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Arthur Johnson at the Memphis VAMC is a piece of poo poo and saying so where anyone who might have the misfortune to deal with him can hear it is a goddamned public service. Yes of course he still works there. 
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May 2, 2018 02:06
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Holy moly, VA helldump thread whatuuuuup
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May 2, 2018 04:53
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I have a weird question: I have a Marine Vietnam Vet that is getting a legal settlement from the VA in a significant lump sum, and he came to me asking for advice. He hasn't finalized the settlement yet, and it's supposedly a significant amount, what advice should I give him or where should I direct him? I've already told him he needs to talk to an attorney and a tax/wealth specialist, but what else other advice can I give him?
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May 3, 2018 02:51
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Reiterate not to sign a loving thing until a lawyer looks at it. He should know better than ANYBODY that the government is not on his side in this matter.
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May 3, 2018 02:53
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Godholio posted:Reiterate not to sign a loving thing until a lawyer looks at it. He should know better than ANYBODY that the government is not on his side in this matter. Thanks. I already told him I wanted a second legal opinion, so it helps to hear that hammered home.
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May 3, 2018 03:02
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If he’s going to get a wealth manager (which he honestly doesn’t need unless it’s over 1 mm) make sure it’s a fee-only fiduciary, not a cousin or friend-of-friend, and preferably a brand name. I’ve seen a few people with windfall-level money have it picked away by bad-faith management.
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May 3, 2018 12:38
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I've been out for a year now. Do I still need to maintain mypay access? Reason why I am asking is because I got an email saying my mypay password was expiring and that I need to renew it. I filed my 2017 taxes and I don't see myself logging into mypay again. I'm not in reserves or anything.
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May 3, 2018 16:31
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Download everything you have in there, then forget about it forever. It's a good idea to keep a copy of LESes and W2s for a few years.
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May 3, 2018 16:38
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LtCol J. Krusinski posted:I only have the one card to play in this thread, and it’s the patient advocate. After that I’ll just invite you to come to Memphis and get baked. Thanks for the invite but my job precludes me from imbibing the devil's lettuce. And I'm in Colorado.  As an addendum to my previous post, it looks like an investigation was/is being conducted on my PCM. It turns out she was doing this to multiple patients (not delivering critical medications on time) and her "justification" was that people are supposed to call 2 weeks in advance and if they didn't, she would sit on the orders for 2 weeks regardless. My patient advocate said that it was pointed out that her patients were calling in to order on-time and she was STILL not forwarding the orders to the pharmacy to fill--her excuse was something like, "well I believed he (meaning me) was displaying drug-seeking behaviour and did not want to distribute". If I could just repeatedly slap one loving person in the world... when I heard that I was understandably furious but thankfully my advocate said not to worry given the low dosage, lack of ANY evidence, and the fact that this PCM was sitting before a board in the first place for multiple allegations. What a dumbass loving senile old oval office trying to run her own little fiefdom. If there is one thing that ellicits sheer disgust from me, it's small petty people that are given power that they utilize to spread as much misery as possible. Still haven't received the medication (now 3 weeks late lol) but thankfully a series of calls got it mailed out yesterday. So yeah who here wants free government loving healthcare?
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May 3, 2018 17:19
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I tried to access mypay. That went well.
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May 3, 2018 17:22
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boop the snoot posted:I tried to access mypay.
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May 3, 2018 17:51
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Naked Bear posted:- An SOF Marine Everything is done for you in SOF. You want to wipe your butt? Here's a $1000/sheet toiletpaper cuz of special budget via SOCOM. The only thing you have to do is pick which chick you are taking back to the crib from the club.
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May 3, 2018 21:26
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CommieGIR posted:I have a weird question: "Settlement" is an unclear word there.... If he's talking about VA disability compensation(i.e. in which the Board of Veterans Appeals granted a significant back payment), then it's all tax free and he should really only worry about what to do with it after that. Since he's Vietnam Era, probably buy an annuity for his wife or something.
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May 3, 2018 23:54
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Medlar posted:Thanks for the invite but my job precludes me from imbibing the devil's lettuce. And I'm in Colorado. Why do you have to call your PCM for refills? Is she only giving you 30 days at a time or something? This is concerning because I have never ever called in to have someone forward a refill request for me. For my controlled meds I was up to 5 months of refilling on my own then having to go in and see the provider to secure a future 5 months. I'm sorry you're having to deal with not having your medication. I had to stop my insomnia meds cold turkey and have not been taking anything for 10 weeks now. Anything I have been given as a substitute has given me nasty side effects or not worked at all so I've been on nothing and have not gotten any sleep in.. well about 10 weeks. I just had to come to terms with the fact I wasn't going to sleep for at least the rest of the calendar year. Also as said earlier, use secure messaging. She can't deny she didn't get it, she can't refuse to read it, and it's proof that she saw your request and sat on it. And it's documented what you said, so if you just type in a brief professional sounding message requesting a refill be processed, she can't make up a phone call and put words in your mouth that you're seeking drugs. And I'm double sorry as a VA employee that you are being treated this way.  If the patient advocate is no help, keep going up. It's incredibly easy to get ahold of higher ups. It's all available on your VAs website (random example: https://www.sandiego.va.gov/about/leadership.asp )
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May 4, 2018 00:57
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cult_hero posted:"Settlement" is an unclear word there.... If he's talking about VA disability compensation(i.e. in which the Board of Veterans Appeals granted a significant back payment), then it's all tax free and he should really only worry about what to do with it after that. Since he's Vietnam Era, probably buy an annuity for his wife or something. I'm waiting on legal details, but I believe its through the VA and covers back payment and owed payment over something that happened at Camp Lejeune in/around the time he served.
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May 4, 2018 16:48
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Sarah posted:Why do you have to call your PCM for refills? Is she only giving you 30 days at a time or something? This is concerning because I have never ever called in to have someone forward a refill request for me. For my controlled meds I was up to 5 months of refilling on my own then having to go in and see the provider to secure a future 5 months. drat TEN weeks? How isn't that life-threatening? Presumably you've tried every conceivable solution but drat I certainly hope you get some sleep! A lot of vets I know espouse pot but you're a fed employee so ehhhhhh. I really do wish they would just federally-legalize it, let the presumed bad wave of overindulgence happen, which would allow for long-term research studies with much larger sample sizes, and then just wash your hands Uncle Sam. I'm not sure if there is any delineation between types of controlled medications or if there are relevant state laws, but AFAIK there are not and I was told I could only order 30-day refills and had to do it over the phone. That wasn't how it was when I was in the military. I received 90-day refills that I picked up at the pharmacy; no phone calls, no apologetic customer service reps having to listen to me fume, no bizarre nigh-puritanical quackery. SPECIAL TRUST AND CONFIDENCE RAH Re: secure messaging. Is that a "Premium" Account benefit? I've tried to set one up but it's been an unfruitful waste of time. More importantly, why is there a "Premium" Account that is free...when you have a free account that is free? What's the point of calling it Premium? Make it the same thing as a default account; and whoever made the decision to make Premium accounts a thing needs a handicapped license plate. I recall the answer I was given was some nebulous thing about muh legacy software. As far as VA employees go, my patient advocate and the majority of employees I interacted with were the bomb-diggity; in retrospect it just seemed like that particular PCM's attendant staff all were kinda buh--I assume exhausted and/or apathetic. Either way, I no longer have to raise a ruckus about the VA because it seems like things worked out, so thanks for the advice.
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May 5, 2018 05:05
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I'm pretty sure that "Premium" just means that you've linked your eBenefits account to MyHealthEVet (or however the gently caress it's capitalized).
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May 5, 2018 13:27
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Premium just means you turned in the extra identity paperwork to your local VA and they processed it or whatever. If you have refills left on an Rx, you can refill them on myhealthevet as well.
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May 5, 2018 13:55
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I just call and they get mailed to me.
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May 5, 2018 13:58
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boop the snoot posted:I just call and they get mailed to me. That is an option, but you can also click on the website and not have to deal with typing poo poo into an automated system.
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May 5, 2018 14:02
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Medlar posted:drat TEN weeks? How isn't that life-threatening? Presumably you've tried every conceivable solution but drat I certainly hope you get some sleep! A lot of vets I know espouse pot but you're a fed employee so ehhhhhh. I really do wish they would just federally-legalize it, let the presumed bad wave of overindulgence happen, which would allow for long-term research studies with much larger sample sizes, and then just wash your hands Uncle Sam.  I'm pregnant (currently 12 weeks now) so a lot of medications are bad for babby and pot is definitely out. The benzo I was on there was a low chance of birth defects so I still could have taken it, but I really didn't want babby to have no arms and legs... A premium account is just going to the my health e-vet rep in your VA and them verifying by ID that you are you. It doesn't cost anything at all, it's just so that someone can't make an account, claim to be you, and then sit down and download your entire VA medical history and have a good read. The re-ordering online may also be a premium feature that you don't have access to. Maybe your VA isn't really big on it and that's why your provider is forcing phone calls to reorder. I know we push it really hard because it makes everyone's life easier if they have access to a computer or mobile device, and even the much older vets that come in have smart phones these days.
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May 5, 2018 19:43
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Sarah posted:
Congratulations! That’s great news!
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May 5, 2018 21:46
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Congrats
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May 5, 2018 22:45
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If I submit a claim for tinnitus with the VA, are those pretty much rubber stamped? Or am I going to have to go to some VA doc and get examined and do tests or some poo poo? Really all I need is 10% because I want to get the funding fee for a VA loan waived, and I was gonna do it regardless after I finish my stint in the reserves. But I want to do it sooner than later so I can buy a house next year and not dish out like 13k for the fee.
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May 6, 2018 23:57
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Rekinom posted:If I submit a claim for tinnitus with the VA, are those pretty much rubber stamped? Or am I going to have to go to some VA doc and get examined and do tests or some poo poo? It's rubber stamped if you were in an MOS that is usually associated with loud noises (which is most of them), but they might still make you take a hearing test.
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May 7, 2018 00:01
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I had to do a external provider hearing test for mine because military hearing tests I suspect are pure bullshit that they just rubber stamp. Army said my hearing was tip top but the external provider produced a 2 page report with all kinds of poo poo about pressure differentials and frequency losses comparable to my age and a bunch of other random stuff.
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May 7, 2018 00:04
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Any luck with that even if it's not documented by hilariously incomplete med records?
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May 7, 2018 00:50
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I think if you are within a year or 2 of separation it's easier, longer than that and it gets complicated. That's just what I've heard from other people though, I got med boarded so that poo poo was all lined up for me.
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May 7, 2018 01:50
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Godholio posted:Any luck with that even if it's not documented by hilariously incomplete med records? I am not sure if it was in my records but, I told the civilian who tested me that when I was shipboard we were basically right below the flight deck and when I was in Afghanistan we were very close to a helicopter LZ and ended up getting my 10%. Most days it isn't too bad but sometimes it is just terrible.
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May 7, 2018 15:51
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My problem is that my records don't show any degradation in my hearing, which is absolute garbage. Hell, I failed flight physical hearing tests; not documented.
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May 7, 2018 15:53
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I have service related asthma that I can't prove either, I feel you
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May 7, 2018 16:13
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Godholio posted:My problem is that my records don't show any degradation in my hearing, which is absolute garbage. Hell, I failed flight physical hearing tests; not documented. I "passed" the hearing test at the VA (they said it was just barely good enough to not be considered hearing loss... thanks for rubbing it in) but yes they rubber-stamped the tinnitus because I had to work and sleep in a server room with those loud delta fans and there's no actual way to test for tinnitus, they have to take your word for it.
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May 7, 2018 17:06
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My tinnitus claim got rejected despite living in a submarine engineroom where earpro is required 
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May 9, 2018 02:36
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Kawasaki Nun posted:My tinnitus claim got rejected despite living in a submarine engineroom where earpro is required Push back on it? There's literally no way to prove you don't have it, so someone was arbitrarily being a hardass. Especially being in an engine room, that's ridiculous.
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May 9, 2018 02:51
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I got denied for it but it made no difference on my overall rating so I didn't even bother appealing.
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May 9, 2018 04:01
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DoktorLoken posted:I got denied for it but it made no difference on my overall rating so I didn't even bother appealing. Same. I got rated 100% anyway so I didn’t appeal the couple of things they denied.
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May 9, 2018 04:31
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Shim has BROKE4LYFE tattooed across his fingers and thumbs
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May 9, 2018 04:43
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Chiming in with the tinnitus discussion: There's no real "presumption" for hearing loss and tinnitus unless it's diagnosed at a compensable level (10%) within one year of discharge, regardless of your MOS. So if someone tells you that you're entitled to service connection because of your 11B MOS or what not, they're wrong. Basically, if someone is advising you on your claim and they mention FL 10-35 (this is really just now significantly outdated internal VA guidance which tells them when to get an examination), they are generally not a good choice to represent you. So that said, as others have mentioned, there is no clinical way to prove or disprove the presence or absence of tinnitus, so audiologists generally go off of a veteran's subjective history. As with everything, you need 1: an event in service, 2: a current disability, and 3: a link between the two. Everyone is exposed to noise in service and current policy mandates a hearing exam for everyone who claims hearing loss and tinnitus, regardless of your MOS. So the 11B, crew chief, EOD, whatever is treated essentially the same way as your automated logistics specialist or yeoman. But that's just for the exam. Once you get there, the examiner needs to link your tinnitus to the noise exposure in service. Medical literature does not support the idea of delayed onset hearing loss or tinnitus following noise exposure. So even though you served on M1s back in the 80s, the examiner will likely be unable to link your tinnitus to service if you go on exam and say "I've had it for a couple years now." So in order to draw that link, you have to provide evidence or your statement to that examiner to support the connection to noise exposure during service. Of course the easiest way to do this is to get it documented during service. If you're ETSing or Demobbing, that is your opportunity to get every tiny thing documented from your sleep apnea to the ringing in your ears. You don't need a lot of treatment, just something showing it during service in the record. Now with tinnitus, it's a very common thing among the general population and only a very small of people actually seek treatment, so just because it wasn't documented during service doesn't mean you're out of luck. So long as you can link it to service, they examiner will 9 times out of 10 provide a positive opinion. So basically, you would just need to provide an honest history regarding your symptoms and say something like "I worked on generators and they got really loud and I began experiencing ringing in my ears during service which hasn't gone away." And that's it. Hearing loss, however, is a different story. VA regulations have a very strict minimum requirements just for service connection, which a lot of the population just won't meet. This is all based upon objective audiometric testing (sit in the booth and listen for the beeps) and it is what it is. Even if you have hearing loss for VA purposes, 90 percent of the time, it will be service connected at a 0% evaluation, so it's generally not worth the time or effort to worry about. It's difficult to fake audiometric findings unless you can tell the difference between a tone a 500Hz and 2000 Hz and between a sound at 35 dB and 45 dB. Examiners are well aware of people trying to fake the tests and if you just sit there and don't push the button, they will call you out on it and your exam will be essentially of no value and it can be difficult to get a new one in those circumstances. Now like I mentioned, the medical literature doesn't really support a delayed onset hearing loss due to noise exposure (that doesn't mean it wouldn't get worse, just the cause) so the examiners would have to support the conclusion that the hearing loss began during service based on evidence of a change in your hearing during service. This is part of why you have to sit in a booth every year and do the hearing test. If there is enough of a shift in your hearing acuity during service to be clinically significant, and it's not uncommon to see 20+dB shifts between audiograms conducted a day apart, and you have hearing loss for VA purposes, then your chances of the examiner providing a positive opinion are significantly improved.
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May 10, 2018 00:50
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So when you say "during service", could it be, say, as a reservist on active duty orders? Like coming off a deployment to the desert?
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May 10, 2018 04:26
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Yes.
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May 10, 2018 05:10
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