paulstrgn

I had a BVA decision that was granted on 7/2/2019, it had to go to the RO to calculate the percentages of the disabilities. The percentage was 50% for SA and 0% for hypertension, this raised me from 90% to 100% overall with the effective date of 7/2/2019. I just looked at ebenefits for past payments and the payment for August was paid at the 90% and the payment for September payment was paid at 90% plus retro pay that made it 100%. I went from $2K to $3K (I am rounded it was more) for payment. The RO did not actually decide this until 8/23/2019. To be honest I am not sure was the retro pay for August or September after reading Buck and Broncos comments. If I was paid correctly (which I hope I wasn't) then Bronco is correct, since the effective date was 7/2/2019 (I lost retro pay for July by 1 or 2 days) and it did not take affect till the month of August I would not see that pay until September. It sucks because it seems I missed out on pay. I always thought the same as Buck but to be honest I am not sure which is correct. Needless to say I hope it's Buck...lol Now as far as the effective date goes, the RO used the BVA decision date as the effective date instead of the original filing date of (7/15/2015). The BVA states that my appeal was based on the denial of 3/2016 which was for the original filing of SA and hypertension. I filed on 9/5/2019 a HLR for an earlier effective date and also because they rating for the hypertension is too low. If you filed your appeal earlier and as long as everything was filed timely (within the one year time frame) then you will need to file a NOD for an earlier effective date.

Glad to hear you were able to help Ann.

@Berta Ms. Berta I hope I did not offend you by recommending Alex. I had read her question as not being able to get in touch with Chris Attig. So I was just giving her another option is all. I highly respect your opinion and advice that you give on this site, to me you are a true gift to the Hadit community. So if I might have offended you please accept my apologize.

I know when I retire I will get the SS and my spouses income won't impact it. She just won;t get anything is all. But check with SS, either go in to their office or call the (800) 772-1213 and ask. This is your best source. JMO

@Ann Bracey depending on what you are looking for I just called Chris Attig and a receptionist just answered. Phone: (866) 627-7764 https://www.attigsteel.com/attorneys/chris-attig/ If you are looking for assistance with claims there is @asknod from everything I read he is very knowledgeable. JMO

I had OSA approved after getting out of the military. The evidence I used was two sleep studies (done 3 years apart), the second sleep study was performed only because my PCM stated I should have one every few years. I had three lay statements, one from my wife, one by my adult daughter, and a third from my last NCOIC (only the this last statement was notarized). I also submitted a lay statement describing my issues. In the BVA decision they mentioned that my IMO had reviewed the lay statements as well as my service medical records. Both doctors that did the sleep studies did DBQs and the last one included a medical opinion. I am not sure how many sleep studies you have actually had. Did you have a private sleep study or one by the VA or even both? I agree if you can afford the two IMOs (one from Dr. Bash and one from Dr. Anaise) then you may want to, but it is up to you. It took the BVA to approve my OSA, the VA kept denying me. The last HLR had the same evidence as I used for the BVA.

Sad but true. As Bronco suggest make sure you trust the attorney if you hire one. JMO

I had a friend in Texas and her Aunt had a caregiver come in 2 - 3 times per week. I am not sure what the program was, she had no money except her SS. Have they asked social security to see if they may have a program that would assist her? I found this link https://www.payingforseniorcare.com/paid-caregiver/texas.html (this is not a government website) Texas Medicaid offers a waiver called STAR PLUS. A waiver is a Medicaid program that provides care services to individuals who do not live in nursing homes. The STAR PLUS waiver will pay for caregivers to come to one’s home and provide a variety of supportive services such as assistance with the activities of daily living (bathing, eating, grooming etc.). For certain services, STAR PLUS allows the care recipient to choose their own service provider / caregiver. STAR PLUS allows beneficiaries to choose family members to provide them with care. The state Medicaid program then pays that family member for doing so. The flexibility to choose one’s caregiver is referred to a “consumer directed care”. I hope this helps.

Buck you are correct, from everything I am reading she can (if eligible) only receive DIC and SSDI or SSDI and SSI but not all three. SSI is income based and in fact you can only have a maximum of $2,000 in the bank if single. Like GB states her best bet would be to look at local charities or organizations for assistance.

I agree Geeky, but he said he was diagnosed with OSA with one year of getting out of the military. Now the way I read the regs (I may be wrong so please correct) that as long as it is within one year of discharged it is considered as if it happened in the military. As always thanks Geeky

I was assuming that was from his service medical records. I am assuming he never uploaded anything from the doctor that diagnosed him with OSA. But I could be wrong, but I agree that either doctor can write an excellent IMO. I had three buddy letters that I submitted with my claim and it was approved at the BVA.

The link you clicked on is for presumptive illnesses and not OSA, since you were diagnose with the one year you should be okay. To be honest I am not sure why you were denied, to me you have met the standard. You met the three elements of Caluza. 1. Current diagnosis. Your doctor must have diagnosed you. No diagnosis, no benefits. 2. In service event or aggravation. You could have had a broken leg, been exposed to excessive noise, or a bomb could have blown up and you lost your legs. Or, you may have had something before service that got worse (aggravation). 3. Nexus. This is the famous statement, by your doctor, that your (current diagnosis #1 is at least as likely as not related to your in service event, number 2). I am not sure if this is a CUE or not (it is not my strongest suit) but others will know.

Why did the VA deny your claim? If the VA C&P stated "as least as likely as not" caused by the military it should have been approved. If you can post a redacted copy of the denial letter it would help in proving suggestion. I am assuming you are required to use a CPAP. The doctor that diagnosed you with OSA, did they say they would not write the nexus letter or a different doctor? Did you submit evidence from the sleep study with your claim? If not you should be able to submit a copy of all the medical documentation from the sleep study along with the doctors visit which should be enough for your claim. I am not sure if you need the IMO from either doctors and here why: https://www.va.gov/disability/eligibility/illnesses-within-one-year-of-discharge/ Disabilities that happen within one year of discharge -- You’ll need to file a claim for disability compensation and submit your evidence (supporting documents). Your evidence will need to show that both of these are true of your illness: It’s at least 10% disabling (for example, you may submit a doctor’s report showing that you’re taking medicine for your high blood pressure), and It appeared within one year after being discharged from active service (for example, you may submit a medical report that shows the date of your diagnosis) I am just curious what were the prices the two doctors quoted you for their IMO?

I would also suggest that you have your doctor give a statement of how he/she came up with their rationale. They want to also know what makes the doctor think this and what he is referencing to come up with the diagnosis. I would also ask for his CV so you can show why the are qualified to make their decision.

Yes you can receive both pays I do as many other vets do. Depending on your effective date (I am assuming you had not already been receiving your disability pay) is how much back pay you will receive. You may want to contact the VA and DFAS and ask them, DFAS would be able to look in their system to see if there is an audit going on in your account. If the VA did the paperwork correctly you should not receive anything from DFAS only the VA (I am assuming this is the first VA benefit check). BTW congratulations on getting 100% P&T.

If the check is from DFAS then its military so it could not be a clothing allowance. As vetquest asked if your husband took out a survivors benefit plan then it could be that. If your husband dies 10 months ago you should have been receiving these benefits since December. You should call DFAS on Monday and ask. The information for them is below. DFAS number is below: Customer Service 800-321-1080 M-F, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET

Enjoy your trip air1!

Geeky is correct about posting a redacted version of the BVA decision, by doing this it will eliminate all chances of misunderstanding. I think this is always the best practice when you want us to comment on a decision. For me I have found in the past I may read or think one thing but write something different thinking I wrote the same thing. Plus using the wrong word or getting the order mixed up can really turn a sentence around to have a completely different meaning than the original sentence. After all we are human and we will make mistakes. JMO Good luck with your claim and thank you to all the Hadit members who provide advice to their fellow veterans!

Mike thanks. The one thing I have learned on this site is they have my back as well as everyone else back. This site contains a lot of excellent advice and I am grateful for coming across it.

HB that is a good suggestion l, I will have to do that. I have done similar things at work when I have discussed things over the phone I will follow it up with an email. I do this for two reasons the first to make sure there was no misunderstanding of our conversation and the second is so I have it in record that we had the conversation and what we discussed.

I just received a call from one of the Chief of Staff staff. He called to address my concerns with my C&P yesterday. He first started off by saying that a veteran should always apply for disabilities even if they were 100%. He used an example of a heart condition and how a vet needs to get it service connected because if you should die of a heart attack and it is service connected your spouse would be entitled to DIC. He said the VA does not look at reducing people when they file and that the NP was wrong for saying that. He apologized for what I went through at the exam and that the NP should not have pushed me beyond my limits. He was not sure of the Supreme Court decision she had mentioned but said he would look into it. He also said he will forward my email to the health side of the VA to ensure things like this does not happen again. He was saying they do not want to cause pain to the vet when performing the exam. I am pleased with the call, will it solve anything I do not know. But I do know when you email the chief of staff she does have someone respond and try to resolve the issues. For me that is all I can ask for, good customer service.

She had the Chairman of the Board for the BVA respond to me, so I am pretty confident she will respond or have someone else. I wish I remember what the case was called but I will research this.

Here is the email I just sent to the Chief of Staff for the VA. I redacted a small portion of the email that I am not comfortable sharing in this format. If and when I get a response I will also posted it here. Also I am not the best of writers but I try my best. Dear Ms. Powers - Chief of Staff of VA, I apologize for emailing you but I wanted to share my experience from my C&P exam performed at the Hampton VA Medical Center on 9/19/2019. The medical examiner started out by saying that once you reach 100% you should stop requesting disabilities for the VA will try to reduce you. This statement surprised me for I know that this should not be the VA practice. Many veterans have already fought in wars for our country, they should not have to fight another war with the VA so they can be granted disabilities that were incurred while serving our great nation. As you can imagine such statements discourage veterans from filing for disabilities that happened or was caused by our military service. I also want to describe my C&P exam itself. I had gone in to have my back evaluated. I have had several evaluations performed by LHI and QTC previously for claims on my back. I had always been told by the examiner checking me for range of motion (ROM) that I should stop when it started to hurt. The VA examiner yesterday told me that the requirements had changed and I was supposed to move as much as possible and that after moving by myself she would also move me to see if I can move more. She said this was because of a Supreme Court ruling. I was very surprised by this but did not stop her. This examination was so painful for me. She took all ROM measurements after she moved my body more, not what I could move but what she could move me. You must keep in mind as a veteran you are at their mercy, I can’t walk out or stop the exam for it would result in a denial. This was such a painful examination to where I was in pain the rest of the day and I am still hurting as I type this email. My wife tried to get me to go to the emergency room yesterday because I was in such pain, I told her no for it was not an emergency and I would just have to wait it out until the pain lessens. No examination should cause a veteran such pain as mine did, it was not fair or right to inflict such pain as she did. She also asked me several times if I was using my CPAP machine, I was recently service connected for sleep apnea by the BVA. I have no idea why she asked me if I used my CPAP for it has nothing to do with my back. It was like she was looking for a reason to have my SA called into question. To be honest I wonder if I should write you this email for I fear that the examiner might write an unfavorable C&P if questioned about this, but I know you need to know this so I will take the chance. I write this so that you are aware of what some veterans experience during a C&P exam, I know this does not happen with all C&P exams performed by the VA but it certainly happened in mine. Thank you, Paul

I also thank you Buck and Geeky for sharing and your willingness to help all vets.You two as well as many others are still serving your country by providing advice and guidance to all the veterans out there on this site!!!

Another thing the NP asked me (three times) am I using my CPAP machine? Now I have no idea what this has to do with my back, but she wanted to know. I am aware that technically I do not have to use my CPAP if I want to take the chance with my life, but the more I think about the NP asking me the more I think they are wanting to look at everything. I hope I never go to the VA itself for a C&P, they do seem to want to deny you or say "gotcha you" if you say something wrong. Sorry just venting a little more.