Maj_Sully

WOOHOO! It took TWO years to get approved.....but we just received my brother's disability rating from the VA. 100% TOTAL and PERMANENT disability due to unemployability....due to Myotonic Dystrophy. The letter shows how much he was awarded as of April 2011, then COLA increases each January. It doesnt show what his total back-pay will be, but I figured it to be a little over $70k....with $2800 per month. He is also receiving $1000 per month from Social Security Disability along with Medicare Part A and B. I'm not sure if this will drop with his VA money? I now need to research what additional benefits he will receive. His letter said free dental and an ID card with commisary and exchange privileges. Thanks everyone for your help and advice! Sully

Yes...I get the idea from this ONE page that the doctor wanted to do some follow-up exams. However....he never did. My brother was also escorted by his supervisor to the hospital at Mt Home, ID (2 years later) for the same hand-issues. However, that visit was not documented or found in his SMR. I read through it twice now and found only the one page. I also found a mental health workup that was performed as a result of a "Command-Directed" psych eval. The results said, "no findings." These two cases: hands and psych are both related to his disease. I just got back from the local SS office. They would not provide us with ANY copies of ANYTHING. They said, that we should provide my brother's SSDI AWARD LETTER to the VA, and allow them to request the data. I asked specifically for the Doctor's letter, and they said, "no". Ridiculous. BERTA, to answer your question....YES....SSDI was approved solely on the one thing that we are trying to get VA Disability for: Myotonic Dystrophy. I'm still worried about two things: 1. We didnt file for his VA disability until April 2011. He was discharged in Dec 2008. That is over 2 years. 2. He told the doctors that he had this before he entered the service (although he never told his family and he was never treated or seen by a Doctor for it). Sully

1. I still havent received the VCAA letter. I called them and they said, "expect it soon." 2. I will go to the SS office this week to get a copy of my brother's entire SSDI package to submit to the VA. They told me on the phone that his civilian cardiologist wrote a very strong letter. 3. GOOD NEWS (I hope). I received my brother's complete hard-copy SMR today (took over a year). I found ONE entry on 2 March 2005 where my brother was seen about his hands. I cant make out much of it....so I scanned it in for your assistance. I see words like "distal neuropathy" and "myotonia". But there are NO FOLLOW-ON appointments after this--which pisses me off. It is like they just forgot about him. He was actually directed by his supervisor to see the doctor in Japan and at Mt Home Idaho for his hands. But I only found the one entry. Bad news: It looks like my brother told them that he has had this for 7 years (at that time). He states that he started noticing this at age 16. The computer font at the top says 1 year. The handwritten notes show 7x years. His ENTRY physical does not state anything from my brother or the doctors about his hands. Yet he admitted to this doctor in Japan that he started noticing this at age 16. His EXIT physical form, that my brother filled out, states that he has NO MEDICAL ISSUES (which SUCKS). The VA will most likely argue one of two points (but not both): 1) He had this before he came in. OR 2) He did not claim to have this when he got out. I'm not sure it really matters if he had it before he came in....because he passed the physical. I would also argue that the reason why his outgoing physical questionaire is blank, is because he was in a RUSH and very upset about being discharged (kicked out with 3-5 days notice). His mind was not focused on the importance of the document. Not to mention his reduced mental capacity due to his disease. I have no idea where they (the VA) are going to go with this?? Any suggestions/thoughts? Sully

Not yet. I filed for him about 2 months ago....for a single line item: Myotonic Dystrophy. However, this disease affects many parts of the body. I'm not sure if his claim should have been filed against each area of the body....rather than just one (myotonic dystrophy).

Odd thing is....we have NOT yet received his SSDI AWARD LETTER. We have only received a letter with his PRK number and I used this to login to the SS website. At which point, I saw his award amount. I am hoping to get the AWARD LETTER soon. The VFW rep at Andrews AFB helped us file for his VA DISABILITY about 2 months ago (at least). We have not yet received the VCAA letter (or any other letter). Nothing from VA on my brother yet at all. This is his first claim and no C number. We were not asked to provide medical evidence on his SSDI....we only filled out a bunch of questionaires. However, we did provide contact info for his doctors. Maybe they provided the evidence directly. Wow....I had no idea that the SSA would obtain his SMR as well. For us....their process was quick and painless.

The SS website had a statement that said, "They may change from one month to the next based on changes in income, living arrangements, and resources." That is why I thought that MAYBE he would get more if he was on his own. But I plan to call them tomorrow and find out. I'm more curious about how I can inform VA that SS has approved my brother for DISABILITY payments, based on his Myotonic Dystrophy and his current condition. Sully

Good news!! I just received a letter from Social Security for my younger brother. It says that his DISABILTY has been approved. I logged into their website and it says: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Security records show: Your benefit type: Disability Your regular monthly payments are made on the: 4th Wednesday of the month Your current month's benefit amount is: $1036.00 This amount does not include any deductions you have, such as Medicare Premiums or payments on money you owe us (Overpayments). The last year of work you reported was: 2010 The amount of earnings you reported for 2010 was: $30696 Our SSI records show: Your SSI benefits are based on: Disability These amounts do not include deductions you may have (like payments on amounts you owe us). They may change from one month to the next based on changes in income, living arrangements, and resources. Any changes reported on your record in the last 15 days may increase or reduce your next monthly payment. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I need to call them tomorrow to find out for sure, but it would appear that his monthly amount is only $1036, because he lives with me (no rent or mortgage payment). I need to find out if it goes up, if he was to rent his own place. But...that is not why I am posting this information today. I wanted to ask a question: Someone mentioned that if he gets approved for Social Security Disablity benefits, that this would HELP his claim for VA Disablity Compensation. If this is true, how do I get this new information to the VA? What should I send them? Do you think it will really help? I have not received anything from the VA since initially filing for his benefits a while back....so they are still processing it. Thanks all! Sully

Yes. On my first post (down below) I put the amounts and dates: Total VA Benefit -- Amount Withheld -- Amount Paid -- Effective Date -- Reason for Change $ 1,904.00 ---------- $ 85.00 ------------- $ 1,819.00 ------- 1-Nov-10 ------ Increased Award (Initial) $ 1,904.00 ---------- $ 26.00 ------------- $ 1,878.00 ------- 1-Jan-11 ------ Retired Pay Adjusment, Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay Amount $ 1,904.00 ---------- $ 00.00 ------------- $ 1,904.00 ------- 1-Apr-11 ------ Retired Pay Adjusment, Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay Amount After reading this forum and vets.yuku.com, I have found several posts which say that the VA calls the FIRST MONTH your "STUB MONTH" and you do NOT get paid for this. My VFW rep, handling my appeal, used to work for the VA for 30 years. He too referred to this first month as the STUB month. My effective date of claim was 1 Oct 2010. My effective date of each of my disabilities was 1 Oct 2010. My effective date of payment is 1 Nov 2010---with first payment being on 1 Dec 2010. This just plain stinks! It is an entire month. Most military retire effective on the end of the month. So there date of claim will always be the first of the month. They will therefore not receive an entire month of disability payments. Sully

That was odd looking. Your response was inside my quote. I did not get a check on 1 November. I got my first payment on 1 December (which was for November). Per the VA....and per some others on this forum....that is the way they do it. They do NOT pay you for the first month. I'd like to see that in the regulations.....it just doesnt seem right. But I suppose I feel better knowing that they didnt just screw mine up. Sully

Understood. And I apologize for not explaining myself well. I'm okay with payment in arrears. But that is NOT the issue at hand. They are saying YES....your disability effective date is 1 Oct. However, you are not going to start accruing payment for that disability until 1 Nov....and then....we are not going to pay you until the END of November---actually on 1 December. So....payment is in arrears. But they also ARE NOT paying at all for the first month (Oct). They skip it. Or so they told me on the phone. And that is how they figured my first (back-pay) check. They are paying me for November on 1 Dec. That is okay. They are NOT paying me at all for October. Not okay. Sully

It doesnt seem fair that the VA wouldnt pay you for the first month. The VA letter says that my EFFECTIVE DATE on each one of my conditions is 1 Oct 2010. IMO, they should start paying me then. I dont like that my letter came in and says that each of my disabilities (aka conditions) have an EFFECTIVE DATE of 1 Oct 2010.....yet the payment table shows my payment EFFECTIVE DATE as 1 Nov 2010. If this was payment in arrears, okay. But they are telling me it is not. They are telling me that my payment starts on 1 Nov with the first payment being on 1 Dec 2010. I did all the math, and the withholding amount is correct. Based on the concurrent receipt allocations for 2010 = 93.95% and 2011 = 98.18%. Starting shortly, the reduction/withholding will not happen on the VA DISABILITY side....it will occur on my MILITARY RETIREMENT side. Starting next month, my MILITARY RETIREMENT will be reduced by $26.00 and my VA DISABILITY will be fully funded at $1904. Or so I'm told. Sully

Did they pay you for your first month after your retirement? I retired 30 Sept 2010. The effective date of all my conditions was 1 Oct 2010. They started paying me on 1 December 2010, for the month of November. I did not receive any payment for October. Sully

So....I finally received my very first Disability Compensation payment (back-pay check)--rated at 90% (so far). I retired effective on 30 Sept 2010. My effective date of claim was 1 Oct 2010 (as shown on each of my individual "conditions" that were rated). The amount of my check was $9272.00. The only way for this at add up would be two payments of $1819 + three payments of $1878 = $9272. It seems to me that they should have paid me for 6 months (Oct - March)....but they only paid me for 5 months. I'm now being told that the FIRST month (in my case October 1-31) is NOT PAID AT ALL. They skip the first month (partial or whole)....then pay the 2nd month (at the end of the 2nd month). They are telling me that they paid me: Nov 1-30 on 1 Dec 2010 at $1819 Dec 1-31 on 1 Jan 2011 at $1819 Jan 1-31 on 1 Feb 2011 at $1878 Feb 1-28 on 1 Mar 2011 at $1878 Mar 1-31 on 1 Apr 2011 at $1878 ------------------------------------------------ All of the above paid in one check at $9272 Here is the table that was included in my VA DISABILITY PACKAGE for me: Total VA Benefit Amount Withheld Amount Paid Effective Date Reason for Change $ 1,904.00 $ 85.00 $ 1,819.00 1-Nov-10 Increased Award (Initial) $ 1,904.00 $ 26.00 $ 1,878.00 1-Jan-11 Retired Pay Adjusment, Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay Amount $ 1,904.00 $ 00.00 $ 1,904.00 1-Apr-11 Retired Pay Adjusment, Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay Amount So....my questions are: 1. Is this correct. Do you NOT receive payment for your first month after separation/retirement? 2. Even if that month is a FULL month (in my case 1-31 Oct 2010)? 3. I assume that they are "withholding" the $85.00 and the $26.00 is because I'm not yet at 100% and I already received my retired pay. Beginning shortly, my retired pay will be reduced by the $26.00 and I will received all $1904 in my disability check. Correct? Thanks! Sully

Dr. Cohen was a cilivian (GS-type) when he led the Quantico clinic and is now a civilian neurologist. Here is his bio from his website: "Michael Cohen, MD Dr. Cohen was born in Washington, DC, and grew up in Montgomery County, Maryland, graduating from Walt Whitman High School. He attended the University of Rochester, graduating with a BA with Distinction in English, and University of Maryland Medical School. He completed a full Internal Medicine residency at the University of Michigan, and Neurology at the Medical University of South Carolina, becoming Board Certified in both. He was recertified in Internal Medicine in 1999. He practiced Neurology in Prince William County from 1981-89, and then became the Medical Director of the Primary Care Clinic at the Naval Medical Clinic in Quantico from 1990- 2001. " He went back to private practice in 2001 and his clinic is here in town. I was simply looking for a neurologist in town and lucked upon him. Sully

Berta, First off, I want to thank you for your continued service to your country and those who have served. Your assistance on this forum is invaluable and I'm sure has resulted in milions of dollars being awared to veterans, not to mention the medical care that comes with service-connection. Thank you! Yes...the VFW rep has been doing this full-time for quite a while. He mostly does BDD claims. I requested his SMR twice through NARA and Air Force. Once in 2009 and once in 2010. Dont recall the month. I applied for his Social Security Disablity around 17 March 2011. I havent heard anything back on that. I'll log into The Air Force Portal and lookup my brother's old supervisors/commanders. I'll have to put together some details for them to cite in their response/statements. I was told about this VCAA letter from the VFW rep when I filed my claim. Odd thing is....I never received it. Hopefully I get the one for my brother. My brother's digital medical record is only about 8 pages. So a IMO review should be easy. His personnel record is also very thin. He only did 5 years of a 6 year initial-term enlistment. Because he did not complete his first term, they even denied him unemployment (in virginia). Sad....just dumped him. Sully