Donna

My husband filed a claim for AO IHD in 2006. The denial letter clearly refrenced his CAD, IHD and debrillator implant. He re-opened the claim in April 2010. He has not received anything from the VA acknowledging he is part of the Nehmer class. His VSO advised him his claim will fall under Nehmer. Should we be looking for a letter to confirm he is a Nehmer case?

Thank-you for your responses, you all are so helpful. My husband filed his claim in 2006 for IHD due to AO exposure and was denied for nsc. He was going to the VA clinic for health care way before that date, I think in 2004 during the time he was applying for SSDI and we were cash strapped and needed help with his heart meds. If the VA was aware of his heart condition and AICD before the actual claim was filed, will there be an earlier EED?

Ok, the rule leaves OMB later this week, triggers the 60 day CRA. Webb starts his hearing on September 23rd. Getting closer to election day, a number of Senators are up for re-election, their minds are on their campaigns. Everyone know they are not going to accomplish anything from now to the election. After the election, they may be in lame duck sessions. A few days into the hearing, LO and BEHOLD Senator Webb "gets it" and announces he is satisfied with the Secretary's decision and calls a vote for the CRA to be cut short and let the rule fo forward. BINGO, BANGO...Senator Webb becomes a HERO to all the Viet Nam Vets. Thoughts?

Lets see here,I am a nurse practicioner with the VA, I can't put him on a treadmill, I will do a chemical stress test to determine his Mets and EF factor. Whoa, the tests look good. Denied claim....uh oh, the man has a defibrillator implant because a cardiologist specialzing in the "electric" part of the heart determined he is in iminent danger of a cardiac arrest due to arrythmia caused by multiple MI and CAD, firm diagnosis of IHD. Oh well, Claim denied, after all we are the VA. (Our worst nightmare)

Will a Vet that has documented DX of IHD over a period of 18 years and now has a ICD implant be called in for a C&P exam? The exam is to establish Mets and EF factor. The Vet would not have a defibrillator if his heart was in good shape. Just wanting to know how all this works?

Your statements are so true. If you are political junkie like I am, following this process is a hobby. I have 7 other hobbies called grandchildren. As the 2010 election heats up, I will be anxiously waiting to take our country back for those grandchildren. I always felt I was not getting the whole truth from Congressman Boren's office, although I do appreciate the personal phone calls. It never made sense to me that the claims would be paid during the review by Congress, but that is what he kept saying.Oh well, it will all be done by the end of 2010 and so will the election. Plenty to watch and read up on.

Aide to Congressman Boren of Oklahoma called me again yesterday. He again said " the rule should be passed from the OMB and become final in the fall" The 60 day Congressional review will NOT stop processing and payment of claims" " Only a Act of Congress could stop this rule and that will not happen"He said no one in either house has an appetite for stopping this rule in an election year. He also said if any Senator has a problem with the rule, they will discuss the matter with the Sec and resolve it privately, whatever that means. I think for the Vets that do not fall under Nehmer, there might be a disagreements on when to make the claim effective. The date of the claim or the date the rule became effective????? Thoughts????

My confusion is here: The rule is final when it is published right? When is it effective? After the 60 day review? Therefore Webbs amendment (which is already law) actually does delay the "payment" of claims

There seems to be agreement that the 60 day Congressional review starts after the rule is published. I assumed that is " in session" days? They go on August recess as I recall. What I cannot get clear is... are they payments of the claims delayed during the 60 day review? I was told by an aide to Congressman Boren of Oklahoma that the 60 day review WOULD NOT delay processing or payment of the claims after the rule is final. So confused on this issue. I still think (speculate) the rule will become final this fall.

I keep hearing and reading thet the Congressional review does not stop the working up and payment of claims. Only a Congressional resolution could do that. So what purpose does the Congressional review have? It is law already, why did Webb have to put in an amendment for it? To delay an effective date of the rule may mean to delay an effective date on a claim? How could they ignore Nehmer on cases where there is a previously denied claim sometimes years ago for a presumtive related to AO exposure? If you filed a claim post the announcement in October, is your EED the date of the claim or the date of the rule becoming final? Help me to understand please. NVLSP is wanting to know from Vets the date of when they first filed the claim and were denied. I assume to protect their Nehmer class? Someone said they might want to amend the law, to prevent Nehmer from coming into play. how can they do that?

I don't know what all this means, what about it being at the OMB for review? what does this do to Webb's hearing and Congressional review? This is all very confusing and hard to follow, can anyone explain what is going on and where we are?

What happens after OMB has completed it's review?

I am still learning about this process, but I saw the rule arrived at the OMB on July 8th. If they have 90 days to do their work and I also heard it is unlikely they will take the full 90 days. That puts it at Oct 8th, when the Secretary can sign the final rule into the registry. The Congressional review starts at the pont the rule becomes final, but the review does not prevent developing and paying claims. Only a Congressional resolution can do that. All this when we have an election on November 2. Wow. I still say call Senator Webb's office and overwhelm him with email and snail mail. We have to voice our disapproval of the hearing set for 9-23-10. This is nothing but posturing, grandstanding on the part of the Senator. 202-224-4024. Bringing the Secretary of the VA in front of a hearing to grill him on his decsion to add the presumtives is disgraceful and we should voice it. I have watched enough of these hearings to se it is just an opportunity for the Senators to make fools of themselves and so close to an election????? Why would they want to focus public attention to a move against Viet Nam Vets so close to an election? I'll bet we see alot of Sentors grandstand the opposite way and start praising the Vets and tell the Secretary they agree with his decsion and they all support the Vets and owe them a debt. your thoughts

I emailed my Congressman Dan Boren of Oklahoma and his staff called me back. I voiced my opinion on this matter. I called Senator Webb's office and told them we strongly support the Secretarys action and urged the Senator to stop the delay of these three presumtives. Senator Webb is no friend of the Viet Nam Vet. I do not like the term he used of "if we fence the money in"........ Fence the money in, Sen Webb causes more Vets to suffer financially and medically. Call his office and contact your congress rep!

Thank-you Berta, NVLSP wanted to know the date of my husband's denial for IHD due to AO exposure. It was 2006. He has a AICD implant since 2004 and SSDI from 2004. They told me he would fall under the Nehmer class and his claim should be retro to 2006 and be 100% because of the AICD implant. I do not discuss much of this with my husband as I believe it is my job to take as much stress off of him as possible. I make the calls, do the research, answer VA's request, etc... This site has been a blessing and I have learned so much from it. When we first heard about this in April 2010, we did not know the difference between compensation and pension. I do not know why it is taking so long, I guess you cannot expect any government action to be fast. I too was upset at Senator Webb questioning the Sec of the VA on a job that the Secretary was mandated by congress to do. The hearing will be interesting Sept 23, the aid I talked to says Webb may back down.

Well, Jared Burn in Congressman David Boren's office called me again. This time he wanted to state that he had called the head of the VA back to clarify if the 60 day review would prevent payments being made. He said it would not. When the rule becomes final this fall, payments would start. The only thing that could prevent this from happening is a Congressional Resolution to stop the rule completely and no one see that happening.

While this is still fresh on my mind, Congressman Boren's aid called me again from DC in reference to when the time clock starts ticking for the 60 day review. He talked to the head of the VA today and they said they expect the rule to be final this fall. When it becomes final, is when the 60 day review starts. It is his opinion, that unless Congress goes for a joint resolution to prevent this rule from becoming final, claims will be developed and payments can start when the rule becomes final. It is also his opinion that congress has NO appetite to prevent Veterans from being compensated for Agent Orange exposure. While it is true that during the hearing process September 23rd, Webb could introduce a Congressional Resolution to stop the rule from becoming final, he does not see that happening at all. My question is, and cannot be answered I guess is: When the rule becomes final this fall, will the review prevent claims from being paid. I understand they can be fully worked up, but will the review prevent the payment? Congressman Boren's office says they will be paid. I don't know if I believe that.

My husband has a AICD implant since 2004. I wonder what testing they will be able to do on him. His Ischemic Heart disease reached a level of needing a defibrillator implant. His diagnosis in Ischemic cardiomiopathy and CAD. Scheduled for an device check tomorrow with private cardiologist.

When Obama signs this bill into law, 13.4 billion is allocated to the VA for retro claims for fiscal year 2010 is what I understand. The 13.4 billion is what caught the eye of Sen Webb, sorry he did not READ the bill before that, but should we be surprised? The 60 day review stops the VA from paying the claims but does not stop them from developing the claims to be ready to pay after the review. Could Webb after the bill is signed say " ok I want the review to start in October?" The bill has to be signed by the end of July is what I was told. His hearing is the 23rd of September. If the review is all of August and September, then his time is up in October. Speculating, I know. We need to snail mail Webbs office. Dump tons of letters to his office right now. He is the same Senator that pushed through legislation for 52 Billion in benefits for the post 911 Vets and now trying to sabatage the Nam Vets. Write him a letter.

I asked the aid to Congressman Boren's office when the time clocks starts ticking of the 60 day review. He did not even know. He said he would have to call me back. The 60 day thing does not even make sense. They will have to pay back to the date of the claim so they are not saving anything. If he (Senator Webb) had a problem with this issue, why was it not brought up at the beginning of this procedure? The 13 billion has already been funded through passage of this bil for retroactive claims just in 2010. He claims he just noticed the 13 billion dollar figure in the bill and that peaked his interest. I call this grandstanding. Need to snail mail Senator Webb's office, email will not work if you are not residing in his state.

Aid to Congressman Boren told me the bill passed the house last night with the Webb amendment included. It now goes back to the Senate for final approval then to Obama to sign. I understand this has to be done in July. Webb can withdraw his amendment or it can be passed with his language in it. It will not stop the funding, the funding has already been passed. It delays the dispursement of money to the Vets for 60 days during the review. My question is when does the 60 day time clock start ticking? I am thinking after the bill is signed by Obama. Which would make the delay August and September. His hearing is called for September 23rd, that would make the time period very short to gain opposition to the passage of the rule. Any thoughts?

A few weeks ago, I emailed my Congressman Dan Boren of Oklahoma about the Webb amendment. His reply was a standard description of all the Veterans legislation he has supported through the years. I sent him another email saying I appreciated knowing about all the previous legislation, but I wanted to know where he stood on this amendment. I actually received a phone call from DC from one his aids telling me the bill was in the house and the exact language of the bill was not finished. It was quite possible the Webb language will not be in the bill. If it is, Rep. Boren will still have to vote for the bill because it is the war appropriation bill. I understand that position but I wanted to know the possibility of the congress stopping the three presumtives from becoming final. He said, that he has not heard any member of congress other than the two senators who are even questioning the three presumtives and he assured me in an election years there would be very little support to do anything against our Veterans. He said Webb is exercising the right that allows for the congress to do a 60 day review of the proposed rule change and that is all it will come to. The appropriations bill has to be passed by the end of July, final language should be out soon. He said he expects this rule to become final without any more delays. he also said the funding has already been passed.So after talking to him I feel this rule should be published in August or September. Speculating, I know, but that is what I think.

My husband does not read everything I do. All it does is upset him and causes stress. I read everything I can read to stay informed on what is going on. He has IHD with onset at age 44, now at 61 he has had an AICD implant since age 55. He has been retired medically from his company and on SSDI since 2004. If you have IHD, the last thing you need is stress. We have reopened his claim for IHD due to AO exposure that was denied in 2006, we have sent in all the required paperwork. His medical records are all up to date. I read all this and all I can do is speculate. I have written my congressman and Senator Webb. I recall reading the 60 day delay kicks in when then rule becomes final. The best advice I have receiived is: this all will take along time. The length of time? No one knows...so we were advised to get a hobby. I encourage my husband to stay active and happy. I will read all this mess and try to remain positive for him. We have lived many years with heart disease and have become accustomed to the limits. doctors appointments, medications, cost and anxiety. We will live many more years hopefully, but we need to stay positve, active on his claim, informed and vocal. Meanwhile we did get a hobby. Staying happy and alive, enjoying our grandchildren.

Thank-you for a really informative answer, that is why I come to this forum. Very informative.

I have a couple of questions for the forum. If the Act that was passed in the 90's gave the Sec of Vet Affairs the descion making authority after being advised from the authorized medical experts to add a presumtive disease to the list of AO list of diseases, what is the Webb hearing have to do with this authority? Is he just curious of what the medical evidence is? My second question is: has any of the previous diseases added been questioned and claims denied because of life style? ie being overweight, family history, smoking, etc? I can't see them awarding a 60 year old Vet that is 40 pounds overweight, smoked for 40 years and developed IHD anything. Do you think they will consider life style? What about the Vet who had early onset of IHD in thier 30's or 40's that now has a AICD in thier 60's? On the IHD part of this rule, with Webb trying to sabotage the passage, and the history of the VA trying to deny whatever they can, I can see them trying to use lifestyle where in the past they did not.