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Marv

Seaman
  • Posts

    5
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About Marv

Previous Fields

  • Service Connected Disability
    20%
  • Branch of Service
    Army

Marv's Achievements

  1. An article released by Tom Philpott on 5 November 2010 states that the VA's goal is to have pending Agent Orange claims processed and paid by October 2011. It looks like some of us have many months to go. A link to the article is proved below: http://www.jdnews.com/articles/new-84466-disease-orange.html
  2. Marv

    New Iris Answer

    I put in an IRIS request for current status of claim yesterday morning and received the following response yesterday afternoon: "This is in response to your recent inquiry to the Department of Veterans Affairs dated November 4, 2010, in regard to the status of your claim. To provide you with an update regarding the three Agent Orange presumptive conditions, the Department of Veterans Affairs sent the final rules to add the three new diseases to the list of presumptive service connected conditions related to exposure to Agent Orange. Parkinson’s, B-cell leukemia’s, and ischemic heart disease (IHD) are in the final rules which were published in the August 31, 2010 edition of the Federal Register. The effective date of the rules is the publication. VA however we were not able to start paying benefits because these rules were subject to a 60 day stay provided for in the Congressional Review Act (CRA). Now that this review period has expired, we are beginning to make decisions and process payments for these presumptive conditions. Generally, they will be priority processed in the order they were received. Our records indicate that as of June 4, 2010, your claim is ready for a decision. We will review your claim to make sure we have everything we need to make an informed decision. If we have everything we need, we will prepare a proposed decision on your claim. The length of time it takes to complete the decision phase depends on several factors, such as the type of claim filed or the availability of evidence needed to decide your claim. The decision phase is completed on most claims between 16 and 27 business days. Please be advised that a claim may take longer in this phase based on the specifics of your claim. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work our way through the claim processing procedures. Generally, if benefits are payable, you may be entitled to a retroactive payment; however, we will not know until we make a final decision. You will receive notification via U.S. mail once your claim has been finalized, explaining our decision in detail. Our records also indicate that a Nehmer claim has been established for you. In regard to the Nehmer ruling, we must review claims previously filed for these diseases and make payments retroactive to the claim date, or to the date of the Nehmer ruling, Sept. 25, 1985, whichever is later. You may considered under the Nehmer ruling if you had previously filed a claim for your IHD and were denied. We are going to review those cases on our own...back to the earliest date Veteran’s claimed these disabilities -- but not earlier than Nehmer -- and will award benefits from that date. Thank you for contacting us. If you have questions or need additional help with the information in our reply, please respond to this message or see our other contact information below." I'll let you guys know when I get something in the mail. Marv<BR style="mso-special-character: line-break"><BR style="mso-special-character: line-break">
  3. With my past experience with the VA I'm concerned that the incorrect diagnosis of Hypertensive Heart Disease (HHD) would give them wiggle room to deny once again since the proposed final rule states that heart disease does not include hypertension or peripheral manifestions of arteriosclerosis. HHD is also one of the primary causes of Coronary Heart Disease, heart attack, etc. For the purposes of my claim I'm stating the cause of my heart problems is Agent Orange exposure not Hypertensive Heart Disease.
  4. I'm an old Viet Nam vet (67-68). I have filed for SC for IHD 3 times since 1995 and have been denied all 3 times. Back in December 2009 I filed again once IHD became presumptive to Agent Orange. I just received the results of my C&P exam for IHD. The diagnosis reads as follows: "For the claimant's claimed condition of Coronary Artery Disease, the diagnosis is Coronary Artery Disease and Hypertensive Heart Disease, S/P CABG (bypass surgery) with scar. The subjective factors are per history. The objective factors are ASA, CXR reveals previous median sternotomy for CABG, ECHO shows EF of 40% and Diastolic LV dysfunction." My past history includes 2 heart attacks, an angioplasty and 2 bypass surgeries, however, I've never been dignosed with hypertensive heart disease nor have I been treated for hypertension. During the C&P exam the doctor did 3 blood pressure readings which read 142/78, 140/78 and 140/78. I can only assume that he based his diagnosis of Hypertensive Heart Disease only on these 3 readings. Based on the C&P doctor's recommendation I immediately visited my family doctor and my cardiologist. Both checked me out and said I did not need blood pressure medication. Blood pressure readings in their office were around 135/78. My question is this. Do I need to inform the VA that I've never had a prior diagnosis of HHD and that my doctors don't agree with that diagnosis? Could the diagnosis of Hypertensive Heart Disease have a negative impact on my claim for the other heart conditions? Any info will be appreciated.
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