A Reduction In Rating

[RUREADY]

I notice some people are getting a proposal to reduce rating...

just remember what it took to get the rating you got. Then you go to

Primary Care Doctor or another C&P for a new claim or increase claim

THEY WILL CHECK YOU FOR YOUR ALREADY service connected disabilities .

Example: you are rated 40% back 40 % radiculopathy of legs, your new claim is for

sleep apnea they ask you to bend and touch your toes and this is even at PC appointments

you bend and its 30 degrees or less to keep 40% you bend 50 degrees this will drop your rating.

Just keep this in mind what it took to get your rating and what it take to keep it. RU

[ArNG11]

I would agree. Listen you folks can make your own decisions. My advice against this BS, entrapment and surveillance crap, is be honest. Don't lie, don't exaggerate, it will come to bite you in the rear later, guaranteed. If you use the VA system for care so be it. I myself do. There are some good docs out there, usually from what I've seen the newbies. The Docs that haven't been in the system long and are not corrupted yet, those are the ones that give you a fair shake. Heck even some of the older ones do okay. But it is what it is. Not being paranoid, or schizo, well maybe, not more than I usually am, however, experience has taught me otherwise.

Right now I still have private insurance, so I dare the VA to pull that crap on me, you challenge a report, you challenge the Dr making the assessments validity and argument, challenge the medical rationale. By the way I do and I correct them every time with history and current medical documentation from experts in their field and history. Fortunately many of the docs I see on the private side I've seen for over 5 years. They, the VA quacks back down when I correct them. However, I know not to get comfortable with these people. They, the VA medical professionals, may be docs, and take a hippocratic oath to treat me,but sadly they are still part of a corrupted system. Utilize them as you need them to help your care and well being. By no means am I implying to lie, but realize this system is a snake, and as such, you must handle and treat it like so. JMO, JME. Take my statements and opinions with a grain of salt.

Reductions in ratings are going to happen. Heck they are even scheduled in most instances. Just be honest and stay true to the course. If you do that, you can fight their BS. Eventually when VA ding bats that pull this crap realize you are the wiser, they hide back in their hole, just remember that they are still there watching for their opportunity to strike when you let your guard down.

Edited May 30, 2015 by ArNG11

[Fat]

I agree with ArNG11.

If you are suffering from a disability then just be honest and let the medical evidence speak for itself.

I spoke with a wise VSO (since retired) who gave me the best advice ever in dealing with the VA.

Medical evidence by verifiable means (X-Ray, CT Scan, Nerve Test, MRI, Blood Work, etc) is undeniable in the end.

Raters aren't medical experts, but are supposed to make decisions based on medical information.

Some do and some don't.

The VBA does consider all information and might consult physicians for their opinion, but ultimately the MRI on the foot (example) wont lie regarding the physical disability.

[Buck52]

Most of us that has had a'' proposal to reduce'' fight to keep it, If you get a negative report in an C&P Exam & get a letter to propose to reduce your SC disability.

Its always best to get a Private IMO/IME from a board certified speclists within your disability(with his/her credentials) on the report,& The Dr uses the VA's criteria to address your SC Disability's.

The VA Raters and DRO's will usually take the opine of a Qualified Speclist in the field of medicine that meets the disability of the veteran over a VA Dr.

.........jmo

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

Edited May 30, 2015 by Buck52

[stinger]

Some SC Conditions may improve or worsen with time, that's a given. Vets by virtue of their "HONORABLE" military service, irregardless of their being Drafted or Enlisting, are eligible for Tax Free "SC Disability Compensation." Maintaining a SC % by exaggeration or false statement would be committing a Fraud (LIE) and that's kinda against the rules, big time.

Think about your civilian neighbor collecting Workers Comp for a bad back and you see him carrying shingles up a ladder to re-roof his house. He's getting over on the system, but is he an Honorable Man?

How would a VA Clinician's note, indicating they think a Vet is exaggerating their symptoms, look in a Vets MRs or on a C & P? VA PTSD C & P Clinicians are trained to do a forensic type exam, looking for over exaggeration and falsehoods.

A Vet must remember that everything the Vet says to a VA Clinician, can and will be used for or against them. Better not to exaggerate one way or another. I've personally found and had to put in a correction statement to my VA MR's where a Nurse completed a form erroneously. Had I not checked My Healthy Vet account, an erroneous intake note would have gone unchallenged.

Semper Fi

Gastone

That is where I was headed. If you are simply playing the game to get the compensation, you are Lying big time. Many complaints about the VA, but what about this stuff?!! Keep it truthful, then there are no worries. You don't want to be the first one caught for a test case. then everybody pays the price.

[stinger]

If statements etc made in a non-C&P can be used against you, then this is an adversarial system.

Then why make them if they are not true? Your credibility is lost when it is discovered.

[RUREADY]

That is where I was headed. If you are simply playing the game to get the compensation, you are Lying big time. Many complaints about the VA, but what about this stuff?!! Keep it truthful, then there are no worries. You don't want to be the first one caught for a test case. then everybody pays the price.

you will be surprise how many do lie, you have people filing claims who never been

in the military I see people in side the hospital just can walk,some in wheel chairs

then you see them in the parking lot dam near running to the car but cameras are in the

the parking lot.

Buck as far as taking the class is because it help me I wake up in the morning or got to

bed at night IT REALLY SCARY thinking I going to die or something because I FEEL

so much better and without a lot on pain scarce me I 'm not use to this 10 years of narcotics

now not taking any it was well worth it 4 hours a week. Hell if you go to an appointment in

Atlanta Va that it self is 4-5 hours at least so you tell them you cant do the class for back pain

when you go to appointments staying their the same amount of time.

That said you believe what you want too but this is honest Advice. not an opinion

Edited May 31, 2015 by RUREADY