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georgiapapa
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Posts posted by georgiapapa
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Welcome back to Hadit. I look forward to your future posts, especially those regarding agent orange issues.
GP
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OSC,
Congratulations on your award. I am glad everything worked out for you. Some extra benefits go with 100% P & T: free Champva healthcare and Chapter 35 DEA educational benefits for your eligible family members, base commissary & exchange privileges for you and your family, free VA dental care for you, additional lfe insurance available for you, etc. I don't know if there are any local benefits avaiable to you in the Phillipines but in the USA, many of the states offer additional benefits. Depending on the state, significant property tax breaks are offered, free vehicle tags, state income tax breaks, etc.
Good luck and take care.
GP
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DD0351,
Navy is right. Anytime you file a new clam, it opens the door for the VA to review all of your current service connected disabilities. They may try to lower some of your current ratings or they may leave them alone. Just be prepared to deal with the possibility of a proposed reduction in rating. JMO
Good luck.
GP
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Oiler,
Great to have you back on Hadit my friend.
Take good care of yourself and enjoy some of that retro with the family.
GP
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Well, I really dont know, but I have a tendency to believe "open the books" and here is why?
Gee..are they really gonna fake thousand and thousands and thousands of salaries? Why? For what purpose?
I looked on my state's VA salaries. I noticed several of the doctors I have had, or knew of on this list. One doc, in particular, I know well. She was a very good doc, very good and thorough, and I happen to know she has been promoted and supervises all or nearly all VA docs at my VAMC. Her name was on the list, showing she earned about 250k. Do you really think a doctor, good and eperienced enough to supervise other docs is gonna work for 75 grand? My wife is a nurse and she knows docs in our area, and how much they make. If they are a private doc, a specialist, and have a few years of experience with one or more board certifications they pretty much make at least 500k. Many are well over a million.
The VA has special bonuses to attract and keep MD's, and especially specialist MD's. So her salary of 250k seems "about reasonable" or even low, for a MD and doctor supervisor. These docs usually have 6 figure student loans to get to be a doc..sometimes 10 years of education. Do you think docs spend a half million and 10 years of their life educating themselves to earn 75 grand? or even 100k or even 150k? Those student loans have to be paid back, and when they are, if paid by the employer, that is part of their compensation. I know a doc who pays more than 50k in student loans per year. The top salaries are likely docs/supervisors, not VA employee GS 10's or even GS 12's. Docs are a entirely different pay scale or they would not have any docs!
Docs will accept much less at the VA rather than private practice, for several reasons:
1. They go home at 5pm, mostly, and they are done. If someone needs a doc, they can call the doc who is working that shift. Docs like the 9-5 and no after hours calls. If Vets get sick after hours, the VA ER doc does what he can, and often the Vet suffers..or sometimes dies. When that happens the VA says, "whoopee..there is one less comp check we have to pay".
2. VA docs pay no malpractice insurance. That is a very, very big deal. Malpractice insurance can be 100,000 per year in high risk things like OB.
3. The VA docs get great benefits, can move to a different VA if they move, and a lot of special bonuses. My son is marrying a military doc and she told us some of them.
broncovet,
You and I agree on the pay for doctors. I stated in my post that there is a pay scale for certain professions such as doctors. If you google the names on the VA lists for several pages, they are all doctors. Some are actually VA employees and some are private doctors who also treat patients at the VAMC. My oldest son is an opthalmologist specializing in retina surgery. He is a private doctor but has performed surgery a few times on VA patients at the request of the VA. There is a serious shortage of doctors at the VAMCs, especially medical specialists. The VA has increased salaries for doctors and is giving sign on bonuses for new doctors.
At first glance on the Open the Books website, some could get the wrong impression thinking regular VA employees are making over $300,000. per year. In fact, OPM states that only 1.6% of federal employees make over $200,000. per year and most of these are doctors. I would be surprised if VA Secretary McDonald makes over $300,000. Per year.
In fairness, I may be totally wrong about the info on Open the Books website being BS. I tried to keep going down the lists beyond all the doctors and then a page popped up wanting me to sign up for an account. If I am wrong it will not be the first time nor the last time.
GP
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Kate,
I think you are right. It should be an age discrimination issue. I am amazed that veterans service organizations just sat by and watched this happen when the Caregiver Program was first proposed. I know there are veterans on this website who know and talk to some of the VA disability attorneys. Perhaps they might ask the attorney(s) if they might consider filing an age discrimination lawsuit against the VA on behalf of pre 9/11 disabled veterans.
GP
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Also, Google the salaries for U.S. Senators and U.S. Congressmen. Do you really think senators and congressmen are going to let VA employees or any other federal employees make twice what they make? Open the Books website is BS. JMO
GP
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Google "2015 GS payscale" and you will see the information on the Open the Books website is BS. Even if they added benefits with salaries, the figures would still be exaggerated. I would guess that most of the employees working for the VA regional offices range from GS 5 to GS 12 and the supervisors are GS 13s and high echelon managers at the GS 14 and GS 15 level.
I worked for the federal government for over 25 years and I am familiar with the the pay systems used by federal agencies. There is additional locality pay added for employees in cities with high cost of living but this additional pay would not add anywhere near what is shown on the Open the Books website. There are also special payscales for certain professions such as doctors. I seriously doubt you will find many doctors, if any, working for the federal government making what is shown n the Open the Books website.
Now don't get me wrong, I am not a defender of VA salaries. I think a lot of the employees at the VA are overpaid for what they are doing but if I am going to criticize the VA, I do not want my criticism to be based on something I know is total BS. JMO
GP
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Update
Just checked ebennies today and I am now 100% p&t. So I guess that's a good thing.
Congratulations. This means free Champva healthcare and Chapter 35 DEA educational benefits for your eligible family members. For you it means free VA dental care, etc.
Good luck and take care.
GP
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Travel pay is not automatic. You have to complete a form and submit it to the VAMC travel office. Also, your claim may have closed yesterday but your effective date is probably the date you actually filed your claim.
You have to be priority 1 (50% or higher) for the copays to be waived on VA appointments and prescriptions.
GP
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rootbeer22,
Someone may have already suggested it but if not I would email Undersecretary Hickey ASAP. Contacting her would probably result in the records being added to your claim and possibly speed up the processing of your claim. JMO
allison.hickey@va.gov
Good luck.
GP
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I agree with Vern. Send the email to Ms. Hickey.
GP
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yoopergirl,
Go to the Hadit home page and click on the VA Training Letters on the right side of the page. Scroll down to "TL 07-01." This is the VA training letter on TDIU. It also shows how the VA determines the effective date on TDIU claims.
Good luck and take care.
GP
- Buck52 and yoopergirl
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Congratulations on your award. With a 30% rating, you are now entitled to travel pay for all VA appointments. You can also request retroactive travel pay back to the effective date of your claim. You should have already received travel pay for all of your C & P exams.
Good luck to you.
GP
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yoopergirl,
You are right. Pre 9/11 vets are sol. In my opinion, this is a form of discrimination and should be considered illegal. I guess it is not illegal because we are not being treated differently because of race, gender, religion or national origin. Whether illegal or not, it stinks to high hell. JMO
Take care GP
- K9MAL and yoopergirl
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Jean,
Seeing your message about your husband being ok made my day. A lot of other Hadit members will be thrilled with your message. I am glad to see your husband is recovering from what could have been a terrible tragedy. I am sure you and your daughter have to be emotionally drained and need to take a little time off to recover from the past couple of days. It takes strong women to stand by men with PTSD and your husband is lucky to have two strong women in his life.
Take care.
GP
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Welcome aboard Detel.
GP
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Jean,
I hope we get a post from you soon saying your husband is ok. I think a lot of Hadit members are sitting on edge right now hoping everything turns out alright. I know this is really hard and my heart goes out to you and your daughter. We consider your husband to be part of the Hadit family. You and your daughter are now under the umbrella of the Hadit family and you have Hadit members ready to help if they can. We have your family in our prayers. Stay strong. Please keep us posted.
Georgiapapa
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You are welcome.
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Dick,
I seriously doubt you will receive EMG or NCS tests at your C & P exam. My exam for peripheral neuropathy in my lower extremities consisted of an NP breaking an oversized Qtip in half and jabbing me in the feet and legs with the Qtip while asking "can you feel that?"
It was a joke. Fortunately, I had brought copies of my EMG and NCS tests reports to the exam that were performed by my private doctor. I think bringing copies of all of your relevant medical records to your exam can help. My examiner did review the records and used the info to complete her questionnaire. Do not depend on the VA providing the examiner with your records.
Personally, I do not think an NP is qualified to perform an exam such as yours. If the exam does not go your way, I would suggest getting an IMO from a private specialist to countermand the C & P exam report if necessary. JMO
Take care.
GP
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Oiler1995,
Now your eligible family members can get Champva healthcare coverage and Chapter 35 DEA educational benefits. These are great benefits. You now qualify for free dental care, base commissary and exchange privileges,etc.
Good luck and take care of yourself.
GP
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You can file for compensation but the diseases identified by the VA as possibly associated with the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune have not been classified as presumptive diseases by the VA. As a result, veterans still have to provide evidence showing a nexus between their diseases and the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune in order to receive compensation. At the current time, veterans or family members who are diagnosed with any of the diseases and were on Camp Lejeune for 30 days it more between 1957 and 1987 are eligible for free medical treatment of the diseases by the VA.
More info on this subject can be found on the VA website.
GP
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Dept. Of Defense I.d Card
in Veterans Benefits State & Federal
Posted
Oiler1995,
Go to the following website for info on the base I.d. cards:
www.cac.mil
Hope this helps.
GP