Veterans Can Get Free Help With Disability Claims. So Why Are So Many Paying for It?

Army Reserve soldiers with the 103rd Sustainment Command march in the Iowa State Fair Veterans Day Parade in Des Moines, Iowa, on Aug. 17, 2026. The parade featured roughly 2,000 participants honoring military service members. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Rodney Roldan) />

Five years after former Army Ranger Casey Kraft first sought help obtaining veterans disability benefits, he was still waiting.

Kraft’s benefits representative says he repeatedly asked his local county veterans service office for help but was told he was not eligible for benefits, according to a complaint recently submitted to the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of General Counsel. The complaint alleges the office never filed a claim to the VA.

Kraft had served with the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, participated in the combat parachute assault into Grenada, and received an award for combat valor. Service-connected disabilities later placed the former staff sergeant under guardianship, leaving others responsible for his medical and financial decisions.

Andrew Burniack, his benefits representative and fellow former Army Ranger, said a veterans service officer advised Kraft to spend down his assets so he could qualify for Medicaid while he waited for VA benefits. He would effectively have to go broke before receiving help. Over the next five years, his savings were exhausted and he entered a nursing home, Burniack said. But after another veterans service office in another county submitted his disability claim, Burniack says VA awarded Kraft a 100% service-connected disability rating within six months.

Whether the sharply different outcomes resulted from new evidence, competing interpretations of the law, better advocacy, or other factors remains in dispute.

Kraft’s experience highlights the shortcomings of a system Congress designed to provide veterans with free help obtaining disability benefits. Those frustrations have helped fuel a substantial industry of paid claims assistance, with companies and consultants promising better results to veterans struggling to navigate the process.

Some veterans continue working with free accredited representatives. Others hire accredited attorneys or claims agents, who may legally charge fees after VA issues an initial decision. Under certain agreements, VA withholds the representative’s fees from a veteran’s retroactive disability award before releasing the remaining benefits.

Agency data shows VA sent more than $400 million in the last year to accredited attorneys and claims agents through those direct-pay agreements. That figure does not include attorneys who bill veterans separately or payments to unaccredited consulting companies.

Together, those payments reveal a largely unknown economy surrounding a benefits system Congress intended veterans to navigate with free help.

Three Kinds of Help

For veterans seeking disability compensation, representation generally falls into three categories.

The first is free, accredited representation. County and state veterans service officers, tribal representatives, and organizations such as Disabled American Veterans and Veterans of Foreign Wars help veterans prepare and pursue claims at no cost.

The second is paid, accredited representation. After VA issues an initial decision, accredited attorneys and claims agents may charge veterans to handle appeals and other reviews.

The third is a growing group of private consultants operating outside VA’s accreditation system. These companies often describe their services as education, coaching, or medical-record review rather than formal claims representation. VA has challenged that distinction in some cases, warning numerous companies that their work may violate federal law by crossing into claims preparation or representation.

The distinctions are legally important. But to veterans searching online for help, they are not always obvious.

Mike Ellis, retired Air Force veteran, speaks to Daniel Desler, Disabled American Veterans, at the 375th Medical Group building at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. July 9, 2019. The DAV assists active duty, veterans, and retirees with the VA claims process, and can help with compensation and pension. It is a free service and the team works as a liaison between the military and VA.(U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Chad Gorecki) alt="" class="wp-image-45284" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/5571274-scaled.jpg?resize=1030%2C645&ssl=1 1030w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/5571274-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C251&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/5571274-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C481&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/5571274-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C962&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/5571274-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1283&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/5571274-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C752&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/5571274-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C641&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/5571274-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1253&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/5571274-scaled.jpg?resize=780%2C489&ssl=1 780w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/5571274-scaled.jpg?w=2340&ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/5571274-1030x645.jpg?w=370&ssl=1 370w" sizes="(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px"> Michael Figlioli, director of the VFW’s National Veterans Service, said many veterans simply don’t know that free accredited assistance is available.

“Despite the ability to communicate instantly, there are veterans out there who still have no idea these programs exist,” he said.

Demand rose sharply after Congress passed the PACT Act, which expanded benefits for millions of veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances and prompted many others to reopen previously denied claims.

The surge brought more veterans into an already complicated system.

To receive disability compensation, veterans generally must show that an injury or illness was caused or worsened during their military service. Claims may require medical records, examinations, expert opinions, and evidence stretching back decades. Denied claims can move through multiple layers of review and appeal.

DAV argues that complexity should not force veterans into the paid market.

“Many [veterans] would benefit from assistance by an accredited representative,” said Scott Hope, DAV’s national service director. “Importantly, the existence of this complexity should not be viewed as justification for veterans having to pay for assistance.”

Yet that complexity has helped fuel the paid industry.

How VA Became the Middleman

For much of American history, federal law sharply restricted what attorneys could charge veterans for pursuing benefits.

Congress intended the system to be nonadversarial. Veterans would receive help from the government and accredited service organizations rather than hire lawyers to fight the government.

Over time, that model became harder to sustain.

As Congress expanded veterans benefits and courts increasingly reviewed VA decisions, the disability system grew more legally complex. Some appeals came to involve statutory interpretation, changing regulations, disputed effective dates, complicated medical evidence, and decades of judicial precedent—issues far beyond preparing an initial claim.

A Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) logo is placed on the entrance of the VA Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) Intake Site on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, March 18, 2024. The new VA BDD Intake Site, located at Bldg. 316 on G Street, supports service members through the BDD process, allowing service members to file a claim for service-connected disabilities up to 180 days prior to separation. The BDD site also supports service members going through the Integrated Disability Evaluation System process and veterans seeking support from the VA. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Alyssa J. DeCrane) alt="" class="wp-image-45283" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/8297213-scaled.jpg?resize=1030%2C687&ssl=1 1030w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/8297213-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C267&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/8297213-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/8297213-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1025&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/8297213-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1366&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/8297213-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/8297213-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/8297213-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1334&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/8297213-scaled.jpg?resize=780%2C520&ssl=1 780w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/8297213-scaled.jpg?w=2340&ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/8297213-1030x687.jpg?w=370&ssl=1 370w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px"> The creation of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in 1988 accelerated that shift. Its decisions established a growing body of precedent that shaped how VA adjudicated similar cases. In 2006, Congress revised the law to allow accredited attorneys and claims agents to charge reasonable fees after the VA issued an initial decision. The change preserved the nationwide network of free accredited veterans service officers, claims agents, and nonprofit organizations while creating a separate role for paid representation once a claim moved into appeal or further review.

Under certain fee agreements, VA withholds part of a veteran’s retroactive award and sends it directly to the attorney or claims agent. The veteran receives the remainder. But VA is not paying the representative with government money. It is acting as the middleman, transferring part of the veteran’s award.

“Direct pay,” said William Simmonds, an accredited veterans benefits attorney, “is really how the government pays an attorney for work he or she is legally allowed to perform.”

Public debate about the veterans disability industry often centers on unaccredited companies derided as “claim sharks.” But Simmonds said that framing overlooks the much larger paid system Congress expressly authorized.

“Really it isn’t a discussion about direct pay versus claims sharks at all,” Simmonds said. “The comparison is really free services, legal aid, veteran service officers, attorneys working pro bono as we’re required to do, versus claims consultants charging for the same service.”

Most veterans should not need an attorney to file an initial claim, Simmonds said. But after VA issues a decision, the work can change substantially.

An appeal may require reconstructing years of claims history, finding legal errors in earlier decisions, obtaining complex medical opinions, or arguing that VA assigned the wrong effective date. Those questions can be worth far more than the monthly disability payment itself.

A veteran may eventually receive a 100% disability rating but lose years of retroactive compensation because no one identified an error in an earlier decision. Simmonds said some representatives focus only on securing the next rating increase without reviewing the full history of the claim.

Within veterans law, that practice is sometimes called “top sheeting.”

“The vets and sharks are claiming victory with the 100% rating,” Simmonds said. “But they forgot the historical work.”

The direct-pay system gives attorneys and claims agents a financial incentive to pursue successful cases because their fees are tied to veterans’ past-due benefits. It has also created a significant revenue stream.

VA estimates that accredited attorneys and claims agents submit roughly 27,000 direct-pay fee agreements each year, a small fraction of the more than 3 million disability claims the department now processes annually. Yet over the most recent 12-month period, VA transferred more than $400 million from veterans’ past-due benefits to accredited attorneys and claims agents.

Even that figure understates the size of the paid accredited market.

Not every attorney uses VA’s direct-pay system. Some bill veterans separately, and those payments do not appear in the agency’s published totals. Simmonds said his firm generally bills clients directly after completing appeal work rather than waiting for VA to process the payment.

“I hate the direct-pay system,” he said, citing delays and the limits attached to agreements VA will administer.

Veterans rarely enter the paid marketplace after carefully comparing accreditation rules and fee structures. More often, they are overwhelmed, financially strained, or afraid that one mistake could cost them benefits for years.

Andrew Burniack has watched that confusion play out repeatedly from both inside the system and along its edges. He spent 23 years auditing compliance at VA before retiring and now volunteers with veterans trying to navigate disability claims.

Burniack met one former soldier at a gas station and gave him his phone number. Weeks later, the veteran called in distress.

The former soldier had received an other-than-honorable discharge after using cannabis, was struggling with post-traumatic stress, and feared he would never receive the benefits he had earned. He was worried about missing work and supporting his family.

Concerned that the veteran might harm himself, Burniack drove to his home in rural Michigan. When he entered the garage, he saw a handgun resting on a workbench.

“I just want to buy it from you,” Burniack told him.

The offer was meant to separate the veteran from the weapon and buy time. Burniack said moments like this often lead to another conversation: how to navigate a disability system that feels overwhelming.

“You’re feeling like [you] are incapable, or it’s too hard, or it’s going to take forever,” he said. “You need financial relief. You can’t maintain their life or pay your bills.”

Veterans often ask him the same questions.

Tennessee Veteran Service Officers Lynn Bond (left) and Kenny Brown (right), attended a coalition clinic at the Lt. Col. Luke Weathers Jr. VA Medical Center to connect Veterans with benefits, resources, and claims assistance, May 15, 2026. The clinic connected more than 100 Veterans from across the tri-state region with in-person assistance for initial and supplemental disability claims, VA.gov account support, My HealtheVet guidance and other Veteran-focused resources. Eleven Veteran service organizations from Tennessee and Mississippi participated in the event, including six representatives from the Tennessee Department of Veterans Services. (Courtesy asset) alt="" class="wp-image-45281" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/9738662.jpg?resize=1030%2C773&ssl=1 1030w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/9738662.jpg?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/9738662.jpg?resize=768%2C577&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/9738662.jpg?resize=800%2C600&ssl=1 800w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/9738662.jpg?resize=600%2C450&ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/9738662.jpg?resize=200%2C150&ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/9738662.jpg?resize=1024%2C769&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/9738662.jpg?resize=780%2C586&ssl=1 780w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/9738662.jpg?w=1192&ssl=1 1192w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/9738662-1030x773.jpg?w=370&ssl=1 370w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px"> “Do I pay for help?” Burniack said. “If I pay for help, who do I pay? Who’s a shark? Who’s not a shark? If the VA or VSOs are free, then why can’t they help me?”

The military’s mandatory Transition Assistance Program introduces separating service members to the VA disability process and explains that free accredited help is available. But Burniack said many veterans contact him years after leaving the military, long after that information has faded from memory—or after frustration with the claims process has sent them searching online.

By then, the differences between free representation, accredited paid help, and unaccredited consulting may become clear only after a veteran has signed a contract.

Marine Corps special operations veteran John Thomas faced that choice when he left the military in 2015. Thomas knew veterans service officers existed, but he didn’t realize that organizations such as DAV and VFW also offered free accredited claims assistance. When he searched online, paid companies were easier to find.

He said several consultants contacted him after he visited websites advertising disability claims help. He eventually spent $5,000 seeking increases for conditions he was already struggling with.

The claims were returned because of problems with the physicians’ documentation, he said.

“I spent $5,000 out of pocket on a claim shark, and it got me nowhere,” Thomas said. “Many people recommended them because they’d gotten their claims approved.”

Other veterans find their way through the system without paying.

Retired Army veteran Marcos Torres taught himself how VA regulations worked, studied denial letters, and learned how to establish that a condition was connected to military service.

“No one knows me and my ailments and my medical records better than myself,” he said.

But that level of self-education is not realistic for everyone.

Navy veteran Leslie Ducoing completed much of her own claim before turning to a free accredited representative with DAV. When questions arose that she could not resolve, DAV intervened and helped her obtain approval, she said.

Former county veterans service officer Jane Babcock said many claims can be resolved through free accredited assistance. But she also believes lawyers have an important role when cases become medically or legally complex.

Babcock recalled helping a Vietnam veteran with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer that VA did not presume was connected to Agent Orange exposure. After the initial claim and an appeal failed, she referred him to an accredited attorney.

The attorney obtained a medical opinion supported by genetic analysis and scientific literature. The veteran later prevailed before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals.

The case Babcock mentioned illustrates how the system was intended to work: free assistance first, followed by specialized paid representation when the evidence and legal issues demanded it.

The Market Outside the VA

Not every veteran who pays for help hires an accredited attorney or claims agent.

Over the past decade, private companies have increasingly offered disability consulting outside VA’s accreditation system. Many describe their services as education, coaching, or medical-record review. Veterans generally remain responsible for submitting their own claims.

That distinction sits at the center of a growing legal and political fight.

Federal law restricts who may prepare, present, or prosecute claims before VA. Veterans organizations and government officials argue that some consulting companies perform those services without accreditation while charging substantial fees. But the companies say they provide education, not representation.

Ronnie Moore, a private disability claims consultant, said veterans who hire him are paying for the time he spends reviewing records, explaining regulations, and identifying gaps in evidence.

“We don’t file claims,” Moore said. “We educate.”

“The paperwork is the easy part,” he added. “Understanding what the VA is looking for is where people get lost.”

The War Horse has previously reported on the growth of these companies, the fees they charge, and VA’s efforts to stop businesses it says may be unlawfully assisting veterans with claims.

Veterans groups and lawmakers have pushed for stronger penalties against unaccredited businesses that cross the line into claims preparation or representation. Those efforts have included the GUARD VA Benefits Act and similar proposals.

The dispute has reached federal court.

“Thinking about a job, or school?” former Marine Sgt. Robert Kugler, an Iraq War veteran and aspiring actor, asks in a new Department of Veterans Affairs TV ad. “The GI Bill can help pay for college and VA’s job assistance can prepare you for a career.” VA courtesy photo alt="" class="wp-image-45287" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/9151468-scaled.jpg?resize=1030%2C579&ssl=1 1030w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/9151468-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C225&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/9151468-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C432&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/9151468-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/9151468-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1152&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/9151468-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/9151468-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/9151468-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1125&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/9151468-scaled.jpg?resize=780%2C439&ssl=1 780w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/9151468-scaled.jpg?w=2340&ssl=1 2340w, https://i0.wp.com/thewarhorse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/9151468-1030x579.jpg?w=370&ssl=1 370w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px">

Veterans Guardian, one of the nation’s largest disability consulting companies, sued VA after receiving cease and desist letters accusing it of unlawfully helping veterans file claims. The company argued that it provided education rather than representation and therefore did not need VA accreditation.

In May 2026, a federal judge ruled that Veterans Guardian violated federal law by preparing and presenting disability claims while charging veterans for assistance with initial claims. Court records described one veteran who was charged approximately $21,000.

The ruling may help define where education ends and representation begins.

For veterans looking for help, however, the marketplace remains difficult to understand.

A free representative may be accredited. A paid attorney may also be accredited. A consultant may advertise expertise while operating outside VA’s accreditation and disciplinary system. And while VA data captures fees paid through its direct-pay system, it excludes attorneys who bill veterans directly, and no reliable accounting exists for payments to unaccredited consultants.

Congress built the disability system on the premise that veterans should not have to pay to obtain benefits earned through military service. But a substantial marketplace has grown in the gap between the help that exists and the help veterans can actually find.

Thomas discovered that only after paying $5,000.

“If I had known,” he said, “I would have used free services before hiring an expensive company.”

This article from The War Horse was edited by Paul Szoldra, fact-checked by Trey Strange, and copy-edited by Mitchell Hansen-Dewar.