OSC

Mine was originally claimed as “hypertension 0% Service Connected 07/18/2012” and then as “nephropathy with hypertension (also claimed as kidney disease condition, kidney disorder) (formerly DC 7101) 60% Service Connected 08/17/2014”

I don't check it as much now either, but a couple of months ago I also was having problems with the logon. It was taking me 3 or 4 tries before I could get on. When I checked it now, just a couple of minutes ago, they seemed to have that problem fixed and I got on first try. I'm sure there will be more problems with it later, but life will go on and I'll deal with it. OSC

My dependents claim was filed last year in October 2015 to add my new wife...and it was finally closed just a few days ago. I really wish that the "General" was still working at the VA. OSC

I would just ask the person you received that verbal approval from for the LOA. When I was hospitalized last time in the Philippines. the LOA was of course issued by the VA in Manila. Since you are in a country without a VAMC/VARO and dealing directly with the FMP side of the house, you probably should direct your request when you ask for their coverage. When I checked out of the hospital there was a split bill waiting for me which needed to be paid before they would allow me to leave. I paid for my NON-Service Connected portion of the bill in cash and the VA had authorized direct billing for the Service Connected portion. But, if you are satisfied and comfortable with a verbal agreement with the VA, then the LOA point is moot. OSC

Congrats on getting your claim taken care of. You are right in your statement of "renewed faith", I am glad that the VA paid instead of doing their normal foot drag. Other Vets reading this should also be happy that the system actually did work for you and not give up on their particular type of claim...again Congrats. LOA is Letter of Authorization which is the VA's permission (but as you stated above, the LOA was never issued). Don't party too much with the Baht you will get, causing any more heart problems...lol. OSC

You have a copy of the LOA listing what was being covered and the amounts that were authorized for payment don't you?? OSC

WHAT????? Only TWICE a day???? When I was waiting for my claim to finish, I was checking TWICE an hour.... And then finally, on one of those checkings you do , there will be a change to your account and your stomach will feel like it did as a kid on Christmas Day. You will then panic and start mashing buttons on your keyboard so you can see what they are saying. We have all been there, waiting and suffering from the eBenefits affliction....this I'm sorry to say is the norm, but in the end, worth the wait. Good luck with your claim. OSC

Well if and when they pay, then they will pay... The most important think is that it appears that the surgery was successful and you are on the road to recovery. Get well soon. OSC

I am not so sure, I would be messing around with a FDC as I would not want to chance having it convert to a standard claim. I did find this one reference http://www.benefits.va.gov/fdc/walkthrough.asp and scroll down to the verification section where you are certifying that you are sending in no additional evidence. Now whether the VA will consider sending in any evidence, even for a new claim as grounds for conversion, I'm not sure. But knowing the VA, I would not want to take that chance. OSC

It is called a "HAT". OSC

Yep…that’s normal eBenefits and the standard response they give the thousands of other Vets when they call requesting information. We have all been through the same thing as you. So all you can do is relax as NOTHING you do will make it go any faster. All you will do is frustrate yourself even more. You are lucky…At least you can see that someone is actually DOING something with your claim. As others have said in the past, get a hobby like knitting or underwater bowling; something that takes your mind off the snail pace movement of your claim; as it will be done when it is done. Best of luck. OSC

I think if this was me, I would take a copy of ALL of my evidence to an attorney and run it by them. I'm not sure if a VSO would really be helpful in your particular case. Good luck as it sounds like you might have a few bucks coming your way. OSC

11cvolley, Thanks to the questioning by TexasMarine, I can make a couple of recommendations to you. I have lived in the Philippines for the past year and half and can say that for the most part I have enjoyed myself and am very happy I made the decision to retire here. My VA Compensation more than covers everything along with my Social Security. My wife and I live in a western style apartment with rent at about $850 (including electric) per month. This is considered a very high lifestyle and comes at a lot higher price than what else is available. Rents depending upon how you want to live can be as low as $300 to $400 per month or sometimes even less. Eating regular PI street food can be as low as $250 per month, however we eat a lot better than that. Transportation can be as low as 25 cents depending upon distance. So the answer is yes you can definitely live on $3000 per month, it is very doable. Medical is an issue as only your Service Connected items are taken care of at the VA Clinic in Manila…and that is limited. All other medical is cash out of pocket and NOT equal to US standards. Before I moved over here, I made a few trips as a civilian plus MANY port visits, while I was in the Navy, in and out of Subic. I wanted to make sure this would be the correct move for me. I recommend you take a couple of weeks off to spend over here looking around to see if this move is what you REALLY want to do. Reading brochures about the Philippines and watching you-tube is a lot different than living here; you need to experience the life. This site is more for VA info and not about moving overseas, so you might want to check out http://www.expatforum.com for more travel information. OSC

I have a great relationship with my doctor's STAFF and if there is something I want to make sure to "add for the record", I will tell them also about that issue. Letting more ears know what is going on has always been good for me and I think they do most of the work anyway. OSC

YES. I am 100% P&T living in the Philippines and collect my check (Direct Deposit) every month without a problem. There are many ways to do it but I have my DD to a US bank and then I have "remittances" (money sent from my US account to a local bank) as I need it. The internet makes everything so easy to transfer money from one account to another. Buck is absolutely correct about keeping up with the address changes as this is critical. Plus make sure you are signed up on eBenefits and MyhealtheVet. Your only drawback will be the medical received overseas ain't like it is in the USA. See this post among others: http://community.hadit.com/topic/65699-foreign-medical-program/#comment-403582. Overseas medicine is way below US standards so be prepared for that. Pack your bags and have a good time. OSC

No one knows you better than you. I did all of my claims by myself with the help of the people and information on this board. One more vote for self. OSC

Jayco, What does your doctor say? If your doctor agrees that this procedure you need to go through is connected to your Service Connected IHD, then he/she needs to put that in writing otherwise you will have an up hill battle trying to get the VA to cover it especially if you are overseas. The doctor is the primary source for secondary connecting anything medical to your primary Service Connected issues. I am also Service Connected for IHD and because of what I have personally observed living and being hospitalized in the Philippines, I would DEFINATELY return to the USA for this type of procedure. Who will take care of the hospital bill would NOT be my primary question. OSC

I know a little about the FMP since I also live overseas, but in the Philippines where we have a limited out-patient VA clinic and program. You maybe reimbursed by the VA for "Service Connected" issues. Meaning you pay for your medical services up front and submit the paid bill to the VA. They in turn will send you a check. The key is to make sure that the medical issue is "Service Connected" as they will deny payment for anything else. It is NOT like walking into a VA clinic or VA hospital in the States. OSC

Depending upon your evidence, you might be right about your proof being easier for a connection at TI vs Blue Water Vietnam. There is a lot of effort going on right now to get all Blue Water Navy added to the Presumptive lists, but it has NOT happened yet and it is unknown when it will be. Since you say you already wrote a letter about the Radiation and Solvent exposure at TI, I don’t see a reason to write another one unless asked by the rater for additional information. Right now I would concentrate on gathering as much evidence as possible, especially medical evidence like that from those VA doctors you stated above with their opinion of the cause of your problems (“at least as likely as not”) and why not fill out some DBQs. Then get it all together, organize it and explain it so that when all of this evidence is read by someone who had “never been there”, they could understand and agree to your point. Make extra copies of this package for your VSO, another to send to your VARO if approved by your VSO, another for your C&P doctor, and of course your own files OSC.

Others will chime in here with the opposite of what I am going to say. They will say to add it now. But this is what happened to me, so take your own best course of action. When I had submitted my first claim; which was just before the Nehmer court case (AO) appeal results were announced; it also contained a claim for when I was sprayed in the face with HALON. After months of waiting, I received a phone call from the VARO asking me for my proof of Vietnam service. I told the guy where the proof was, both with my first ship being on the list and also a set of orders proving I was in DaNang. (I checked the list of approved ships, and the Hornet being a "Birdfarm" is not on it. I am not sure how you will be able to prove Presumptive AO exposure). He also asked me about the HALON incident and when done, I of course asked him how much longer before the decision. He said that he could approve the Heart and Diabetes right now under Presumptive AO exposure, but it will be many months more to do the HALON prove-up. He said that if I dropped the HALON claim now, I could always add it on later. And that is what I did. I decided to prioritize my medical conditions and just fight on a single front and for me, this was my best choice as I have been successful in doing so. What will be the easiest way to PROVE exposure (AO or Radiation) and what will the doctors say? Best of luck with your claim. OSC

All of my C&Ps have been done be the actual VA and not by a contractor and ALL have shown up on MyHealtheVet.com not eBenefits. You might want to check there if you haven't already. Contractor C&Ps are handled differently. Another thing you could do is go back to where your C&P was done to see if they still have a copy. I'm sure they have to keep things for years and years, if not on paper then in a computer. You are right in that it SHOULDN'T be that difficult in getting a copy of one exam. Good luck OSC

DirtyBulkMy suggestion first of all would be to wait for your BBE and see what it says. When I was waiting for my latest claim to close eBenefits said one thing and the “OFFICIAL” letter said something else. You have done right in getting ready for an appeal by going through your SMRs and highlighting everything. I did something along those lines when I was waiting. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.OSC

Broncovet, ALL attorney fees and payments are negotiable. You just need to make sure that: 1) the agreement is in writing; 2) the agreement is made in good faith; 3) the agreement is signed by both parties; 4) YES it CAN be notarized (and should be), but does NOT need to be, to make it legal. However if you wish to record the agreement at your County Recorder’s Office, then it does need to be notarized. (I am not an attorney so I am not giving you legal advice, but for years I know and have worked with many attorneys and I am a former Notary). A suggestion would be to use that attorney’s Standard Retainer Agreement paperwork and make changes agreeable to both parties. Make sure you both know “WHO DOES WHAT FOR HOW MUCH”. OSC

I didn't see it mentioned here, but make sure your name and SS/VA number is on each sheet. Not sure how stringent they are with that rule, but DSO that I work with had a stamp made with changeable numbers so when submitting docs to the VA for various vets, he didn't have to write the SS# on each document. I asked him about it when we were going over docs to be sent in and he said the VA is requiring that the name and SS# be on each page. Get those documents in NOW. OSC