Georgia’s heroes deserve protection, not predators. But as the new legislative session approaches, one carried-over bill threatens to open the waters to some of the most dangerous actors targeting our military community: predatory claims sharks.

Georgia House Bill 108 (SAVE Act) may sound supportive, but beneath the surface, it does the opposite. HB 108 legalizes the very behavior federal law was written to stop, giving unaccredited, unregulated “claims consultants” the power to charge veterans and service members for help that must be free under federal statute.

These predatory claims sharks are already circling the veteran community nationwide. HB 108 would invite them straight into Georgia.

And the bill could be called up for a Senate vote at any moment.

If Georgia is serious about supporting those who served, it cannot advance legislation that hands veterans over to profit-driven predators under the guise of “choice.”

HB 108: How We Got Here

• 02/26/2025 – Passed the Georgia House (158 Yea, 10 Nay, 4 No Vote, 8 Excused)
• 03/19/2025 – Senate Veterans, Military & Homeland Security Committee passed it Favorably
  • No external testimony allowed
• 03/21/2025 – Cleared Rules Committee; Read a Second Time in the Senate
• Current Status – Awaiting Senate Floor Consideration

Why HB 108 Helps Predators, Not Veterans

HB 108 does not “expand access.” It expands risk—and it does so by empowering unaccredited claims sharks who operate without oversight, without qualifications, and without accountability.

If passed in its current form, HB 108 would:

• Authorize unaccredited, unregulated claims consultants to charge veterans for initial VA disability claims—services that federal law requires to be free under 38 U.S.C. § 5904.
• Legitimize predatory business models built on misleading advertising, aggressive sales tactics, binding contracts, and hidden fees.
• Expose veterans to costly mistakes, incorrect filings, claim denials, or long-term financial agreements that siphon away earned benefits.
• Undermine trust in Georgia’s support network, replacing accredited Veteran Service Officers (VSOs) and trained legal professionals with unvetted actors seeking profit.

These companies aren’t providing support.
They’re hunting for profit, and HB 108 hands them the legal cover they want.

Predatory Claims Sharks: A Real and Growing Threat

Across the country, predatory claims consultants:

• Lock veterans into multi-year contracts
• Charge thousands or a percentage of benefits for work they are not legally allowed to perform
• Make misleading promises to speed up claims
• Disappear when things go wrong because they are not accountable to anyone

Georgia cannot allow these sharks to gain legal legitimacy here.
Protecting veterans and service members means keeping predators out of the claims process, not letting them in.

A Simple Truth: Accreditation Exists to Protect Veterans

We would never allow an untrained, unlicensed person to provide medical care to a veteran.
We should never allow an unaccredited, untrained person to handle a veteran’s VA benefits claim, their lifeline to healthcare, income, stability, and quality of life.

Accreditation is the safeguard that ensures:

• Expertise
• Ethics
• Accountability
• Protection

HB 108 removes those safeguards.

Our veterans and service members earned better than this. Georgia must do better than this.

Share a Personal Story
If you have a personal story about dealing with unaccredited organizations or actors for your benefits claim, add your story to the top of this campaign's advocacy message. In addition, if you feel strongly about the importance of ensuring veterans do NOT go into debt to receive the benefits they EARNED, feel free to share that in the story box as well.