john999

I did hear that Dr. Ellis was a consummate professional in giving IMO's. If you can find a doctor locally that does IMO's for SSDI then these guys usually can do good VA IMO's. They just have to incorporate certain key phrases into the report for the VA. I got two IMO's from the same doctor who usually did SSDI and Worker's Compensation reports. I also used a retired VA doctor to do an IMO. These reports were just perfect, yet still the VA did not grant a 100% rating. I got my TDIU, but even though the doctors said I was 100% the VA only granted 70% TDIU.

Generally speaking, every vet should get a IMO/IME and not trust your future to a C&P exam done by some contract doctor whose bread is buttered by the VA. I am not saying that all these contract doctors make it a practice to low ball or attempt to deny disabilities, but consider who pays them. I had the same experience with OWCP which is federal worker's compensation. The OWCP was like the VA in that their doctors usually took the agency side. These agencies are just not going to send their clients to doctors who will increase their compensation expense. A few lucky people get by but majority get whacked by these quacks IMO. If there is subjective elements to your claim the contract doctors will come down on the side of the VA. It happened to me many times before I got some good IME/IMO doctor to help me refute VA's absurd exams.

The VA is supposed to automatically grant SMC if you qualify, but don't count on it. I had to file a CUE to get my SMC Housebound.

I remember getting a C&P from a psychiatrist that said in his report that he believed I was faking because I had a BA degree in psychology. I did get a new exam on that one, but the new exam doctor was a friend of the former exam doctor and screwed me even worse. I also had an exam for a heart condition as secondary to DMII. The exam resulted in me getting a 0% rating. I simply appealed the decision based on evidence and the incredible poor exam. I got a 60% rating. So really just by appealing I went from 0% to 60% and an award of Housebound. When in doubt file your NOD and appeal it. You know the majority of vets don't even file an appeal on these low ball decisions. Who knows how many vets have been screwed out of millions of bucks just because they did not file an appeal. I know it cost me when I first got out of the army.

You know I served almost 50 years ago. Most of my closer friends at the time are either dead or I can't find them. How are they going to step forward and write some statement that they remember me snoring or being sleepless when we were all sleep deprived and about half dead most of the time.

The main thing is to file your NOD on time. You have time to think over your strategy after than and you must file the NOD before you can get a lawyer if that rule is still in force. If you can win your claim at the VARO you are better off and much quicker.

I have gotten to a point to where in order to get higher level of A&A I have to be much worse off. I don't look forward to that. VA land is a place where to be better you must be worse. It is bizzaro world.

Yes, I would take it over to the VA and get a signed copy of your CUE. Prepare for a wait but I did one and I only waited a few months. The VA is used to just dismissing most CUE claims quickly because many have no idea what a CUE consists of that will fly. In your case where the VA just skipped considering your records it may be obvious enough to get a quick decision.

Since your dad is an 88 year old vet in a wheelchair I have to wonder how the VA can deny him A&A, but they like to slow it down in hopes the vet dies. They did this with my mother and grandmother who ended their days in a nursing home. The VA just dragged azz until they both died. For my grandmother the VA said they could not find my grandfather's records. They did not look. My mother was only in the nursing home for about 5 months and then died. The VA was not even warmed up.

Berta I see lawyers trying to get Roundup herbicide cases for cancer claiming the same company that manufactured AO has also produced another dangerous herbicide. That just burns me up. The VA just wants to limit the damage and stall until we are all dead. This has always been the plan.

I would most definitely apply for TDIU if you can only work part time. While you are at it apply for SSDI. You do need a statement from your doctor that due solely to your SC disability you are unable to maintain gainful employment. When I applied for TDIU I got it from the time I first applied. Then due to a hospital admission I got it retro to the admission. If your doctor was to say that as of the date of your C&P exam you were totally disabled you should at least be able to get TDIU retro to that date. Applying for TDIU is not going to hurt any appeals. If you appeal the denial of TDIU and submit evidence of same you can at least get TDIU back to the date of your original claim most likely. Once you get TDIU and then try for P&T status. This comes with many benefits. Getting 100% or TDIU is the goal of all VA claims if you are disabled from work.

A prima facia case for a CUE can mean a quick win. When VA just makes a gross error such as not reading SMR's then a CUE can really work for you. Any claim that requires the least bit of consideration beyond simple reading of facts probably is not a CUE. If Berta says you have a CUE then go for it. You want this claim to stay and be decided at the VARO. No 3 year trips to the BVA if you can help it.

Vetquest I was injured by a private doctor. I sued him but lost the case. People who think a malpractice lawsuit is easy should think again. The doctor was a podiatrist who injected my foot with a dirty needle. My foot got badly infected and I had to have a serious operation on my foot to save it. Not one podiatrist in my city would agree to testify against my dangerous doctor so I lost. Yes, docs on the outside are not always good either.

Does Tricare pay for dental and vision care? My wife has ChampVA. They are slow payers that is for sure in our case. As far as I know Tricare is just medical but Chapter 35 VA benefits include college payments for kids and for depends in general.

It seems that for our VA benefits to be safe blood must be spilled all over the world. When we have peace the budget cutters get to work as in the 80's. It is also a sorry state of affairs when average USA household can't go for a month without a paycheck. This shows gross income insecurity.

Even if "stage 3" is complete that does not mean the VA will not go back to stage 2 and start all over again. When the claim is finished and you get the decision in your hand then it is complete. I don't even know what the VA means by "Stage 3 Exit". It all means nothing until you get the written decision. I learned this the hard way by trusting VA officials via a BS phone call. You can't make them work faster or better. All you can do is appeal the decisions. You drive yourself crazy trying to guess what they are doing. I am sorry I can't tell you what "exit stage 3" actually means in VA speak because I am not even sure the VA knows.

Buck When we were in Vietnam or state side 1960's-70's army did they even have the OSA diagnosis? Was the military even treating people for OSA? I have an entry in my medical records about sleep problems, but army would not even acknowledge any psychiatric or AO problems at that time for me. Unless a soldier went berserk and completely lost his mind many of us with PTSD/Depression were kicked out as personality disorders. They do very little for guys they are going to kick out including not providing you a copy of your records.

I think there is ample proof that lifers at the VA don't want us to get private care. I bet if the VA Choice were transformed to a program as good as Medicare with no copays there would be a mass exit from the VA by all but the most deathly ill. At least let service-connected vets get decent care close to home. Due to political expediency medical care for non-service connected vets has become a welfare program. The whole idea of care and benefits for vets being "needs tested" is just taking a welfare view to those who have sacrificed years of their lives to serve the nation. Many of those who do pension exams believe that vets are deadbeats and scammers. I have experienced this first hand with C&P doctor telling me that Vietnam vets get fat on purpose just to get DMII and get benefits. What kind of attitude is that for a doctor to have?

If it was me I would at a minimum go for the yearly or sixth month exam at the VA. This keeps you in the system and these dumb asses may actually discover some problem that you are not aware of in time to do something about it. By using the VA I did get SMC housebound which adds a few more bucks. The VA did it all for me by doing a CT scan of my leg that showed some blockage. I had a lump on my leg and the VA did a CT scan on it. I don't think many private doctors would have done this . I don't know if it was bad medicine or good medicine but it worked for me via my friendly PCP. If it is free I am not turning it down, but I would not let VA operate on me.

I agree with both Vync and Seminole. I use the VA just to get some pills and to see their shrink about once every 2-3 months. I just use the VA to keep in the system, but I am not driving miles in horrible I-275 traffic just for a few minutes of PT or any of the other services the VAMC offers. If I lived a couple of miles from the VAMC in Tampa I probably would use the VA for many more services. The area around the VA is known as "Suitcase City" and is a high crime area. I would not live around there for love or money. The VA was going to open a clinic at Fort Homer Hesterly Armory, but in the end the property was sold to a community center who bid much more for the property. When the VA tries to buy property around Tampa they are usually outbid by 200%. They are so cheap and so dumb that when they had the opportunity to buy up land to expand services it takes them years to come up with low ball bid and they get shut out of the deal. Let's face facts....we vets are just the lowest priority in the whole system. The lowest janitor at the VA is more important than a room full of 100% disabled vets. What I really get from the VA is a check once a month.

If the VA can make a vet wait long enough the vet has a tendency to die!

Buck I tried to use the VA for evaluation and treatment of my sleep apnea. The pulmonologist only has one appointment date a week and that only early in the morning. I just can't get there that early. The VA hospital in Tampa is huge. They are telling me that they have only one pulmonologist available to serve a couple of hundred thousand vets? it is the same with all the specialists. You can't get to see one unless you are dying. If I could use the VA private care service I would do it if they provided a better quality care that was close to my house. I am not driving 20-30 miles to see a VA doctor when I can drive a couple of miles and use my own private doctor. I have three hospitals and numerous doctors within five miles of my house.

I have a suspicion that if the government supports private care there must be a considerable cost savings. I hope the savings is not at our expense. Every time the government changes the VA is seems I am worse off. I am 100% vet, so my gripe with the VA is the fact they are usually behind current medical knowledge and treatment by 20 years. My other problems is access since I must drive miles for care. If the new VA was actually easier to access I would have fewer gripes. I just don't trust these our VA masters. We are usually the last priority for them.

I have been getting a new PCP at the VA about once a year now for the last 5-6 years. I had a couple of decent doctors back about ten years ago, but it has gone down hill since then. I am not thrilled by the Choice Program dentist and PT therapist I had for a while. The dentist was a crook and the PT people were awful. The VA people in those fields were also poor, so now I pay for those things via my own insurance. I use the VA but I have private medical back-up for all my medical conditions. The VA said I had a heart condition ……… no treatment, so I get care from private cardiologist. I have never seen a cardiologist at the VA. My PCP is supposed to be able to handle that.....ha!

Just be sure to start your appeals on time if you do not get everything you want. I say have the NOD format ready to fill out and send it in via certified mail/return receipt. Filing claims is a learning process. Don't accept low ball ratings or denials without appealing. I made that mistake many years ago and it cost me many thousands of dollars I am sure.