manning01

Wow what else is new just anouther way they stick it to us veterans. First they went for the federal employees freezing pay, furlough threats, hit in retirement etc and our brothers and sisters in uniform/retired with Tricare increases, BRAC, reduction in force broken promises etc. Now they coming for us to help save the whole mess they created. Nice job I'll remember this next time I vote.

If you are missing documents in the what we recieved section since the upgrade two weeks ago this is the response I got back from the VA today in my email. The developers are aware of this issue and are working to resolve it. There is no current ETA on a fix. Thank you for your patience. Shane R HRC It went from 48-72 hours last week to now this so I guess sit and wait.

Phoenix AZ. I'll take your very wise advise (thanks) and print out everything I sent in and take it to the C&P exam whenever it gets scheduled they sent it to the VAMC a week ago. I checked ebennies and it doesn't show up yet in my appointments calendar. With that new upgrade they did two weeks ago all my documents in the (what we received) section has been gone ever since then in ebennefits. Anouther messed up upgrade they emailed me and said it would be fixed in 48-72 hours that was a week ago.

rdawg Are you a GW or OIF vet? I'am and have IBS issues that started over in Iraq the last time I was there. My GI doctor (not VA) mentioned about that the countrys surrounding and including IRAQ is an endemic area for this type of thing. He just started me on a course of treatment a specilized antiobotic that targets the bad bacteria in you colon etc. I heard many people after taking the antibiotic that their IBS has gone away. Basically he said it could be a bad case of travelers Diarrhea that can last for many years cause that bad bacteria just stays in your colon and wrecks havoc till it's treated. I'm trying it sure can't hurt especially if they can't find anything causing it like me. The VA did a colonoscopy, blood tests, EGD, lactos intolerance test you name it nothing found. Hope you find some relief it's no fun. Stay working and active it sure does help. I'll send you a PM in a few weeks if this worked for me.

Thanks it's so hard when you do things right and they can't seem to get do thier jobs right most of the time. At times I feel I just want to throw my hands up and say enough of the stupid BS it's just not worth all this stress and to my health. Just don't know why we have to go through this, we went through a lot and now have to battle our own government.

They must be cause I made sure it was right and my VSO double checked it before submitting . They had everything to make a decision but chose to redue an C&P exam that they just did not even 6 months ago before they gave me 0% after two years of waiting. What a waste so the rater will have my outside Neurologist DBQ Dec 2012, a C&P for this condition in Oct 2012 and now next month anouther. Seems just a way to slow it down and waste of time and money when it's already done. Not to mention there goes the 60 days it will be 120 or more so much for that promise.

Nice to see they are trying but as you can see they are taking 34 raters from other RO's to bandaid the problem. That is on top of the raters already TDY there. So the RO's that these people are going TDY from are just going to get more backlogged due to losing their raters to Baltimore. Not to menton the huge expense to the tax payers to send all these raters TDY to Baltimore a very high per diem location for 60 days. Like to see the huge bill from that and their over time. At spring per diem rate in Baltimore is $145.00 max lodging, $66 meals, $5 incidentals per day so that $12,960.00 per employee for 60 days times 34 equals $440,640.00. That is not including their airfare to get there, rental cars, overtime, laundry, baggage fees etc. First Oakland now Baltimore which RO will be next to baidaid wish they just fix this broken disfunctional system that us veterans have to suffer through.....

Well I put in a FDC Dec 2012 for increase (Migraines) due to they messed up one of my claim for severe headaches after two years of waiting. They gave me SC 0% when everything including the VA C&P examiner pointed to 30%. So I went out and had my private Neurologist fill out the DBQ (typed) and a typed IMO all properly signed etc along with all my medical records of him treating me for my migraines, headaches diaries etc (all new since the SC of 0%). All that, the proper FDC form, two buddy statements, the Doctors CV (resume) and even documents showing him he was awarded top neurologist in the Phoenix AZ area 4 years in a row. Well after two months in the mail room the VA decides to send my stuff over for a C&P exam. WHAT!!!! What happened to you submitting a FDC with everything done for them on a silver plater and yet they mess it up still. Nothing surprises me that much anymore but when you do everyting they ask you to do for a FDC and they still mess it up.

C.C. Just an update I just recieved the IRIS email I sent yesterday wow that was fast. They said it should be there in 48-72 hours and they understand my flustration what a line of BS but atleast they answered thier email. Thanks TEAC for all your knowledge and CC for all your inspiring words of wisdom on here it's appreciated.

Checked mine on Tuesday and my "what we recieved" block is totally gone also all my documents I submitted in Dec for my FDC (migraine increase) vanished. Also the C&P exams area is dead also since the upgrade. I checked all this stuff on Friday the day prior to the upgrade and all this stuff was there. So I called ebennes today and the tech said they are aware of the issue this new upgrade messed up certain data fields. He said the patch they will upload Thursday should fix it and our stuff should be visable again. Humm ya right but I'll see if my stuff is back on Friday. Note when I called the ebennes phone number they also had a message stating due to a recent telephone software upgrade half of our telephone service is not working and the wait time is long. Humm anouther update gone bad go figure.

Everything on my FDC claim (increase) submitted in Dec 2012 is gone since this weekend. Shows the claim but nothing been submitted what a piece of junk. Can't they just get it right, from what I see it will not be in our lifetime LOL.

I'm filling out the 21P-8416 medical expenses and I have a question on the dates. Her A&A was approved April 1st 2012 which timeframe do I use? I was going to put April 1 2012 thu Dec 31 2012 (9 months). Or do I have to use April 2012 to May 30th 2013 i.e. has to be 12 months for the VA. Confused on that one seems it would be easy to use April thu Dec 2012 and next year I can use Jan-Dec 2013 etc.

Just my 2 cents worth also they can be really terrible on the VSO side. I had them in Wilkes Barre PA and he was grumpy, never wanted to help and was basically useless he did nothing for me and my claim. Once I moved to AZ I contacted the DAV here and they took three weeks to call back. Once she did without knowing me or my claim she laid down the law. That law seemed to side with the VA. She said don't send in IRIS inquires, check your ebennies only, we will have control of your claim so don't submit one paper to the VA without it going through us and don't you even think of asking a congress critter for help or we will dump you fast. That was on my voicemail of all things. Seems to me way to bossy/control and has to much VA influence in what they do for us. So I tried to call back and same thing almost three weeks latter she finally returned my call. So after seeing other co workers having the same issues not calling back, not looking into their claims when they ask and basically do as we say I dumped them and went with Amvets. I have been happy ever since my AV VSO is great and even repsonds to a email within hours. As a vet himself he works hard to get your claim done. He even attends these meetings they have with management at the VARO and VAMC and voices our concerns. Maybe the other side of the DAV does a lot of good but in Wilkes Barre PA and Phoenix AZ the VSO side really stinks.

Awesome to hear some good news for a fellow Vet. Sad it had to take so long for you to get what you rightly earned defending this great nation of ours.

Thanks for the info I forgot about it. Question if I submit for this will it mess up my FDC that went in Dec 28th 2012??? I hate to submit anything to the VA while it's in review. Update on you asking me to keep you updated on my FDC with a DBQ etc I submitted it Dec 28th 2012 and it went to under review Jan 19th not bad for all the days off they had with the Holidays etc.

I'll do that on Tuesday. I was hoping to know if I have to submit that medical expense form yearly expecially now that the EVR form is no longer being required to be asent in. There is nothing in the papers to say if we have to submit the medical expense form yearly or only when things change like care giver monthly payments go higher etc.. Thanks

My mother was approved for A&A around Oct 2012 at a rate of $988 per month first time filing for it and glad to see the EVR form is no longer required per the letter that came in the mail on Friday. But I have a question on the medical expense report. She is still at home, disabled and we are her care givers and they included that medical expense report in the letter but do we have to fill it out each year and list our care giver monthly amount, her Blue Cross and Prescription insurance payments and all her prescription co pays? Or do only fill it out if there is a change in caregiver amount, private insurnace monthly payments etc? I don't see much of a change on copays etc this last year to let the VA know and try to get more of a monthly payment. I just don't want to not submit this form and they stop her payments of A&A due to not submitting the medical expense report each year.

Must be nice to shop for a BMW of all things at work on the taxpayers dime. Must be all that overtime money making up for her messing around on normal time which she should be working on claims. Not to mention to think she can afford a vehicle like that on a raters salary in California.

My normal initial claim took over 2 years. But remember Meg is talking about the Fully Developed Claim (FDC) program which I have one in I submitted Dec 26th 2012 with all the paperwork and there is already movement on it. The VSO's here say they usually complete the FDC's here in Phoenix in 90 days or less, even shorter if you submit the DBQ and IMO with it. Regular claims or NOD's forget it join the crowd and wait for years.

Thanks T8r I guess I'm SOL since I was on 32 USC 502 orders just prior to my retirement in the Air Guard. What a shame we have the same exposures etc on AT, UTA weekends, 2 weeks, regualar TDY's etc as the AD folks and yet we are not good enough to be compensated for issues that pop up latter and not a LOD while on drill status or title 32. What a slap in our face when the gov't does this we wear the same uniform and do the same things and yet we are forgotten. oh well I guess ask for a reconsideration on my headaches since they only gave me 0% SC even though I have migraines prostrating 2-4 a month clearly 30%. The rater ignored my headache diares for the last 2 years, buddy statements, my private nuerologist IMO and went with a inadequite C&P exam I challanged as being bad. Question since I'll ask for a reconsideration I need to claim my gulf war presumptive for IBS type symptoms that are undiagnosed but the VA has been testing me etc for the last year and no diagnosis. Should I claim it now since I'm clearly eligiable and have the condition? You'd think I might as well the reconsideration will take awhile also and I won't be able to NOD the denied items due to the above reasons.

I spent 10 years active duty, two tours in Iraq and the rest of the remaining 10 years as a traditional ANG guardsman fulltime federal technician. I retired in 2010 question I have several conditions my private doctors/surgeons said directly were caused by my service in the Air Force (recent while I was still in the ANG). On drill weekends and my deployments we are exposed to the same things as any other active duty person. I filed my claim several days prior to my ANG retirement after 20+ years but after two years of waiting for the claim to be decided now the VA says they are only counting my active duty periods from my DD-214's from active duty and my two deploments to OIF and not any of my ANG time. So they said I didn't file for my issues within the 1 year window to be considered presumed SC without anything in my SMR's so they are saying we don't care you were performing your required miitary duty it doesn't count cause it's as a tradional guardsmen. Does anyone know does my weekend drills, two week deployments and others TDY's other then overseas count? I should think they do we are exposed to the same things when in uniform on drills, TDY's etc. I can't understand I was in uniform till a week before retirement and yet they said I didn't get my claim in within the specified period to be presumed SC'd cause I was guard. Has anyone run across this?

Thank you for this link.

Mark This is what I was able to find out on this hope it helps. John The Special Ops lane is for more difficult claims, such as those with eight or more contentions, longstanding pending claims, complex conditions, such as traumatic brain injury and special monthly compensation, and other claims requiring extensive time and expertise. http://veterans.hous...-jeffrey-hall-1 http://www.fra.org/AM/template.cfm?template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=13944&section=news

From my experience this is what it means. The number i.e. 544 means it's the VA Medical Center they are sending your C File over to for a C&P exam or a medical addendum review etc. The date they send it i.e. todays date and the future date you see is the due/suspense date the VAMC has to get your file back to the VARO. Currently I have 644 (Phoenix VAMC) with a requested date of 09/13/2012 and due date of 11/12/2012. I have a C&P scheduled for Oct 24th so they have till then to meet that suspense date of 11/12/2012 to get it back to the VARO.

I got the exact same thing like if I called Peggy, so that was a dead end but it worth a try. I guess I'll just sit and wait and watch the years go by.