McRay

I don't know whether it's better to wait or not. I have an appeal in for PTSD, unspecified depressive disorder and earlier effective date. The EED is from 1978 when I was first denied. Apparently VA did not have my medical records at the time. I've brought up the idea of increasing my % to the atty a couple of times. She talks me out of it, saying the BVA has a nasty habit of changing the effective date on claims like mine. I go back and forth -- old age is here and 100% would sure be nice in the mailbox, but I'd hate to give up on backpay even if it's only from 2015. Of course people on the 'other' forum say the atty is just stalling in order to get a bigger fee...

I've been on low carb for a few years. Started at 255 and now am around 215. I've found that walking and about 25 carbs daily will quickly pull the weight down for me. What I notice now is if I eat carbs, I really crave more. Carl it's tough if the wife isn't on the same meal plan. I don't think I could do it. Carnivore diet will work too. Eat all the protein and fat you want. Get's boring, but better than being hungry all the time Good luck!!

Thanks @broncovetthat's good advice. I'll do that. It's kind of strange how some collection agencies work. I agree with you on debt, my only debt is a mortgage and I have no intention of accruing more.

Well, my BVA 'win' didn't do much good. All the bills were turned over to collection agencies and re-sold again and again. The anesthesiologists are particularly tough. Credit score took a big hit. All I've got is a letter saying my appeal was granted. Lawyer says they will look into it, but not much there either. I was in hopes I could get some settlement and negotiate with the collection agencies but community care says no.

It's strange how the appeals docket date works. I appealed my granted claim in Nov of 2018 and got on the docket in Sept of 2019 When I checked this am there are still 50,420 appeals ahead of me. On the va.gov tracker it says they are working on claims from June of 2018. If you check BVA Metrics it says current legacy docket date is Sept of 2019. CCK is suing the VA, partially because of backlog, needless complexity in process and prioritizing legacy claims.

I've posted here before about my med reimbursement being granted. The claim is for Emergency Room treatment and being sent by ER in ambulance to local hospital. VA paid the ER bills but the hospital was denied. I appealed the denial and the claim was granted by BVA. It's for a substantial amount (to me) of money. Appeal granted end of February. So, I keep checking the bank account, calling BVA, VHA, etc. and trying to find out what's happening. On the 17th of May I get a deposit in my bank account described as Treasury ACH for $960. Seems way off, so I call around trying to find out if it's my med reimbursement claim. No luck, BVA can't tell me anything and I go in telephone circles until finally I get someone at Veteran's Affairs (877-222-8387) who can tell me what it's for. Turns out someone did an audit and the VA didn't pay my co-pays from 2015 to 2017. I was granted SC in 2015. I had submitted the paperwork to Bay Pines, but they told me I only had 30 days to file. One of the VBA agents I talked to said there is a 2 year window in which to file. Bay Pines got me again

I can't access it either

I'm pretty sure if he files a claim he will SC for the dental trauma. Remind him to not give up and keep fighting for the service connection. Even 1 tooth damaged will result in full dental.

Install Brave browser. It works well.

Congratulations!! I've been turned down every step of the way and didn't get anything SC until I hired an attorney. It way to long to get that service connection and to me it's well worth it to pay the fee. Some people are good with VA speak and are up to date on VA law, but I never was. I'm still not, although I now understand a little better.

I posted this before, but I've got a question. On 2/24 I won my BVA appeal for medical reimbursement. Today I called Peggy and was told there was no information in my file, but she could see the claim and it had been closed. No copy of the Order or what was happening. So she put in a request to find out where it's at and what's taking place -- should hear something within a month. I think it's at the Bay Pines RO waiting for a rating decision. Which seems stupid because there's no backpay or disability involved. Has anyone here had experience with this kind of claim? Or how long it takes to receive the reimbursement? Thanks

For some reason I'm thinking it's 43 cents out here in AZ

Congratulations!! Money coming soon.

My claim was granted for medical reimbursement. I called the 800 number and was told they sent out a letter on 4/1 requesting any additional information before they decided my claim. I know because I got them to email me a copy of the letter. I still haven't received the hard copy. I had 30 days to reply...

Also, if you go for a higher % in the future you may find yourself unable to find an atty who will represent you. If you've signed a fee agreement, I doubt any other law firm will represent you unless you have a written release. I felt like you when I got backpay (atty didn't do anything) but about a year later I realized my atty had a lot to do with get service connection. @broncovet is right, talk to your attorney and tell him what you're thinking and hear what he has to say.

Buck, I make bone broth by putting (beef usually) bones in and instapot and pressure cooking them for 8-10 hours. I just freeze steak bones and when I have enough to fill my instapot cook them. Some people swear by grass fed and fresh cut but I don't worry much about that.

My claim was originally turned down in 1978 due to no records of being treated for concussion or being in an accident that resulted in a concussion/tbi. I refiled again in 2015 and was turned down again. I hired a law firm and the missing records were found and I was granted SC. Of course they lowballed me on % and effective date which is under appeal. I am sure that hiring an attorney made all the difference as they found service records and the VA treated the claim differently. The new evidence/records were found a few days before decision to grant was made.

From what I can tell, the new Healthevet login still allows you to sign on with your username and password. Only difference is in a few days they will require 2 factor authentication for myhealthevet. Meaning they will send you a text message with a numeric code and you will enter into the website and then proceed as usual. This has been going on with va.gov for quite awhile. Pretty secure unless someone has kidnapped you and using your phone to enter the code I have all the sign-in options, id.me, DS. DS is more complicated because they force you to change the password every few months. If you mess that up it's a pain to log on -- I know from experience. ID.ME is good because you can get discounts on lots of items like Carhart, RayBan, etc.. Carhart is 25% of their webstore price.

Interesting. I've been on a low carb diet for the past few years. I used to make bone broth but haven't been for quite awhile. Time to dust off the Instapot. There's a sub reddit called ketoscience and there I've read quite a few studies on how low carb diets help with immune disorders.

Tucson VA won't provide lodging for imaging, bloodwork appointments. But they will send a vehicle to pick you up for your appointment and bring you back. All other appointments are paid round trip at .43 cents per mile and I've been paid for travel for bloodwork and imaging. Reading the above paragraph it looks like they are not paying correctly. Good info! I wonder if each RO/Hospital has their own payout policy? That said, it sure seems like my local VA has changed -- harder to get lodging, community care and travel reimbursement takes forever.

C'mon everybody. We're getting too off track and taking things too personally. We all need moral support and positive encouragement in this struggle against an institution that is supposed to be looking out for us, but is instead being adversarial. I miss Berta and Alex's input and don't want to see anyone else disappear. We're all either fighting or have fought the same battle. Our approaches may differ, but our goals are the same. Brother and Sister hood in this fight.

Every claim I have had seems to have required a lawyer to win. IMO the VA will use any excuse to deny an appeal. The first claim I filed was turned down, then after I retained an atty was somehow 'reopened' and my claim was granted after a few years. Of course they lowballed me on % and effective date. Same denial on a medical reimbursement claim, but after atty submitted a legal brief, claim was granted at BVA. My opinion is that in some RO's the rule is to deny and force the claimant to appeal. Others may disagree, but in my experience that is what happens. At this point I prefer 70% of something compared to 0% of a denial. That said, I didn't always feel this way and at one point thought my VSO was adequate -- then he recommended me to an atty -- saying he didn't have the time or resources to get missing records and IMOs.

I don't know if it's having an impact or not. I've read (perhaps on this forum) of vets who file a claim, then later file another claim and the claims get combined and the effective date for the original claim is ignored and the date of the new claim is used instead. My other claim is for EED and Increased rating with a docket date of Sept 20, 2019. According to VA.gov there are some 58,000 claims ahead of me. When I've checked, I'm told my Med Reimbursement claim is being worked on. My gut instinct is that the AOJ will bend over backwards to delay, deny or any other kind of fu*kery to keep from paying. Especially in Bay Pines, FL.

Yeah, I have another claim in and am waiting. This medical reimbursement claim is not common, but I think they will become more so down the road..

Background: In 2016 I had to go to Emergency care in Florida. The attending physician said I was stabilized, but required me to be transported to nearest hospital rather than VA hospital 100 miles away. While in said hospital, I ran up 37g worth of bills. VA regional office refused to pay and I appealed it to the BVA where claim was granted in 02/2022 Question: I haven't received any reimbursement or correspondence from AOJ which is Bay Pines, FL. Has anyone here ever had this kind of claim? Peggy can't give me any info and I'm wondering if my atty can find any info in VBMS? Always in the past money hits my account before I get the decision letter when my appeal is granted. Thanks