broncovet

Wings Thank you for the compliment. It feels good to help a Vet or his widow.

Vets Lady: Also, if hubbie is 70% SC AND gets TDIU, (If he is not TDIU, you should consider asking for TDIU if he is not working), then you need to apply for Champva. Champva may cover some/all of your medication copayments. I think Champva will go back a couple years, but not before the effective date of hubbies TDIU/100% disability rating effective date.

Vets Lady: Yes, go back to your VA Medical center "Means Test" department. ASK them for refund of your copayments. Tell them your hubby is 70% and provide them with the effective date, and your applicable income. Include past years, if you think you can get money back from prior years. That is, maybe they kept charging copays inappropriately. Depending on your income, etc. you could get a check back for copayments you paid. It could be hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Remember: The VA will BURN Veteran's tax return monies for VA prescription copayments, so you could get money back, EVEN if you did not pay it!

I agree with Commander Bob. Filing a NOD within one year is always best for the Veteran, as the Veteran would have to meet the much tougher "CUE" standard if he waited longer than a year. The VA regurarly uses this excuse to deny a Veterans appeals. That is, the Veteran has a legitimate complaint with the decision, but can not meet the strict "CUE" standard, so his appeal is denied. This is a no-brainer: If in doubt, GET the NOD out! I can not think of a single example where a Veteran says, "Gee, I wish I had not filed that NOD in time". ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS it is the other way: "Gee I wished I would have filed a NOD within a year" BOTTOM LINE: It can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars to not file a NOD within a year. Dont do it. FILE your NOD IN TIME. PS. File your NOD ON TIME, Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested, as RO Shredders LOVE to eat Veteans NOD's.

Berta Yes, I thought attorney fees were set at a maximum of 20%, so it is not clear how some can charge more. It is also not clear if they can charge the Veteran AND collect through the EAJA. Does anyone know?

Just wondering what happened to Purple. She hasnt posting anything in a while, and I was just wondering if she is ok? Has anyone heard?

Delta I wont comment on whether or not it is "worth it", because that is simply another issue. H owever, if your hubbie was sent to Vietnam, he should have written orders sending him there AND, he probably got hazardous duty pay. First, you could try asking the military for copies of his orders, tho I am not sure how to do this. However, if you are good at math, you might be able to prove he got hazardous duty or combat pay by looking at his social security pay records. See how much he was paid, then you should be able to demonstrate mathmatically, whether he got hazardous duty pay or not, because you would know his rank and time in service. You might also ask hubbie to remember some details about it. Guys often do not remember dates..heck I know I often do not remember when something happened, but I usually know what happened. Maybe he remembers some other details that only a RVN Vet would know. IN criminal law, say when a person confesses and then recants his confession, he still gets nailed when he mentions details only the killer would know. So hubbie may well be able to mention details about his service in Vietnam, that one would not know unless he was there. As an example, if someone claimed they were in my house, then I could come up with some questions about my house that only someone who had been in it would know...oh, I dont know, like what color is the carpet, or what picture did I have on the wall. jmho.

Carlie... I agree with you. When the "Note" says they "shall not be combined", this means that they are rated Seperately, that is, 10% for lateral, and another 10% inter-incisal. Lateral means side to side movement, where "inter-incisal" would mean horizontal movement within the incisor. Since your jaw bone also has TWO sides, my thinking is that there would also be a BILATERAL factor. JMHO.

I dont think the VA "Plans" anything...the VA management style is "Management by putting out fires", and involves no planning. If they did "plan" anything, why would there be massive delays of VA education benefits, when they had more than a year to "plan" for it? Another example of "planning" is the VA's failure to plan the IT projects, which wind up costing Veterans $342 million. This money, which wont be deducted from VA management bonuses, comes directly out of monies that was supposed to find its way to Veterans. The "VA" and "planning" are like "military" and "intelligence", that is, they are oxymorons and cant be used in the same sentence.

Regulations Require the VA to consider that the Veteran is seeking the MAXIMUM benefit allowable by law. Interestingly, I read something like 3 out of 5 rating specialists did not know the Veteran was seeking the maximum. It was in a survey given to rating specialists, and no, I can not supply the link as to where I read it. However, I dont think we should be suprised. This is one regulation that makes sense. I mean, think about it. HOw many employees do you know who would go to work and (when the discussion came to salary) they say something like: "Is there any way I can get a lower salary? I am seeking the lowest salary possible in order to save the government money. It isnt really that important that my family and I have nice things, I would rather take a pay cut and save the government money. Please put a request in that I can seek less than the minimum wage." For the same reasons, should we expect Veterans to seek LESS than the maximum?

Yes, you can ask for a waiver on prescription co payments. I asked, and was declined because of my wifes income. However, if your income is very low, you should be able to get a waiver. Go to the "needs test" department at your VA. You should be able to deduct medical expenses from your income for this waiver. This is especially true if you quit taking your medicine because you cant afford it. The VA is not supposed to let that happen.

Congratulations, Windy.. Your case just verifies what Berta has said...it takes an IMO to win a lot of claims because VA and QTC docs remember who signs their paychecks, and wont go against the VA. The VA often flexes its "money muscles" to get what it wants, even tho that money is SUPPOSED to belong to Veterans.

I have found the "pickings to be slim" with VA lawyers, especially in the midwest. I have heard very good things about Ken Carpenter, however, I understand he is both very busy and very selective. Frankly, we need lots more lawyers who represent Vetrans. Lawyers do not like to take Vetrans cases, largely because it is difficult for them to get paid. You see, the VA often delays claims..not just our claims, but claims who are represented by a lawyer. If the claim is delayed 10 years, and many of them are, most lawyers dont want to wait ten years for their money. Do you blame them? I spoke with an "ex" Va lawyer, who no longer takes VA cases because he got tired of waiting to get paid. It is just one more way the VA denies justice. Justice delayed is justice denied.

Marine.. You need to not walk, but run to the post office and send them a "Special Handling Request" (SHR) so they get it before Nov. 17, preferably with copies of stuff that your VARO has shredded. Mail it certified mail, return receipt requested, so when the RO says they lost your Special Handling Request, you have proof. If you dont have copies of the stuff you mailed earlier, that the VA shredded, send the SHR anyway. The way it is right now, if you dont send a SHR before Nov. 17, the VA can deny you based upon they didnt receive your SHR in time. It is like a "stautue of limitations" limiting you (the VA has no limits..they can take as long as they want to process your claim, but you had better not be one minute late) on the time to complain about shreddergate. Take no chances/no prisoners. If the VA does not respond promptly to your SHR, file a complaint with the VAOIG and consider a Writ of Mandamus. You have fought for others rights, now you have to fight the VA for yours.

RO's often do this stuff to cheat Veterans. They make you think the regs say such and such..when they dont. They do this to deny you benefits.

Yes, it does sound like things are changing at the Buffalo VARO...for the worse. So much for Shinseki, and how is going to help Veterans. As far as I know the only "help" Shinseki has done is that he has worsened the Backlog by about 16% on his watch.

As Testvet and VMO pointed out I am just a seaman recruit pain in the neck, and testvet is a Senior Chief pain in the neck. However, Fleet Admiral Veterans affairs is the Grandmaster of all Pain in the Necks.

Josh You need to file a "Special Handling Request" (for your shredded evidence), and you need to do so quickly so that it is RECEIVED by the RO by Nov. 17. Story is here: http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfmar09/nf031509-3.htm For more information about shreddergate, go http://www.vawatchdog.org/VAshredderscandal.htm I was born in Denver..go broncos!

Cowgirl Yes, I do have advice. Enjoy your kids while you can, for soon, they will be gone. Teach them by example, they wont hear your words. Do give them praise, but only on the things they have done well and put forth a lot of effort. (Dont give them fake praise, or praise for everything...remember if you praise them for showing up for school one day in a week, while the other days they played hookie..they will see the satire in your praise...even if you give your praise lovingly) Nail your kids on the little things they do wrong, love em on the big things. Everyone always does it the other way. If you dont bother to mention anything about their little "white lie", then dont be suprised if your daughter sneaks out with their boyfriend and gets pregnant. If u love em on the "big things", then maybe she will tell you before she makes some bad choices. Or, maybe by nailing them on the little things, you wont get to the big things. When kids mess up bad, that is when they need a loving parent the most, not when they forgot to pick up their socks. Be a pain in the neck to them when they tell a white lie, or forget to pick up their socks. "Call em on the carpet" so they dont want that to happen again. Thanks.. VMO Yes its true. Vets now have a common enemy...not the Viet Cong, the Germans, or the Japanese. Now its the VA. By pretending to be "non adversarial" the VA lures its Veteran victims to think the Vet doesnt NEED to make copies of stuff he sends to the VA. Instead of calling Veterans "claimants" we should be called "victims", like they do in private life.

You wont get TDIU if you are working...even if you think you shouldnt be. You can try, of course, but you will have a better chance at winning the lottery. You not only have to be not working to get TDIU, but you will have to be NOT working for a while....the VA is going to want to make sure you cant get "substantial gainfull employment". SGE is pretty much defined as not earning over the pension level, which is about 12k per year, depending on dependents. By definition, if you are working for the government and earning more than 12k per year, you are not eligible for TDIU. You could ask for a %increase..and maybe get that, but TDIU isnt happening while you are working, under any circumstances. TDIU is specifically for people who cant and are not working. Sorry.JMHO

Josephine... The really ironic part of it, as pointed out by the attorney on Watchdog, Espermar, is that the VA is SUPPOSED to be NON adversarial. The reality is that the VA fights Veterans tooth and nail for every nickel. Its easier to pluck the nose hair off a mad mother grisley bear than to try to get the VA to pay the Veteran his just benefits. Many Veterans say the Va is much more adversarial than, say the Viet Cong.

Delta... Good JOB! I always wondered how the VA got away with requiring TWO forms for dependency. One 21-526 and then the other one, 21-686 C, which seemed redundant. That is, why do you have to tell the VA TWICE that you have dependents? This "2 form requirement" seems to conflict with Roberson vs Principi which states, "The Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims rejected the government’s argument because such a position “loses sight of VA’s congressional mandate that VA is to ‘fully and sympathetically develop the veterans’ claim to its optimum before deciding it on its merits.’” Id. at 420 (citing Hodge v. West, 155 F.3d 1356, 1362-63 (Fed. Cir. 1998)). In addition, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims stated that developing a claim “to its optimum” must include determining all potential claims raised by the evidence and applying all relevant law and regulation raised by that evidence regardless of how the claim is identified." Id. I am interpreting Roberson, to mean that the VA would have to pay the (dependents) claim, even if the the Vet wrote his dependents on a napkin and sent in their birth certificates. That is, the Veteran would NOT have to fill out TWO application forms, the 21-526, and the 21-686C, to get dependents benefits.

Good idea. Maybe I need to send a fly rod to the manager at my Regional Office.

Congratulations! You could go for OSA, but you might want to consider something a little easier..oh like becoming the President of the United States and solving the entire worlds problems. When I was in the military the words "Obstructive Sleep Apnea" had not been invented. They did not say you had "chronic fatigue syndrome"..instead, they called you lazy. When I was in boot camp, at classes we had something called a "headache ball". If you fell asleep during one of the boring lectures, you had to hold the "headache ball" above your head. That headache ball was heavy! It gets very, very heavy in about 3 or 4 minutes, or less of holding it over your head! For many people, sleep apnea is nearly asymptomatic, or, more precisely, it has delayed symptoms. Often the only symptom you notice, sometimes for years, is that you are tired during the day. You may not even notice that you stop breathing at nite, repeatedly. When you get older, tho, you have even less energy, so the lost energy from hardly ever sleeping becomes more noticeable. Many/most of us with OSA dont even notice it for years. I did not notice mine until I was over 50..and had chest pains. I went to the hospital, a private hospital, because the VA happened to be full at the time. (This saved my life). The private heart hospital diagnosed my problem..an enlarged right side of the heart due to OSA. (Your heart gets bigger on the right side due to lack of oxygen at night). They recommended a sleep study. I did the sleep study, at the Va, and sure enough, the heart doc was right. As the heart do explained, severe OSA is fatal..the right side of the heart keeps getting bigger and bigger until your heart eventually goes into an abnormal rhythem and eventually congestive heart failure. Of course, this takes years for the disease to progress. Now that I am on a CPAP, my heart trouble, tho not reversing, is not getting worse. But to try to get the VA to approve OSA seems to define the word "impossible" to me.

I know that I "ticked off" a few people on here. I think it is because of "Empty nest syndrome". You see, when you are a parent, you have to be a pain in the neck to your kids. You have to make em do stuff they dont want to do...you have to make em get up, and get dressed, when sometimes they would rather sleep. You have to make em go to school, when they would rather play hookie. You have to make em eat vegetables, when they would just as soon eat candy bars 3 times a day...etc etc. And now, they are gone. One of my sons is in Iraq, as some of you know. I cant hardly watch the news. I do anyway, and whenever someone is reported killed in Iraq, I go ballistic. I know what it is like in the military, and I understand why "military intelligence" is an oxymoron..first hand. So, I guess I am being a pain in the neck to you guys. Sometimes I think maybe those military leaders were a pain in the neck to us because they missed their famialies, too. Thanks for putting up with me.