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Explain the SMC requirement

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It has been a long time since I last visited Hadit, and I've missed those individuals that have become friends. But rest assured I have managed to help many vets along the way outside from those that I helped here at Hadit. Now it's my turn to ask for help. I want to clear up the requirements for SMC so that I can understand it, please. I have PTSD rated at 70% and many other ratings that have put me at 100% P&T. In order to qualify for the SMC do I have to have a single rating of 100%, plus the additional combined to 60%. OR, can I have several ratings that total 100%, plus additional ratings that add up to 60%. The guidelines are very confusing so a bit of help to clear it up would be greatly appreciated... 

Thanks,

Bergie

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  • HadIt.com Elder

As I understand it veterans needs to be 100%for a single disability  at 100% and then at least 60% for additional disability's  but  you need to be 100% first or rated at least 160% for SMC's

 

Like me I am 90% combined rating and because of the disability I can't work so I get TDIU P&T. paid at the 100%rate

So with my SC 90% plus 10% for tinnitus and an additional disability  I would need an extra SC 50% rating  just  get to the 100% rating, &  I would need a 70%additional rating to get SMC's  you need 100% plus an additional 60% to qualify for SMC's

 

JMO

 

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

 

According to VA Math

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There was considerable discussion on this some time ago.  The question was, are these "disabilities" added or combined using VA math.  The applicable regulation follows: 

38 CFR 3.350:

(i) Total plus 60 percent, or housebound; 38 U.S.C. 1114(s). The special monthly compensation provided by38 U.S.C. 1114(s) is payable where the veteran has a single service-connected disability rated as 100 percent and,
(1) Has additional service-connected disability or disabilities independently ratable at 60 percent, separate and distinct from the 100 percent service-connected disability and involving different anatomical segments or bodily systems, or
(2) Is permanently housebound by reason of service-connected disability or disabilities. This requirement is met when the veteran is substantially confined as a direct result of service-connected disabilities to his or her dwelling and the immediate premises or, if institutionalized, to the ward or clinical areas, and it is reasonably certain that the disability or disabilities and resultant confinement will continue throughout his or her lifetime.
end of regulation quote.
I am not sure this question was ever answered by the courts.  If your additional disabilities "combine" to 60 percent, then you should be good to go. 
However, if your additional disabilities "add" to 60 percent, then you can still appeal and "test" the hypothesis, since I dont know if it has been tested in court.  Expect a denial, and to have to appeal.  
Edited by broncovet
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I know I will be misunderstood when I say this. After counting today, I find 240 discussions on various aspects of Special Monthly Compensation, including SMC S. Narrowing it down, there are conservatively 200 involving just SMC S alone. Nevertheless, it seems no one (or very few) are willing to do the hard work and review prior posts for the same questions asked over and over. Further, I notice the same group of us knowledgeable in this area are answering the same questions over and over with the same exact answers. Learning a subject is easy here. The sheer volume of information is complete enough to qualify you for a non-attorney Practitioner's license at the VA.  In fact, as some know, I am in the process of doing just that. I didn't go to law school. I learned it from asking, reading posts here and precedental legal decisions at the Federal Circuit and the CAVC. Still more was gleaned from BVA decisions-all of which are there at your fingertips. 

I can understand if someone feels their particular situation is so unique that it requires a personal answer. Many situations are subtly different and require a nuanced answer. However, reading over this particular subject, I note that I have answered the same exact question over 20 times in a year. This leads me to believe that some are not willing or are unable to grasp the concept of searching for their answer and prefer the FacePlace technique of throwing it out there and letting all pile on with many answers-some of which are incomplete or factually  incorrect and harmful. 

Mind you, I do not criticize. I was a FNG once. Once, I emphasize. From there on out, I sought answers rather than ask for advice. If the answer was nowhere to be found, I used to go to the "Pink" site. After a while, I realized they had a warped view of Veterans help.  Hadit is possibly the most read and respected of all the Veterans Help sites for one reason. We give good advice that aids in a win. Being graced with an Elder designation in spite of very few posts is a great honor. I did not agree to it initially feeling it might upset others who had been here longer and thus had "more time in the cockpit". Knowledge earned is to be shared - most especially with those from whom VA deprives it. Asking the same questions over and over with no effort to research it burns out those who hope to help you. We get "mental laryngitis" from repeating the same things over and over. Eventually, some of us cease to offer that which you need to win. This deprives everyone who hopes to learn here. 

I beg all of you who come to Hadit to make an effort to at least attempt to find an answer among the tens of thousands of posts before asking. If you still find yourself stymied, most of us would be glad to help you. I was tempted to just answer the SMC question again when it struck me as horribly redundant. Again, I apologize if I have insulted anyone. 

Edited by asknod
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Well, yes, Alex.   I, too,  have answered pretty much the same question multiple times.  I recognize some of us are better at searching for answers than others.  I had a friend, who was a teacher one time explain it to me.  You dont really know something until you can teach it.  Some of those students ask very, very good questions.  And, for me, I learn by teaching.  

Yea, its redundant answering the same questions over and over, I agree.  However, Im thinking I finally understand SMC S (housebound) well enough to represent myself, because I have answered the questions so many times.  As one football coach said it:  "I dont want you to practice until you get it right...I want you to practice until you cant get it wrong."

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