Va Training & Fast Letters - Why Are They Useful?

[fanaticbooks]

I am in the middle (kind of) of revising and adding to my website, howtoassemblevaclaims.com.

One of the areas is to add hadit’s forum for accessing VA Training Letters and also their Fast Letters.

To VETERANS of the VA Claim system, we know WHY these letters can be valuable.

However, to the new person soon to become a VETERAN of the VA Claim system, these letters might not seem to be worth their while.

This topic will hopefully pull in all the VETERANS of the VA Claim system who will then proceed to explain WHY these letters help.

To start off…

Explanation of what these are:

These are letters provided by Directors/Management of the VA to the employees of the VA.

These letters can explain rulings from Congress, the Courts, or from Management.

These letters can explain procedures for processing general or specific claim types.

These letters can also include information on the Compensation & Pension Examination procedures that the personnel are to follow.

All told, they are an excellent way to gain insight into the behind-the-scenes stuff in the VA for many of the disability claims that come over their desks.

Why are they posted in their entirety in here?

Because Tbird wants to help. She created the Training and Fast Letter Forum for you, her veteran sisters and brothers, to have this access.

Because I want to help. I worked with her to get them where veterans can find them.

Because these letters have a tendency to disappear off the radar when newer versions come along.

Because many of these do not appear in normal public viewing.

Because they are scattered all over the Internet and can be hard to find on other websites.

Because they are a VERY VALUABLE TOOL especially when submitting a Notice of Disagreement (NOD), going before the Decision Review Officer (DRO), and working an appeal.

How are they useful?

Reading the letter specific to your situation, you can gain valuable knowledge on what procedures the VA personnel must follow when working that area.

Comparing the required procedure to the procedure actually performed could show discrepancies.

Seeing procedures and policies can help you provide better documentation to promote your claim(s).

Quoting some of these letters or mentioning them when submitting documentation can bring to the VA’s attention information or procedures not previously considered or done.

These are the very basics in the broad statement of why these letters are useful.

Hopefully, other VETERANS of the VA Claim System will come along with LOTS of good stuff to explain.

Fanaticbooks

(if no one minds, when I revise my website I would like to maybe use comments mentioned in here on my site.)

If anyone has a Fast Letter not mentioned in the Forum, scan it and send to me. I will be happy to work to get it posted.

J

Edited January 16, 2011 by Tbird
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[Tbird]

is this the letter?

DMII_VA_Training_Letter.doc

Fantastic books = the 1997 DMII training letter is probably 2 or 3 older PCs away from the PC I now have.

Is there any way to access the older hadit board as I put it there years ago when I used it for my claim.

I have 3 1/2 floppys up the ying yangs too but have not found the floppy yet that has it.

However whenever I see a DMII claim here I always look for the complications that the older training letter has in it-

one good thing it contained was non ratable symptoms that could indicate diabetes-

sores that dont heal, hyperlipedimia, blurred and unusual vision changes, oral or vaginal candidiasis,

extreme hunger, frequent urination,

there are many symptoms that could reveal diabetes

And of course any Blood chem reports- abnormal glucose values of curse but also abnormal creatine values-

and abnormal cholestrol .

[carlie]

Berta,

Maybe it's in the 1998/99 VBN or the CD Rom.

I have some older CD Rom's and will look there.

[fanaticbooks]

is this the letter?

DMII_VA_Training_Letter.doc

We have this one listed as 00-06 in the Training Letter Forum. It would be year 2000 which I think is not the one Berta is trying to find.

fanaticbooks

[Berta]

It was issued by VA in 1997.

It was not specifically for diabetes mellitus -it briefly covered Type I diabetes too.

DMII went onto the AO list in 2001 in time for the 2001 Edition of the VBM but I just checked and no training letter is in the VBM.

I sent it to a diabetes vet for his claim years ago and will call him and see if he still has it.

I helped him win his claim after over a decade in the system with the info in that Training letter.Not AO ,direct SC for diabetes.

It wasnt easy. But he finally succeeded.It will show up eventually.

[stillhere]

We have this one listed as 00-06 in the Training Letter Forum. It would be year 2000 which I think is not the one Berta is trying to find.

fanaticbooks

That is the one Berta sent to me when I first came on board I think 03. I don't think it says 1997 on it but it is 21 pages and talks about diabetes 1+2

I just checked my profile and it says 07 that is not right. Berta helped me with my first claim in 03. When did the old board change to the new board?

Edited January 20, 2011 by stillhere