Teaching Employees At The 800 #

[carlie]

I just did one of the things I usually post to not bother doing.

I called the 800 VA to see if they could update me any.

I was told that a Rating Decision is shown to have been completed on Nov 16,2010

and that it has to go thru Authorization and Notification.

Then she said there's another word her with some numbers, but the only person I

can ask what it means is not here right now.

So, me being me I asked her to spell it for me.

She said M - a - n - l - i - n - c - o - n.

I replied - OH YES - that would be part of the remand instructions as the RO

did not supply a SOC or a SSOC.

Then she asked me how I would know that information and she has been there

quite a while and never heard of it.

I told her it was a Court Case, I held on while she Googled it and then I heard her say

OMG - Your Right, thanks for teaching me that.

I JUST WANT MY MONEY ...........................

BTW - I asked what RO I was speaking with and she said South Carolina.

[deltaj]

I too have had a similar experience educating a V.A. employee over the telephone. I called the toll free number for V.A. one time and said, "I am the spouse of a permanently and totally disabled service connected veteran and I need you to send me a civil service preference letter for employment." The employee said, "What is that?" I explained and added that I was applying for a job with the U.S. Census bureau and that I needed the letter to get 10 point preference for a federal job. The employee then asked, "What is 10 point preference?" I explained this also. The person then said something like, "Thank you for teaching me that. I didn't even know we had civil service employment preference letters for spouses." This week I also had a similar experience educating another spouse of a permanently and totally service connected disabled veteran. I went into my doctors office and was getting treatment and I happened to mention to a technician treating me that my medical bills were being paid by CHAMPVA. She asked, "What is that?" I said, "It's Civilian Health Administration Program Department of Veterans Affairs. It's for the spouse and children of permanently and totally disabled service-connected veteran." She said, "My husband is a permanently and totally disabled service connected veteran." I said, "Do you have CHAMPVA?" She said, "No, but I have other health insurance." I asked, "Did anybody at V.A. tell you that you could have CHAMPVA and that it could be secondary to your other health insurance?" She said, "No, How do I get it?" I explained her husband needs to complete an application for her to receive this benefit. A Light bulb practically went off in my head when I poised my next question. I then asked her, "Did anybody explain to you that you and your husband can receive a property tax exemption in this state and that your husband could get 2 disabled veterans license plates in this state?" She said she didn't know about property tax exemptions but they had just learned about disabled veteran license plates. I explained to her that in order to get the property tax exemption she needed to get an eligibility letter from V.A. and call the county treasurer's office for the form that needs to be filed out annually and sent to that office along with the letter and a copy of their federal taxes. I explained to her that in this state, Montana, there are income limits on property tax exemptions and an annual deadline for that form could be received each year. I requested she call a county veterans service officer for a list of benefits her husband was entitled to including reduced fee hunting and fishing licenses. Her husband just got his 100% rating last April. I forget to mention to her that her husband may have eligibility for $10,000 in service disabled veterans life insurance with a premium waiver but if he has a new service connected disability and is below a particular age.

Edited January 6, 2011 by deltaj

[carlie]

Carlie,now you know why i hav to raise cane all the time Oldjoe!!

"BTW - I asked what RO I was speaking with and she said South Carolina".

old joe,

What state are you in ?

Your profile shows EC and I can't figure out where that is ?

[carlie]

Her husband just got his 100% rating last April. I forget to mention to her that her husband may have eligibility for $10,000 in service disabled veterans life insurance with a premium waiver but if he has a new service connected disability and is below a particular age.

deltaj,

Good job !

I wonder if they mentioned Chapter 35 benefits to her if he's P&T ?

They might also be able to re-coup some medical service or RX co-pays.

[GuaymasJim]

Hey Joe, there must be a hell of a lot of beach on the Pacific Ocean if Fort Bliss, TX is on the West Coast. hehehehe

[deltaj]

deltaj,

Good job !

I wonder if they mentioned Chapter 35 benefits to her if he's P&T ?

They might also be able to re-coup some medical service or RX co-pays.

Yes, I mentioned Chapter 35 and she already knew about it. I didn't mention recoup of co-pays though and maybe I'll mention that new time I see her. One of the most interesting things I learned about CHAMPVA recently was that CHAMPVA for Life will pay for continued Skilled Nursing Care on Medicare beneficiaries after the 60 day time limit is exhausted for Medicare beneficiaries.