VA Disability Claims For Sleep Apnea Skyrocket To Over $1.2 Billion Per Year

The Department of Veterans Affairs is reportedly spending over $1.2 billion per year to treat sleep apnea, leading one attorney to call on Congress to investigate.

The number of veterans and military retirees receiving disability compensation from the VA for sleep apnea has skyrocketed in recent years.

In 2012, the number of veterans and retirees drawing payments for sleep apnea was 114,103, almost double the number the VA reported in 2009 (57,679).

The number of veterans added to the rolls from 2001 to 2012 increased by a factor of 25. 983 veterans began to draw disability compensation for sleep apnea in 2001, and in 2012, 24,791 were added to the rolls to treat the condition, according to a report by Tom Philpott in the military publication Stars and Stripes.