bionoce

Hey @bionoce, I personally have not had one, but I did find this information sheet on the VA's web site:
https://www.va.gov/HEALTHPARTNERSHIPS/docs/SGBforPTSD_508.pdf
 
The sheet says it may be an option for vets who meet certain requirements. I would recommend you ask your VA provider about it. If you end up getting it, please consider sharing your experience both short and long term. It might be helpful for others.

<<During the past 10 yrs I've added 20, 10, 10, 10 and 10 but because of the combined ratings table they continue to deny, even though once you're 100%, they can't use the ratings table, as it's similar to double jeoprody(sp)>>

This was what I was referring to, PR, when I said I disagreed with you. The 4.25 table is employed to add everything up. If you have one single schedular rating, and then start adding more, the only vehicle with which to add them is the table. Thus, assuming you have a 100% schedular and the additional ones above, I see 100% plus 48 (50)%. [20 +10 = 28 +10 = 35 + 10= 42 + 10 = 48 which rounds up to 50%]. I expect VA would deny as it's less than the additional 60% needed. I do see VA use the disparate body systems rule as the vehicle to deny frequently. That's what they do. They're rude, argumentative, adversarial and generally always get things wrong. When you get into 3.350 (or 38 USC 1114) law , there has to be a metric to measure what's needed to attain S or the bump you get from an additional 50 or 100% rating that pushes you up one notch from L to M or M 1/2 et cetera.

Winning strictly on being "substantially housebound'' often boils down to a doctor making the appropriate pronouncement on the 21-2680 much like a nexus. It may require some reasoned logic. My attempt to get it in 2009 was denied. They used the argument that some of my problems were not service connected and thus not eligible for consideration. They conveniently overlooked my C&P exam saying "must avoid sun". I expect I'll win it but to do so means never throwing in the towel. I'm glad Mrs. Spotz sees fit to carry the flag forward. I hope you do as well. Each victory, however small, sets the stage for the next Veteran.

One last note. If you do not get S when you feel entitled to it, file for it. I did. Don't ever expect VA to arrive out of breath and say "Whoa, dude. You left some money on the table. Thank goodness we figured it out. Here's the check." When I win my S, I'll come back and tell you wonderful folks all about it. I hope it doesn't take another 20 years as my 100%P&T took.

Win or Die
a

Yes, the VA does not solicit a claim unless they believe a Vet will qualify. Mind you, it is not a guarantee, but one well worth going for. He should file for IU on VA Form 21-526EZ and submit VA Form 21-8940 with it. 
Note: if he was eligible for IU at the time of the first rating the VA would have granted it at that time. The problem is the VA requires information from former employers before granting that rating, and they can't go after that information without the Vets consent. Hence, the need for the 8940. There are special circumstances that apply for IU without the 8940 but they usually deal with catastrophic illnesses.

If you cannot leave your house to work because you are TDIU, you are housebound and "substantially confined" to your immediate premises as defined by Congress. Plain and simple.

I'm glad your C&P is done Buck. Wishing you all the best. 

Got through my C&P today( Sat)  1-23-16  about 75 minutes
Took a little over an hour   things went fairly well, the Physiatrist /examiner was nice  and after all the questions she said'' well that's it I need to type in some information in the computer, ect,,ect,,.....so Maybe I'll at least get it SC? not sure on the rating ? she didn't go over that many symptoms  she said she read  a lot of my records  the night before  and she has my stressors and my symptoms and I did mention I was on a cpap  machine  ordered through my MH Dr  But it was after I filed my claim...she type that in to the computer  but I don't know what she said about it?
she said ... I need to download that in ebenefits or go to my VA  ROI and have them to record  my c-pap dx  she did say it is probably already in my VA Notes.....so that should be ok...I gave her a letter my son wrote on my behalf  she read it and ask me to get that in my VA Records   she couldn'r do it   I had to do it  so she read the letter and gave it back to me.
that was the extent of my exam...if I had to guess right now I think it will get SC  and maybe a 10% rating  anything more than that I will be surprised..
Now it's waiting time  not sure how to get the exam results back?  being this was done fee base from the VA  to QTC
 
Thanks Everyone for supporting me  I appreciate it
 
.............Buck

I have been at this now since 1989. Every time I was told I didn't (or couldn't) get to SMC S, it frustrated me. I attacked it from numerous angles. The most obvious, my Hepatitis @ 100% schedular, was a no brainer. VA would not grant based simply on an imputed "housebound in fact" in spite of an additional 40% for phlebotomies for Porphyria that left me dizzy and anemic. I then filed for cryoglobulinemia/fibromyalgia legitimately, knowing that the extra % would carry me over the top to the extra 60%. Va "fixed" that by ignoring it for three years. When I won my Writ this March, they upped the phlebotomies to 60%, restored the 10% skin scarring they took away (CUE) and then-wonder of wonders- finally handed me another 40% for the cryo/ fibro. I didn't need that extra 40% after they caved in on the porphyria but it illustrates taking several paths to get to it.

Under no circumstances would I relinquish my quest for housebound, Retroman. If you read my book, you would know that VA purposefully inculcates that guilt feeling in Vets and hopes they'll all "leave some on the table for the next guy". Look at your comp. check. If you're married with no rug rats, it's about $3 K and small change. SMC is a paltry $346 more. In no way are you stealing from another Vet. Congress appropriates the money for us. If anything, you are stealing from a Senior Executive Service (SES) type making $137 K per year and a hefty bonus to boot. SMC S is not for being physically housebound in spite of VA's attempts to portray it as such. It's because you sit at home most of the time because you are unable to work-not because you are confined there by your disabilities. To leave this on the table when you are entitled elicits much humor at your local RO. If it's owed, go for it.
When I went to war, I signed a contract. VA refused to honor it for 26 years and finally, in desperation, I used the Court (twice) to get what I begged them to do voluntarily. Berta's predicament is eerily similar. That I won ten times over is testimony to their callous indifference towards Veterans. Either that or gross stupidity. I admit freely that I was not entitled to 100% all the way back to 1994. I wasn't that sick then-merely dizzy and anemic. VA gave me the rating so I don't feel obligated to return it or correct their thinking. I'm impaired for life. My income stream is shot. $3 K is chump change. $346 more is an even bigger joke. I don't expect a $100 K a year comp check but let's all hold up a moment and smoke some reality weed. They tout that they "grant when they can and deny if they must". I submit they practice the obverse. My case is proof positive. You do yourself and all Vets a disservice by dropping the flag and surrendering on the field of battle, sir. As for Cruiser, Loyal, he is a self-acknowledged alcoholic and has no credibility in the Veterans Benefits arena. Let's leave him out of the discussion. Read this CAVC decision very carefully before you throw in the towel. https://asknod.wordpress.com/2014/08/25/cavc-howell-v-nicholson-what-smc-s-really-says/

I will certainly respect whatever you choose to do but remember always -this is not about you-or me. This is about all of us collectively. Remember Theresa's analogy of us tying our lifeboats together as one ship on these troubled waters? Our strength is in our numbers. Our success is in our shared experience. What I did teaches others. More importantly, what you do or succeed in shows others how and why it works. Each small contribution ensures another Veteran will not have to languish for years waiting for VA to get around to doing the right thing.

My decision to fight was the day they said I was never in Vietnam, not the denial for the Agent Orange and the hep. Oddly, by the time I get finished with this insanity, I'll be 270% disabled. How crazy is that? All I wanted was remuneration for the inability to work- not a lifetime litigation project. Pay it forward for all of us by continuing the fight. With the collection of disabilities you have, make them prove to you that you are not housebound as envisioned in the Howell decision above, sir. Best of luck in whatever you choose to do.
J1VO

you need to ask yourself what you're really trying to accomplish man. You're spinning your wheels by staying on a job that's causing nothing but aggravation. Again, YOU CANNOT be awarded TDIU while employed in any capacity. You may or may not receive OPM disability retirement. You staying on that job isn't helping you in any way.

That's too much man. If you can't do it anymore, it's time to call it quits. I got to the point where I was walking out of the job due to panic attacks (sometimes 2-3 a day), furious outbursts, detachment issues, poor to no sleep, thoughts of suicide and being attacked. At some point you have to say enough is enough and lay things out to the VA in a way that they hear you loud and clear. I'm not a soldier anymore and am not required to "suck it up and drive on".

Yeah, you should be getting SMC (s).
Apparently TDIU can be a way of getting SMC (s) by itself. Congress intended to pay extra compensation to vets who can't leave home to earn an income as seen in Howell Vs. Nicholson. If a vet is TDIU, guess what? You're unemployable and can't leave home to earn an income, rendering you "substantially confined". Howell Vs. Nicholson states it loud and clear. I'm in the process of writing up a statement requesting it meself.
The Secretary, citing to Senate Report No. 1745 (June 27, 1960), notes that in passing section 1114(s) Congress intended to provide additional compensation for veterans who were unable to overcome their particular disabilities and leave the house in order to earn an income as opposed to an inability to leave the house at all.
https://asknod.wordpress.com/2014/08/25/cavc-howell-v-nicholson-what-smc-s-really-says/

If you cannot leave your house to work because you are TDIU, you are housebound and "substantially confined" to your immediate premises as defined by Congress. Plain and simple.

You ain't alone Buck. Hadit is the extent of my social life as well.

If you cannot leave your house to work because you are TDIU, you are housebound and "substantially confined" to your immediate premises as defined by Congress. Plain and simple.

"heres the Kicker VA trys to deny with
they say if you can go to the VAMC for Appointments  then your not house bound and deny's the claim but yet you are 160%plus service connected with multi disability's."
 
Actually the courts ruled that statutory housebound exists when you cannot leave the house for/to work.
The VA is failing to recognize the difference between the two, and the levels of preparation needed when it uses this sort of rationale.
But, it does seem reasonable on the surface to do so, creating a situation that the VA can take advantage of.
Further, the VA has been known to fail to comply with the law/regs concerning SMC consideration.

You ain't alone Buck. Hadit is the extent of my social life as well.

Let me expand my comment. In this thread alone, I see several errors just in the participants who contributed. To begin with, to understand this as clearly as possible, let's turn it into "Buckwheat speak" to get rid of the CFR junk that often clogs up understanding. Mr. James Buie's case in 2011 is the best one ever documented and is the most cited to when Vets claim SMC S. Ken Carpenter knocked this one out of the park. VA was not gonna go quietly into the night on SMC S so it took a unique set of circumstances -a confluence of events if you will- that could create the perfect SMC Storm.
 https://asknod.wordpress.com/2011/09/27/cavc-buie-5-v-shinseki-0-2011/
Watch how he slowly builds up to SMC S. At the end, to qualify, Buie rearranged the order in which he received them. Another thing I wish to clarify. A secondary condition to a primary rated one is not inferior. If you have PTSD or MDD secondary to losing your hearing from a IED, it is just as important in counting to qualify for SMC.  I am rated 100% schedular for hepatitis and 100% schedular for porphyria, secondary to the hepatitis. Either one can be the predicate to serve as the base 100% for the first SMC S requirement-i.e. that you have at least a 100% rating. See? It doesn't have to be 100% schedular. A TDIU rating is 100% for rating purposes.  Likewise,Buck, your 70% for PTSD stands alone as the predicate for your TDIU-again the 100% base for SMC S. You do not need to add to it to make a combined rating of 100% to qualify for the first part.  You are TDIU solely on the 70% PTSD.
Alternatively, if f you have one rating of at least 40% and others that will take you to 70%, then they are the predicate for TDIU paid at 100%. This is important for you Navy04. You have enough to qualify for TDIU BUT ALSO have enough separate and distinct disabilities that combine (with VA math) to qualify you for SMC S.
VA is required to tell you which of your disabilities (if you have less than a single 60% disability to qualify for TDIU) that they are using to grant your TDIU. If Navy04 has a 70% PTSD rating, that alone qualifies for the TDIU all by itself. Everything else is the gravy for the SMC S. All he needs is the 50% and a 10% to make 55% which rounds up to the magical 60% extra for SMC S. If anything, Navy 04 has way more than he needs to get there. VSOs  do not have any idea how this works and VA will not tell you. You have to fight for it. I have had many DROs tell me the party stops at 100% and there's no more money on the table.
Never think it cannot be done. Never quit asking questions but always try to seek the answer with the available resources first. If the regs do not answer the question, go further afield and research it. The good thing here is Navy 04 will get his SMC S entitlement from the day he can prove he had the required ratings to qualify-not the day he applies for it. 
Navy zero 4 is cleared in hot. Weapons are free, gentlemen. Make it count.

If a veteran is TDIU they should be authorized SMC (s) because it keeps them from leaving home to earn an income. TDIU by it's very nature prevents veterans from leaving home to earn an income. Plain and simple. You and I Buck52 fall into this category, with all due respect.
 
The Secretary, citing to Senate Report No. 1745 (June 27, 1960), notes that in passing section 1114(s) Congress intended to provide additional compensation for veterans who were unable to overcome their particular disabilities and leave the house in order to earn an income as opposed to an inability to leave the house at all.
 

If a veteran is TDIU they should be authorized SMC (s) because it keeps them from leaving home to earn an income. TDIU by it's very nature prevents veterans from leaving home to earn an income. Plain and simple. You and I Buck52 fall into this category, with all due respect.
 
The Secretary, citing to Senate Report No. 1745 (June 27, 1960), notes that in passing section 1114(s) Congress intended to provide additional compensation for veterans who were unable to overcome their particular disabilities and leave the house in order to earn an income as opposed to an inability to leave the house at all.
 

Exactly. That's why I want to get this claim right the first time. I'm writing a personal statement and quoting Howell Vs. Nicholson and the regs. 

Well, yes, Alex.   I, too,  have answered pretty much the same question multiple times.  I recognize some of us are better at searching for answers than others.  I had a friend, who was a teacher one time explain it to me.  You dont really know something until you can teach it.  Some of those students ask very, very good questions.  And, for me, I learn by teaching.  
Yea, its redundant answering the same questions over and over, I agree.  However, Im thinking I finally understand SMC S (housebound) well enough to represent myself, because I have answered the questions so many times.  As one football coach said it:  "I dont want you to practice until you get it right...I want you to practice until you cant get it wrong."

I like Asknod (Alex) article on SMC S, especially as quoted in Howell.  Take a moment and get what they are saying here.  The Veteran was denied housebound because he was given a C and P exam, so the VA denied him as he was obviously NOT housebound, if he shows up for a C and P exam for housebound.  
This is crazy.  The VA requires a C and P exam, but if you show up for it, you are denied, but you cant be housebound if you show up for a hb exam.  So, the Veteran appeals and the judge says, "gee Let's see what congress intended, since it does say, 'substantially confined', it does not say permanently confined or that you can not leave the house at all. 
The judge dug it up, and, sure enough, congress intended for Vets to get housebound when they cant leave the home FOR WORK, not that they cant leave the home at all.  
This suggests that all Vets who are not working, and are rated 100% for a single disability, should get housebound, since you are not leaving the home for work.  
This is exactly what I allege in my appeal.  That is, since I am not employed, and have a single 100% disability, I am not leaving the house FOR WORK, as in HOWELL.  

I know I will be misunderstood when I say this. After counting today, I find 240 discussions on various aspects of Special Monthly Compensation, including SMC S. Narrowing it down, there are conservatively 200 involving just SMC S alone. Nevertheless, it seems no one (or very few) are willing to do the hard work and review prior posts for the same questions asked over and over. Further, I notice the same group of us knowledgeable in this area are answering the same questions over and over with the same exact answers. Learning a subject is easy here. The sheer volume of information is complete enough to qualify you for a non-attorney Practitioner's license at the VA.  In fact, as some know, I am in the process of doing just that. I didn't go to law school. I learned it from asking, reading posts here and precedental legal decisions at the Federal Circuit and the CAVC. Still more was gleaned from BVA decisions-all of which are there at your fingertips. 
I can understand if someone feels their particular situation is so unique that it requires a personal answer. Many situations are subtly different and require a nuanced answer. However, reading over this particular subject, I note that I have answered the same exact question over 20 times in a year. This leads me to believe that some are not willing or are unable to grasp the concept of searching for their answer and prefer the FacePlace technique of throwing it out there and letting all pile on with many answers-some of which are incomplete or factually  incorrect and harmful. 
Mind you, I do not criticize. I was a FNG once. Once, I emphasize. From there on out, I sought answers rather than ask for advice. If the answer was nowhere to be found, I used to go to the "Pink" site. After a while, I realized they had a warped view of Veterans help.  Hadit is possibly the most read and respected of all the Veterans Help sites for one reason. We give good advice that aids in a win. Being graced with an Elder designation in spite of very few posts is a great honor. I did not agree to it initially feeling it might upset others who had been here longer and thus had "more time in the cockpit". Knowledge earned is to be shared - most especially with those from whom VA deprives it. Asking the same questions over and over with no effort to research it burns out those who hope to help you. We get "mental laryngitis" from repeating the same things over and over. Eventually, some of us cease to offer that which you need to win. This deprives everyone who hopes to learn here. 
I beg all of you who come to Hadit to make an effort to at least attempt to find an answer among the tens of thousands of posts before asking. If you still find yourself stymied, most of us would be glad to help you. I was tempted to just answer the SMC question again when it struck me as horribly redundant. Again, I apologize if I have insulted anyone. 

I agree with VYNC.  The 2 zero percents dont help you with SMC, but you should already qualify for SMC K if ED is SC.
I would add this:  Read https://asknod.wordpress.com/2014/08/25/cavc-howell-v-nicholson-what-smc-s-really-says/
 
The VA wants us to think if we can leave the home to go to a docs appointment for housbound, we cant be housebound.  This is error.  
Congress intended SMC housebound for not for VEterans who cant leave the home at all, but for VEterans who can not leave the home FOR WORK.  The way I read this, if you are not working, then you are not leaving the home "for work", and you are housebound.  Im fighting VA on this very thing, right now.  

This is a new classification of PTSD under the DSM-V (Well as new as May 2013) There is not any ONE stressor per say when it comes to Complex PTSD. As you can see when you read below.  Previous to this Diagnosis being added to the DSM-V it was very hard to Diagnoses straight PTSD especially when it came to individual from certain lifestyles.  Such as those in the military, woman who have lived for years in abusive relationships, Children who grow up in extremely violent homes or children from the foster care system who are abused as children and then re-experience a traumatic event or events as adults too.   So there never has to be just one stressor.  We should all remember this when dealing with PTSD!    

So I thought I would post this bit of information regarding complex PTSD because maybe someone is a little confused as to what type of PTSD they have been diagnosed with or if in fact they have been given a definitive diagnosis of PTSD!!!   Anyway I hope this info helps someone out there!!!

Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD) -  is a condition that results from chronic or long-term exposure to emotional trauma over which a victim has little or no control and from which there is little or no hope of escape, such as in cases of:

domestic emotional, physical or sexual abuse

childhood emotional, physical or sexual abuse

entrapment or kidnapping.

slavery or enforced labor.

long term imprisonment and torture

repeated violations of personal boundaries.

long-term objectification.

exposure to gaslighting & false accusations

long-term exposure to inconsistent, push-pull,splitting or alternating raging & hooveringbehaviors.

long-term taking care of mentally ill or chronically sick family members.

long term exposure to crisis conditions.

When people have been trapped in a situation over which they had little or no control at the beginning, middle or end, they can carry an intense sense of dread even after that situation is removed. This is because they know how bad things can possibly be. And they know that it could possibly happen again. And they know that if it ever does happen again, it might be worse than before.

The degree of C-PTSD trauma cannot be defined purely in terms of the trauma that a person has experienced. It is important to understand that each person is different and has a different tolerance level to trauma. Therefore, what one person may be able to shake off, another person may not. Therefore more or less exposure to trauma does not necessarily make the C-PTSD any more or less severe.

C-PTSD sufferers may "stuff" or suppress their emotional reaction to traumatic events without resolution either because they believe each event by itself doesn't seem like such a big deal or because they see no satisfactory resolution opportunity available to them. This suppression of "emotional baggage" can continue for a long time either until a "last straw" event occurs, or a safer emotional environment emerges and the damn begins to break.

The "Complex" in Complex Post Traumatic Disorder describes how one layer after another of trauma can interact with one another. Sometimes, it is mistakenly assumed that the most recent traumatic event in a person's life is the one that brought them to their knees. However, just addressing that single most-recent event may possibly be an invalidating experience for the C-PTSD sufferer. Therefore, it is important to recognize that those who suffer from C-PTSD may be experiencing feelings from all their traumatic exposure, even as they try to address the most recent traumatic event.

This is what differentiates C-PTSD from the classic PTSD diagnosis - which typically describes an emotional response to a single or to a discrete number of traumatic events.

This info is from Out of the Fog web site

38 CFR 3.350(i)(1)(2) or 38 USC 1114(s)(1)(2).