Rocket1949

I understand that the PACT ACT grants a Viet Nam era veteran with a diagnosis of high blood pressure a presumptive rating. If a Veteran has already been diagnosed and is on medication for high blood pressure then the rating is to be based on the veterans blood pressure readings at the time of diagnosis obtained thru your medical records. My question is if you are unable to locate those records and have been on blood pressure medication for an extended time what are my options ? Has anyone had experience with this issue and can someone shed light on VA policy? Thank you

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Buck, what’s your status now? Are you scheduled for an exam? Have they given you any idea of a time frame to determine your status?

Buck were you not 100% P & T ?

Hi all, thanks for the great informative responses. Went to my local VAMC and asked them what should I do . They told me to contact the billing departments of the medical facilities that treated me and request medical records/medical bills.. They said I have 90 days from discharge to get this done. I was in two different hospitals and when I brought up VA medical care it seemed to be a complicated path to get treated so I opted to not claim the VA as part of my coverage. In one case it was to see if the VA would pay for me to have a home nurse administer an IV antibiotic that I needed the next day. They said it could take days to get approved. That wasn’t going to work. The other time I considered using VA medical was when they first admitted me to the emergency room I told them I I had VA coverage. They said if I used VA that that would mean I would have to be transferred eventually to a VA Hospital. So for those two incidents I opted for my Medicare and private secondary insurance with which I have a $1000 deductible for the the year. I feel very blessed to have what I have for medical care. But if I can keep these cost down as they seem to be always going up I’m all for pursuing any coverage opportunities that may be available. Looks like a lot of red tape and confusion is in the future but hopefully will get this resolved. Thaks so much to my Hadit brothers and sisters for sharing their knowledge. It is most appreciated.

Hi all, Im 100% P & T. What benefit if any do I get when I incur outside VA medical bills. Does the VA pick up any of the cost. I have outside Insurance and Medicare. I also have a $1000 deductible. I’ve heard the VA will pick up emergency room visits cost . Anyone have experience with this. Thanks

Thanks Bronco, I figured as much but wanted to hear it from the voice of experience. Can you explain the 5 year rule? Is there an age at which the VA exempts you from further exams? I understand that even thou you have no further exams scheduled that there is still the possibility of further C&P exams.

What does the VA give you to show that you are permanent and total.The BBE didn't have anything directly stating that. My Commissary letter on Ebenefits states "This total disability is considered permanent. You are not scheduled for future examinations." Does that statement mean P&T ? Is there any other documents that would reflect P&T. Seems like there would be more documentation to indicate TDIU P&T. Thanks EDIT. Looking at my summary of benefits letter it states " You are considered to be totally and permanently disabled due solely to your service-connected disabilities" Sounds like P&T but is it?

Congrats !!!!!!

Success because of Hadit and its members. I would like to say Thank You to all that post their stories and to those that share their knowledge on Hadit. I received notice of my award benefit for TDIU P&T at the end of June 2017. Received deposit into our account last night. E Benefits confirms TDIU P&T. Still waiting for the BBE. I started this journey in Jan, 2015. By May, 2015 I had received notice of award at 70%. Shortly after I received notice of award on a pending issue and award went up to 80%. May 2016 filed NOD. May 2017 received award to 90% and also my SOC. Requested a RO hearing and submitted more evidence . End of June heard thru the grapevine that award was imminent and it would be P&T. Looking back its been unbelievable to have received this gift from the citizens of this great country . THANK YOU HADIT and all whom take their valuable time to help others.

K Solo, I believe when you file for TDIU that automatically triggers a reevaluation on what ever disabilities your claiming.

Thanks broncovet I'm working on my Form 21-8940 first. I'm going to submit my Form 9 next . Way before the 60 day time period. Thank God I have a great smart wife. Without her and Hadit I be like the Titanic.

Gastone I couldn't get the Atigg SOC video to work. Do you have another link?

I took off my SOC for know. I thought I had redacted names and numbers. Oops! I need my 7 year old grandson to help me out with this computer fun. I put a redacted abbreviated version of my SOC back up. Redacted SOC 5 pages.pdf

Im not clear on how to send in my VA Form 21-8940 and my appeal to the Board of Veterans Appeals. I have so much information I don't want to fax. I want to post it on E Benefits and then take and submit the same at the Los Angeles regional office. The SOC brings up the point to send per the instructions in the SOC. I can't find anything that address's that issue. If its posted on E Benefits wouldn't that be the gold standard? Thanks

I have three issues that were brought up in my SOS. TDIU,High Blood Pressure related to PTSD and Tremors related to PTSD. The TDIU I'm going to appeal. Im thinking of not appealing the blood pressure and tremors at this time. Perhaps at a later date when I can accumulate more evidence. As stated previously I received a bump in PTSD to 70%. My thinking is this is new evidence for my TDIU claim. I think thats what I need to focus on. Appealing the TDIU and submitting VA form 21-8940. I need to take some things off my plate. ITS TO FULL!!!! Your thoughts Thanks

Something I need to make note of is as part of my original NOD I had asked for an increase in my PTSD rating which I received. Went from 50% to 70%. Im going to file the NOD regarding my SOC. Im going to also turn in VA Form 21-8940. Working on that now, The SOC states that I didn't submit new evidence . Seems like everything I submitted for my PTSD increase was new evidence . Thanks

OK here it is .My Statement of Case.Thanks to all whom dare walk down this path. Its a lot of info. More than I can handle. Thanks ALL!!!!!!! Redacted SOC 5 pages.pdf

Thanks for the inspiration and advise Gastone and broncovet. Gastone I have been doing this on my own. I have been going to the regional VA office, asking various VSO's ,and doing online research. My wife is also helping a lot. I am having issues with memory and stress when dealing with all this. So much to know and remember. Im going to try and post my entire SOC and see if anyone can decipher it for me. Thanks so much for the kick in the butt, I needed it.

Berta one of my main concerns is that my VR records haven't been seen by the rater. Berta what is an IRIS ? Sorry but what is HBP denial? Gastone I have 60 days from the date of the letter to submit my form 21-8940 and any other evidence that's useful. I'm working on that now. The VR records is a big concern for me. I had an e mail address that I used to communicate with the contractor that initially rated me. It's no longer active. I've made repeated requests for my VR records but the answers they give me don't add up. I think they are ignoring me intentionally. Berta I do have a hand written note from the contractor that did the initial evaluation. The note was an assignment to explore issues that would be helpful in the ILP program. This is what she gave me after discussing with me her evaluation that I would not be able to do any training or education opportunities thru VR . But I would be recommend for the ILP program. im rambling here, overthinking it maybe. I'm fishing for any information that could be useful. I overlooked the Form 21-8190 , I don't want to overlook anything else. Thanks everyone for being part of this discussion.

Gastone heres a PDF file of the denial. TDIU PDF denial.pdf

Hi All, I just recently received a rating increase for PTSD from 50% to 70%. This was part of a NOD that I had filed in May of 2016. I also received a Statement of Case regarding that same NOD. In the SOC they denied my claim for TDIU. I have enclosed the letter that gives the reasoning behind their decision. From what I can gather the letter denies TDIU and goes on to explain their reasoning . No new evidence ,and failure to send in VA Form 21-8940 . I also need to mention that I had gone thru a Vocational Rehab evaluation earlier this year. That evaluation determined that I wouldn't be offered any schooling or training due to my service connected disabilities and that I would be put in the ILP program. I have tried to get my VR records thru a FOIA request made earlier this year. That has proven to be unsuccessful and I almost feel as if Im being stonewalled. Im assuming that my VR records would be viewed by my rater when making a decision on TDIU. I wanted my VR records to verify what I had been told by my VR evaluator .My VR evaluator was an Independent Contractor hired by the VA to do an assessment on what services VR would offer me. As stated previously the the contractor deemed that I wasn't eligible for any training or educational services. They also stated that this was because of my service connected disabilities . They did recommend me for the ILP program and that program determined that there were no services that they could offer at this time. Im in the process of filling out the VA Form 21-8940 and would like to hear any suggestions in how to properly proceed . One question that comes to mind is the way the letter is written. It states a denial for TDIU in the beginning and latter mentions the form 21-8940 as being the reasons for denial. Seems like TDIU was denied outright and later the mention of the 21-8940 was a formality . Your thoughts please. CC Berta,Gastone,Buck52 Thank You Scanned Image.tif

K Solo ,Berta apologizes are in order . I went outside normal protocol and hijacked K Solos thread. I apologize for that. I got wrapped up in the moment and identified with K Solos post being similar to my situation. I will open my own thread and direct my questions to that thread.

Gastone,I say believe because they wouldn't give me a letter stating that services were denied due to service connected issues. When I met with my Vocational Councilor contractor she indicated that VR services would be denied and that I would be put in the ILP program. She also indicated that the denial for VR training was because of my service connected issues. I put in a FOIA request for my VR records and have got a different story each time. It's almost like they are stonewalling me. I wanted to get a copy of my VR records to submit for my NOD pertaining to TDIU. I've been told that the rather is supposed to look at any VR activity so in theory that should have seen the records. I just received my statement of case regarding my NOD which included a denial for TDIU. I also received a separate letter telling me of my increase to 70% from 50% for PTSD. I will work on getting the IU denial letter posted. Thanks

Berta what was your husbands PTSD rating when he was awarded 100% P&T for SC PTSD. I was recently denied TDIU but was awarded an increase in my PTSD rating to 70% . Part of the Statement of Case with regards to my NOD stated that I had not filled out VA form 21-8940 so TDIU was denied. Im in the process of filling that form now. I also had been recently denied Vocational Rehab Training and was put into the ILP program I believe VR was denied due to my service connected disabilities . The ILP program deemed that there wasn't any services that could be offered me at this time. Im appealing the Statement of Case and submitting VA form 21-8940. Can you offer me any advice? Thank you.