Proposed changes to 3 disabilities

[GBArmy]

The VA is looking for comments on changes to the disability criteria for sleep apnea (OSA), tinnus and for MH. On mental health, there could be some positive movement on symptoms criteria for the min and max ratings. Min could move up to 10% instead of 0%. Kinda hard for my brain to wrap around someone having a MH disability and it is rated as 0%. Max could be reached without having to meet all the criteria for 100%. 

https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-us/suite

[Corwin]

32 minutes ago, deedub75 said:

If you're service connected for OSA at 50% you'd be grandfathered in and they couldn't reduce you unless the evidence showed that you no longer needed the CPAP. 

my point was that the proposed change turns the rating system around. In the past you received 50% only because a physician prescribed the wearing of a CPAP. Nobody measured and rated its effectiveness as a treatment of an issue/ or issues. Now the proposed criteria will read as follows:

Specifically, VA proposes to assign a 0 percent evaluation when sleep apnea syndrome is asymptomatic, with or without treatment. VA would assign a 10 percent evaluation when treatment yields “incomplete relief.” VA would assign ratings above 10 percent ( e.g., 50 and 100 percent) only when treatment is either ineffective or the veteran is unable to use the prescribed treatment due to comorbid conditions. 

In other words, if they want, the VA, in theory, could retest you and claim a 10% rating because in their view (subjective view BTW) there is partial relief-i.e. with a CPAP device your respiratory disturbance index (RDI) has been reduced to 15.2 an hour from 41.9-my numbers with a CPAP by the way. No metrics for  measuring "ineffective"  like using a METS assessment or a hearing test for example. I may be over reacting but...

 

[Steve40th]

24 minutes ago, Corwin said:

my point was that the proposed change turns the rating system around. In the past you received 50% only because a physician prescribed the wearing of a CPAP. Nobody measured and rated its effectiveness as a treatment of an issue/ or issues. Now the proposed criteria will read as follows:

Specifically, VA proposes to assign a 0 percent evaluation when sleep apnea syndrome is asymptomatic, with or without treatment. VA would assign a 10 percent evaluation when treatment yields “incomplete relief.” VA would assign ratings above 10 percent ( e.g., 50 and 100 percent) only when treatment is either ineffective or the veteran is unable to use the prescribed treatment due to comorbid conditions. 

In other words, if they want, the VA, in theory, could retest you and claim a 10% rating because in their view (subjective view BTW) there is partial relief-i.e. with a CPAP device your respiratory disturbance index (RDI) has been reduced to 15.2 an hour from 41.9-my numbers with a CPAP by the way. No metrics for  measuring "ineffective"  like using a METS assessment or a hearing test for example. I may be over reacting but...

 

VA cant retest you, but they can have you re-evluated via a sleep test. But, if you are over 5, 10 years for example, what are the chances they do? And if a Doctor Rx you a cpap, thats it, you are on it..

Still, none of these proposals will have over night.. At least 6 months to a year.

[pacmanx1]

You can speculate all you like but there are always rules, please read and read, read the proposals. Once again, even if the veteran is reevaluated, the veteran's current disability must continue under the rule/law that it was granted, and a new rule/law cannot change the veteran's rating. A new evaluation would still fall under the old rule/law. Stress and Fear can harm you mentally and physically. 

Quote

No change to a Veteran’s current rating would occur due to these proposed changes. If the proposed changes are finalized, Veterans who currently receive compensation for a service-connected condition can apply for increased compensation, but no reductions shall be made unless an improvement in the Veteran’s disability is shown to have occurred.

 

Edited February 16, 2022 by pacmanx1

[Mr cue]

54 minutes ago, pacmanx1 said:

no reductions shall be made unless an improvement in the Veteran’s disability is shown to have occurred

Ok so if you apply for a increase and the doctor say you improve or judge say a report looks like your condition improve.

Your fight for your benfits.

You apply for tdiu its a increase of your disability They can say it improve and order the exam and it over

You fight for you benfits.

Play with them ppl if y'all want.

I am not going to put my trust in the VA doing the right thing

 

If this pass you will see less 100% for mental health.

 

[pacmanx1]

11 minutes ago, Mr cue said:

Ok so if you apply for an increase and the doctor say you improve, or judge say a report looks like your condition improve.

Your fight for your benefits.

You apply for TDIU it's an increase of your disability They can say it improve and order the exam and it over

You fight for you benefits.

Play with them ppl if y'all want.

I am not going to put my trust in the VA doing the right thing

 

If this passes you will see less 100% for mental health.

I Knew I read it somewhere, but it is better to let you read this than me telling you and then can't back it up.  VA tried to reduce this veteran's claim while still in appeal status.  It is called a "Mischaracterization of the Issue on Appeal."   See AB v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 35, 39-40 (1993). There are rules and laws to reduce a rating. 

To hold otherwise would leave the door open for a possible "chilling effect" in the administrative appeal process, whereby veterans might be afraid to seek higher disability evaluations on appeal, for fear of having already awarded benefits reduced by the Board during the appellate process.  See, e.g., 38 C.F.R. § 3.2600(d) (2013) (except in cases of clear and unmistakable error (CUE), a decision review officer "may not revise [an AOJ] decision in a manner that is less advantageous to the claimant than the decision under review").  Such a result would be wholly 2 inconsistent with the non-adversarial claims system.  See Douglas v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 435, 439 (1992) (noting the "basic principle of the VA claims process that claims will be processed and adjudicated in an informal, non-adversarial atmosphere"); see also Comer v. Peake, 552 F.3d 1362, 1369 (Fed. Cir. 2009) ("The VA disability compensation system is not meant to be a trap for the unwary . . .").

 

 

[Mr cue]

I never said there isn't rules that you can use for the fight.

Who want to fight there games for years. Until they address the errors.

Like I said it is up to each veteran if they want to play the game with them.

Some of us believe they will do the the right thing.

And some of us can see the set up.

It hasn't pass so there is no worry about until it pass.