Milktoast VSO response

[Carl the Engineer]

All,

So, since I have had the VFW as my POA, for the VA, since my original claim, I figured, I would ask them for a little help.  My thoughts were that most everything is local (regional) and that a service rep from my state of WI would have acquired supreme knowledge of Wisconsin claims.  So, I emailed the person who I have been with since, again, my original claim 2 questions.  

First, my email,

Hello, my name is xxxx xxxxx, ***-**-***7.  I am life member of the VFW and have your organization as my POA for my VA claims.  I live in ******* and my CVSO is **** **********.

 

I am inquiring to know if there is a list of WI doctors that will do IME/IMO's for disabled Veterans?

 

Also, does your office keep a file on me and is that available to me.

 

Thank you,

 

The response I received,

 

Xxxxx,

  We do not maintain a list of doctors.  You can ask your VA primary care physician for a referral if more convenient.  If this does not work, you can take a VA disability questionnaire to a private doctor and submit as evidence for any claim/appeal.

  We currently maintain your VA file.   The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) allows you to obtain your file by sending a written/signed request to the VA.  The VA will send your files on a CD.

Kind regards, Xxxxxxxxxxx

 

The response tells me that the VSO's (this one anyway) are not helping Veterans in any effective way.  If I was in a position to help disabled Veterans for an entire state, I would look at the successful claims and see what Doctors helped Veterans and who are willing fill out DBQ's, and give them out.  Here is my breakdown,

"We do not maintain a list of doctors."- Well, that's just plain stupid and irresponsible.  Any, slip and fall lawyer has a list of "go-to" doctors.  I would actually have a database which would tell me that doctor A is 75% effective, B is 20% effective, and C is worthless, etc.

"You can ask your VA primary care physician for a referral if more convenient."- Really, so my VA PCP will refer me to a doc that will fill out a DBQ.  I don't think so, but I am going to give it a try next time I see her.  LOL.

"If this does not work, you can take a VA disability questionnaire to a private doctor and submit as evidence for any claim/appeal."- Good luck with that.  Hence, you have access to at least a third of all VA claims in WI and you can't do your homework and supply me with a list.  If private business worked this way we would all be in trouble.  When I ran a parts store many moons ago, if a supplier would not get what I wanted, I found another, etc..

Then, on my second question, apparently, they have no more than I have in my c-file disc.  And there is no correspondence from or to the VFW in my c-file, so my question I have asked before.  My thoughts here are, in my many claims, not once did the VSO call me and say, hey, you could do better if you went this way instead, or, I see you filled for A, and then later filed for B, I think you also could file for C.  Crickets......

I may write a letter to the VFW headquarters or OIC. I don't believe this response was adequate in any way.

What do the actually do,

Hamslice

I truly believe the government would go broke if the paid out everything they owed all the Veterans what they are due.  I think the VSO's are just a cog in a big plan.  

 

 

[broncovet]

Im gonna stick up for VFW on their response.  However, VFW is not fully deserving of being stuck up "for".  

I dont think the VFW's "job description" would involve giving doctors a "rating", even if its "good" or "bad".  VFW represents Veterans at the VBA (Vet Benefits Administration) while you are asking for help with "the sister" VA, the VHA, Veterans health administration.  The VFW is about benefits not about health.  But it is true "they could" make a list for you, but, in my opinion, its "beyond the scope" of what they are supposed to do, which is to help Vets get VA benefits from VBA.  There are others assigned to help Vets with VHA, such as the patient advocate if you are dissatisifed with your medical care.  

Ok, now that I got that off my chest, here is why VFW "realy doesnt deserve" me sticking up for them.  

In 2002, I had a VFW VSO, who supposedly "helped" me file for benefits.  I had 2 HUUGE issues with the VFW VSO.

1.  I went in there, was out of work and well on the way to become homeless.  While they did assist me in filing for compensation, "I knew nothing" about pension, and, of course, the VSO did not mention it.  Well, that was a "great" idea for VA, but a disaster for me.  Three years later, MY DOCTOR advised me to "file for pension", explaing that I could see money quickly and avoid homelessness "while the VA is processing" my va comp claim.  Well, I did as my doc suggested, and did get pension..3 years later and too late to keep from losing my home.  Now why did he not tell me about pension and put in for me?  Did he assume I knew the difference between pension and compensation?  No, I had no idea.  But I was eligible..and desperate..and he knew that.  That cost me my home.  I could have saved it with pension, even tho its only 1200 or so per month, it was better than zero that I was getting.  

2.  About a year later, I get a letter from VFW.  They "dropped" me from representation, because they indicated I had little chance of ever winning benefits.  Now really?  Well, 17 years later, I won all my benefits, including during the period THEY said I had little chance of winning benefits!!!  GRRRRRRRRR

So, that is a double GRRRRRRR for VFW.  It was "even worse" than Bucks experience, I still feel the pain of letting my family down and making them homeless because my blankety blank VSO who was supposed to know this stuff, did not fill out a pension application for me, nor did he seem to realize that would have been a life saver.  

[brokensoldier244th]

VSO's don't rate doctors because the same doctor that one guy says is Vet Friendly™ could result in a denial of as many claims as are won. There are no 'vet friendly' doctors unless you find one that will rubber stamp anything for a fee. Every vets situation is different, so every doctors evaluation should be as well. Just because a vet 'thinks' X is caused by Y' doesn't mean that it is. 

[Carl the Engineer]

So, probably wasting my time here, but,

A VSO gets 48 hours notice of your rated claim from the VA to ensure your claim was rated correctly, etc.

So, I would hazard to guess, but the VSO(s) would be reading a whole lot of claims decisions, i.e., daily, monthly, yearly.

You would think, they, representing a State, could say, hey Doctor Bill Jones from Madison does DBQ's, because I have read his name many times. 

But no,

Fend for yourselves.

Again, my opinion,

Hamslice

I believe, if one represents himself, he/she then too, should have 48 hours to "look see" before they drop the gavel.  And have the same access as the VSO, but we know that ain't going to happen.  Its a racket.  The VSO's have the inside lane because they fund campaigns for the people that give them that lane.  And we let it happen.  Again.  

 

[brokensoldier244th]

VSO's aren't elected positions. They would have nothing to gain from that. 

[GBArmy]

Buck52 I can understand your frustration with the VFW. If that happened to me I would have responded the same way. I didn't pay much attention to Veterans' Organizations when I got back (1971), but I am told back then they didn't even let 'Nam veterans in because it wasn't a "real war". At least, that is what someone told me. I certainly don't expect that would happen nowdays. Also, back then, as it is now, there are good VSO groups led by good people, and others not so much. Just like everything else; some good, some not so good. I was never interested enough to check them out because it was always at a bar and a lot of smoke. I don't need either and many other veterans don't either. I'm sure there are some good VSO's from the VFW, but I never had the pleasure of meeting any.

[Carl the Engineer]

1 hour ago, brokensoldier244th said:

VSO's aren't elected positions. They would have nothing to gain from that. 

But their employers give my money to political officials.  Political officials gave the VSO's an unequal access to our claims during the most critical time. 

The bottom line, 

My dues give a private party access to my claim, because congress, who was given my money, gave them that right, which I don't have.

And yes they do have something to gain.  Their jobs.  If congress gave every and anyone their level of access and the same 48 hour right to challenge, they would be out of a job.  Period.  I'm paying so they can have a job.

Nuff said,

Hamslice

And all I wanted was a phone number of a doc in WI that would do a DBQ from my rep. 

 

 

 

Edited March 24, 2020 by Hamslice
cause I can