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Richard1954
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Posts posted by Richard1954
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I can tell you that when I applied to work at the Post Office I claimed Veteran Preference. When I was interviewed I was asked what my disability was, I told them my back. The interviewer used this information to deny me employment. When I did finally get a federal job, I was asked was there anything that would keep me from doing the job I was hired to do, I stated no. Later, when I got sick because of a cold computer room ( temp kept at 68) My doctor wrote a note that stated my room temp must remain between 72- 74 because of my lungs.( service connected) The human resources tired to use this against me, saying I had lied when I got hired. Later the Director of the DOIM determined that the temp in the Computer room did not have to be so low, and I was removed from admin leave back to duty when they raised the temp. When I re- injured my back, and ended up with drop foot, my doctor wrote a letter that I could not climb stairs. I was medically retired..... So to the question, who has access to your medical records, legally no one, but the government can still get rid you if your medical conditions prevent you from doing your job.
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I have attached a copy of the VA Mission Act of 2018, I suggest that all concerned print out a copy and read it. Personally I don't see much difference in the new law , the VA still gets to decide who get to use the Choice Program when a Hospital or Clinic is within 40 miles. or when an appointment cannot be scheduled within 30 days, or when r care is not available at the VA. This is a 25 page document so make sure you have your paper loaded.
Also The open the Caregivers program ups to all veterans who served on on before 7 May 1975 ( which seems to me to mean every veteran). But because the congress also requires the VA to create a computer system to run the caregiver program, the program will not actually open up to all veteran until after the system is certified. Once it is certified it will be two years more before it actually opens to all veterans. In another section it states the Va only has until 1 Oct 2018 to get this computer system working, so it does get a little confusing about what all this really means about the care giver program.
anyway down load it and see if you can make better sense out of it than me....
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2 hours ago, Buck52 said:
If I need something seen about as for as my healthcare and the VA is Backlog AND IT IS GOING TO BE OVER 30 DAYS FOR VA TO SEE ME then this is the reason this Bill was passed to get medical attention sooner than later.
IF YOU SEE A PRIVATE Dr & WITH THIS NEW BILL THAT THE PRESIDENT JUST SIGNED THE VA WILL PAY THE COMPLETE BILL.
Yes but this is nothing new Choice has worked this way for a while now....
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9 hours ago, broncovet said:
So I did not get a Vets choice at all. It wasnt "my choice" (the Veteran), it was "doctors choice". When you have to go to a doctor to get him approve "Vets choice" , then its not a Veterans choice, its the doctors choice.
Choice has never ever been the veterans choice, the va always decides who does and doesn't get choice based on the services available at the VA Medical Center... maybe with the new law Trump just signed that changes, but up until now ... it was never really the veteran who got to chose.
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On 6/5/2018 at 11:32 AM, Buck52 said:
I just read a news article this morning that in the last year the VA Has processed over 85.000 claims this last year vs 38.000 claims the year before,
And then you just have to ask yourself how many were decided wrong and have to be appealed my conservative guess about 3/4 .
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The effective date is almost always the date the received the claim, but I have seen them use the newest date of treatment also... so I would wait and see what the letter states....
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7 hours ago, gtdac said:
broncovet, yes I did receive the VARO decision. I will probably submit a reconsideration and state that they did not provide utilize the evidence provided as it related to my claim. Thanks again, Glen.
Not sure if I understand you statement ( they did not provide utilize the evidence as provided)
But at any rate.. it is your responsibility to make sure they get the evidence that shows you are on Home oxygen for the Interstitial Lung disease... if they already had the evidence, then there is a Clear & unmistakable error ( CUE) because Interstitial Lung disease with oxygen is a 100% rating. You will only get one rating, and yes I know this sucks, because I have Asthma/COPD and Sleep apnea, and I only get a single 100% rating because of oxygen use. ( Which doesn't seem right that three diseases are only rated once, and technically sleep apnea is not even a respiratory disease.) If it was just two ratings and one was rated 60% and the other 50% they would bump it to the next higher rating, but when your already at 100% there is no way to bump it up.
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You could contact the Military Police who took the incident report and Picture, it is possible that they may still have a file. If you went to the Hospital at any time because of this you could request the medical records . You can claim anything you want to claim, but I can't say if it would be related to PTSD or not since you apparently have no record of the incident and you did not say why you were rated for PTSD.
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47 minutes ago, broncovet said:
My NOD was filed in early 2017, and its not at the BVA yet. In 2020, the VARO will get around to mailing it to the BVA. Talk about "snail mail", that is it.
It took ten years for my NOD to reach the BVA, I had the hearing about one month ago and I still await the decision... good luck but based on my situation it will be a while
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I wish you well, but myself I would not trust the VA to do any surgery .. .I did once and now I only have one eye......
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On 5/21/2018 at 9:23 PM, Leon2015 said:
I been housebound for 4 years and no work
You may qualify if a doctor says you cannot leave home except for medical appointments.
You said your 100% overall disability rating... what does that mean? Do you have a combined 100% or are you rated 100% for one medical issue?
Its very unlikely that sleep apnea and Gerd will qualify you for Housebound, You Mental Health issue may.. but you need to see a doctor and ask for the Housebound exam
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31 minutes ago, L said:
Tricare - equals 20 year retirement - "benefit"... I retired age 39.
I too, am on Medicare/ Tricare ..
Grateful
Actually, Tricare is for any retiree regardless of the age or years of service. I medically retired at age 32 after almost 16 years of service.
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13 hours ago, Buck52 said:
I too am on Medicare but not tricare, I have part A & part B coverage and a 130 month supplemental from Omaha Mutual..
I didn't know you can have both coverage with medicare and tricare together?
I have Tricare because I am also retired from the Army. I am retired from civil service too and had medical with them but let it go when I retired..... I am required to have Medicare to be able to use tricare , but tricare is free for life when you go on Medicare so I only pay for Medicare .
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I've also read once that the va cannot use one C/P exam as the reason for a reduction, simply because medical conditions can change on a daily basis.....
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I am so fortunate, I can use any facility I want to use because I also have tricare and medicare and I can even use Darnell Medical Center at Fort Hood. ..... I don't need permissions from anyone to go see a doctor, or a clinic I just need to pick up the phone and call. Now there are some things I do use the VA for, Primary care , meds and from time to time I even go to a specialty clinic, but I never let the VA treat me for anything that could endanger my life. No surgeries, and when they tell me something doesn't look right on an MRI or Xray, I always get a second opinion. So far I have been very fortunate. Now to choice, in my opinion the care will not be much better than the va simply because most doctors won't take it because they pay Medicare rates and because they limit the number of appointments you can make under choice. I have used choice a few times once for respiratory rehabilitation and once for a sinus condition. Choice also will limit the number of appointments you can make, requiring you to go back and get more approval.
What I am very happy about is that now my spouse can become my paid caregiver. I am already A&A, but my wife does so much for me that she should have been paid a long time ago.. They talk about the caregiver program was created especially for those with TBI, ( I do have a TBI), but there are other medical conditions that would warrant a paid caregiver and I am really happy that the congress has finally opened it up to all veterans of all era's. My wife will submit her applications the same day the President signs this into law.
It looks like the family care program is going to be phased in over a two year period, that sucks.....guess it will be a while more before my wife will be able to apply for the program....
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1 hour ago, broncovet said:
The effective dates for SMC are different than the effective dates for "regular" service connection. Why? Because SMC is always inferred..so the "date of claim" should have no effect..it should be the date you met the criteria. Example:
Lets say I apply for SMC S in April, 2018. But I have not worked and left the home "for work" since 2004. Then, according to the way I interpret Howell, the effective date should be the later of the date I first applied for benefits, or the date I did not leave the home for work.
Factually, what you say is true, but there are many cases were the va doesn't even consider SMC S
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5 hours ago, Vync said:
Here's an idea. File a claim for COPD w/ oxygen as secondary to your asthma. Makes me wonder if you get a 100% rating then they would take the higher of the two ratings...
Actually, I really am rated for asthma w/copd secondary, and sleep apnea. But in reality all three stand alone as service connected , the asthma and COPD were diagnosed on active duty, and the sleep apnea was service connected based on the history and IMO. COPD - 100% , asthma-60% and sleep apnea 50% even thou they do not count all three ratings when combined.. they still have to rate them separately before they give a combine rating, and they have to consider the separate rating for other things like SMC's. As I was saying it doesn't seem right that a person could have 3 diseases and only get the one rating.. but it is what it is....
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On 5/20/2018 at 7:21 AM, Berta said:
The Office of the VA Inspector General has finally released to the public- it’s February 2018 report on the TBI scandals of three years ago.
https://www.va.gov/oig/pubs/VAOIG-15-01580-108.pdf
The problem also ----- these reports are self serving, and when I had my TBI exam the rating hinged on my answers to the examiners questions nothing more! How do you appeal such an exam ? especially sine you cannot remember the questions asked.
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I had an examiner who stated my left knee injury was not the result of my right knee injury because I should not have been walking up a slope. Yes she actually said that, then 30 days later she amended the exam citing a document that was about limps and the opposite leg not being a cause of an injury. Problem was she quoted only a half of a sentence to make her point, the other half of the sentence indicated it was referring to limps not knee injuries. I also had an IMO and the va didn't even consider it.. So regardless of what the va does, you have to appeal.
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On 5/22/2018 at 11:19 AM, Vync said:
Just keep in mind that they are both respiratory ratings. For purposes of your combined rating %, they will use the higher % of the two.Yes this is what the VA claims, but factually sleep apnea is not a respiratory disease. BVA has awarded a few claims with separate ratings already. I have a pending appeal for separate ratings that if necessary I will take it all the way through the court system. VA has screwed to many veterans with this reasoning for too long and they will continue to get away with is as long as veterans let them.
I mean how is it that they can even deny separate ratings (Using 4.96 Rating coexisting respiratory conditions. Ratings under diagnostic codes 6600 through 6817 and 6822 through 6847 will not be combined with each other. Where there is lung or pleural involvement, ratings under diagnostic codes 6819 and 6820 will not be combined with each other or with diagnostic codes 6600 through 6817 or 6822 through 6847. A single rating will be assigned under the diagnostic code which reflects the predominant disability with elevation to the next higher evaluation where the severity of the overall disability warrants such elevation. However, in cases protected by the provisions of Pub. L. 90-493, the graduated ratings of 50 and 30 percent for inactive tuberculosis will not be elevated.)
since sleep apnea is not a respiratory disease they should not be able to claim 4.96 as a reason to deny.
And in my case to make it worse I have Asthma/COPD and sleep apnea. I use oxygen so am rated 100%. I don't think the rating system is fair, because I only get the one rating. Others who only have COPD and use oxygen get a 100% rating.. Its doesn't seem right that someone with three diseases gets the same rating as someone with one disease...
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Well I can only tell you that I pursue any and all issues that I feel should be service connected. Factually, I was rated TDIU in 1999. But since then I was rated 100% in 2007 and more recently new ratings for TBI, and sleep apnea in just the last year. I also have A&A at L 1/2 step... People use to tell me all the time I was taking chances each time I put in for a new claim, but I always said I have nothing to hide, and a lot to gain. Even as we speak, I am waiting on a decision from the BVA for and eye condition, and housebound that was never considered when I was rated TDIU with an extra 60% rating. I also have a claim for EED, and other issues on appeal ( 5 in all). I say file it if you think its warranted.... I can actually make it to 100% three different ways.. thats many different ratings I have.
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On 4/4/2018 at 12:34 PM, Buck52 said:
I
Keep in mind that, in order for symptoms of chronic pain syndrome to be ratable, the source of the chronic pain must be a service-connected condition. For example, a veteran with a service-connected back condition suffers from chronic pain. The chronic pain causes the veteran to become severely depressed. Because the chronic pain developed out of a service-connected condition, the veteran can receive VA benefits for the depression caused by his chronic pain. In other words, the depression is secondary to the veteran’s service-connected condition.
Yes but in this example the pain is still not rated, the depression is......there should be a rating just for pain by itself especially when you have been diagnosed with a pain syndrome.
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I have already been diagnosed with the following: Chronic Pain syndrome, chronic neck and low back pain, and myofascial pain syndrome. The issue is that the va does not list pain as a disability, and in the past it was only considered on range of motion, and then who really knows how much it was considered. I have considered a pain claim for some time, but just how to go about it is what has prevented me from doing it.... I know the courts recently ruled that pain was a disability but until we learn more its going to be a claim to get approved, and if were only talking about 10 -20 percent its not even worth it is it? When you consider I have ratings for my knees, back, & TBI, I have been in pain for years....
Proposal to Sever Service-Connection
in VA Disability Claims Research
Posted
My understanding of the Law.... The VA cannot reduce a veteran's disability based on one examination. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.