Seeking Treatment While Waiting For Claim

[mike76]

Do they process claims quicker for veterans getting help within the VA system?

[Notorious Kelly]

I don't think so, Mike.

Good luck!

[Philip Rogers]

Not freakin likely, unless you're a close friend of the rater or service center manager. We had a rater award all his buddies "s" awards before he retired, here in VT.

pr

[TiredCoastie]

The agency that runs VA healthcare, the Veterans Health Administration, is different than the one that does VA Benefits, the Veterans Benefits Administration. I've heard a couple of times that there is no connection between the two. That's not absolutely true...connectivity between the two exists...but you don't get shuffled ahead in the stacks at the RO because your seek medical care through a VAMC.

If you're being treated by the VAMC and the RO is in the early stages on your claim, there could be some advantage to the VA, as a Department, having your records already. I'm trying to leverage this with my current claim. All my records related to my claim are held either by the VAMC, the RO, or both at this point...and I made sure to get the VAMC important medical records of care received after I submitted my claim so that they'd be available to the RO when they finally get around to working on my claim. I don't know if this is going to work, but hopefully it's protecting the FDC nature of the claim.

PTSD is a whole other matter and if that's your claimed condition, you need to read up on that here on hadit.com.

An additional factor is that depending on your financial situation, you might owe co-pays for treatment you receive at the VAMC. If you are later rated at 50% or higher, the VAMC is supposed to refund those co-pays back to you if you approach them with a request. From my experience with VAMC Durham NC, that might take as long as the RO to decide my disability claim. My request for a refund was processed back in March and it's now September with no check, direct deposit, IOU, etc. The word is that they're terribly backed up...

Edited September 1, 2013 by TiredCoastie