hayley3

They did the same thing to me and it was over a thousand dollars. That was back in 1980 and I was only getting 30%. I fought it tooth and nail and I never understood why they were even taking it. I finally got a meeting with them, and they told me they had made an error. By this time, they had most of the money back. It was a nightmare for me, so I can only imagine how this guy felt. If the VA made the error, they should not be able to make claim to the money. That is what needs to be changed. If it's their error, they did it, not the veteran. Their calculations are too confusing for us to keep up with so why should we have to pay for their mistakes. Susie

It's a cost of living increase, so it should be equal with the increase of the cost of living and 2.8% doesn't help me much. I would rather they just lower the gasoline prices. That would help me the most. Of course all the groceries and non-grocery items at the store will probably never go back down to what they were. B) Susie

Thanks Carlie! :P

Carlie, Could you be more specific about the 50% being related to hospital care. I think I got the two confused. Thanks William. I'm hoping that since the VA nurse told me to go to the ER, because they had no openings to see me, that that qualifies as not feasibly available. But I'm not holding my breath. Susie

I called my VA clinic and told them I was having a sciatic attack and she said she couldn't get me an appointment that I needed to go to the emergency room. I assumed she meant the nearest emergency room, as I'm 63 miles away from the nearest VA. I submitted my invoice to Fee Basis and I just received info that they had sent to the ER billing and it says at the top of the letter that the care was not authorized but they still needed an original itemized bill, a complete copy of the medical records for that episode of care, and a VA form 10-583. The condition is SC'd. I did a google search and then read that, The care must have been rendered in a medical emergency of such nature that a prudent layperson would have reasonably expected that delay in seeking immediate medical attention would have been hazardous to life or health AND Department of Veterans Affairs or other Federal facilities were not feasibly available at time of the emergency Obviously the VA could argue against me on both of those. I thought that we could go to the ER if we were 50% SC. But that's not what the website says. Since the nurse told me to go, would that be sufficient that federal facilities were not available? Thank goodness it is not a big bill, or I would be freaking out. Thank, Susie

Do you know the actual diagnostic codes they used for your 40% and 10% ? What diagnosis do you have for your back and neck? Is it from an injury or disease? I'm also trying to increase my back and it is more difficult than I thought it would be. I have a disease of the back and they only gave me 20%. Susie

At least you can hope for a faster decision. You would send any new evidence to the new RO, otherwise who knows where it would wind up.

Thanks. I printed off the side effects of Motrin and was really surprised. Thanks for the web site! I did learn a few things. B) Susie

Thank you halos2. I wondered what the cap was for. I was afraid that was the cap on the amount I could get. (Well ya never know with the VA) I didn't know that about them calculating it by zip code either. I always wondered what program they use to calculate the distance. I get $23.00 for driving approx 140 miles roundtrip. Susie

What does the form say? I did a google search on Vazquez-Flores and it talks about new requirements the VARO must follow in a claim. Here's a word document from the VA: http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfJUN08/...ES/FL08-016.doc Susie

I would say you will get a rating for service connected COPD and sleep apnea. Susie

I can sympathize with you. My feet hurt a lot and they said I have plantar fascitis but I have more pain than just plantar fascitis. I've had the EMG's too, and I think the nerves can be damaged but not damaged and/or compressed enough to show up on EMG. Unfortunately if it doesn't show up on a test, most doctors say there is nothing there and sometimes seem to take satisfaction from that fact. Have you talked to the podiatrist? Susie

Congratulations!

Thanks, Rentalguy, I'm sc'd for Reactive Arthritis and my spine has arthritis in it and knees are normally a secondary condition for that diagnosis, but they said, "upon examination your gait was normal". So I guess that's what they are basing it on...my gait. I am going to ask my PC doc why I am in so much pain in my knees but the xrays showed nothing and ask maybe for an ultrasound. I don't trust MRI's too much since my last one was messed up. Also about the painful motion thing, the reg that sehinchee posted does say that painful motion is ratable. So I may quote that and see what they say at least. They forgot to include my spine in the C&P exam, so I have to send in a NOD anyway so I might as well mention it. Thanks Teac. That was my conclusion too about the range of motion, but they said my shoulders and hips were limited by ROM, but they didn't give me anything for that either. And my hip at least shows something on the xray. Thanks JR. I did get an IMO to get the Reactive Arthritis rated. Susie

Thanks MRRRR5, they completely ignored my knees and they would be sc'd if I could get them to look at them correctly. I am writing the NOD, so I will mention that she did not have me squat down. Good idea! Thanks sehinchee. I hadn't read that, so I could quote it when I write my NOD. But I don't know what schedule of ratings code my knee pain should go under. Thanks, Susie