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Sounds like I just let my annual re-enrollment fee lapse like a dummy, but I can't help but wonder why I wouldn't have had the option to set up autopay or autorenew, or why I didn't receive any specialized or personalized notices to re-up. It was just open season emails that I believed I didn't need based on a phone call and the BWE website. Looks like I'm a group A retiree and Tricare select will be the best option for me at 171 bucks a year for just me, but I can't find out my annual cost to enroll for myself + 1. e: looks like it's 345 bucks! 
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Feb 12, 2023 16:50
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lite_sleepr posted:Sounds like I just let my annual re-enrollment fee lapse like a dummy, but I can't help but wonder why I wouldn't have had the option to set up autopay or autorenew, or why I didn't receive any specialized or personalized notices to re-up. It was just open season emails that I believed I didn't need based on a phone call and the BWE website. Glad you were able to figure it out! Do note that if you are medically retired the enrollment fee for tricare select is $0.You can also set up your enrollment fee for autopay from your retirement pay, but this is definitely not advertised well anywhere and I literally only remembered to paid my enrollment thanks to annual calendar reminder I set up for EVERY YEAR, so I agree it would be nice if there were more active reminders and warnings. Tricare Select is definitely the best option in my mind unless you're near and just want to use a military hospital (or more accurately let me just say it's my preferred plan). you can pick your own doctors and make your own appointments (as long as they're in network) without a PCM referral, and if for some reason you want to you can also go out of network (with a 25% co-pay). at WORST, you're going to end up spending $3000 (or whatever the catastrophic cap is now) in medical bills for your entire family for the entire year, which is apparently obscenely good after looking at health care options on the outside. Edit: looks like it's $4000 for 2023; still seems good to me. PageMaster fucked around with this message at 18:42 on Feb 12, 2023 |
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Feb 12, 2023 18:20
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El Mero Mero posted:disability rating question for folks here. My dad's a vietnam era vet. After getting out he had PTSD so bad he ended up homeless for a decade or so and never even sought a rating. I got one for him 5-6 years back finally with the help of a VSO and VA gave him a 50% (PTSD service-connected, presumptive ALS/parkinsons risk non-service connected). I think the thing to remember is that the rating is based off his symptoms right now. I hope he is doing better than being homeless but his times being homeless isn't going to give him 100% right now if that makes sense. Without knowing his current symptoms is would be hard to say if he could get a higher rating. There is a chart stating what symptoms warrant what percentage, here is a quick link I found on google: https://www.hillandponton.com/part4-rating-ptsd/ See the chart about half way down the page. If there is anything in the 70% and 100% that applies to him then he might warrant an increase. Documentation of it will certainly help, or statements from witnesses/people close to him. As for the services I don't know about vaclaimsinsider, I would talk with whatever VSO got him his initial rating since they should at least be familiar with him. If it's the Legion or VFW they shouldn't charge him, I don't know about the other services like the one you mentioned. Good luck, I am not a lawyer.
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Feb 13, 2023 02:24
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Got tricare turned back on 
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Feb 14, 2023 00:47
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dougdrums posted:Catching up on this thread has me reflecting on my experience of trying to get rated for tinnitus and hearing loss right after I got out (w/ 40% for other things). Dude just book the appointment and get it over with. I'm pissed I waited so long to file my claim and I got out in 2020. That being said, I finally got my rating - 50%, it's good but they denied me my lower back claim along with my knees and my ankles are at 10% despite the fact that they stop me from running anything longer than 2 miles lol. Anybody have any experience with appeals they'd be willing to share? Especially when it comes to hiring a lawyer or going your own way.
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Feb 18, 2023 04:46
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) So that was cool and good, but I still have some hearing loss and tinnitus.
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Androies posted:Dude just book the appointment and get it over with. I'm pissed I waited so long to file my claim and I got out in 2020. Would be interested in any anecdotes for appeals as well. I've been helping my dad with his back and neck claims. They rated him at 80% after I helped him claim more in 2021 but denied service-connected for any of his 5 levels fused in his C spine, degenerative disc disease plus bulging discs, all despite the fact that he was a paratrooper + a documented back injury. Doctors reevaluated him the first time and didn't factor being a paratrooper as a service-connected thing. Had no luck with veteran organizations (two got power of attorney and then ghosted with full voicemails and no POC changes) until we went to a county rep who filed a board appeal for him directly with impact statements and all of his medical records including pain management which is great except it's basically the nuclear option with a ~700 day wait for appeal response. He should be 100% P&T considering he's fully opiate dependent for pain management from the back issues alone and has even sought experimental treatment like implanted TENS. I'm on active duty right now getting my guard bullshit wear and tear documented after experiencing the nightmare of trying to get all of his stuff claimed. So many appointments.
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Feb 18, 2023 15:11
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Also would like to know appeals experiences, if you lawyered up, etc. I'm submitting my claim soon and have three items not documented and one diagnosed within the first year of separation that, logically, should be job related but not holding out any hope. I have buddy statements for everything, including people who have had the same issues not documented by our Battalion's medical and mental health teams but oh boy I am not holding out any hope on this one!
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Feb 18, 2023 21:32
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Yea I'm at the start of my retirement/VA process as well. Can't really do anything until March according to my retirement counselor. But the nice gentleman at the VFW is going to review all my records and help build my claim paperwork with VA so there's some hope with that process. On the plus side, I have already found a job that is only about 800 dollars difference a month starting out with follow on paid training that won't touch my GI bill.
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Feb 20, 2023 19:59
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maffew buildings posted:Anyone have experience with getting an independent medical opinion for a VA disability claim? I'm putting together everything to submit babby's first disability claim and not surprisingly, I have three issues that were never documented (I didn't give a gently caress when I got out, I thought I was going back to the service in a few months, but thankfully I wised up). I'm getting buddy letters for everything and to validate that our med and mental health departments didn't document poo poo, but figure an IMO will probably be really, really helpful to validate my claim. Anything anyone can share about the process or their experience or that I should do XYZ instead appreciated. I had good luck having my regular doc and shrink fill out the relevant DBQs, write an additional explanatory note, then turning them in with my claim. https://www.benefits.va.gov/compensation/dbq_publicdbqs.asp
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Feb 25, 2023 16:15
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When does a GS start getting six hours of leave per pay period? Is it the second year?
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Feb 28, 2023 17:48
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lite_sleepr posted:When does a GS start getting six hours of leave per pay period? Is it the second year? 3-15 years is six hours leave per pay period. After that it is 8 per pay period.
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Feb 28, 2023 18:26
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FUKKEN sucks.
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Feb 28, 2023 18:36
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Are you a vet? Your time in will count. I was active Army for 6 years so when I started my GS job I started with the 6 hours per pay period.
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Feb 28, 2023 18:38
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I did a full 20, I turned in all my deployments and time overseas, and it moved my start date back only 10 months, so I guess I only need to do 2 years 2 months instead of the full 3. Still sucks because I hear about all these people starting out at 6 hours a pay period and I gotta start over like day 1 phase 1.
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Feb 28, 2023 23:40
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If you don't retire from the mil, you can buy all your time back for retirement. It counts immediately for leave accrual whether or not you pay your time back. You just can't do both a mil retirement and also have it count for civilian retirement. DHS sec just gave us another 8 hours admin leave today too.
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Mar 1, 2023 19:25
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What about medical retired?
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Mar 1, 2023 19:50
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Work at the state level and you can double dip on pensions. Most states count federal work towards vacation accrual seniority.
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Mar 1, 2023 22:01
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Got a notification that I'm a 'provisional' appointee at my GS job. I've been a GS goon since Nov 2021, which is now more than a year ago. From Nov 21 to Feb of 23 I was a GS 6 at one squadron, and from Feb 23 to present I'm a GS7 at another squadron. Does this provisional appointee thing mean that I'm basically on probation for another year because I moved from one grade and squadron to another? Is this just routine paperwork that doesn't mean anything? Can I be effortlessly fired because I'm a provisional appointee?
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Mar 7, 2023 19:14
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lite_sleepr posted:Got a notification that I'm a 'provisional' appointee at my GS job. Per OPM: quote:Provisional Appointment is a temporary appointment to a continuing position when the agency intends later to convert the employee to a nontemporary appointment and has current authority for such conversion. https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/data-analysis-documentation/personnel-documentation/processing-personnel-actions/gppa10.pdf I take this to mean "you're a GS-6 in a GS-7 position and being paid as a 7, additional paperwork to follow"
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Mar 7, 2023 19:20
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I had read that in the notice, but I'm just not entirely certain what the provisional vs. nonprovisional is supposed to mean. I suppose a continuing position is a funded position in a unit that is permanent. e: boss just replied telling me I'm permanent, and that provisional appointments happen for all promotions. After a year of provisional (i.e. probation) it's just an email from HR to my boss asking 'does he suck? Y/N' and a reply to make me permanent. Guess I'm not going anywhere unless I do something that upsets the boss! lite_sleepr fucked around with this message at 19:26 on Mar 7, 2023 |
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Mar 7, 2023 19:24
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My agency does the longest allowed probation periods of 3 years 120 days. We usually celebrate 3 121 in some fashion.
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Mar 8, 2023 06:38
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Evil SpongeBob posted:My agency does the longest allowed probation periods of 3 years 120 days. We usually celebrate 3 121 in some fashion. Jeeze what the hell is that all about
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Mar 9, 2023 01:27
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Woof Blitzer posted:Jeeze what the hell is that all about Presumed miscreants, rarely wrong
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Mar 9, 2023 20:26
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Does anyone know of any good life insurance policies that have benefits for disabled veterans? I have been out too long for VGLI apparently and VALife seems like a bad deal from what I have seen.
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Mar 15, 2023 22:02
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Virginia Slams posted:Does anyone know of any good life insurance policies that have benefits for disabled veterans? I have been out too long for VGLI apparently and VALife seems like a bad deal from what I have seen. I'd recommend connecting with a life insurance broker and seeing what they can offer. You want someone who sells for multiple insurance companies since they are going to be able to shop coverage and rates and aren't tied to a specific life insurance company. I was both a broker and an agent before I went into the military.
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Mar 16, 2023 04:28
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Could someone point me to a resource to explain how best to buy a house with my VA benefits? The .gov website just feels like it's in another language. Thanks.
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Mar 17, 2023 15:35
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Throb Robinson posted:Could someone point me to a resource to explain how best to buy a house with my VA benefits? The .gov website just feels like it's in another language. Thanks. Unless there's something I'm missing, the main benefit is you can get a VA backed mortgage loan which (usually) provides better rates than a traditional mortgage, and also doesn't require putting a down payment (if for some reason you don't want to), and having a rated disability means you also don't have to pay the VA funding fees in the mortgage closing costs. In practice, it basically just means that while rate shopping with lenders, you can ask for a VA Loan which will give you different numbers as far as closing costs and interest rates as opposed to a traditional loan. It's no different than buying a house as "normal," you just have the chance to get better numbers on the mortgage. PageMaster fucked around with this message at 23:08 on Mar 17, 2023 |
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Mar 17, 2023 23:05
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PageMaster posted:Unless there's something I'm missing, the main benefit is you can get a VA backed mortgage loan which (usually) provides better rates than a traditional mortgage, and also doesn't require putting a down payment (if for some reason you don't want to), and having a rated disability means you also don't have to pay the VA funding fees in the mortgage closing costs. In practice, it basically just means that while rate shopping with lenders, you can ask for a VA Loan which will give you different numbers as far as closing costs and interest rates as opposed to a traditional loan. It's no different than buying a house as "normal," you just have the chance to get better numbers on the mortgage. Yeah there is an additional step compared to a conventional mortgage where the VA will inspect the property ahead of approving your loan but you can go to Navy Fed or USAA or wherever and apply for a VA loan. Any realtor or real estate agent that's worth a poo poo is going to know exactly what they need to do to make sure all the i's are dotted and t's crossed. The one disadvantage to going the VA loan is that it takes a little longer to close compared to a typical FHA or conventional loan. Our loan (in late 2021) took just over 3 weeks to get everything sorted. When the housing market was screaming hot, some sellers might have been picking other buyers because they knew they were going to get their money more quickly.
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Mar 18, 2023 00:12
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Hekk posted:Yeah there is an additional step compared to a conventional mortgage where the VA will inspect the property ahead of approving your loan but you can go to Navy Fed or USAA or wherever and apply for a VA loan. Any realtor or real estate agent that's worth a poo poo is going to know exactly what they need to do to make sure all the i's are dotted and t's crossed. Thanks for bringing this up; I also forgot the VA will also appraise the house and only fund up to the appraisal amount, so if you're offering way high on a property you'll end up needing more cash to make up the difference. For what it's worth in our experience we never lost an offer because we went VA over conventional; it all ultimately came down to price, and absolutely if the sellers have two offers of close to equal price and one is a VA and ones not, the VA loan lost out, but outside of that the VA Loan didn't really affect our ability to get an accepted offer, and like you mentioned, there's no difference on your part as the buyer in using a VA Loan; it's just the loan officer has some extra forms to fill and documents to get from you. PageMaster fucked around with this message at 03:53 on Mar 18, 2023 |
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Mar 18, 2023 03:49
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Would the post 9/11 gi bill cover a 12,475 dollar computer security course?
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Mar 19, 2023 04:14
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For VA loans you can, of course, use brokers to find a lender. You can also do some research on your own using the HMDA database to see what institutions in your area are making VA loans.
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Mar 19, 2023 04:25
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lite_sleepr posted:Would the post 9/11 gi bill cover a 12,475 dollar computer security course? Who’s the provider? Is it SAP? And does it lead to a certification or qualification or the right to test for such?
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Mar 19, 2023 15:39
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So I submitted a claim by proxy through the DAV, haven't really heard from one of them personally, but I know they submitted it as they sent me a copy of the letter they sent the VA, and I've received contact from a contractor about evaluation. That is now tomorrow. I have no idea how this works. Talking to a family member (Marine vet), he was saying not to admit to anything that an injury on my claim might have been caused by. But that's all I've got on that. I know they're there basically trying to NOT give me a rating, but it's been many years since I got out and I don't know what constitutes "service-connected" versus not. I'm going for tinnitus, a really bad surgical scar, my lower back, and depression. I have a really big problem with lying or even feeling like I'm stretching the truth, so this will be difficult for me. I'm told tinnitus can't really be tested for, so not sure what to expect there, but the surgical scar was from a military medical facility (Landstuhl). My lower back I have no idea, but it never hurt like this before I joined, and it is extremely sore, daily, especially when I'm standing up a lot. Aaaand the depression was something I had gotten treated for as a teenager, and after I joined I started on SSRIs again, got off them, and didn't take depression or anxiety meds again until the last few years. Which, honestly, the depression started back up again around the time I was in the hospital for an extended period for the aforementioned surgeries. I really am walking in blind here. The exam isn't at a VA facility, I have no idea what to expect, and I don't even really know what my medical records show. Does anyone have ANY advice?
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Mar 28, 2023 20:10
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life is killing me posted:So I submitted a claim by proxy through the DAV, haven't really heard from one of them personally, but I know they submitted it as they sent me a copy of the letter they sent the VA, and I've received contact from a contractor about evaluation. The doc will essentially perform a standard medical exam, focusing on the areas that you are specifically making a claim for. Anecdotally, they didn't want to award anything for my knees because I was able to bend them fully. Perhaps I should have stated more loudly that they hurt or something, I'm not sure. I had a seperate psychological assessment for mental health related claims. It was also straight forward, the doc asked a bunch of questions (essentially going down the DSM checklist) and then made a determination/diagnosis. In my case, the doc "upgraded" me from standard depression/anxiety to full PTSD (while swearing at the Army docs for documenting things as if I had PTSD but listing depression/anxiety). In both cases the docs were polite and didn't seem to be out to "get" me or anything. They even paid me for mileage to get to/from the appointment to my home, I found that strange.
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Mar 28, 2023 20:21
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I went through this process a couple of years ago when I retired. My initial rating came back at 90%. The DAV sent me a list of things that the VA missed with paperwork and instructions on how to file the claim. I filled the paperwork out and sent it back to the DAV, they filed it for me, and I got an appointment to see a doctor in the city I moved to after retiring. My best advice in your shoes is to look at the disability ratings schedule https://www.benefits.va.gov/WARMS/bookc.asp. Find the entry on the specific things you are claiming and ask yourself where your disability falls on that scale. When you go to see the doctor tomorrow your answers to questions should be based off of your worst days. Back pain ebbs and flows? Today is better than it usually is? No it isn't today my back pain is as bad as it gets. Being stoic and downplaying the severity of your issues makes you look tough while in front of junior troops but it doesn't do poo poo to get you VA money. The docs will spot an obvious bullshitter, so don't do that either but don't undersell your issues.
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Mar 28, 2023 20:25
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In my experience, the contractors aren't trying to get you, or deny you. There's probably some turds that exist, for sure, but for the most part they are looking to put your details into a form that the VA can put up against the CFR, and decide easily from that. I think where most people gently caress themselves up though, is they wont shut up. If they are quiet, you don't have to fill the space, they are busy filling poo poo out. If you are going in for your feet there's no need to go into that time that you broke a toe playing with aunt betsy's dog. They ask, you answer. If you think that your depression is related to before service, don't mention it unless they specifically ask. You aren't a psychologist, you don't know if it is or not, that's for experts to figure out. Oh, and make sure to get out everything you want to say about your hurts. Pull them up if they try to move on. But you just tell them the facts, you don't try to play it down, or explain it away. If they think that it needs further explanation they'll send you to a specialist. not caring here fucked around with this message at 20:33 on Mar 28, 2023 |
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Mar 28, 2023 20:30
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ASAPI posted:The doc will essentially perform a standard medical exam, focusing on the areas that you are specifically making a claim for. Anecdotally, they didn't want to award anything for my knees because I was able to bend them fully. Perhaps I should have stated more loudly that they hurt or something, I'm not sure. All good to know. I have a psychiatrist for my depression and anxiety meds, I haven't talked too much with him about any connection to the Army, I did talk to my counselor about the situation with the surgeries, my command, etc. I highly doubt I could get full PTSD as I wasn't a combat soldier, two deployments and the worst that happened was we got mortared. A lot. I got the "full treatment" for my back issues when I was still serving, and they found nothing wrong. I hope that doesn't hurt me. I know my back hurts, and I know it didn't before I joined. Hekk posted:I went through this process a couple of years ago when I retired. My initial rating came back at 90%. The DAV sent me a list of things that the VA missed with paperwork and instructions on how to file the claim. I filled the paperwork out and sent it back to the DAV, they filed it for me, and I got an appointment to see a doctor in the city I moved to after retiring. I don't even know if they give a rating for surgical scars, or even those obtained from surgeries by military doctors at a military facility. Or maybe that's the highest chance at any rating whatsoever, I don't know. I've considered plastic surgery for the scarring, even--and it's never fully healed. Tinnitus is something I'm hearing they are loathe to give ratings for anymore, which I kind of get. I worked as a helicopter mechanic, so there's that. not caring here posted:In my experience, the contractors aren't trying to get you, or deny you. There's probably some turds that exist, for sure, but for the most part they are looking to put your details into a form that the VA can put up against the CFR, and decide easily from that. I don't have a whole lot to say in the first place, but this is good to know. I definitely won't be downplaying anything, I'm 38 and have hurts I never used to have, some of which I feel wouldn't exist if the military wasn't so hard on one's body. Like, it's hard to carry my daughter for very long, I can make it a couple minutes and then I'm done.
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Mar 28, 2023 20:45
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life is killing me posted:All good to know. I have a psychiatrist for my depression and anxiety meds, I haven't talked too much with him about any connection to the Army, I did talk to my counselor about the situation with the surgeries, my command, etc. I highly doubt I could get full PTSD as I wasn't a combat soldier, two deployments and the worst that happened was we got mortared. A lot. You may want to rethink the mental wellness aspects. There are many people who suffer from PTSD that only got mortared (the term "shell shocked" was coined for a reason). A PTSD diagnosis is not contingent on shooting someone, seeing X amount of dead bodies, or experiencing specific "qualifying" events. It is more about how your brain processes a traumatic experience (or multiple experiences). You can always re-evaluate your rating, I strongly suggest you mention this to your therapist/psychiatrist so they can evaluate properly/further. There may be a connection with your current mental wellness issues and your past service, let the professionals make that determination. Us/we/you are NOT the professionals in this scenario, make sure you get fixed however/wherever you can.
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Mar 28, 2023 20:55
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ASAPI posted:You may want to rethink the mental wellness aspects. There are many people who suffer from PTSD that only got mortared (the term "shell shocked" was coined for a reason). A PTSD diagnosis is not contingent on shooting someone, seeing X amount of dead bodies, or experiencing specific "qualifying" events. It is more about how your brain processes a traumatic experience (or multiple experiences). You can always re-evaluate your rating, I strongly suggest you mention this to your therapist/psychiatrist so they can evaluate properly/further. There may be a connection with your current mental wellness issues and your past service, let the professionals make that determination. Us/we/you are NOT the professionals in this scenario, make sure you get fixed however/wherever you can. I'll just tell them the truth. My depression came back based on the way I was being treated by my command upon needing surgeries on a part of my body that wasn't necessarily visible with my clothes on, the amount of time I spent in the hospital recovering, and the physical pain itself. Not to mention the bullshit from everyone else who knew all about the situation and told others, so the ridiculing never stopped. I am working on being fixed, but I lived with depression for a decade after getting out and only just recently began to recognize/was able to admit to myself that I'm depressed and anxious, so the meds are a relatively new thing. Getting mortared, I don't know what to even say about it. It obviously affected me somehow because I remember some of those instances really clearly, but there are so many veterans out there who went through worse hell, it feels weird to say that getting mortared affected me adversely. You're right, though. I don't really know, I'm not the professional.
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Mar 28, 2023 21:29
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life is killing me posted:I'll just tell them the truth. My depression came back based on the way I was being treated by my command upon needing surgeries on a part of my body that wasn't necessarily visible with my clothes on, the amount of time I spent in the hospital recovering, and the physical pain itself. Not to mention the bullshit from everyone else who knew all about the situation and told others, so the ridiculing never stopped. I am working on being fixed, but I lived with depression for a decade after getting out and only just recently began to recognize/was able to admit to myself that I'm depressed and anxious, so the meds are a relatively new thing. If you broke your arm in one place and the guy next to you broke his in two places, you still have a broken arm. More than one person can have PTSD at a time and there isn't a "You Must Have Suffered This Much To Ride the Ride" sign at the VA. I got my PTSD With Alcohol Use diagnosis biased primarily around lovely commands, lovely leaders, lovely work environments, and so on. What matters for a diagnosis is what is going on in your head, not how it happened. When you get your evaluation letter it'll tell you what your score is, how it added up, and then tell you for each item the specific percentage and what it would take to level it up. It also says you have one year to appeal and re-eval any item but I did a re-eval about 3 years after my initial eval and it worked just fine?
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Mar 28, 2023 23:44
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