补充说VA花了大约一年时间才承认他提出了增加福利的请求。
在尝试使用VSO和VA八年之后，他最终在2023年求助于一家私人公司。“他们直接告诉你，‘如果我们什么都没拿到，你就不用付钱’，而且他们也不会多收费，”他描述这家咨询公司时说，“这是一家非常好的公司。”
通过这家公司，谢德表示他成功提高了自己的福利评级。
亚当的经历与谢德几乎完全相反。在经历了那家盈利性公司的糟糕体验后，亚当表示，他找到了当地的VSO。在VSO的帮助下，他正确提交了索赔，并在六个月内获得了福利金——全程免费。
路易斯安那州及其他地区
除路易斯安那州外，阿拉巴马州、佛罗里达州、俄克拉荷马州、田纳西州和南达科他州也已通过立法规范这些公司，而缅因州、新泽西州和纽约州等其他州则通过法律禁止未获认证的公司。
上周，路易斯安那州的法律被地区法院法官推翻，理由是该法律干涉了联邦法律的管辖范围——这一决定得到了美国退伍军人协会（VFW）的赞赏，但路易斯安那州总检察长打算对此上诉。
本周，加利福尼亚州州长加文·纽森签署了一项法律，赋予州总检察长权力，起诉那些向退伍军人收取过高索赔协助费用的未获认证顾问。
退伍军人守护的联合创始人泰勒表示，监管可以解决VSO对咨询公司的主要批评。
“有投诉称退伍军人不知道自己的选择，因此要求我们以书面形式通知退伍军人，”泰勒说。“我的意思是，实际上有些法案甚至规定必须使用特定的字体。”
根据非营利组织OpenSecrets汇编的数据，2025年退伍军人守护在游说方面花费了超过260万美元，包括支持允许该行业运作的州立法。泰勒表示，他预计最终会有多达20个州出台支持其组织游说的立法。
泰勒说，每个联系退伍军人守护的退伍军人都会被告知，他们可以通过VA和VSO获得免费服务，许多人首先会选择这条途径。
“我们祝他们一切顺利，希望我们永远不会再见到他们，”他继续说道。“坦率地说，我们只是刚刚触及到那里对帮助的需求的表面。”
Do these companies help veterans— or are they cheating them?
2026-02-13T10:00:46.862Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/13/politics/veterans-affairs-disabilities-benefits-pay-companies-louisiana
An Army combat veteran now living in the Midwest was dealing with multiple injuries by the time he finished his military service. He’d suffered a traumatic brain injury after his vehicle struck an IED during his deployment to Afghanistan in the late 2000s.
But when the veteran, who CNN is identifying as Adam, filed his disability compensation claims with the Department of Veterans Affairs, he felt he was failed on two fronts.
First, the VA process was confusing, he said, and it took the department four months to get back to him – to say he didn’t qualify for any benefits. Then he sought help from a company that promised to guide him through the process for a fee, only to still end up with no benefits and a bill for thousands of dollars.
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“They pretty much did jack sh*t for me,” said Adam, referring to the outside company. He asked to be identified by a pseudonym to protect his privacy.
Adam’s story is one that has played out with veterans for decades.
Veterans are supposed to be able to get these payments by filing for their benefits directly through the VA, and to get help filling out the paperwork for free from non-profit and government-affiliated groups called veterans service organizations (VSOs), which are accredited by the government to aid them.
Instead, frustrated by cumbersome paperwork and VSOs that are often too inundated with work for timely help, many veterans instead turn to private companies that charge a fee.
Critics call these consultants “claims sharks” – for-profit consultancies that say they help veterans get higher compensation while also taking a cut for themselves. These consultancies operate without accreditation from the VA, a process that includes taking assessments and passing a background check, which is meant to ensure a level of oversight into the process.
At the same time, some for-profit consultancies have been accused of using dishonest tactics to obtain higher fees, whether by overcharging veterans directly, or misrepresenting their clients to the VA to get a bigger cut from higher compensations that are paid out.
The for-profit consultants contend they help veterans get more benefits – which some veterans agree with – and that most veterans come to them because they didn’t get the compensation they believe they were owed from the VA. These companies contend that they are not preparing paperwork for veterans, but simply helping them navigate a complex system, and therefore are not in breach of federal requirements.
Bill Taylor, the co-founder of claims consultant Veterans Guardian, argues that companies like his should be allowed to operate within a legal framework, which would also bring more regulation to the industry and cut down on what he described as “predatory practices” from some “bad actors.”
“Not only do we want to protect a veteran’s right to choose, but we can do that while also providing protections,” Taylor said.
Some states have sought to regulate the industry. Last year, Louisiana became the first state to pass a law to regulate unaccredited claims consultants by capping their fees and requiring certain disclosures from them. The bill was modeled after a version that stalled in Congress.
Some for profit consultancies have welcomed these state laws, but VSOs have not.
But last week, a federal court struck down the Louisiana law as unconstitutional. John Wells, a lawyer and director of a veterans’ group that sued the state over the law, argued states shouldn’t be allowed to interfere in the regulation of federal benefits.
“If other states try to institute laws like this, we will take action,” Wells said.
For its part, the “VA continues to examine this issue, and in the meantime, we are working to make it easier for Veterans to access the VA benefits and services they have earned,” spokesman Peter Kasperowicz told CNN.
“When VA sees signs of fraud or suspicious behavior, it works with the appropriate law enforcement authorities to protect Veterans, families, caregivers and survivors,” he said. “But we also want to make sure Veterans have choices, particularly if they aren’t happy with whatever options might be available to them for free.”
He added that the VA has put in efforts to make access to claims easier for veterans, including through faster, more direct communications and quicker ways to retrieve their medical records.
The number of claims consultants has skyrocketed since 2006 when Congress removed criminal penalties against those charging fees to assist veterans with VA claims in an effort to get veterans help in navigating the sometimes-byzantine process.
Two decades later, veterans and lawmakers alike are divided over whether these companies provide a legitimate service to fill an unmet need – or take advantage of vulnerable veterans.
Billions of dollars are at stake, with some 6.7 million veterans receiving benefits from the VA in the 2024 fiscal year.
Claiming veterans benefits through the government “can be a complicated process, depending on the type of claim you’re making,” according to Michael Missal, who served as VA inspector general from 2016 until January 2025.
While he does not endorse the for-profit firms, “I was familiar with veterans getting frustrated with the complicated process at VA to get benefits,” he said. “And what some unaccredited agents would do is say, ‘We can cut through the red tape. We can make this go quicker.’”
But the industry that has sprung up to do this is rife with problems, opponents say.
“When you have a business whose business model is predicated on a veteran getting a higher disability claim, that just leads to nefarious things,” said Jeremy Villanueva of the veteran’s advocacy group Paralyzed Veterans of America when testifying at a congressional roundtable last month.
It’s hard to even estimate how many such companies currently operate in the US, according to Missal, because of their unregulated nature, but the largest ones operate in multiple states, bringing millions of dollars in claims.
In the past, the VA has questioned the work of some private claims companies. Previous VA administrations have sent cease-and-desist letters to some claims consultants, warning that they were likely breaching federal laws for working with veterans to fill out claims forms and charging them fees.
But these letters were often ineffective and not followed up upon by the VA, limiting their effect, according to Missal.
VSOs, which maintain their accreditations and relationships with the VA in part by showing that they are providing these services, object to the for-profit consultancy companies.
“We find it morally reprehensible that these companies are going around and taking money from veterans that they have no right to take money from,” said Andrew Tangen, president of the VSO National Association of County Veterans Service Officers.
A pending whistleblower lawsuit has accused Veterans Guardian, one of the largest claims consultancies in the country, of manipulating medical assessments, coaching veterans to present symptoms in specific ways, and steering applicants toward diagnoses that could yield higher benefits compensation – allegations Veterans Guardian has denied.
In a statement to CNN, Veterans Guardian said the “complaint was filed by a former employee who was terminated for toxic behavior and has since been accused of harassment and cyberstalking other Veterans Guardian employees. We will continue to defend ourselves against these inaccurate claims.”
In December, a judge ruled that a separate lawsuit against the company brought by veterans who said they were charged illegal fees could move forward after Veterans Guardian tried to have the case dismissed.
“We categorically deny the allegations and will vigorously defend our company against these meritless claims while continuing our important work for our veteran clients,” the company said in a statement.
A veteran himself, Taylor said his own experience with VSOs led him to establish his company in 2017. When he was getting out of the military, he had a hard time finding someone who could help him for free at Fort Bragg in North Carolina – one of the largest bases in the country.
“There was only one VSO available,” Taylor said. “Good luck getting an appointment.”
Taylor said Veterans Guardian often hires other veterans and military spouses – people who can relate to other veterans. He said that he uses “specialists at every step of the process,” including those who can meet with veterans about PTSD or those who can advise about responding to correspondence from the VA. He said the company has also developed an AI system to streamline some steps and get veterans faster results.
Taylor said that the North Carolina-based Veterans Guardian helped 45,000 veterans last year and claimed close to a 90% “success rate” in getting veterans more benefits. He added that more than 70% of Veterans Guardian clients came to the company after already trying free alternatives.
“So the question is, why are we doing so well?” Taylor said. “Why are people referring folks to us? And why are so many veterans coming to us after having utilized one of the free services?”
For-profit consulting companies often advertise that they can get veterans a higher “disability rating” – the VA’s rating system on a scale of 0 to 100 percent based on the combined severity of the veteran’s injuries and illnesses. The higher the rating, the more compensation.
Samuel Shade, a Navy veteran from Michigan, told CNN he tried for years to upgrade his VA disability rating and apply for better benefits for his heart problems. Shade said he first tried to work with the VA on his own, then solicited the help of a local VSO.
“They didn’t get anywhere,” Shade said.
The VSO would take information from him and would check on his claim every 3-4 months, he said. But then it would take the VA at least six months to respond.
“You couldn’t get the VA in Detroit to even answer” when you called, Shade said, adding that it took about a year for the VA to even acknowledge that he’d requested an increase in his benefits.
After eight years of trying to use the VSO and VA, he finally went to a private company for help in 2023. “They tell you straight out, ‘If we don’t get anything, you’re not paying’, and they don’t over-charge either,” he said, describing the consultancy as “a very good company to deal with.”
Through them, Shade was able to improve his benefits rating, he said.
Adam’s experience turned out to be almost completely opposite from Shade’s. After his poor experience with the for-profit company he had dealt with, Adam says, he went to a local VSO. With the VSO’s help, he says, he correctly submitted his claims and received his benefits within six months – all at no charge.
Louisiana and beyond
In addition to Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, Tennessee and South Dakota have passed legislation to regulate these companies, while other states, such as Maine, New Jersey and New York, have passed laws banning unaccredited companies.
Last week, Louisiana’s law was struck down after a district court judge found that it interfered with the purview of the federal law – a decision applauded by the VFW, but which the Louisiana attorney general intends to appeal.
And this week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a measure that would empower the state attorney general to prosecute unaccredited consultants who charge veterans excessive fees for claims assistance.
Taylor, the co-founder of Veterans Guardian, said regulation could address the main criticisms the VSOs have had about consulting firms.
“There were complaints that veterans don’t know their options, so require us to notify the veteran in writing,” Taylor said. “I mean, shoot, some of the bills even dictate it has to be done in a certain type of font.”
In 2025, Veterans Guardian spent more than $2.6 million on lobbying, including for state legislation to allow the industry to operate, according to data compiled by the nonprofit OpenSecrets. Taylor said he expects up to 20 more states to eventually enact legislation his group has lobbied in support of.
Taylor said that every veteran who contacts Veterans Guardian is told that there are free services available to them through the VA and VSOs, and many go that route first.
“And we wish them well, and we hope we never see them again,” he continued. “Because frankly, we’re barely scratching the surface of the demand for assistance out there.”