Question For Nehmer Vets/widows

[Berta]

If you got the Nehmer letter regarding potential retro there is a good chance ,in most cases , that you can expect retro.

I understand many have even gotten phone calls from VA telling them the retro they can expect.

Have any of you figured out what retro you could expect? The historic rate charts at the VA web site go back to 1977 but are not too easy to find.

I ask because I figured out the lowest possible lowball retro award I could get by using the historic rate charts for vet-spouse -child regarding my IHD claim. I also figured out the highest retro I might attain.

But this is my point.

If I am lucky enough to get a Nehmer phone call-right away I will know if they did it correctly.It will be higher than the lowball retro figure I figured out (based on the lowest SMC rate as accrued )

Then maybe I can appeal it right over the phone

and get a fast re do. I sure will raise Hell if the amount is wrong (they probably WONT call me)

Although Nehmer only seems to warrant the proper EED, it seems to me any rating issues can be challenged right away, telling the VA they committed a CUE. But I need to think about that more.

Also- a good way VA can skim our money is to forget dependents.I sure hope they are considering in these Nehmer retro awards that-in some cases the children might have turned 18 during the retro period and are dropped as dependents but on the other hand, there could have been births of other dependents (and/or step children added to the family or adopted children in the many long past years that retro AO can involve.)

It can be worth one's while to try to figure out how much your Nehmer award should be.

DUH I should talk. The VA made 2 errors on my stuff years ago and the errors totaled 40 thousand and I didnt even really pick up on the errors.

I did question them long ago but I made the mistake of believing the follow up letter I got from the VA.

They were wrong.

Years after that the RC found the errors and ordered them to pay me.

I feel pretty stupid that I did this. I should have paid more attention to the matter.40 thou is a lot to overlook.

I was so glad to have the claim resolved in 1998 that I didn't seem to even want to think about them again.And I should have really checked their figures right away.

[VetsLady]

Berta,

I started a topic yesterday and you were kind enough to respond. The question was not well developed, I apologize for that.

The question did pertain to my husband and yes, he did receive a "Nehmer" letter. I thought he did, and not wanting to rely on the memory,

I pulled it from the file and it does state "this case (my husbands) qualifies for a special review based on a possible prior VA benefits claim for one of

the three new presumptive diseases". He was denied sc for his heart and we didn't file an appeal as he had other issues that were primary and he was quite ill from them and not the heart issue.

Fast forward to an EKG done earlier this year he done in the ER at the hospital and we found out he'd had a prior heart attack, a silent attack. He also has Coronary Artery disease, sc for DM2 (AO related), etc. and so on. Ironically, this letter he received asked him to prove he was in RVN.....when he was and its already been established and yes, I notified VA they should take a look at his file as service in RVN has been established.

So, I'm not sure where this will end up. We can access ebenefits however, I found out through a phone call to VARO that the claims affected by Nehmer will not show up on ebenefits (I had wondered why it didn't show up, all of his other items are there)....they said it had something to do with it being part of a class action lawsuit.

So.......I'm told by 1-800 a rating decision is done and was mailed out to us late last week. It should arrive this week or next. We can wait until it arrives. And, hopefully they

got it right .........

Incidentally, they did send him on a slew of exams, and that was prior to this letters arrival. Interesting, eh? All heart related. All of his care has been at the local VAMC except for the hospital stay at a private facility and I notified them where they could obtain all of his updated med recs and brought a copy in to his VA doc after we arrived home for her review and was told "it will become part of his medical file here". I should go down and check. I'll wait until the decision arrives. No, I haven't seen any $ show up in our account - my notes frommy call to VA this morning indicate the 1-800 rep said that any retro awarded will be paid at the beginning Nov. I don't know about that, the retro he received when we won his 100% claim was in the bank before the decision arrived. Are they doing Nehmer differently ?

We shall find out. If its denied, we'll go from there.

If you got the Nehmer letter regarding potential retro there is a good chance ,in most cases , that you can expect retro.

I understand many have even gotten phone calls from VA telling them the retro they can expect.

Have any of you figured out what retro you could expect? The historic rate charts at the VA web site go back to 1977 but are not too easy to find.

I ask because I figured out the lowest possible lowball retro award I could get by using the historic rate charts for vet-spouse -child regarding my IHD claim. I also figured out the highest retro I might attain.

But this is my point.

If I am lucky enough to get a Nehmer phone call-right away I will know if they did it correctly.It will be higher than the lowball retro figure I figured out (based on the lowest SMC rate as accrued )

Then maybe I can appeal it right over the phone

and get a fast re do. I sure will raise Hell if the amount is wrong (they probably WONT call me)

Although Nehmer only seems to warrant the proper EED, it seems to me any rating issues can be challenged right away, telling the VA they committed a CUE. But I need to think about that more.

Also- a good way VA can skim our money is to forget dependents.I sure hope they are considering in these Nehmer retro awards that-in some cases the children might have turned 18 during the retro period and are dropped as dependents but on the other hand, there could have been births of other dependents (and/or step children added to the family or adopted children in the many long past years that retro AO can involve.)

It can be worth one's while to try to figure out how much your Nehmer award should be.

DUH I should talk. The VA made 2 errors on my stuff years ago and the errors totaled 40 thousand and I didnt even really pick up on the errors.

I did question them long ago but I made the mistake of believing the follow up letter I got from the VA.

They were wrong.

Years after that the RC found the errors and ordered them to pay me.

I feel pretty stupid that I did this. I should have paid more attention to the matter.40 thou is a lot to overlook.

I was so glad to have the claim resolved in 1998 that I didn't seem to even want to think about them again.And I should have really checked their figures right away.

Edited October 4, 2011 by VetsLady

[Berta]

The retro might be in the bank before the letter comes.

"Fast forward to an EKG done earlier this year he done in the ER at the hospital and we found out he'd had a prior heart attack, a silent attack. He also has Coronary Artery disease, sc for DM2 (AO related), etc. and so on. Ironically, this letter he"

Had the VA already diagnosed him with CAD? Were they treating him for CAD?

A 'silent' heart attack ,which was fully evident on an EKG done in the VA ER, was my initial piece of evidence when I proved the VA had malpracticed on my husband to the point of causing his death.

Of course not every silent heart attack can be predicted by the VA. And most of them are properly followed up and treated by the VA.They show up on the EKG.

This is why however vets need to understand their med recs and the results of any EKGs etc.

In our case the diagnosis was so vastly different from what it really should have been, and there was no indication at all from the docs that Rod needed follow up care- that it lent to 6 more years of malpractice.

And 6 years of the wrong med for what they said caused his initial collapse-a med which the GC found also had contributed to his death.

[VetsLady]

The retro might be in the bank before the letter comes.

"Fast forward to an EKG done earlier this year he done in the ER at the hospital and we found out he'd had a prior heart attack, a silent attack. He also has Coronary Artery disease, sc for DM2 (AO related), etc. and so on. Ironically, this letter he"

Had the VA already diagnosed him with CAD? Were they treating him for CAD?

--- He's been treated for CAD from even before he was seen at the VA as a regular patient. He is on several medications and had a series of very high BP readings last year.

--- The EKG that was done was in the ER at a private hospital, we were out of town and an emergency arose, VA authorized him to be taken there. (He had alot of tests and an overnight stay at this hospital, and I had the records sent to our home 1 week later)

--- BP there was in the super high range, they gave him nitro and were the ones who found the he'd had the prior event but could not say when, (age undetermined).

A 'silent' heart attack ,which was fully evident on an EKG done in the VA ER, was my initial piece of evidence when I proved the VA had malpracticed on my husband to the point of causing his death.

--- VA had done a few EKG's, all the way back to his Agent Orange exam, the one where the VA makes you think they are doing you a "huge favor". The exam was done when shortly after he filed his initial exam (like maybe a week), it was not a formal C&P but done by their docs. Although at that time he was not being seen at the VA or treated there, (we had great insurance) he was seen in the private sector until he received sc for the AO issues that gave him a 70% rating and from that point on he saw VA doctors. Not one of them indicated he'd had a silent heart attack. Not one of the EKG result appts we were told he'd had the silent heart attack ........ but, when I pulled the original chart notes on the AO claim and compared them to the EKG he had in March, the AO doctor noted issues that were similar in nature and his rationale for sending to an EKG was "suggestive of cardiomegaly and left ventricular hypertrophy. Chest Xray showed left ventricular hypertrophy and well and he was sent off to EKG dept. I do have that test result someplace. If I can't find it, I'll stop at the FOIA desk and get it.

Of course not every silent heart attack can be predicted by the VA. And most of them are properly followed up and treated by the VA.They show up on the EKG.

---Very true.

This is why however vets need to understand their med recs and the results of any EKGs etc.

In our case the diagnosis was so vastly different from what it really should have been, and there was no indication at all from the docs that Rod needed follow up care- that it lent to 6 more years of malpractice.

And 6 years of the wrong med for what they said caused his initial collapse-a med which the GC found also had contributed to his death.

---Your story is very sad and my heart aches for you. Sharing what happened to you and Rod is a gift you give to every Veteran. Thank you for sharing this.