Wings

It's not always the pay that motivates an attoney, sometimes they just like to win ;-) Good luck Bronco! Wings

Chain of Command? Central Office? Wow guys, this sux bad ... Wings

Buck, If the Vets Center is close by, go in and look around, see wat kind of resources they have for veterans; maybe a public library, computers, literature and whatnot. Maybe there's friendly, knowledgable people working there? Even iif they don't have what you need, it might be a good fit for another vet. I live pretty far from most resources that, like you, most of my help is on-line from Hadit. Write your own unoffical nexus statement and share it with your MH provider. Help her connect the dots, if she doesn't agree, she doesn't have to make a statement ... Hope you have a good day ;-) Wings

Hi Buck, I have no experience or exposure to the Vets Centers, but unless they keep copies of NVLSP's Veterans Benefits Manuals on their desks, I wouldn't want to file my claim thru them! I have a lot of respect for NVLSP's attorney's and staff, and their publications are a MUST HAVE for any vets advocate. The manuals are expensive but you might be able to borrow a copy http://www.nvlsp.org/ They pretty much wrote the Book for Vietnam Vets on filing/winning thier PTSD claims. New Claim for you?? Wings

It's beyond insane, right? I haven't read the published Fed Reg., but I'm going to try to do that tonight. I have lost my links to the "final rules" so I'll have to dig them up somehow. One of the Hadit folks prolly posted it already. Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 There's supposed to be two methods for establishing "eligibility": 1. Wait time more than 30 days with the VA 2. Live further than 40 miles (as the crow flies) "Eligible veterans may elect to receive, at VA expense, care from a non-VA provider of their choice that is eligible and accessible to them. These providers generally will either be able to provide care sooner than VA could or are located closer to the eligible veteran's residence than a VA medical facility." and so on and so forth I have repeadely asked Vets Choice people (whom seldom if ever answer the phone), how I would establish the fact that I live more than 90 miles from the nearest TREATMENT facility (no, the VA Clinics do not treat) --and they told me to CALL THE VA. Yeah, OK, sure, could you give me a phone #, email addy, what's the name of the Office, etc. --and they DO NOT KNOW. Lovely, just great. SO here I am at Hadit hehehe Yesterday, Veterans Choice folks told me that vets can just CALL OUR PRIMARY DOCS, yeah that's right (she says), on the phone, and the VA doc could upload the consult without having to be seen! Haha, do you think that's gonna fly? I'll try it, yes I will because the last time I saw a VA Doctor, they didn'tEXAMINE me anyway, just sit there and type things into the software program. I had to TELL THEM TO PUT THEIR HAND ON MY FACE and examine the injury!! I told them politley that I deserve to be EXAMINED not simply talked to like a 5 y/o child. AND WHAT IF WE ARE INJURED by the Vets Chice Doctor, is there a legal remedy like the 1151 Claim, and I don't see where this new law mentins any other legal remedy for wrongdoings or disagreemnt??? WTH Oh, I'm just getting started. I've stuffed their abuse long enough ... Wings P.S. Laws and regs are they only thing we are allowed to shove down their throats! Some here https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/11/05/2014-26316/expanded-access-to-non-va-care-through-the-veterans-choice-program On August 7, 2014, the President signed into law the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (“the Act,” Public Law 113-146, 128 Stat. 1754). Further technical revisions to the Act were made on September 26, 2014, when the President signed into law the Department of Veterans Affairs Expiring Authorities Act of 2014 (Pub. L. 113-175, 128 Stat. 1901, 1906). Section 101 of the Act creates the Veterans Choice Program (“the Program”). Section 101 requires the Secretary to furnish hospital care and medical services to certain eligible veterans through agreements with identified eligible entities or providers. Sec. 101(a)(1)(A), Public Law 113-146, 128 Stat. 1754. Delivery of such care through non-VA health care providers will be at the election of eligible veterans. This interim final rulemaking primarily restates these mandates and prescriptions in a regulatory framework, and provides guidance where Congress' instructions were not clearly executable on the face of the law. Congress directed VA to publish interim final regulations concerning this program within 90 days of enactment. Sec. 101(n), Public Law 113-146, 128 Stat. 1754. This rulemaking complies with that mandate.Show citation box

Right now, I think the VA Choice program stinks: the main reason being lack of education for vets using the system. First you have to see the VA primary provider, the provider has to "upload" the consult to the Choice pprogram, and then they find/contract with a provider that will accept a medicare fee wage. I've had them try to schedulle me with a provider thatwas further away than the VA! Why wasn't the VA Fee Basis program beefed up instead? Aren't they basically the same thing? Wings

x x x Great Research!!! ~Wings

Teac, I'll read it again. I always thought that once a vet is rated 100% schedular, the TDIU was moot (dismissed, not relevent, dropped). You still haven't told me the statute or law that would permit the award you are seeking, I can only guess --and will read Bradly again. In the meantime, I hope that others will help you because your quuestion has me confused. Sorry. ~Wings

x x x Teac, You're hard work deserves a reasonable doubt, but I have not yet read or seen the claim that thas put forth the argument that TDIU "stands alone" as a separate 100% rating. I do not want to be curt, but I think once the VA assigns 100% schedular, the TDIU becomes "moot". Let me think about this some more and get back to you. It helps the search, if I know what search terms to use, typically I start with the Statute .. in this case, you are primary concerned with 38 CFR 3.351 and USC 1114 and additional 100% ratings --and even "earlier effective date" for SMC awards? Have you thought about an earlier effective date? ~Wings

Ken represented Roberson v Principi http://www.ll.george...ns/00-7009.html I think he would do a good job with your claim. `Wings

KENNETH M.CARPENTER, ESQ. CARPENTER CHARTERED 1525 S.W. TOPEKA BOULEVARD P. O. BOX 2099 TOPEKA, KANSAS 66601-2099 TELEPHONE: (785)357-5251 He's still active. ~Wings

x x x Like I said, it would help if you stated your claim. Your hypothesis is vague, "then why would TDIU not be counted toward a higher A&A rating when a veteran already qualifies for A&A." Period. Question mark. Stop speculating, and assert your claim --and then we can see if it fits. Know what I'm sayin'? Something like this: The veteran claims SMC. The veteran believes that he is entitled to a higher SMC award under 38 USC amd 38 CFR ... because 1. 2. 3.

Teac, Are you thinking that because there was a narrow window of time (dates) that you held 100% TDIU, and before you were awarded 100% schedular -that at that point in time you should have been condiered for a higher SMC? I am really confused about exactly what you are asking ... It would help me to understand if you simply state the nature of your claim. Have you filed the claim yet? ~Wings

x x x Which came first, the chicken or the egg? If the OCD diagnosis followed the PTSD diagnosis, that is fairly common. May PTSD vets have co-morbid conditions that develop as a consequence of highly traumatic events. OCD behaviors are often a means of coping with PTSD. ~Wings P.S. 1. http://www.mendeley.com/research/posttraumatic-obsessivecompulsive-disorder-case-series/ This report documents emerging posttraumatic obsessive-compulsive disorder in 13 Israeli military veterans diagnosed with both obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), for whom the onset of OCD was clearly associated with the trauma. Data presented include four detailed case reports that delineate relations between symptomatology in the two disorders. Clinical and theoretical implications of these data are discussed. 2. http://www.mendeley.com/research/connections-among-symptoms-obsessivecompulsive-disorder-posttraumatic-stress-disorder-case-series/ Theoretical, clinical, and empirical implications of the functional connections between symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are abundant. As such, four cases are presented here of men and women who met criteria for comorbid OCD and PTSD. All had been diagnosed with treatment-resistant OCD and were seeking treatment from an OCD specialty clinic or institute, all reported a history of traumatic experiences prior to the onset of OCD, and all appeared to demonstrate negative treatment outcomes. Upon examination, it appeared that symptoms of OCD and PTSD were connected such that decreases in OCD-specific symptoms related to increases in PTSD-specific symptoms, and increases in OCD-specific symptoms related to decreases in PTSD-specific symptoms. Speculations about the function of OCD symptoms in relation to post-traumatic psychopathology are put forth; and theoretical, research, and treatment implications are discussed.