11C mortar Gunner

Just checked my bank account as you folks advised, BINGO i received most or my retro check. They forgot that I am married and didn't include that part of the payments, but i'll give them a jingle today and hopefully I should get it quickly.

I want to thank you the Veterans and Families for their help and support. You kept me up when all I wanted to do was fall in a hole and disappear.

God Bless You All!

Howdy Folks!
Sorry for not getting back sooner, I had many VA appointments yesterday and today.

What I know so far is as follows;

I did not yet receive anything in the Mail, but one of my therapists was able to see my rating and info in my demographics file.

My ratings are;

SC PERCENT 90%
RATING DISABILITIES

TINNITUS 10%-SC
INTER-VERTEBRAL DISC SYNDROME 20%-SC
IMPAIRED HEARING 0%-SC
PARALYSIS OF SCIATIC NERVE 40%-SC
PTSD 70% SC
PARALYSIS OF SCIATIC NERVE 40%-SC.

A total of 180%, but I do understand the logic they use for awarding 90% ( at least I think I do )

On ebennies my status has reverted back to 'GATHERING EVIDENCE. I wonder if that mean they are still working on my IU. My VA rep told me to fill out that form when I saw her several months ago ( She is a VA employee and very helpful to me) .

You folks have been great and I appreciate all of your advice and kind words.

I have to say that I am very happy with the treatment I have received from the VA these last few years. It's light years ahead of the treatment I received ( or lack there of ) in the 1970s.

Everyone has been most kind, helpful tome, along with being protective of me. I came to trust my PTSD therapist, which is huge for me and most other VETS who suffer from PTSD. I have been able to share things I kept bottled up for almost 40 years. These things ruined many things in my life and I lost the ability to cope with everyday life.

Congratulation on your win.

The best thing to do is wait for the official rating decision from VA. It should come in a few days or weeks or so and it will tell you everything. No need to get stressed or pissed at this point. Keep an eye on your direct deposit account for the deposit. The date 12/1/2014 is most likely due to the new increase COLA but your actual effective date is prior to December 2014.

I found out on Thursday this week from e-benefits That I am being paid at the 100% rate and considered to be totally and permanently disabled due to your service- connected disabilities then it goes on to say the veterans service rep submitted your claim to an authorizer who will review the va's decision to ensure it's accuracy. Does this mean my claim needs a authorizer singnature as in a large retro? Thanks for helping

USMC_HVEQ,

Great job on the award computations for our fellow jarhead Phil.


Phil,

You may want to put a little cash aside in the event you need an IME and/or IMO for future claims or rating increase requests. Also, consider a donation to Hadit.com so it will always be available for vets.

Since you are now in priority group one (1) in the VA healthcare system, you are entitled to the following:

Free VA medical treatment and prescriptions for all medical condtions with no copays. It doesn't matter if the medical condition is service connected or not.

Travel pay for all VA appointments. (You became entitled to this when you hit the 30% rating level). Make sure you submit a travel pay form within 30 days after future VA appointments.

Reimbursement for all of your VA appointment copays and VA prescription copays retroactive back to the effective date of your award that put you at a rating level of 50% or higher.

Retroactive travel pay for all VA appointments back to the effective date of your award that put at a rating level of 30% or higher. Based on your info in your posts, this effective award date would be about four (4) months earlier than your copays reimbursement effective date.

Good luck to you and thank you for your service.

Semper Fi.


Georgiapapa

you were spot on, just got my notice today -- retro pay is $32,948.58 -- great calculations. thanks for your input. semper fi -- phil

hi Phil,

Yes your rating will go to 60% COMBINED (56 ACTUAL)...

10 + 10=19 then bilateral factor pushes it to 20.9 =21%. which is added to your current 20% for a combined 37 which pays at 40%. Then when you PTSD is added you go from 37 actual to 56 actual and 60% combined rating pay.

You back pay will be the difference. You will be paid the month following the effective date. As a reminder, they pay us at the end/begining for the previous month.

so backpay for neuropathy should be from March 2011 to now and backpaid the difference from 40% rating pay which would be the combined rating for then minus the 20% you were already receiving.


40 combined pay -20% diabetes pay already receiving=Difference for Neuropathy backpay from 3/2011.

then in the PTSD back pay would be from 8/2011 to present and you would receive the difference of 60% from the 40%=another 20% difference pay out.

another way to look at it would be this:

3,4,5,6,7/2011 you will be paid the difference of 40%-20% for neuropathy....then starting 8/2011-present you would be paid the difference from 60%-20% for PTSD..

sorry tried to help.......



2011 40% single rate (using the 2009-2010 rate table) was 541. the 20% rate was 243. so the difference is 298 x 5 months=1490$ backpay on the neuropathy (estimated)

then 8,9,10,11,12/2011 @ 60% was 974- 243 =731 x 5=$3655 for 2011
1-12/2012 (2011 pay table)@60 1009-251=758 x 12=$9096 for 2012
1-12/2013(2012 pay table)@60 1026-255=$9252 for 2013
1-12/2014(2013 pay table)@40 1041.39-258.83=782.56 x 12=9390.72 for 2014

i probablly used the wrong tables, ugh...you get the idea...so ballpark 33K if I am right........sorry if my info is wrong, like I said I tried

Just checked my bank account as you folks advised, BINGO i received most or my retro check. They forgot that I am married and didn't include that part of the payments, but i'll give them a jingle today and hopefully I should get it quickly.

I want to thank you the Veterans and Families for their help and support. You kept me up when all I wanted to do was fall in a hole and disappear.

God Bless You All!

Howdy Folks!
Sorry for not getting back sooner, I had many VA appointments yesterday and today.

What I know so far is as follows;

I did not yet receive anything in the Mail, but one of my therapists was able to see my rating and info in my demographics file.

My ratings are;

SC PERCENT 90%
RATING DISABILITIES

TINNITUS 10%-SC
INTER-VERTEBRAL DISC SYNDROME 20%-SC
IMPAIRED HEARING 0%-SC
PARALYSIS OF SCIATIC NERVE 40%-SC
PTSD 70% SC
PARALYSIS OF SCIATIC NERVE 40%-SC.

A total of 180%, but I do understand the logic they use for awarding 90% ( at least I think I do )

On ebennies my status has reverted back to 'GATHERING EVIDENCE. I wonder if that mean they are still working on my IU. My VA rep told me to fill out that form when I saw her several months ago ( She is a VA employee and very helpful to me) .

You folks have been great and I appreciate all of your advice and kind words.

I have to say that I am very happy with the treatment I have received from the VA these last few years. It's light years ahead of the treatment I received ( or lack there of ) in the 1970s.

Everyone has been most kind, helpful tome, along with being protective of me. I came to trust my PTSD therapist, which is huge for me and most other VETS who suffer from PTSD. I have been able to share things I kept bottled up for almost 40 years. These things ruined many things in my life and I lost the ability to cope with everyday life.

Howdy Folks!
Sorry for not getting back sooner, I had many VA appointments yesterday and today.

What I know so far is as follows;

I did not yet receive anything in the Mail, but one of my therapists was able to see my rating and info in my demographics file.

My ratings are;

SC PERCENT 90%
RATING DISABILITIES

TINNITUS 10%-SC
INTER-VERTEBRAL DISC SYNDROME 20%-SC
IMPAIRED HEARING 0%-SC
PARALYSIS OF SCIATIC NERVE 40%-SC
PTSD 70% SC
PARALYSIS OF SCIATIC NERVE 40%-SC.

A total of 180%, but I do understand the logic they use for awarding 90% ( at least I think I do )

On ebennies my status has reverted back to 'GATHERING EVIDENCE. I wonder if that mean they are still working on my IU. My VA rep told me to fill out that form when I saw her several months ago ( She is a VA employee and very helpful to me) .

You folks have been great and I appreciate all of your advice and kind words.

I have to say that I am very happy with the treatment I have received from the VA these last few years. It's light years ahead of the treatment I received ( or lack there of ) in the 1970s.

Everyone has been most kind, helpful tome, along with being protective of me. I came to trust my PTSD therapist, which is huge for me and most other VETS who suffer from PTSD. I have been able to share things I kept bottled up for almost 40 years. These things ruined many things in my life and I lost the ability to cope with everyday life.

Yes, it happens often that a claim is denied because they say a Vet is a no show at the C&P exam. Happened to me but just so happens I had the scheduler's phone number. I called her up and she said not only was it not scheduled, but that she had no request from the RO to schedule one. Whoooops!

You need to get into the RO and do a means test and fill out a co-pay waiver. You can also fill out a form to be re-imbursed for your meds as long as it was a VA pharmacy. You will then get complete healthcare and meds without paying anything. No dental though.

The effective date rules, are generally, the later of the date you applied or the facts found (the date the doc said you were disabled). Since we dont know what your doc said in this regard, we can't really tell you the effective date.

However, if you were already disabled when you applied, and the doc documents this, then, you should get an effective date of July 1.

(Its the first day of the month following your application date)

Yes, PR is correct in that many Vets confuse the Cola date with effective date on ebenefits.

11c mortar Gunner,

Good info posted by Hadit member K9MAL regarding TDIU last night. Read VA fast letter 13-13 for the info.

Georgiapapa

If the claim was for an increase, they could use 12/1/2014, but, if not, then they should use the date the claim was filed (6/6/2014) as the award date. If they use 6/6/2014, there is no payment for 6/6 - 6/30, as payment begins accruing on 7/1/2014, with the actual payment for July being paid on 8/1/2014. If the claim was for an increase, you can appeal and probably win the 6/6/2014 date. They often shortchange the claimant on increase awards.

As georgiapapa stated 12/1/2014 was also the beginning of the new COLA award. Also, don't forget any retro travel pay they could owe you.

pr

11c mortar Gunner,

When you receive your BBE from the VA, review the breakdown of your different disability ratings. If you have a single rating of 60% or higher or if you have two or more ratings totalling 70% or higher and at least one of those ratings is 40% or higher and you are unable work or seek substantial gainful employment due to your service connected disabilities; you may be eligible for a TDIU rating of 100%.
If you meet the TDIU criteria, the VA may include documentation in your award package for you to apply for TDIU. If you have any questions regarding TDIU, just ask. My knowledge of TDIU is limited, but we have some great people on Hadit who are extremely knowledgeable regarding TDIU and I am sure they will help you.

11c mortar Gunner,

You should start checking your direct deposit account for your retro. I received my retro before I received official notice from the VA.

Working on the assumption this is your first award, the following info is offered:

Since your rating is 50% or above, you are in the VA Health Care priority group one (1) which entitles you to the following:

Free medical treatment (no copays) for any medical condition regardless of whether it is service connected.
Free prescriptions (no copays).
Travel reimbursement for all VA medical appointments.
Reimbursement of your medical appointment and prescription copays retroactive back to your effective date 06/06/14.
Retroactive travel pay for all VA medical appointments back to your Effectve date 06/06/14.

If you were already rated at 50% or higher prior to this award and already knew about the above entitlements, please disregard the above info. It was offered in the event you were not aware of them.

Again, good luck to you.

Your effective date will be 06/06/14. The December 1, 2014 is the date of the most recent COLA for disability compensation. This date confuses a lot of vets.

Good luck to you and thank you for your service.

Marine0816: You just went from 30% 13-14 to 90% 2014, what made you decide on the need for an attorney or when did you Lawyer up? Appears you NOD'd your 90% Award, right? Did you get an "Inferred IU Claim" along with your 90% Award and have you filed a claim for IU. I was 90% since 2011 and filed my IU claim within 2 days of Award notification. Denied in 09/12, NOD requesting DRO Hearing and Awarded 06/27/14 by DRO.

Any info regarding your VA claims timeline would be appreciated. After action reports, are always helpful. Hopefully other Vets can learn from our mistakes and/or successes. I have to say, every Nam vet including myself, knew absolutely nothing about the VA and the VA Service Connected Claims Program when they 1st got involved with the VA. Thank God for the Internet!

Semper Fi

Gastone

You bet I will be revoking POA. I'm not trusting anyone but myself from here out.

I agree. The important thing is keep it short and not stupid. Don't just contact to check on things or if short time periods, etc.
Don't clog up this very valuable avenue but used correctly, it is a Godsend.
Kate

Big Sarge,

Good advice by Navy. You probably were low balled. You should google 38 USC part 4.130 which is the Schedule of Ratings used by the VA for Mental Disorders including PTSD and Anxiety. Also Google VA form 21-0960p-2 which is the Mental Disorder DBQ (including anxiety) and VA form 21-0960p-3 which is the PTSD DBQ. All of these are good sources for you to determine if you were low balled and the info you find will be good ammo to appeal the low rating and justify an increase. Read them carefully and compare the symptoms noted with your PTSD and Anxiety symptoms. Don't hesitate to seek the rating you have earned and deserve as a result of your military service. JMO

Again, good luck to you