etcm

Additional info: I am at 530+ days waiting and am still in development. Was told by congressional aide Indy is so backed up with Nehmer cases. Was told that Indy was bumped from 10 claim raters to 15 claim raters to ensure the Indy VARO had adequate resources to handle the Nehmer claims. All of my claims are for already service connected issues plus a CUE for a service connected issue that. in1996, they said no code existed for but one had been initiated before they adjudicated that original claim and they just did not implement the law in effect at the time..... I really get worked up over this wait-chronic back pain has a way of triggering a short fuse from this situation....

Sorry if this is redundant to previous topics, but here goes. I filed to increase 0% and 10% ratings (as well as a CUE from 1996) in Apr2010 and had C&P exams inAUG2010 with results in AUG2010. I took copies of to this to the VARO in mid Sep 2010 and later dates when they kept asking me IF I ever went to one of the two exams. Here it is almost OCT 2011 and I am still in "development" due to my VARO being slow. As I approach a day that I hope my file will be picked up, will my C&P exams be "expired", and need new C&P exams (with an additional 1-6 month wait)? Some have said yes, some have said probably, and I do not know why they cannot just get it done with - it is their delays that have left my claim languishing for so long........

Broken is correct. Be advised though that most of the numbers are not readily usable. My VARO, Indianapolis, has about 73% of the claims "over 125 days" What does that tell you? Over 125 days for sure. Aspire data : (http://www.app.hospitalcompare.va.gov/index.cfm) says Indy has a 246 day average claim time and the inventory of claims at the Indy VARO have an average age of 234 days old. OK that is more. My claim, a "regular" claim that is supposed to be worked in the order received has not even been reviewed to see if it is ready to be rated, is 530+ days old. Whicj means they have a "regular" claim inventory age that could be a LONG wait. My issues are all already service connected (I am asking for increases and correction of a CUE) and C&P exams were complete over a year ago. So, get your claim in sooner rather than later because the sooner you do, the sooner you should get an adjudication.

Submitted claim for already service connected disabilities and a CUE on 14APR2010; C&P exams on 09AUG2010; results for C&P on computer (and hand carried) to VARO on 29AUG2010; eBenefits says received VAMC docs on 15OCT2010. Development ever since. Now with "special Ops Team"(?) whatever that is. Submitted IRIS request on 07/29/2011-VARO did not answer me but posted a message on VA computer system, so the 1-800-827-1000 customer assistance (nice elderly fellow ) could tell me that, even though others have submitted "regular" claims months AFTER mine at the Indianapolis VARO, that each claim is different so they cannot be compared and I just have to wait. (they did not say "my turn" this time, because I think my turn came and they gave it to someone else ) I've visited the Indianapolis VARO numerous times-heard many different stories, been lied to told information that was not true on multiple occasions, been given compassion (they have some very nice people at customer assistance, and had "rough" ones tell me things like I might have to wait 10-12 months (then I told them I was on my 14th month and they changed the response to brush me off again), and once, stared at with no comments. More than one customer service representative told me that I had no CUE on the records, once, they even removed it from the eBenefits listing but I brayed until they put it back on the list. Gird up thine loins and prepare for a long wait at this VARO. Still Waiting

Just noticed the date of the post. On 14APR2010 I submitted claims for previously service connected issues and a CUE to the Indianapolis VARO...and eBenefits still lists me as in "Development" with zero progress. Every post I made that was positive (not many) previous was smoke and mirrors (meaning erroneous info) by VARO customer service reps and the wait continues! Has anyone else had any progress on a non-Nehmer, non-prioritized, "regular" claim? etcm

I'm posting on a take off of this thread. I have just become aware of a VA system called "COVERS" the "Control of Veterans Records System" that is the internal tracking system for our C-files and other documents. Does anyone know if the 1-800 number people have access to this system such that they could tell us where our record is at or when the last time it was card swiped? My file at Indy seems to have fallen off the face of the earth and no ebenefits updates since Sept2010

If they are "touching" your file you might be moving along. They recently remodeled and have initiated some new "team" concept work initiative issues. I hand carried copies of my C&P exams (performed aug2010) in mid sep2010 and they still have not ackowledged receipt of them from the local VAMC. My last IRIS request (mid feb-response yesterday) said they were working other cases and that I just had to wait for them to have time review my case to determine if it had enough "development"to send it to the rating board. At least you know where your package is....

Although I know I sounded cold and heartless in an earlier post, I will say a couple of more things. For so many years people would tell me the old..."if I had stayed in I could retire now.. Most, in reality could not endure the poor, substandard living conditions, nor the abusive environment and jumped ship as soon as they could. At least, among those receiving gov't funds, disabled vets have "earned" theirs. Cannot say whether all are real or true, but the disabled have earned their pensions. Chronic pain is never easy to measure. I remember seeing a special on 60 Minutes or something about a family in Mississippi that had too many kids and the parents had taught them to act like imbeciles/idiots so as to receive SSD for the children. The parents were receiving about a grand a month for the kids. When they turned 18, the $$$ stopped and the parents kicked the kids out of the house- with no education and no way to earn a living because they did not go to school (because they were "disabled"). The disabled vet will be in competition with these kind of folks for gov't spending. Them and the aged immigrants who have no money and no pensions who are allowed to immigrate to the land of "free money." I was never asked whether opening these floodgates of spending were good and the politicians that I voted for to say "NO" to this spending did not win too often (go figure.) I also think that the disabled vet will spend his pension a lot more effectively than ANY congressional politician who have a skill for throwing good money after bad. The real question is how does the energy to fight a Michelle Bachmann turn into a force that demands the gov't be accountable for all that it spends and to make the gov't a wise steward of our resources. I know I have seen far more idle employees standing around NOT working in VA Medical Centers than in commercially run outfits. I have seen VA employee Shop Stewards and employee parking near the entry doors where parking for severely disabled SHOULD be. The VA is paying millions for SOLAR panels at medical centers - some in real nice locations...like cloudy and cold Connecticut, in areas that they will NEVER have a payback..but the installations are payback of another, political sort. There probably are significant cuts that can be made at the VA medical level, of course we never see the stats or numbers but we will cry aloud if anyone says to "cut:" I think Michelle Bachmann is not the problem. The problem is runaway gov't spending. After I retires, I went to college under the Vocational Rehab plan. In one of my required Social Studies classes, teh teacher was outlining how wonderful gov't spending was so progressive and with each program she spoke about the young kids were nodding their heads up and down saying "yes, yes" like it was a great idea. When I raised my hand and asked who was going to pay for all of the gov't spending required to bestow these wonderful benefits to the masses I was the bad guy! I guess I still am.

I really think Michelle Bachmann is trying - I sent her $$ for her campaign and she is doing what she said she would. The SSA moneys that we sent into the system were paid out log ago. Even last year's SS and Medicaid $$$ I send in are paid out already. There was never a guarantee about receiving two disability incomes. The VA has its system for veterans and the SSI has a system for everybody - and I think Military/SSC disabilities should be excluded from being able to be compensated for by the SS system. The amount of income provided is not much, but it is honest. And yes, I could have been a contender,er..working a nice job with an established career path making some "big bucks" but that is not me, I served many years in the military and am broken - not as bad as some, and maybe worse than others, but I did not take the corporate path, I took the military path as did many others. All of this budget cutting stuff is real. There is not enough production now in this country to pay for ALL of the people consuming gov't paychecks-even if ALL of the corporate profits and ALL of the "rich" peoples assets were to be confiscated for gov't spending. Short of a "magic" pill bestowing unlimited energy and resources, a diminished lifestyle MUST occur from those who are not currently producing. Our parents and their politicians started this slide in individual independence and we did nothing to STOP it, instead, we elected politicians whose main policy was/is to throw more money at it and hope that solves it. When cash flow was exceeded, well "borrow" then call it "seed money" or "investment" and keep right on spending. When producers started to balk, well change government and societal norms to give "gains" for things that real negative economic results such as "green this and green that", "diversity" to the point where "less than the highest/best" is able to be promoted and inefficiently spindle company/gov't assets and resources, taking competition out of the schools and school sports as a mechanism to equalize all and remove the ability to discern between the talented and the untalented and on and on and on. A lot of societal issues here and they have all been made possible by spending without constraint. When Ross Perot was talking about taking on this situation, including social security , while the gov't and ECONOMY was still strong, he was ridiculed (and I was too because I liked his approach). Well now, that ridicule is returning to our generation that lives beyond our means, we've indebted the country beyond any ability to pay off the debt (unless fiat currency is used), and coddle people complaining that they want continued benefits even when there is no money to pay them. PS. I hate AARP's lobbying, they repeated lobby for legislature that wants an elderly generation to receive hundreds of thousands of dollars of health care (per person) have the young(er) workers in the USA pay for it so that they can keep their assets and give them to their families. Another way, they want to consume our resources and keep theirs to give to who they want to. Oh, and the USA jobs are going away because it is cheaper to build machines that will work 24/7 than to pay undereducated, entiltlement minded, overpaid American labor. When the machines have not been developed yet, the highly educated overseas populaces are more than willing to produce more with less cost than us-they might not invent it, but they sure do produce it! That concludes the opine for today.

I do not know if I ever posted here before but today I found out what was "holding up" my claim at 1/2 of it was the results from the C&P exam. My VSO responded to a request from me asking what they need after my C&P exams about 2 months ago. They said they had the results from one but the other was not there and he asked IF i even had an exam. I responded by saying I brought the results that I obtained at the VAMC of BOTH C&P exams a month ago to the VARO and had date stamps on them when I gave them to the VARO customer assistance rep. The VARO said they'd look into it. My wife said "Unbelievable!" when I told her why I had no progress. My VARO is Indianapolis. I hope you find the results and motivate the VARO to get them. My VSO also said they get them off of the computer and do not have to get paper copies from the hospital. This was the opposite of what that last cutomer service rep told me ; he told me that the VARO has to check-in the record from the Rater, send it to the VAMC, have documents entered and then be sent back adding 1-2 weeks every time. Good Luck