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allan
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Posts posted by allan
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Modesto woman among VA workers accused of bribes
3 named in indictment over scheme
http://www.modbee.com/2011/05/17/1693100/va-workers-accused-of-bribes.html
SOURCE: http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/05/18/top-10-veterans-stories-in-today%e2%80%99s-news-187/
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Troops in Mideast Face Breathing Ills.
Burn Pits a Possible Factor as Data Show Higher Rate of Respiratory Woes Among Veterans of Afghanistan, Iraq
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704681904576321252232711310.html.html
SOURCE: http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/05/18/top-10-veterans-stories-in-today%e2%80%99s-news-187/
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Subject: [VeteranIssues] veterans can get no-cost Medical Alert ID bracelets through the VADate: May 19, 2011 3:33 AM
· From: Jim Strickland
News to use. Did you know that veterans can get no-cost Medical Alert ID bracelets through the VA? Neither did I. Neither did anyone at my clinic. You can read the VHA directive at my place if you come visit. Do you know a vet with diabetes, allergies, seizures, etc.? Please pass this on.
http://www.vawatchdogtoday.org/VAWatchdogToday.html
Department of Veterans Affairs
VHA DIRECTIVE 2009-007
Veterans Health AdministrationWashington, DC 20420 February 24, 2009
PROVISION OF MEDICAL IDENTIFICATION (ID) BRACELETS AND PENDANTS1. PURPOSE:
This Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Directive provides policy regarding the provision of medical identification (ID) bracelets or pendants containing pertinent medical information (allergies or diagnoses) that would be valuable to emergency health care providers.
2. BACKGROUND:
Symptoms of common ailments can be misdiagnosed by responders to an emergent situation involving a person who is unable to communicate. Prompt and accurate diagnosis is essential to effective treatment. The use of an ID bracelet or pendant is a standard way to provide this information to health care providers in a situation where the individual cannot communicate.
3. POLICY:
It is VHA policy that ID bracelets and pendants must be available, upon appropriate request by Department of Veterans Affairs clinicians through Prosthetics Service, for veteran patients whose pertinent medical information would be valuable to emergency medical care providers.
4. ACTION
a.
Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) Director.
The VISN Director is responsible for ensuring that all facilities within the VISN are issuing ID bracelets or pendants, as appropriate.
b.
Facility Director.
The Facility Director is responsible for ensuring that local systems arei n place to provide enrolled and otherwise eligible Veterans with appropriate ID bracelets orpendants in accordance with this Directive.
c.
Facility Chief of Staff.
The Facility Chief of Staff is responsible for ensuring that electronic consults to Prosthetics Service are in place for use by clinicians to request ID bracelets or pendants when such devices are indicated, and that clinicians are educated about their availability and appropriate use. The consult must:(1) Specify the information to be engraved on the device. This can include, but is not limited to: food and drug allergies, diabetes, seizure disorder, and metal fragments in the body.(2) Specify if an ID bracelet or pendant is required.
d.
Chief, Prosthetics and Sensory Aids Service.
The Chief, Prosthetics and Sensory Aids Service, is responsible for ensuring that:
THIS VHA DIRECTIVE EXPIRES FEBRUARY 28, 2014
"Keep on, Keepin' on"
Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"
See my web site at:
http://www.angelfire.com/il2/VeteranIssues/
http://www.facebook.com/dan.cedusky
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Military veteran opens up about 1970s sex assault
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2011/05/15/20110515military-sex-abuse.html
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The Invisible Veteran Part 1: Fighting the Claims Battle
http://www.wset.com/story/14636790/the-invisible-veteran-part-1-fighting-the-claims-battle
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<H1 style=MARGIN: auto 0in">Seniors shouldn't pay to collect benefits<BR style="mso-special-character: line-break">http://www.citizen-times.com/article/D2/20100928/OPINION03/9280350/Seniors-shouldn-t-pay-collect-benefits?odyssey=nav%7Chead
Source: http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/05/13/top-10-veterans-stories-in-todays-news-185/
</H1>
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Subject: [VeteranIssues] FW: FLASH UPDATE AO IN KOREA, MORE INFO ON FT DETRICKDate: May 14, 2011 3:46 PM
From: Jim Doyle [mailto:agentorangezone@gmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, May 14, 2011 2:51 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: FLASH UPDATE
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Military Secret Exposed - Valley Veteran Says He Was Just Following Orders
http://www.kpho.com/news/27892124/detail.html
POSTED: 7:46 pm MST May 13, 2011
UPDATED: 10:21 pm MST May 13, 2011
READ MORE: http://www.kpho.com/news/27892124/detail.html
Copyright 2011 by KPHO.com. All rights reserved
Vietnam veterans exposed to 'extremely toxic' herbicide may be at risk
Copyright © 2011 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/cancer/articles/2011/05/14/agent-orange-linked-to-kidney-cancer-study
<A href="http://agentorangezone.blogspot.com/2011/05/soil-samples-show-high-levels-of.html" target=_blank>Soil Samples Show High Levels of Arsenic in Fort Detrick Area
FREDERICK, Md. - Even families in Frederick not touched by cancer say they are suspicious of the government and what goes on at Fort Detrick.
Others who live near the fort and have suffered from cancer or watched loved ones die painful deaths express pure anger. And now there's another suspect coming to light: arsenic.
Arsenic was used in the production of herbicides, including the Vietnam-era defoliant Agent Orange, which the government admits were tested and buried at a 400-acre section of Fort Detrick known as Area B.
"All along this road, you find every single house has been touched by cancer," says Rachel Kelley-Pisani of the Kristen Renee Foundation.
Kelly-Pisani is on a crusade to get the federal government to acknowledge a cancer-cluster around Fort Detrick - and to clean it up.
She and her organization hired an environmental firm to collect soil samples around Area B. The results, Kelly-Pisani says show dangerously high levels of arsenic.
"Arsenic has been proven to cause liver cancer, kidney cancer, skin cancer among others," Kelly-Pisani says. "And what we have found along this road and two other roads that are surrounding Area B are those exact types of cancers."
The arsenic findings have not been formally presented to Fort Detrick officials, the Frederick County Health Department or Maryland's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Online:
"Keep on, Keepin' on"
Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"
See my web site at:
http://www.angelfire.com/il2/VeteranIssues/
http://www.facebook.com/dan.cedusky
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Subject: [VeteranIssues] federal appeals court called for drastic improvements in VA Mental Health CareDate: May 11, 2011 12:24 PM
Also see:
http://www.latimes.com/health/la-me-0511-veterans-ptsd-20110511,0,1731423.story
9th Circuit says treatment delays for PTSD and other disorders are so 'egregious' that they violate veterans' rights.
Judges say they waited 'long enough' for the VA to act and were compelled to intervene.
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2011/May/11/va-health-decision.aspx
May 11, 2011
A federal appeals court called for drastic improvements in the system and charged Congress and the president with failing to take appropriate action to such a degree that veterans' civil rights have been violated.
Los Angeles Times: Court Orders Major Overhaul Of VA's Mental Health System
A federal appeals court Tuesday lambasted the Department of Veterans Affairs for failing to care for those suffering post-traumatic stress disorder and ordered a major overhaul of the behemoth agency. Treatment delays for PTSD and other combat-related mental illnesses are so "egregious" that they violate veterans' constitutional rights and contribute to the despair behind many of the 6,500 suicides among veterans each year, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said in its 2-1 ruling (Williams, 5/11).
Reuters: Court Says Congress And President Failed To Help Veterans
Accusing Congress and the president of neglecting to take appropriate action to save veterans' lives, a federal appeals court called for drastic improvements to the Department of Veterans' Affairs mental health care system. The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, in a 104-page decision issued on Tuesday, cited the failure of the political branches to address what it called the VA's "egregious problems" and "unchecked incompetence" in delivering mental health services to veterans. That failure, the three-judge panel held, violated the veterans' due process rights under the U.S. Constitution (Baynes, 5/10).
KQED: Appeals Court Rules That Delays in Medical Care Violates Veterans Rights
On average it takes more than four years for a veteran's claims to go through. The court noted that these delays cause "unnecessary grief and privation" for veterans and their families. "The VA's unchecked incompetence has gone on long enough; no more veterans should be compelled to agonize or perish while the government fails to perform its obligations," wrote Circuit Judge Reinhardt in the opinion (Pickoff-White, 5/10).
Des Moines Register: Local VA Mental Health Care Given An 'F' By Advocate For Veterans
An activist who works with injured veterans said the Des Moines Veterans Affairs Medical Center is plagued by the same kind of poor mental health care that an appeals court cited nationally on Tuesday. "I would say that they would rank an 'F' if they had a report card," said P.J. Sesker-Green of Grimes, who volunteers with a veterans-assistance group called Operation First Response (Leys, 5/11).
"Keep on, Keepin' on"
Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"
See my web site at:
http://www.angelfire.com/il2/VeteranIssues/
http://www.facebook.com/dan.cedusky
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Subject: [VeteranIssues] Navy researcher links toxins in war-zone dust to ailmentsDate: May 12, 2011 10:28 AMAttachments: image001.jpg image002.png
http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2011-05-11-Iraq-Afghanistan-dust-soldiers-illnesses_n.htm
Partial reprint..go to web site, video, and other links there
By Kelly Kennedy, USA TODAY
U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait
have inhaled microscopic dust particles
laden with toxic metals, bacteria and fungi
— a toxic stew that may explain everything
from the undiagnosed Gulf War Syndrome
symptoms lingering from the 1991 war
against Iraq to high rates of respiratory,
neurological and heart ailments
encountered in the current wars, scientists
say.
- By
David Furst, AFP/Getty ImagesMarines in
Afghanistan are engulfed in dust researchers
say could contain harmful particles.Enlarge
By David Furst, AFP/Getty Images
Marines in Afghanistan are engulfed in dust
researchers say could contain harmful particles.
"From my research and that of others, I
really think this may be the smoking gun,"
says Navy Capt. Mark Lyles, chair of medical
sciences and biotechnology at the Center for
Naval Warfare Studies at the Naval War
College in Newport, R.I. "It fits everything —
symptoms, timing, everything."
Lyles and other researchers found that dust
particles — up to 1,000 of which can sit on
the head of a pin — gathered in Iraq and
Kuwait contain 37 metals, including a
luminum, lead, manganese, strontium and
tin. The metals have been linked to
neurological disorders, cancer, respiratory
ailments, depression and heart disease,
according to the Environmental Protection
Agency. Researchers believe the metals
occur both naturally and as a byproduct of
pollution.
Researchers in and out of the military say
the particles are smaller and easier to inhale
than most dust particles, and that recent
droughts in the region have killed desert
shrubs that helped keep down that dust. The
military's heavy vehicles have pounded the
desert's protective crust into a layer of fine
silt, Lyles says. Servicemembers breathe the
"Keep on, Keepin' on"
Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"
See my web site at:
http://www.angelfire.com/il2/VeteranIssues/
http://www.facebook.com/dan.cedusky
- By
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What is top sheeting?
I've been informed that my shoulder claim that was awarded in 2009 by the BVA will be delayed 3 yrs due to the NOD I sent in on March 2010.
Never heard of "TOP SHEETING" before. But SO says that it looks like thats how the rater has been deciding my claim.
The first VARO rating was Feb 2010. They rated 10% for arthritis, but omited rating for loss of range of motion and chronic pain.
Now the NSO is saying the VARO rater has interpreted my NOD to be for the 10% arthritis. Nothing in my NOD mentioned the 10% for arthritis they already rated.
When I sent in the NOD, I was specific in using diagnostic codes and CFR's to make shure there was no error on what I was filing the NOD for.
What happened to reading all the evidence of record, processing a claim in a timely manner and addressing all claimed issues?
Thanks for any replies. Others may be going through this as well.
Allan
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Subject: [VeteranIssues] FW: DEADLINE!!!Date: Apr 29, 2011 10:25 AM
From: Jim Doyle [mailto:agentorangezone@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, April 29, 2011 9:54 AM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: DEADLINE!!!
Friday, April 29, 2011
<A href=http://agentorangezone.blogspot.com/2011/04/deadline.html" target=_blank>DEADLINE!
Time is running out!
Vote for the Children's Centers To Study Prenatal Effects of Dioxins
Children's Centers To Study Prenatal Effects of Dioxins
http://strategicplan.niehs.nih.gov/a/ideafactory.do?mode=top&pageOffset=4
"Keep on, Keepin' on"
Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"
See my web site at:
http://www.angelfire.com/il2/VeteranIssues/
http://www.facebook.com/dan.cedusky
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Hope Denise puts a stop to these bottom feeders.
A few have been on my back for yrs trying to shut me up and keep the information from reaching Veterans.
Allan
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Subject: [VeteranIssues] FW: Veterans advocate not satisfied with offer to drop copyright lawsuitDate: Apr 29, 2011 12:21 PM
Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 08:18:48 -0700
From: dsnurse1@yahoo.com
To: DSNurse1@yahoo.com
http://www.vegasinc....r-drop-copyrig/
Righthaven LLC/Denver Post lawsuit defendant Denise Nichols remains unhappy despite efforts by Righthaven to dismiss its lawsuit against her.
Nichols, a retired Air Force nurse, served in the Vietnam era and in combat in the first Gulf War.
As an advocate for veterans who works to provide them information, she ran into trouble with Righthaven for allegedly posting a Denver Post column of interest to veterans to the website veteranstoday.com.
Given recent Righthaven-created case law, Nichols could be asserting a fair use defense.
But that may not be necessary as Righthaven upon learning Nichols is a veteran who is dealing with her own health problems is willing to dismiss its lawsuit against her.
People close to Nichols, though, told the Las Vegas Sun and its sister publication VEGAS INC this week that Nichols is adamantly opposed to the proposed language in Righthaven's dismissal motion.
"In dismissing this action, Righthaven acknowledges that it has, and will continue to, consider such factors in deciding whether to voluntarily dismiss an action as the physical and mental condition of a defendant, his or her prior military service, and the viability of enforcing any resulting judgment. While such circumstances may not excuse a party from copyright infringement liability, Righthaven seeks to reasonably and appropriately address the facts presented in any action on an individual and equitable basis," says the language in the proposed dismissal motion.
Nichols declined comment, but people close to her said she's opposed to any language in the dismissal order that would make it appear Righthaven is being nice to veterans and people with disabilities.
It's her position that Righthaven, with its no-warning lawsuits and associated mental anguish and financial worries, has worsened her health problems she participated during a court hearing in her case last week by phone while receiving medical care at the Washington DC VA Medical Center.
Nichols also feels Righthaven has unfairly tormented her and fellow defendant Wayne Hoehn, a decorated veteran from Kentucky, as well as mildly autistic blogger and former defendant Brian Hill from North Carolina.
She especially feels veterans who put their lives on the line for their country deserve better treatment than they're receiving from Righthaven, these people said.
Righthaven, in suing Nichols and fellow veterans advocate Michael Leon, could easily have deduced they were veterans advocates.
But Righthaven, with its policy of suing first and asking questions later, couldn't have known Nichols has health problems or that Hill has disabilities.
Shawn Mangano, an attorney for Righthaven, said the language in the proposed dismissal order in the Nichols case is negotiable and he's happy to talk with her and her attorneys to come up with language acceptable to Nichols.
"I understand she's upset. I want to be reasonable with her," Mangano said.
But he added that Righthaven can't give veterans a blanket exemption from copyright enforcement actions.
Another Righthaven defendant indicating he has disabilities and limited ability to pay any judgment is Todd Taliaferro of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who was sued over a Las Vegas Review-Journal column.
"Defendant is presently unemployed and on food stamps due to the debilitating effects of a traffic accident some 15 years ago which left him with foot injuries which make it extremely difficult to walk," Taliaferro wrote in his dismissal motion.
Taliaferro said the column at issue, involving the biker bandit robbing the Bellagio, was posted on a noncommercial website for Harley-Davidson motorcycle enthusiasts.
"In fact, plaintiff placed the alleged article on a website which plaintiff itself made available in Florida, and elsewhere, without charge, and which plaintiff invited individuals to copy and utilize for personal non-commercial purposes," his response said.
Mangano, in opposing the motion to dismiss, wrote in a court filing Righthaven was unaware of the defendant's medical condition or financial hardships but would consider them in confidential settlement negotiations.
In arguing against dismissal, Mangano noted the defendant is "alleged to have posted a wholesale, unauthorized replication of the work (column)" from the Review-Journal without authorization.
A new court document is shedding some light on the lawsuit contract between Righthaven and the Denver Post.
Sara Glines, vice president of field operations for Post owner MediaNews Group, said in a court declaration this week that MediaNews and/or the Post have a licensing arrangement with Righthaven.
This arrangement appears to be similar to Righthaven's lawsuit contract with Stephens Media LLC, owner of the Review-Journal.
In the Stephens Media contract, Righthaven obtains copyrights to Review-Journal material for lawsuit purposes, and then grants Stephens Media a license to use the material initially generated by Stephens Media's journalists.
Defense attorneys in Righthaven's lawsuits over Review-Journal material call this a "sham" copyright transfer that invalidates the lawsuits, and a federal judge in Las Vegas on Thursday said it appears that under this contract Righthaven lacks standing to sue.
Righthaven, however, insists it has standing and is gearing up to defend that position in court.
In Righthaven's lawsuits over a Nov. 18 Denver Post TSA pat-down photo, Glines said in her declaration that on Dec. 2, "all rights, title and interest, including the right to any and all past, present and future rights to pursue claims of infringement, in and to the work (photo) were assigned to the plaintiff (Righthaven)."
But bloggers and websites infringing on the photo continue to harm the Denver Post and MediaNews Group, she said.
"The Denver Post has been harmed by the unauthorized posting of the work by the defendants in this action and in other actions because such conduct impairs certain license rights granted to it and/or to MediaNews Group by the plaintiff (Righthaven)," her declaration said.
The revelation of a licensing agreement between Righthaven and the Denver Post is likely to fuel interest by defense attorneys in whether Righthaven's right to sue over Denver Post material is vulnerable to challenges the way it's being challenged in the Review-Journal cases.
Some of Righthaven's Denver Post lawsuit defendants, including Dana Eiser in South Carolina, have already challenged Righthaven's standing to sue over Denver Post material though in Eiser's case the copyright involved a column rather than a photo.
And David Rozzell of Katy, Texas, one of Righthaven's Colorado lawsuit defendants over the Post TSA pat-down photo, has moved that Righthaven produce its lawsuit contract with the Post.
Rozzell asked in answering Righthaven's lawsuit that "any document related to the relationship between the plaintiff and MediaNews Group, the original alleged publisher of the work in this case, be produced so as to establish whether the plaintiff has sufficient legal grounds to bring this lawsuit."
Glines' declaration was filed in the Righthaven lawsuit over the photo against William Sumner, who has a website called dailykix.com.
"None of the defendants named in this lawsuit, or anyone on their behalf, has ever sought permission from the Denver Post to reproduce, display, publish or otherwise use the work. The Denver Post has likewise not authorized the work to be reproduced, displayed or otherwise disseminated by the Internet website deadseriousnews.com or any other like website," Glines said.
The deadseriousnews.com website appears to be the source of several infringements of the photo that resulted in Righthaven lawsuits.
It's unclear if deadseriousnews.com which has not been sued by Righthaven obtained the photo from the Denver Post or elsewhere, as The Associated Press had distributed the photo to news outlets after obtaining it from the Denver Post.
Righthaven attorneys, in the meantime, disputed assertions by Sumner in a motion to dismiss that Righthaven is suing him over a "thumbnail image" that was never actually hosted on or copied to the dailykix.com server.
Sumner said his website merely displays titles, brief excerpts, and vote counts for popular stories at other social media news sites. The site only has links to content residing elsewhere, Sumner's filing said.
Righthaven, however, said in court papers that Sumner is responsible for the content on his website.
"Defendant's assertions, completely ignore that as the owner and operator he undoubtedly had editorial control over the content appearing on the website. Simply put, content does not automatically appear on one's website without some intentional act or editorial oversight by its owner, operator, administrative contact and technical contact person, which in this case is the same person the defendant," a Righthaven filing this week said.
"Defendant essentially claims that he is not liable for an unauthorized replication of the work appearing on the website that he owns, controls and has technical and administrative control over. This liability, apparently based on the defendant's interpretation of the circumstances, is more appropriately directed to another source, such as mix.com, digg.com and/or deadseriousnews.com. In short, someone is liable for the unauthorized posting of the work on his Website just not him," Righthaven's filing said.
More Righthaven defendants are trying to capitalize on two recent legal setbacks by Righthaven.
Attorneys for the Virginia Citizens Defense League on Wednesday filed court papers saying Righthaven's fair use loss in the Center for Intercultural Organizing (CIO) of Portland, Ore., case shows their case should be dismissed, too.
"The order dismissing the CIO case is relevant to the case at bar because, in determining that the alleged infringement instead constituted fair use by the defendant, Judge James Mahan relied on the facts that: 1) the article in question was originally a news article, was used by the defendant for educational purposes, and is now being used by Righthaven simply for litigation purposes; 2) the defendant 'is a non-profit corporation with an educational mission,' declarations evidenced the corporation's educational mission, and the use of the work was non-commercial; 3) the article was not primarily creative in nature, but was merely informational, which weighs in favor of a finding of fair use; 4) although the work was posted in its entirety, that was reasonable in light of the use, which was to educate others on issues of concern to the defendant; 5) an entire book was not reproduced, the work was not used to garner membership in order to compete with the plaintiff, and the defendant attributed the work to the original copyright owner; and 6) there is no showing of market harm to Righthaven, because it has failed to allege that a market exists for its copyrights, Righthaven cannot claim the original newspaper publisher's market as its own, and it has failed to show any harm to the value of the copyright," their filing said.
The Virginia group previously moved for dismissal of the case involving a Review-Journal story on other grounds, such as "implied license" to share and that it's a passive noncommercial site with no contacts with Nevada.
An attorney for Righthaven foe the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which participated in the CIO case, noted in a website post this week that Mahan's decision shows courts disfavor the copyright-troll business model.
As to the unsealing of the Righthaven lawsuit contract with Stephens Media, Righthaven defendant Dean Mostofi says in a renewed motion to dismiss that the contract shows Righthaven doesn't have standing to sue him over a Review-Journal story arguments disputed by Righthaven.
"Righthaven is neither the owner nor exclusive holder of any rights in the copyrighted work underlying this lawsuit," Mostofi's motion says.
"Not only has Righthaven not suffered any harm as a result of the alleged infringement, but it actually benefits from infringing activity. Without a share of the settlement proceeds it exacts from defendants in copyright infringement lawsuits, Righthaven, by the express terms of its strategic alliance agreement with Stephens Media, could not generate any other income from the works it claims to own," Mostofi wrote.
And for good measure, Mostofi noted in his latest dismissal motions the Righthaven fair use loss in the CIO case.
#
"Keep on, Keepin' on"
Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"
See my web site at:
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Have you checked to see if you qualify for VA Pension program?
Also, you can collect VA service connection and SSDI at the same time with no offset.
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Vietnam veterans at war with historians
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/04/27/vietnam-veterans-at-war-with-historians/
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Veterans being urged to tap health care benefit
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Treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/04/27/treatment-of-traumatic-brain-injury/
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FW: New TRICARE Program Offers Coverage for Young Adults Under 26Date: Apr 28, 2011 12:04 AM
FALLS CHURCH, Va. – TRICARE Young Adult (TYA) is now open for enrollment with coverage beginning May 1, 2011.
Uniformed services dependents under 26, unmarried, and not eligible for their own employer-sponsored health care coverage may be qualified to purchase TYA, which offers TRICARE Standard coverage for monthly premiums of $186.
A premium-based TRICARE Prime benefit will be available later this year.
Dependent eligibility for TRICARE previously ended at age 21, or age 23 for full-time college students. Similar to provisions in the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, TYA extends the opportunity for young adults to continue TRICARE health care coverage, as long as their sponsor is still eligible for TRICARE.
Complete information and application forms are available at www.tricare.mil/tya. TRICARE officials encourage beneficiaries to explore all possible health care plan options and costs when choosing a plan that best meets their needs.
Those considering TYA should determine if they are eligible before completing and sending in an application. The application and payment of three months of premiums can be dropped off at a TRICARE Service Center or sent by mail or faxed directly to the appropriate regional health care contractor.
Beneficiaries can find out where to send their form and payment by filling out the simple profile at www.tricare.mil to get information tailored to their specific location. Once the initial payment is made, monthly premiums must be paid in advance through automated electronic payment.
When the application is processed, TRICARE coverage will begin the first day of the following month. However, since TYA was “fast-tracked” to begin enrollment as soon as systems changes, forms, premiums and other rules governing the program were approved and in place, TRICARE Management Activity will allow eligible applicants to be covered for the full month of May as long as enrollment forms and payment are received (not postmarked) by the regional contractor prior to May 31, 2011.
Those eligible for TYA who have been saving receipts since Jan. 1, 2011, in anticipation of the new program, can also pay all premiums back to January to purchase coverage retroactively.
After getting a welcome letter and enrollment card, dependents and their sponsor are encouraged to visit uniformed services identification (ID) card issuing facility to obtain a dependent ID card. The card will assist in identifying the dependent as eligible for health care, prescriptions and access to military installations. Nearby ID card facilities can be found through a link at www.tricare.mil/tya.
The signing of the National Defense Authorization Act in January 2011, brought TRICARE in line with the provisions of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and enabled the extension of excellent TRICARE coverage to this new group. The TRICARE Management Activity appreciates all government partners who helped make this benefit available so quickly.
From: TRICARE Communications [
Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 3:25 PM
To: colonel-dan@sbcglobal.net
Subject: New TRICARE Program Offers Coverage for Young Adults Under 26
.
New TRICARE Program Offers Coverage for Young Adults Under 26
April 27, 2011
TRICARE Young Adult (TYA) is now open for enrollment with coverage beginning May 1, 2011.
To read this news release, please visit: http://www.tricare.mil/mediacenter/news.aspx?fid=706
"Keep on, Keepin' on"
Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"
See my web site at:
http://www.angelfire.com/il2/VeteranIssues/
http://www.facebook.com/dan.cedusky
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FW: BIRTH DEFECTS STUDY FOR NAM VETERANSDate: Apr 28, 2011 4:16 AM
From: sp5kelley2nd94th@aol.com [mailto:sp5kelley2nd94th@aol.com]
Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2011 5:04 PM
To: sp5kelley2nd94th@aol.com
Subject: BIRTH DEFECTS STUDY FOR NAM VETERANS
BIRTH DEFECTS STUDY FOR NAM VETERANS
There are a few of us that have spent years trying to get our presumptive disorders associated as well as exhausted our own dollars in that task. Not for any one of us but for all of us in issues that our own government…
...has not been as truthful or as candid as they should be in any honest government
...unrealistic scientific requirements for associations that do not belong in health care and compensation decisions
...tried to fight good science creating bad science
...the influence peddling of the chemical companies
...fight what I call assassin scientists
...even trying to get our VSO’s to do more than just try and make friends in congress
WE HAVE NO FRIENDS IN CONGRESS, PRESIDENTS, AND NONE IN THE OLD GUARD AT VETERANS AFFAIRS!
THIS IS ALL ABOUT MONEY - NOT THE SUFFERING OF BOTH VETERAN AS WELL AS DAMAGED OFFSPRING because of “government mistakes“.
And so forth - all of you know the battles we have fought. While not winning the war we did win a few battles for all of us.
I recall at our first 2/94th Battalion Reunion and asked for those with children with birth defects please stand up. One of our former Battalion Commanders looked up at me with his eyes welling up and said and I quote: “I had no idea it was this bad.”
We have a chance to get a birth defects study provided that you act by a single effort of going to a website.
Now Betty at the Birth Defects Registry (http://www.birthdefects.org/) has been “march order” on this task for as long as I can remember and now we have a chance to get it done.
From what I can tell this will be out of National Institute of Health and one of about only five scientist I personally have come to trust in this issue, for whatever that is worth to you, to state the facts will be associated; not what some one wants them to state or in many cases not state or mis-characterize; or try to prove to some unrealistic standard that will not ever be reached as a stalling/denial tool.
Please go to the following link: Link to NIESH Strategic Planning page:
http://strategicplan.niehs.nih.gov/a/ideafactory.do?id=12617&mode=hot&discussionFilter=active
Go to the right side of the page and click on:
Children's Centers To Study Prenatal Effects of Dioxins
…and include your support for this study that not only applies to Vietnam Veterans but our entire civilian population as well as any industrialized nation where dioxin(s) plural have been on the rise. Not just from herbicides but other sources as well.
We have to get this done by April 30 so please do not put it off. I am late getting this out because of working on a presentation in May in Atlantic City and I had pneumonia.
The other groups that I send out to please alert your membership as well. We should be able to put 1,000’s of names of support for this study that is about 30 years too late.
In addition, I would like to say that just because you are a Vietnam Veteran or Herbicide Veteran in other geographical areas with offspring with no noticeable physical damages does not mean they were not impacted in other ways such as immune system and endocrine system issues - hormone imbalances - even slowed learning capacity or attention deficient disorders…etc.
And lets us not forget of the possible follow on issues by even our grandchildren.
Let’s all get behind this issue and force the choice to do this study by just overwhelming numbers.
Thanks for your support,
Kelley
PS --- for the Battalion membership … the reunion this year looks like it is going to one of the largest if not the largest so far. Let us know if you are coming or planning on coming at:
http://www.2ndbattalion94thartillery.com/2011reunion/2011reunion.htm
Thanks again and best to all,
Kelley
"Keep on, Keepin' on"
Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"
See my web site at:
http://www.angelfire.com/il2/VeteranIssues/
http://www.facebook.com/dan.cedusky
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Subject: [VeteranIssues] ARE YOU VA 100% based on individual unemployabilityDate: Apr 27, 2011 7:06 AM
http://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-21-4140-1-ARE.PDF
This is the form to certify annually for those of you on IU. The VA is notorious for NOT sending these out. If you know you have to certify annually, save this link. Fill out the form, print it out and send it to the VA during your anniversary month when you were awarded IU. Always send everything to the VA by certified mail with a return receipt. Make sure you keep a copy of the completed form.
information to determine continued eligibility to compensation at the 100 percent rate based on individual unemployability (38 CFR4.16). Title 38, United States Code,
You are receiving compensation at the 100 percent rate based on being unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation as a result of your service-connected disabilities. If you were self-employed or employed by others, including the Department of Veterans Affairs, at any time during the past 12 months, competeSection I of this form. If you have not been employed during the past 12 months, complete Section II of this form.
"Keep on, Keepin' on"
Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"
See my web site at:
http://www.angelfire.com/il2/VeteranIssues/
http://www.facebook.com/dan.cedusky
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Call the VARO and ask what records they're waiting for.
If it's from a medical facility, you can often speed up the caim by several months by getting those records and mailing them in yourself.
The VA DRO waited nearly 16 months trying to get my SSA records. I finally contacted them myself and found out they were destroyed. A letter from them stating so got my claim out of a lengthy stall.
The DRO said he was willing to wait years until he got the SSA records. My claim sat on his desk four years before going to BVA.
Never expect these delays to be short delays. They will stall them as long as they can. Do what you can yourself to keep it moving.
Make sure you have plenty of evidence they can't get around.
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Every favorable decision like NEHMER causes backlogs, since the VA will do everything in it's power to prevent the Veteran from collecting.
They won't read the Veteran's DD214 or evidence that's favorable, down to destroying and concealing evidence, leaving Vets with no choice but to appeal.
I would guess 90% of all claims are collecting dust at the AMC, just waiting for the Veteran to give up, or hopefully die and get off the books.
If they quickly get caught up, it will be due to fast denials that will likely be appealed.
The VA can't and won't get caught up with the backlog as long as they continue to process claims in the same manner.
There was a backlog when I first filed in 1975. Nothing has changed.
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Subject: [VeteranIssues] Battle Creek VAMC : TAYLOR Iowa woman recently released from post-traumatic stress disorder treatment program - thenewsherald.comDate: Apr 25, 2011 11:34 AMAttachments: image002.png image008.png
From: Robert
Sent: Saturday, April 23, 2011 6:18 PM
To: BEN WALKER; Charles E. Brown
Subject: Emailing: TAYLOR Iowa woman recently released from post-traumatic stress disorder treatment program - thenewsherald.com
See the local story below. I am sure VAMC Battle Creek will spin this one so they don’t take a hit.
Bob
The Voice of Downriver
TAYLOR: Iowa woman recently released from post-traumatic stress disorder treatment program
Published: Saturday, April 23, 2011
She was taken to Oakwood Hospital & Medical Center in Dearborn, where she was confirmed dead.
Police found a suicide note in her pocket.
1See Full StoryDan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"
http://www.angelfire.com/il2/VeteranIssues/
Wonder Why The Va Needs More Info?
in VA Disability Claims Research
Posted
After wating a year and a half for the DRO to get my SSA records, I went to the SSA myself. They wrote me a letter stating my records had been destroyed since my file was inactive for so long. The DRO would have stalled the claim as long as he could using this stall tactic.
Get those records yourself, or be prepared to have your claim stalled for years.