john999

If you don't want money from the VA that is all they have to offer. It is like blowing the doors off a whorehouse. Guess what? You will find whores inside! Get the money and forget the rest.

If the VA has lumped PTSD in with TBI they should separate them out and rate separately since they are entirely different disabilities.

There are certain sign posts during the C&P interview that should throw up a red flag. I will try and enumerate some of them here: 1. Questions about childhood abuse 2. Questions about drug abuse 3. Questions about legal trouble 4. Questions about trouble teen years 5. Questions about difficulty with authority 6. Sexual deviations These are just some of the questions that if you answer "yes" the VA begins looking at Personality Disorder. Back in my day and I should say Alex's day PD was the default condition for soldiers and vets with emotional problems. In other words "you were born that way and the military had nothing to do with all that shaking, bad dreams and inability to work steady you complain about" . They tried that out on me and a million other guys. I showed the VA an IME back in 1972 and that said "veteran is totally disabled" and they just dropped back and said "Schizophrenia and above all "personality disorder".

The VA almost never infers anything in a vet's favor. When I first filed a claim in 1972 the VA knew I was unemployed because I was in a VA nuthouse. Years later I filed for an increase and TDIU and the VA specifically denied my TDIU claim even though I was on SSDI. I know the VA has a duty to infer these sorts of things like HB, but they never do. I had to file a CUE to get my HB. I filed an appeal to get TDIU even though I was 70% and on SSDI. If you don't claim it you don't get it.

Good news!

When I used VA dentist they wanted me to wait two-three months for a permanent crown while wearing a temporary crown. I private dentist said this was asking for problems since with temporary crown bacteria can get into the pulp of your tooth and you then wind up with root canal. It took about ten days for private dentist to get me a permanent crown instead of 2-3 months. I paid the money and kept the tooth. When you use the VA you might as well be on Medicade/Welfare. I use them just for spite and they are good for a few things. I have had no luck with their private referral system. The doctors in my area that accept VA are the worst.

If it is basically a sure thing then spending $1500 for an IMO is not so expensive unless you are broke. I know I can buy an IMO for sleep apnea for around $2000 which would make me 100%, but because I am TDIU P&T for the last 16 years I don't think it is worth it. Our friend, Alex, says that even if you get to 100% with multiple claims you are still not really 100% scheduler. I am wondering if you are TDIU for 20 years does that mean your TDIU rating is really unsinkable even if VA changed the law?

If you have legitimate secondary conditions I would file because (like you ) I am TDIU P&T and I got a second rating of 60% and got Housebound which is another $300 a month. Neither the VA nor the military will ever apologize to you for treating you like a dog. Money is the only thing you get so get it! I lost the best earning years of my life due to service connected conditions. When the VA tosses me a bone I want the whole skeleton. This process will never be fair, so you just have to get what you can since someone far less deserving will get it if you don't. John

I filed my first claim with the VA in 1972. Due to total FUBAR I got only 10% rating. I completely misunderstood the VA's claim process so I thought they actually considered all the evidence I submitted to them. I should have gotten 100% but due to my lack of filing a timely appeal I had to wait another 30 years to get 70% and a TDIU rating. It is never too late. Congrats on your rating Shipdog. What is your effective date and is there a chance of getting EED for the 100%.

ChampVA is a gift if you qualify. I have Medicare, and Letter Carrier's insurance from federal government. My wife has Medicare, Letter Carrier's and ChampVA. The biggest expense we face as we get older is illness, so if I am eligible I will take all I can get if I can afford it. You never know what the feds or insurance criminals might do next so keep all the insurance you can get. A couple of years ago I had surgery to implant a device for sleep apnea. It cost well over $100,000. Insurance paid for it all. The VA would not cover it nor even do the operation. Illness is the number one reason for bankruptcy in the USA. John

This is why that even if you are rated 100% P&T for a MH disorder to stay in treatment even if it does you no good at all. You go to the VA doctor and you reconfirm you disability every time you go. How can some C&P doctor overturn 15 years of VA or Non-VA medical documentation saying you are 100% and have not improved? I go to my VA shrink and a private shrink. The VA loads me down with medications for anxiety and depression. I accept it all. I am at maximum dosage for SSRI's and other junk. The VA prescribes over 30 medications for all my disabilities. How can they say I have improved? I would never trust the VA or our government's budget office one inch. As long as I am getting money from the VA I will use the VA before they use me. I went from 10% to 30% to 70% to TDIU to an extra 90% and Housebound just by going to the VA and using their own words for my benefit. John

If VA grants Chapter 35 benefits you are considered Permanent and Total if you are IU or Schedular. This is the way I understand it. Yet, until you are 20 years in a certain rating you are not really permanent with no chance of being reduced. 20 years is a hell of a long time just like your spouse waiting ten years to get DIC once you become Total. Many vets probably don't even get the Total rating until they are already sick or elderly.

Alex You remember the old CCR song "Fortunate Son"? When the cannons are pointed directly at you it does color your judgement. I also think that if you are too disabled to work you should be 100% scheduler and skip TDIU. However, since I have been TDIU since 2001, I could feel the heat coming off that proposed budget deal to cut my TDIU because I get SSA now that I am 67.5 years old. If VA used normal math I would be 190% disabled. I get your point about a vet claiming he is totally disabled and then able to ride a dirt bike every weekend. There are always those who will attempt to game the system. There are only 850,000 RVN vets left and we will soon be as rare as buffalo past 2025 and beyond. I remember the VFW guy telling me I was just a crybaby because I was not in a real war like him a crusty old WW11 vet who hated me on site because my hair was too long. We as a group of vets were&^%$$$ over beyond belief. Who ever called RVN vets heroes? I knew vets I considered heroes. They did not feel that way.

I am pretty sure the VA should just raise an overall rating to 100% and make the IU moot. The vet should keep the p&t . The housebound should be inferred. If you are 90% you need at least 50% new disability rating to get to 100%. I got Housebound when I was P&T and IU and then got an extra 60%. I had to claim the HB and they gave it to me as a CUE since it was inferred statutory rating. If you are P&T and get an extra 60% plus then the HB should be awarded without a claim but you know the VA. I am talking logically but I don't know the exact regulations. I have heard it said that even if you get to 100% in parts you are still not considered as scheduler 100% by the VA. You get the 100% money just like TDIU. This really does not make sense. John

When the administration talks or proposes things like cutting IU to SSA vets it makes it hard to plan for future expenses. If a IU vet lost his IU it would mean his/her spouse would lost possibility of DIC, ChampVA, and even local tax exemptions. It would be such a complete cluster&^%$ that it would takes years to untangle it. If vets have not been saving for a rainy day now is the time to start. After I get to be age 70 I don't care what they do. 2.5 years to before me and spouse start to take money from annuities unless they do actually screw around with our benefits then the time frame changes. If VA used real math I would be 190% disabled, but they use "magic dust" to sprinkle on the numbers. To even think about putting money into dysfunctional private medical programs while cutting IU is crazy.

Man, I am really glad they came to their senses. You know I got a disability pension from USPS after 20 years and my pension was offset by significant amount because I also got SSDI. I paid into both these programs for years. If I had not gotten IU as well I would have been sucking canal water. My pension with SSDI only provided about $2000 a month. An adult just cannot live on that these days especially if you have also disabled. The VSO's finally did something worthwhile by causing a stink. I am life member of DAV and VFW and they have done little to help me except maybe this act. John

So exactly what was said about TDIU and SSA? Most of us with TDIU could not survive on it alone without SSA. 100% from the VA is really less than $40,000 a year for vets without dependents. That is not much in 2017. So, Berta, you are saying TDIU vets are safe from cuts if they get TDIU? That was a quick turnaround and grateful to you for finding it. Takes a load off my mind. In about four years I will have the IU rating for 20 years. I wonder if it is protected or if they will pull this stunt again? John

BCMR rejects about 98% of requests for any change in your service records. If you really want to fight on their terms you need a lawyer who can do it for you. I was trying to get some medals and to get them to admit that I should have had a medical discharge with pension back in 1971. First, they informed me that the 15 year time period for filing a claim had run and that all my facts were of no import anyway. I thought I might get a minimum of respect from those guys but found the to be Azzholes of the highest order. I do have "Vietnam" on my DD214 or the only other way would be for me to depend on medals and my sick records from Nam that I do have. I could not even prove I was there but I do have a load of personnel records but almost nothing on the DD214. The Army or VA did lose all my AIT and Basic medical records and almost all of stateside records one of which I needed for a TMJ claim.

If a 30 year old vet or a 70 year old vet is unable to work and support themselves solely due to a SC disorder they should be 100% because the 100% rating is based mostly on the expected wages of non-disabled persons in the same settings. I think that when disability ratings for enlisted were first developed it was based on what a enlisted guy who usually did not have a college education. Officers who were mostly college graduates (ROTC) in WW11 get more if they are 100% than enlisted. Why? If a guy 30 years old is unable to work and must survive on this actual 70% plus SSDI he will be living in poverty and so will his family. Call it IU or 100% a vet who can't work due to SC conditions should get 100% and probably twice as much as we get now. If I had to live off just my VA compensation and SSA I would be hurting as it is, but fortunately I don't. Reagan did the same thing to those on SSDI back in the 80's when he kicked most off their benefits because he thought they were all frauds. I guess there are those who think IU vets or retired military who get SSA or SSDI are frauds or double dipping. If this proposed 2018 budget goes through then I will have to get my tired, 68 year old ass back into my fighting armor and go forth to do battle once more. I thought I could just fade away but maybe not. John

The VA granted me P&T almost 16 years ago and I am TDIU. I think I should have gotten 100% but the VA math makes impossible. I am 70%,60%, 20% and four 10% ratings. I get housebound. I should be 100% but when I got P&T as being TDIU I did not think it necessary to continue to appeal endlessly for scheduler 100%. If you look at actual requirements for 100% mental nobody here qualifies for that since those who truly qualify for VA 100% are basket cases. I am not a basket case but I can't work especially since I am almost 68 years old. If VA takes away TDIU then it will destroy any long term plans I had for my wife and for myself. My budget can't really take a 1500-2000 dollar cut. If the VA says I am P&T is that just for fun? John

I believe that some decades ago if a vet was so disabled he could not work then he/she became 100%. Somewhere along the line that was changed to IU probably to give the VA an out to reduce costs of compensation because before about 2007-08 vets who were IU could not get statutory HB. There is a large gap between 100% and 90% compensation in benefits. I am 90% using VA math. Using regular math I am 190%.

Hey Buck Anyone who understands the implications of taking away IU or SSDI from older or younger vets would not say we are "double dippers". I believe this is how Trump described us. I guess in his mind someone who gets SSDI and IU is gaming the system. I paid into SSA for at least 30 years. I have more or less planned my "golden years" based on my IU income and my SSA income. I do have a pension, but if I subtract $1500-2000 from it then I need a new plan. So if I lose IU then my wife loses ChampVA and her DIC? I lose my tax exemptions and it means I will have extra costs. Getting IU and SSA makes it possible for me to live without excess fear of dying broke. I have not been posting so much due to old neck injury that makes typing painful after a few minutes. I remember mentioning to my old psychologist that the VA has been known to sweep in and attempt to reduce a vet's rating just before they hit 20 year mark. The psychologist said very unlikely they VA would do this since I have been IU for so long and am 67 years old and p&t with HB. Now I question his logic and think I was right to be fearful and suspicious of VA intentions. Congress has come up with these ideas before as Berta says. It has been long term policy of VA that persons who can no longer work due to SC injuries/illness should be compensated at 100%. If the VA is going to turn long term regulations on their heads and deprive over 200,000 of most severely disabled vets of IU then we can expect anything. All this to give bigger tax cuts to rich people who never served a day in their lives. John999

Yes, they have their heads up their Azzes. WH did propose to cut those on SSDI and IU (over 62) but maybe it is just trial balloon. With Mr. T. I don't know if he listens to anyone or just dreams this stuff up from old conservative playbook. Hardcore conservatives consider all treasury transfer payments to be "welfare" including our pensions and compensation. I get small pension from USPS representing 30 years of service and SSA. I know Trump & Co. want to reconfigure COLA. They praise vets as heroes and then find ways to cut benefits. I thought Federal pensions and VA and SSA were pretty safe but I must reconsider. Life sucks and then you die.

Hey Berta and Bronco I went to DAV and AmVet websites and they referenced Trump's proposed budget for 2018 and he wanted to cut SSDI and TDIU benefits. He has no idea what this would do to the incomes of many older vets. I have been getting TDIU since 2001 and have been P&T with Housebound for years. I am not going to stay up at night over this but it is disturbing that anyone who dodged the draft during the Vietnam War would want to cut benefits or even think about cutting benefits for people who went to Vietnam or who are over 62 and on SSDI. Does anyone understand how little money most of us get from SSA and VA? With TDIU and SSA I get about enough to live on but cutting $1500 out of that would put hurt me and all those over 60 like me. I lost the most productive years of my life and have tiny pension and SSA. When these politicians want to cut billions out of programs for the poorest people in America I wonder what it is all about here in the USSR. John

I just heard on the news that Trump proposes to cut benefits for TDIU vets who are also getting SSA. This is the guy who said he was going to take care of vets?