Title 38 - Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief
Volume: 1
Date: 2019-07-01
Original Date: 2019-07-01
Title: PART 17 - MEDICAL
The secret truth of the student debt crisis
Most student debt will be canceled sooner or later, because an ever-growing share
of borrowers cannot possibly repay their loans. Ever.
Veterans Affairs:Use of Additional Funding for COVID-19 Relief
As of April 14, 2021, the Department of Veterans Affairs reported 224,538 cumulative
COVID-19 cases among veterans, with 11,366 deaths.
Never Stop Reading
Never Stop Learning
Rates of Parkinson’s disease are exploding.
A common chemical - trichloroethylene (TCE) - may be to blame
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General
COVID-19 fraud is rapidly evolving. This page is frequently updated.
Schedule for Rating Disabilities
"It's a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don't quit when you're tired.
You quit when the gorilla is tired." — Robert Straus
How To
When you deal with your VA benefits there are dozens, maybe hundreds of resources on the Internet, usually way too complex
to read or they want your money to open their secrets...how do you choose where to take advice and council? I think I have
the answer. When you want to deal with your VA, whether you're filing a claim or trying to get along with your health care providers,
you need to hear the voice of a veteran who actually uses the VA. I'm in the process of providing that resource for you...for free.
No sign-up, no registration, instant access to reliable information. It's your VA, use it effectively.
This is a Work In Progress throughout 2021. Check back every now and then for updates.
Let's File A Claim
Filing your claim for VAbenefits isn't as hard as some want you to believe. Let's set the effective date of any claim you file in the next year. This one is easy so let's do it right now.
American Rescue Plan Helps Veterans
As part of the American Rescue Plan, the Veteran Rapid Retraining Assistance Program (VRRAP)
provides financial aid to help you recover from the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Medical Experts For Veterans Disability Claims
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Veterans Law Attorney Personal Injury Law
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Workers Compensation - Social Security Disability - Pain & Suffering - Emotional & Mental Anguish
Veterans unemployed due to pandemic now eligible for VA job training funds
VRRAP covers education and training programs approved under the GI Bill and Veteran Employment
Through Technology Education Courses, or VET TEC, that lead to high-demand jobs.
These include associate degrees, non-college degrees, and certificate programs.
Alabama
V A Claims Intake Center
PO BOX 4444
JANESVILLE, WI
53547- 4444
Toll Free Fax:
844-531-7818
Gregory Rada Veterans Law Attorney
Military Veteran - Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom
VA disability appeals, TDIU claims, MST, PTSD, other mental health disability claims, appeals and veterans disability claims processes.
Attorney Rada offers free telephone case evaluations and nationwide representation.
Interest rate reduction refinance loan
If you have an existing VA-backed home loan and you want to reduce your monthly mortgage payments—
or make your payments more stable—an interest rate reduction refinance loan (IRRRL) may be right for you.
Veterans Psych Evaluations
Brett Valette, Ph.D.
Providing Military Veterans Personalized Psychological and Medical Evaluations. Complete the Contact form, and you'll get a personal phone call from us. We listen, and want to know what you are going through. We provide Independent Medical Evaluations (IME), Independent Medical Opinions (IMO) and nexus letters for ratings reviews, secondary conditions, medical conditions, discharge upgrades, and many types of denied claims. We also provide Social Security Disability claim reports.
Some Wounds Can't Be Seen Contact Us Today
Jim Strickland is a Vietnam era Army veteran and nationally recognized expert on VA
disability benefits. Jim writes extensively about VA and Social Security disability benefits.
Jim's Mailbag is a regular column featured at Stateside Legal where veterans, servicemembers,
and family members can ask Jim their questions about VA and Social Security disability benefits.
Type your paragraph here.
TDIU or IU or unemployability is a pathway to reach a 100% rating when you don't reach the rating by adding up your conditions by The Schedule but you still aren't able to work at gainful employment because of the cumulative effect of your rated disabilities.
To be eligible for the TDIU benefit you must have at least a single rating of 60% or greater or a rating of 70% or greater with at least one rating of 40% or greater in the mix.
The TDIU benefit may be temporary or it may be permanent in the way it's assigned to you and it is equal in every way to a 100% schedular rating other than you are not allowed to work at Gainful Employment.
Many veterans mistakenly attempt to change their 100% TDIU rating for a 100% schedular rating in the false hope of some sort of increased benefit. That's a waste of time and often backfires when VA reviews the record and lowers a rating.
The link you see below takes you to a talk given years ago and is a great explanation of the details of the TDIU benefit.
You may want to consider whether you are eligible for Extra schedular ratings under 38 C.F.R. § 3.321(b)
Service Connection
38 CFR § 3.303 - Principles relating to service connection
In a nutshell, to be service connected and thus rated as a disabling condition by VA there must be reasonable evidence that your diagnosed disabling condition was caused, contributed to or aggravated by military service.
Question:
Jim, You recently answered a veteran, “If [you] have a diagnosis of a service connected cancer, [you] are to remain rated at 100% until the cancer is treated and gone.” Here’s my question: In a case where the cancer (soft tissue sarcoma), is not service connected, would it be considered service connected because it took my VA providers to “diagnose” it, and became “highly infiltrative”? (Actually, my providers never diagnosed it. My lesion was revealed to be soft tissue sarcoma only because VA resected (not biopsied) it, and VA Pathology determined the resected tissue was soft tissue sarcoma. Incidentally, when VA Pathology determined the mass was soft tissue sarcoma, the Tumor Board referred me to civilian care for corrective surgery & radiation therapy, and told me I had to pay for everything myself. Was that kosher? Shouldn’t VA have referred me to civilian care under “fee basis, I had to mesh my treatment with my work schedule, couldn’t keep it up, and ended up bankrupt & homeless. Diagnostic Code 5329 speaks to the seriousness of soft tissue sarcoma, and mandates temporary total disability. Thank you
Reply:
Service connection implies that a condition was caused, contributed to or aggravated by military service. If a condition isn't service connected and rated by VA, VA won't treat the veteran for free unless the veteran is in a Priority category that allows that.
It sounds as if your condition is not service connected and as such VA has no obligation to care for you. You're stuck if you don't have health insurance.
TDIU...how it works, what you need to know
Published in 2005, this is the best explanation of the TDIU benefit you'll find.
What Is IU
Individual Unemployability or IU is the basis on which the Department of Veterans Affairs pays service-connected disability compensation at the rate payable for a 100-percent evaluation to qualified veterans with combined evaluations that are less than 100 percent.
Regional office decision-makers assign IU ratings when veterans meet minimum combined evaluation criteria and, in the judgment of the rating official(s), are unemployable due solely to their service-connected conditions.
In exceptional circumstances, regional offices may refer cases that fail to meet the minimum combined evaluation criteria to the Director of the Compensation and Pension Service for consideration of an IU rating.
Total Disability Individual Unemployability
TDIU, IU, Unemployability
The NPRC
Military Records
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Nexus and IMO Letters
Welcome to the KnowVA Knowledge Base
Locate information more quickly and efficiently
Independent Medical Opinions Nexus Letters
Thomas Grieder, MD PhD
25 Years Service as a VA Psychiatrist
Lead Psychiatrist East Los Angeles
PTSD Clinical Team
I'm Jim Strickland
and I approve of this message.
The VA Watchdog Dot Org
Since 2005, We're Keeping An Eye On Your VA
Because Somebody Has To!
Welcome Home! I'm Jim Strickland. I'm an Army vet, I was 91-D20 in USAREUR at the
98th General Hospital near Camp Baumholder 1967 - 1970. I publish the VAWatchdog
Dot Org to help you obtain the benefits you earned by your service to our country.
I'll share what I'm reading today, the important stuff. Feedback is always welcomed.
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disability claim
Find out how to file a claim for disability compensation
or increased disability compensation.
$113.1 Billion Discretionary VA Bill for ’22 Submitted
The Biden administration’s proposed $113.1 billion spending bill for the Department of Veterans Affairs addresses delivery of health-care services, homelessness, suicide prevention, support for caregivers, and technological improvements.
Get Started
Two options explaining the
Benefits you've earned.
Were you hazed while serving in the military? GAO may want to hear from you
The Government Accountability Office is looking for service members who were victims of hazing while they served.
The office is collecting the information for a study on the Defense Department’s efforts to prevent and respond to hazing.
Fascinating historical documents, reports on items in the news, oddities and fun stuff and government bloopers, they're all here.
CDC updates guidance on how COVID-19 spreads
The CDC updated its guidance on COVID-19 transmission May 7,
underscoring that the virus spreads via small respiratory droplets and particles in the air.
Jim Strickland
jim912@gmail.com
Dependents & Survivor Benefits Specializing In Veterans Law Federal Tort Claims Disability Claims
Free Veterans Case Reviews Nationwide Representation
Veterans Struggle to Get Copies of Needed Service Records Due to Pandemic
Access to some VA benefits, services delayed as backlog of requests hits 500,000
New financial tool provides Veterans more control and transparency
Any Veteran with a debt related to VA benefits can now access their debt information online
Veterans Law Attorney
Graduate of the US Military Academy West Point, 20 years of active Army service, multiple deployments,
XVIII Airborne Corps, and Third Army, Airborne and Master Explosive Ordnance Disposal badges.
Three Consequences of Using Marijuana After Your State “Legalizes”
1. Marijuana users will fail future NICS firearm background checks.
Do you need some help with your claim?
I'm accepting limited appointments to talk live on the phone or to videoconference with you. There is no fee for this service.
If you'd like to talk, provide me with some information about who you are and what's up and I'll be in touch. /s/ Jim
Download VA benefit letters
To receive some benefits, Veterans need a letter proving their status.
Vaccine Eligibility Expanded at DoD Sites
All eligible and authorized TRICARE beneficiaries and Defense Department personnel
can now get vaccinated for Covid-19 at DoD sites.
You may file claims on eBenefits or you can mail them in using certified mail or you can even fax them in.
Where did your claim disappear to?
Veterans hit by huge pandemic-related records backlog
National Archives estimates it will take 18 to 24 months to clear the backlog once the records center is fully staffed
When You Hit A Dead End
The Department of Veterans Affairs
White House Hotline
855 - 948 - 2311
< Denis.McDonough@va.gov >
Yes, this really works. No, it doesn't ring in the White House. The email address and phone number are staffed by a seemingly serious group of players, many who are veterans, and if you have a legit issue, telling these folks is like bringing in the artillery.
Let's prepare for your call or email. Make some notes before you proceed so you don't forget anything.
I prefer email since there's no waiting for someone to answer and I can take my time to prepare the story in just the right detail.
Be sure to include your DOB, your last 4, contact info...a couple of numbers, your preferred email and such.
Describe the problem as briefly as you can. Less is more. Include the necessary components but don't tell your life story.
Don't rant. Be polite...military courtesy will get you places that hollering IN ALL CAPS won't. Respect!
Don't waste their time with bogus complaints about your feelings being hurt. If you appropriately utilize this
service, I'll vouch that this works like a champ.
Tell them you read about this at The VAWatchdog Dot Org...they know who we are.