Proposal To Reduce Benefits Lettter

[Mingo]

I received a letter a few months back "Proposal to Reduce Benefits". I rapidly sent a NOD and yesterday recieved a letter stating:

"We have only made a proposal to reduce your benefits and as of this date we have not carried out this action.

If we decide to carry out our proposed action you will receive written notification and at that time you will be given appropriate appellate rights"

Has anyone seen this verbage before?

[Berta]

As the above regulations state,the VA will give the veteran the reason for the proposed reduction and 60 days in which they can send in more evidence,that would hopefully alter the reduction..

But in this thread here and other discussions, the VA letter gave the veteran only 30 days, in which to request a hearing.



The veteran here wrote a great rebuttal to them:

"Do they ever make a proposal and later not follow through with it?"

yes ,if the veteran asks for a hearing within those 30 days, and/or provides them with probative evidence that shows they should not reduce.

They tried to reduce my husband long ago.

He had just obtained VA employment and also started Voc Rehab.

The letter said he had attained substantial employment and also has finished one semester of Voc Rehab and therefore His 30% SC for PTSD was going to be lowered to 10%.

My husband was a former Nuclear Power Plant equipment Operator. and also a licensed PHVAC. The VA job was only part time and no where near the wages he had made in the past. He only got this VA job because we threatened the VA with an EEOC case.,when they hired a relative for the full time job he had applied for, and OPM found him qualified for,yet gave him no interview. We sent in documentation of all that and the VA director's name and phone number.I also signed the NOD as his witness and participant in the above director's meeting.

He had not attained substantial employment at all.

As to Voc Rehab, I stated that one semester of college under Voc Rehab sure didn't make him a rocket scientist, and he had already requested 2 accommodations from the college due to his PTSD ,which they granted, ( sent documentation in on that) and had also needed a tutor already for one of the initial courses.

They dropped the reduction idea.

Others have overcome these proposed reductions the same way, using the regulations,and medical evidence.

And often common sense.

Perhaps the VA compared your wages with IRS?

Or it was the results of the C & P exam?

[Buck52]

Unfortunately some Non-Friendly ''VA doc's'' at a C&P Exam will write up some off the wall BS to try to reduce the veteran....

all that is said in a C&P Exam is not what the Dr writes down, this is why its important to get those exam records As soon as possible.

It happens to a lot of Veterans.

I never figured out why they do that?? but I suppose its some kinds of ''power thing'' with them AH.s.

........................Buck

Edited May 4, 2015 by Buck52