Champva And Survivors

[john999]

What happens when the ChampVA sponsor dies and before the surviving spouse has their DIC approved? Does ChampVA stop until the survivor gets their DIC claim approved? If my wife were to be on Medicare as primary and ChampVA as the secondary medigap coverage and I croak then what? I know the money from my compensation stops, but do all the other benefits to the spouse stop as well until she/he has DIC approved? My wife is entitled to three survivor pensions so to speak. She would be eligible for my SSA, my Civil Service survivor pension and to DIC. The thing is how long does it take for all this to kick in after she applies? Not many survivors just snap out of it in a week and then claim their life insurance and all their survivor pensions. They have to bury their vet and deal with all that plus they might be in grief for a while. The way I see it the survivor can't afford to grieve if they want to keep paying their bills. Now I have some of this taken care of but the insurance thing worries me. One thing I do know is that the vet and the spouse need an emergency fund that will carry them at least 6 months while all this stuff gets worked out. I have the disabled vet insurance which is enough to bury me, but do undertakers extend credit based on the VA insurance? Even if a vet has the grave and headstone paid for by the VA the service and all the extras can come out to $5000-6000. I did take a course in financial planning but I did not get to that specific section I guess. My wife always avoids my talking about what she will have to do if I leave this world before her. She says " John, you worry too much!" Yeah, I have been dealing with the VA for 40 odd years, so I do worry. I think it would behoove her to get one of those medicare advantage plans so she would not be high and dry if I croak and she has to wait for DIC claim.

John

[atomicwidow]

thanks for the offer, Berta...I'll take you up on that. It may be a week or two. Shall I post it here...or where? Or email you directly?

[Berta]

Atomic widow, best to cover all personal stuff ( C file, name, address)

and attach it to a post here and we can try to help.All we need to see is their Reasons and Bases statements and the Evidnece list they put in the decision.

I went back to your previous posts:

I know you are familar with the RECA regulations...in 2010 they changed:

"In consequence to the change in law, VA subsequently amended

38 C.F.R. § 3.715, which now provides that an individual who

has received a RECA payment based upon a veteran's death will

not be denied DIC to which the individual was entitled

beginning after March 26, 2002; however, the amount of the

RECA payment will be deducted from the amount of compensation

payable under 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(d) or the amount of DIC

payable. See 71 Fed. Reg. 44,919 (Aug. 8, 2006). "

http://www.va.gov/vetapp10/Files1/1002668.txt

Basically that is the same thing that I was involved in with my FTCA case....the VA recouped my DIC for many years ( too many and the Regional Counsel fixed that, but then

they had to pay me all of the over-recoupment back...under a very unusual situation...which goes to show how miserably they handle some widows claims and sure make errors in their DIC decisions.

So I am sure you know your RECA will be deducted and then when that RECA amount is recouped they would pay you DIC...at that point...

But .I am Very surprised they denied the claim for DIC, if it was based on the RECA Atomic Exposure death, caused by your husband's inservice MOS.

Did you have any accrued benefit claim pending as well and what is the status of that?

Somewhere here I posted the M21-1MR regulations as to how VA is supposed to handle these claims.

Edited November 12, 2014 by Berta

[atomicwidow]

OK, here's the scanned letter, thanks for the review.

A few facts:

- My husband was diagnosed with two primary cancers on the same day, larynx and lung. The MD reports state they were two different primary cancers, not one metastasized from the other. Lung cancer is a presumptive condition from ionizing radiation exposure. They conceded radiation exposure during his service.

- The Dept of Justice RECA award was granted on the same medical records and death certificate sent with the DIC application.

When DOJ approves a RECA award, doesn't it establish service connection? I'm confused how the VA can denied service connection for the cause of death when DOJ has adjudicated the cancer as service connected. I received the RECA settlement in March.

I understand there's a DIC offset when awarded the RECA amount, so there's about a 60 month wait til DIC payments would kick in. But if DIC is awarded, I presume ChampVA and other surviving spouse benefits would begin right away....am I correct?

I appreciate your wisdom and opinion.

Jo

[atomicwidow]

doesn't look like I attached the file correctly above....trying again.

Scanned Image 143190004.pdf

[Berta]

"

My husband was diagnosed with two primary cancers on the same day, larynx and lung. The MD reports state they were two different primary cancers, not one metastasized from the other. Lung cancer is a presumptive condition from ionizing radiation exposure. They conceded radiation exposure during his service. "

The denial states this:

"EVIDENCE

• VA Fonn 21-534EZ, Application for DIC, Death Pension, and/or Accrued Benefits, received

April 2, 2014

• Death Certificate, Dated September 20, 2013

• Review of the Veteran's claims file to include Service Treatment Records, Received August 6,

2014

• Data Match VA Medical Center Records, no record found, dated August 6,2014"

Did your husband have VA medical records?

Did he have private medical records?

Did you receive a VCAA letter after filing the DIC claim?

The VCAA letter says IMPORTANT REPLY REQUESTED at the top of it. VA often does not send out proper VCAA letters to survivors.

The evidence lisrt above does not mention the MD report you stated here today.

What is the date of this denial?

Also you had a claim for accrued benefits , meaning the veteran had a claim pending when he died.

They didnt even mention that claim in the avidence list....do you have a status on the accrued claim?

Obviously there is much missing to that evidence list.

Also I think you should get a Vet Rep to go over this decision,.and I think by sending them a copy of this report (I assume they did have a copy of it from you already) perhaps you could file a Reconsideration Request or even file a CUE against them.

The MD report is cricial to this claim.....

"My husband was diagnosed with two primary cancers on the same day, larynx and lung. The MD reports state they were two different primary cancers, not one metastasized from the other. Lung cancer is a presumptive condition from ionizing radiation exposure. They conceded radiation exposure during his service. "

It isnt even listed as evidence, nor any medical records the cancers generated.

If the VCAA letter was illegal or never sent to you , this is a good way to raise attention on appeal right away.

You could file an IRIS complaint on that, which in my experience can produce fast results.

If VA did send a proper VCAA letter, do you have proof of all pertinent records you sent to them?

Something is definitely wrong with this decision,.based on the fact that a MD stated there were two primary conditions.

You need a copy of your C file....but I also feel someone should look over your VCAA letter right away ,or can you scan and post it here?

VA does not discriminate against us widows...they treat us just as poorly at they treat veteran claimants sometimes.

[Berta]

Here is an example of the first page of a VCAA letter:

Survivors letters need to address the Hupp decision and contain more detauils then this one.

They will also enclose a response form.

I have never received a legal VCAA letter.

4 employees of my former vet reop org were canned or moved, when I raised hell because they kept telling me the letter I got was legal.

The director also...who was suddenly replaced.

.

It caused my claim to go to the BVA without my probative evidence being considered.

My RO would not send me a legal one and my reps would not support my request for one.

.BVA agreed that it wasnt a proper VCAA letter at all but my evidence won the DIC award....regqardless, because I knew what the VA should have asked me for in a legal VCAA letter. .

I might be off for a few days here ....my neighbor might use my hadit bookmark...but he wont post..;..

I hope others here give this some thought.... if they have a spouse, this crap can happen to their spouse if they die.