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Cole posted:Does the VA have a central database for your address? Nope. At least it seems like each VA office has their own database that they copy you into. Even my clinic and the hospital it falls under had two different addresses for me at one point. When you update your address you need to contact every single part of the VA that you do any business with separately to inform them and even then it's not guaranteed that it will be updated everywhere in their system. When they were doing the choice cards I didn't get mine for awhile because they had my address from when I was still in the military, more than 12 months out of date and updated with every part of the VA I had interacted with, and they thought I had a VA clinic with 10 miles of my house instead of the actual 140 miles it was to nearest clinic.
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Dec 6, 2015 15:37
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VA health benefits count as health insurance under Obamacare. Easiest way to do it is to go to a local Veteran's Service Officer in person or call them and get them to enroll you. Some counties have VSO offices or you can go to organizations such as Disabled American Veterans, American Legion, etc. They should all be able to help get you enrolled.
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Dec 15, 2015 17:28
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Cole posted:Can I get lasik at the VA and if I can how big of a risk is lasik in the hands of the VA? The VA only performs lasik in very specific circumstances that makes it medically necessary to have corrective surgery instead of glasses/contacts. Tricare doesn't cover it either. However, I did come across this article from a few years back: http://www.news-medical.net/news/20091209/LCA-Vision-to-provide-free-corrective-vision-surgery-to-US-military-veterans.aspx quote:LCA-Vision Inc. (Nasdaq: LCAV), a leading provider of laser vision correction services under the LasikPlus® brand, announced today that it has joined forces with the Wounded Warrior Project to provide free LasikPlus® corrective vision surgery to U.S. military veterans and their spouses/caregivers across the nation. LCA-Vision supports the Wounded Warrior Project, and is doing its part to enhance the lives of America's heroes. I have no idea if this program is still ongoing, what kind of lasik they provide or what the qualifications are, but I am thinking about calling them up to get some more details after the holidays. I was planning on paying for lasik out of pocket, so that could be a nice alternative. For the best results from lasik you want to make sure that whoever is performing the surgery is doing it will all lasers and use a machine to measure your eye to find all the imperfections and then correct them. A lot of places call this wavefront technology or custom lasik, but it probably has other names as well. If you get the older style lasik it is a more generic procedure that is based on your prescription so the results can vary a lot more.
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Dec 19, 2015 22:09
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Yeah, I'll definitely post some details, especially if it is worthwhile. Hell even if it is just a 5-10% discount that is pretty sizable on something as expensive as lasik.
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Dec 19, 2015 22:20
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I called up the main appointment number for LCA-Vision and after a bit of searching for answers the women I spoke with told me that she was told that they are no longer participating with the Wounded Warrior Project to give free lasik to people. I guess it might have started costing too much and they didn't divert funds from the main goals (fundraising, paying executive salaries) of the charity to cover the expenses. I do hope some people got to take advantage of it while it was still ongoing though and it wasn't just a press release meant to demonstrate all the good they are doing without actually having to do anything.
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Dec 21, 2015 17:39
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I don't know anything about the GI Bill transferring. The only thing I could find about it was an article about a law maker attempting to amend the Post 9/11 GI bill in 2013 to add a provision for that, but I couldn't find anything about whether or not that was successful. As far as other VA benefits, you might want to look into Survivor's Education Benefits. The VA decided I probably wasn't much longer for this world, so they gave it to my wife prematurely. They gave her approximately $1,000 every month that she goes to school, paid at the end of each month. They scale the payments based on how many credits you take up to full time, and I think they give you less if you are going to a trade school or certificate program. Not quite as good as the GI Bill, but you can probably stack them. Possibly even if you are able to transfer your wife's GI Bill. There is a bit more info about it here as well as some other programs for surviving spouses. http://benefits.va.gov/BENEFITS/benefits-summary/SummaryofVADependentsandSurvivorsBenefits.pdf Best of luck
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Jan 1, 2016 14:08
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Soulex posted:Question. So I have two disqualifying conditions for the military for the medboard. In order to get an idea on my percentages, do they count both percentages before doing the weird hosed up math? Or do they count one leg then go to the other in the "healthy body" status like my 2 status conditions fit (PTSD and other stuff)? So they changed the way medboards work a few years back. It used to be that the Army would come up with it's own percentage and the VA would have another one. Now the VA decides both percentages, but only the conditions that are disqualifying will count for the Army and everything counts for the VA. To come up with your disability percentages the VA uses the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities Book C. They will compare the description and severity of your conditions as stated in your NARSUM and medical records and try to match it up with the condition in the VASRD. If they can't find your specific condition in it they will try to find the closest thing, but keep in mind the person doing the rating most likely isn't a doctor or medical professional, so you can get hosed if they don't really understand what is wrong with you and assign you to a wrong condition. I had that happen to me twice and had to appeal and tell them specifically what VASRD condition I wanted them to list me under and why. That made the difference between getting out with 10% and 100%. The VASRD also details how they add up all your disability ratings to get your total level of disability here: http://www.benefits.va.gov/warms/docs/regs/38CFR/BOOKC/PART4/S4_25.doc
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Feb 10, 2016 06:19
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Soulex posted:Even if it's the same condition just different legs? They don't lump it as a single condition for both, but separately. Which is dumb imo. So for the same condition on different limbs it is rated as a bilateral condition: http://www.benefits.va.gov/warms/docs/regs/38CFR/BOOKC/PART4/S4_26.doc If they don't give you 30%, appeal before you get out. First go through the VASRD and look for any conditions that you forgot to include in your medboard then if you find anything new that you can backup with medical evidence you can demand a formal PEB and ask that those conditions be included. You can also ask that any conditions that were not disqualifying be changed to disqualifying if you can support it with AR 40-501, Standards of Medical Fitness. Then you can also appeal any ratings you receive from the VA once before you get out. The VASRD will tell you the requirements to get a rating changed from 10% to 30%, etc. You mentioned PTSD earlier which has some special rules that will likely result in you being given TDLR instead of PDLR. In this case you will have to see a VA doctor every so often and they will determine if your condition has improved, worsened or stabilized. If it has improved they can recommend to the PEB that you be returned to duty and if the PEB agrees you will resume your service obligation where you left off. If it has stabilized or a certain number of years have passed they will recommend that you be moved to the PDLR and given a permanent rating which could be higher or lower than the one that you had on the TDLR. §4.129 Mental disorders due to traumatic stress posted:When a mental disorder that develops in service as a result of a highly stressful event is severe enough to bring about the veteran’s release from active military service, the rating agency shall assign an evaluation of not less than 50 percent and schedule an examination within the six month period following the veteran’s discharge to determine whether a change in evaluation is warranted. (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1155)
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Feb 10, 2016 17:29
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Soulex posted:Thanks for the help though! 30% is just permanent medical care for me right? Not my family? Family too! You are essentially given the same retirement benefits as someone who did 20 years, just with less money. For the bilateral, a 20% rating for each leg would only be combined to 36% then the 10% would be added to that for a total of 42%. That would then be rounded down to a final rating of 40% if you have no other conditions rated since anything >5 is rounded down and 5 or higher is rounded up to the next 10 as the final step. This is described in §4.25. Delizin fucked around with this message at 20:17 on Feb 10, 2016 |
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Feb 10, 2016 20:10
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Army is just conditions that disqualify you for service as described in AR 40-501. That will determine whether or not you are retired or separated with compensation and that is where you want to get at least your 30% for retirement or you lose a ton of benefits including health care for your family. If you do end up needing to appeal, I very highly recommend that you do it in person with a formal PEB. If you do that, DO NOT get JAG to represent you at the hearing. Instead contact the DAV at Fort Sam in San Antonio to represent you. You will have to go TDY to Fort Sam for the formal PEB and the DAV rep there that handles PEBs is a wizard. He is a retired 1SG and knew all the board members personally and was able to get my poo poo straightened out with 0 hassle.
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Feb 10, 2016 20:38
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Soulex posted:So questions now that my Formal PEB is over and the end is nigh...So far my estimated Army disability is 60% but will move up to 70% as soon as the VARR goes through on my legs. The VA will be going up from 70% to 80%.
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May 24, 2016 00:39
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Residency Evil posted:Out of curiosity, how often have you guys heard of people embellishing the stories they tell their C&P examiners or faking symptoms to get a higher rating? Is that something you guys think happens often? Ever? I'm sure it happens a fair bit, but I think the opposite is actually more common. People tend to play down their symptoms and tough it out then they end up with ratings that are way below than they really should have gotten. I've talked to plenty of people that said during their exam, especially mobility tests, the doctor would have them start stretching or whatever and they'd go well beyond where the pain started and all the way until where the pain became so intolerable that they physically could not move any further. The doctor would then mark that as their maximum mobility point which may be in or near the normal range when it actually should have been recorded as way lower. During a VA briefing I got some advice after the fact that I wish someone had told me before my C&P exam. The briefer said that during your C&P exam you need to tell the doctor what your conditions are like on your worst days. Every medical condition fluctuates a bit and your doctors need to know what it's like when it is really limiting your ability to function as well as what it is like on average.
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May 27, 2016 02:42
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Beast Pussy posted:I found out recently that I wasn't using my Retiree benefits to the fullest extent possible. I never received my blue retiree card after leaving on TDRL in 2013, then was moved to PDRL after two years. When I went to get it today, I was told that I wasn't eligible because I wasn't 100% disabled (I'm 70 according to the Army, and 90 according to the VA). I've been just getting the VA checks, and using my GI bill. Yeah, that guy is wrong. He was thinking of the brown DD 2765. You need the Blue DD Form 2 (Retired) ID card. http://www.cac.mil/uniformed-services-id-card/
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Jun 7, 2016 13:54
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I'm trying to get approved for Voc Rehab and I've already got a very solid plan on exactly what I want to do and how I'll achieve it. I hear it is a lot easier and faster to get a plan approved when you come in prepared. I've been reading through M28R, the Voc Rehab and Employment Service Manual, but I haven't found the section on what exactly they need for plan. Does anyone happen to have a plan, with details removed, that I can use as a template?
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Apr 14, 2017 18:43
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I'm a bit worried because of the extent of my injuries and that my plan involves working with firearms which the VA has special rules regarding. Back in January I applied for a very competitive and well regarded and accredited gunsmithing associate degree program and I've made it through all the selection rounds so far with the final decision on if I'll make it in coming at the end of the month. I've put together my list of goals, rehab timeline, gainful employment disclosure for the program, itemized cost list for the program and tools, and the steps that I will be taking to mitigate the effect of disabilities. It looks like I can keep the expense below the $25k/year limit and I am fine buying my own firearms if that keeps me from having to jump through all the extra hoops. Anything else you guys would recommend bringing to that first meeting?
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Apr 14, 2017 18:58
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Thanks for the insight everyone. I will find out if I get into the program in two weeks and immediately after that I'll turn in my paperwork and begin the waiting game. If it all works out I'll get to play with guns again on Uncle Sam's dime, but hopefully this time without being surrounded by idiots ruining what should be a good time.
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Apr 14, 2017 21:27
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I've found dealing with the VA that it is best to keep the regs handy, because often you are dealing with people that may not be intimately familiar with them, but think that they are. For VR&E that seems to be M28R, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Service Manual. It has been helpful for me in preparing my application and figuring out how to make it more likely that I will get my plan approved. For example, at first I was planning on trying to go for the self employment route since prior to the Army I had ran a successful small business for many years. After reviewing the requirements for self employment and the limits of the program, I decided my best would be to change my tactics and focus on rehabilitating myself for employment.
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Apr 14, 2017 22:00
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TheAlphaChaser posted:I'm working through voc stuff now so I appreciate the effort post. I will already have a year completed at my grad program before I complete the process. Do you know if they would pay for my last year even though I'm already started? Or god forbid reimburse my first year? Technically it is possible to get reimbursement according to the Voc Rehab handbook, but I don't know how difficult it is to get in practice. Retroactive Induction VA may authorize payment for tuition, fees, and other verifiable expenses that an individual incurred, as well as establish payment of a subsistence allowance for a period of training, when it is determined that those services and training are consistent with the individual’s approved rehabilitation plan. a. Criteria for Retroactive Induction A program of rehabilitation and assistance may be approved retroactively when the following conditions are met, per 38 CFR 21.282: • The period for which retroactive induction is requested is within the individual’s basic period of eligibility or extended eligibility as provided in 38 U.S.C. 3103 and 38 CFR 21.41 through 21.44. • The Veteran is entitled to disability compensation during the period for which retroactive induction is requested. • The individual meets the criteria of entitlement to VR&E services for the requested period. • The training pursued during the retroactive period is determined to be suitable for achieving the vocational goal of the individual’s rehabilitation plan. I'd suggest reading the entire section 2.05 on page 9: http://www.benefits.va.gov/WARMS/docs/admin28/M28R/Part_IV/pt04_ch02%20secC.pdf Elsa, thank you for all that info. That is tremendously helpful. I'm beginning my 8 hour drive to the school tomorrow then completing my faculty interview first thing Friday morning. Then hopefully I'll know if I get into the program Friday or early next week. Wish me luck.
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Apr 27, 2017 05:29
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Just got a letter from my prospective school today letting me know that I was accepted into the program for the fall semester. Tomorrow I am meeting with my local VSO to go over my Voc Rehab paperwork and plan before submitting it to the VA. He isn't a VR&E counselor, the nearest one is like 220 miles away as far as I know, but he seems to know the system pretty well. Elsa, I really appreciate you posting those images and providing that write up on what your counselor wanted. I've gone ahead and gotten almost that entire packet together in anticipation for meeting with counselor. My hope is that by coming in fully prepared they will be more likely to green light everything for me and get it done in time for the fall semester or shortly after.
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May 3, 2017 20:37
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Soulex posted:Hey. I'm trying to apply for a VA Loan but am curious if my VR bah will be allowed as income. I know 9/11 is not but they are two different programs. VR as in Voc Rehab? My understanding is that while Voc Rehab is Chapter 31, if you get BAH with it that is covered by the Chapter 33 Post 9/11 GI Bill. Thanks a to court ruling a few years ago it no longer consumes your GI Bill if you are using Voc Rehab and getting BAH now. I imagine that most mortgage companies would view it is a transient income since it will probably go away after a couple years. What they are typically looking for is just your permanent sources of income, which could include VA disability and SSDI if you get that, in addition to stable employment income.
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May 19, 2017 00:23
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Pesticide20 posted:Uhhh pretty sure your understanding is flawed, because when I started Voc Rehab combined with Post-9/11 BAH a few months back I was told that it would be depleting my Chapter 33 benefits. I was told by my VR&E counselor that using Voc Rehab combined with Post 9/11 did not deplete my Chapter 33 benefits since I am use Voc Rehab first. I tried to pull up some resources and this seems to confirm it: http://www.disabledveterans.org/2013/10/30/va-voc-rehab-take-away-gi-bill/ http://3mc77e18jo7n1uk8m71my8ml.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Advisory-48-Month-Rule-Original-Claims-3.pdf I couldn't find a hard source from the VA on this in a couple minutes of searching, but I'll take a look again later to confirm.
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May 19, 2017 01:04
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Zero, just hop on ebenefits or call up a VSO. You should be able to pull up the decision letter where they decided to back pay you. On the disabilities page in ebenefits it should also say what the effective date of your disabilities is which should let you know if that is what they are back paying.
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May 19, 2017 06:33
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LtCol J. Krusinski posted:So just so I'm clear: I've never used my Post 9/11 GI bill, but I have used VR&E. If I continue to use VR&E only, when I'm done I'll not have used my Post 9/11 benefits at all and will still have 36 months remaining? That is my understanding of the program with the new rule changes. There are some guys that posted around here over the last couple days saying they thought they had used up their Post 9/11 benefits while using Voc Rehab, but are suddenly finding out that they still have their Post 9/11 months left.
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Jun 29, 2017 04:36
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Zero VGS posted:Edit: Does the VR&E have that same expiration date as Post 9/11? My Post 9/11 ends in line 2021. VR&E time limit is 12 years from when you become eligible for it. So when you receive a 20% disability rating or 10% with a serious employment handicap the clock starts.
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Jun 29, 2017 16:15
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It depends on what you want Voc Rehab to do for you. My understanding is that it is more difficult to get Voc Rehab to pay for grad school, because you need to show why your bachelors isn't good enough to get you a job. What you'll need to show your counselor that to be successful in your desired career field the majority of successful applicants need to have advanced degrees. It might be better to get in on Voc Rehab sooner rather than later though. If your plan is approved Voc Rehab will pay for you to finish your current degree and for grad school. Also I think that if you don't use up all of your Post 9/11 you might be able to get BAH when you are in your grad program. You should check out the VR&E manual: http://www.benefits.va.gov/WARMS/M28R.asp Elsa did a great post on what the VR&E counselor wanted: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3750680&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=13#post471535176 With those resources you can figure out the best way to get the counselor to approve exactly what you want.
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Jul 9, 2017 20:01
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Zero VGS posted:Anyone know if there's any sites to actually let me compare APR rates for VA Loans? I looked at USAA and NFCU and the latter was like .5 cheaper for a 30-year. You can check out https://www.zillow.com/mortgage-rates/ You can input your credit score, whether it is a VA loan or whatever then it gives you APR rates from a bunch of companies. I probably wouldn't recommend using any of the companies on the list, but in my experience the APR estimates were pretty close to the APR I got from a real bank on my VA loan a few years back.
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Jul 13, 2017 06:57
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Something worth looking into is whether or not the loan originator will sell off the loan immediately or give it to a loan servicing company. USAA preapproved me for a loan, but I found out that they were using Ocwen as a loan servicer. Ocwen is Treasure Secretary Steve Mnuchin's company that was built to scam consumers and the federal government. My father's home loan had been turned over to Ocwen for servicing and he is still fighting in court years later because they tried to illegally foreclose on his house and constantly added fake charges to his mortgage total. It is a huge clusterfuck and was apparently extremely widespread. My basic understanding of the scam is that during the mortgage bailout the government was reimbursing these companies losses when they had to foreclose on a house, so they ended up finding it was far more profitable to falsely inflate mortgage totals with legal fees and fake charges then raise the house payments for the borrowers with illegal actions like collecting escrow taxes for multiple years in advance (and then not paying the property taxes) until they couldn't afford the payments anymore. Then when they foreclose they report the total value of the mortgage to the government with all the added charges to make it worth far more than the loan was originally for and they get it all at once instead of having to wait. My point is, just be careful and try to make sure the company you think you are doing business with is actually who you will be dealing with over the life of the loan.
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Jul 13, 2017 23:35
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I just started Voc Rehab this summer for an associates degree in Gunsmithing. I don't start class until next month, but I've already started ordering tools, equipment and a laptop for it through Voc Rehab. It really couldn't be much easier purchasing stuff. When I find something that I am interested in, I email my voc rehab guy a link to it online. If it is over $500 then I need to send something from the school stating that it is required. The next day or so I'll get an email back from him either telling me that he ordered it for me if he can get the exact item from GSA or telling me to go ahead and purchase it and they'll reimburse. When they reimburse it takes a few weeks for the check to come in the mail from the Treasury Dept, however it doesn't seem like they are on a monthly schedule like regular VA payments. The regional office in Colorado does not allow reimbursements to be sent via direct deposit for some reason, but your results may vary. To maximize my benefit from reimbursements I put all the charges on my credit card with cash back rewards and pay it off when the check arrives (or before the due date so there is no interest charge if the check doesn't get there before). When I show up at the school they have a lot of the tools and supplies required for the program available at the school bookstore. They have already told me they opened up an account for me there and I can just walk in and get everything I need without ever seeing a bill.
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Jul 20, 2017 10:53
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bulletsponge13 posted:I just got accepted into vocrehab for the same thing, but am getting ready to start my second semester, and wasn't sure how it would work. Awesome, Bulletsponge and I are in the same school/program. We'll be neighbors in the dorms next month. I'm sure it will be just like back in the barracks; hijinks, eiffle towering bitches and the occasional fireguard shift. I'll send you a more specific answer in PM.
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Jul 20, 2017 16:26
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Soulex posted:So my vocrehab told me if I get IU, I lose Vocrehab but can do 9/11 GI. True/False? Source? Absolutely false. I am on UI and Vocrehab at the same time and will remain on UI until I am able to work, which will hopefully be at the end of my voc rehab program. Ask your counselor to show you the specific reg that says that. They won't be able to because it doesn't exist. There is also an entire part of voc rehab called independent living where they determine that you won't be able to get a job afterward so they just want to help you with day to day life sort of stuff.
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Aug 25, 2017 01:35
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Nuclear War posted:I don't think this goes here, but I have no idea where to go to ask for resources to help out so I hope you guys cam point me to anything at all since while it doesn't concern a veteran it's drat close to. If this is totally inappropriate let me know and I'll delete. The program he is looking for is called Special Immigrant Visas, but my understanding is it didn't work that well during the Obama administration and that now it is completely hosed under Trump. I don't think they are accepting any new applications from Iraqi translators, but there are other programs to get him to the US. Unfortunately it will be a long road right now. There is a NGO called No one Left Behind that is working towards getting all of these guys that helped us brought over to the US. They have a handy decision tree available online to help these guys figure out the best way to apply currently: https://zingtree.com/host.php?style=panels&tree_id=205921049&persist_names=Restart&persist_node_ids=1&start_node=24&start_tree=205921049#24 For more info: https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/iraqi-afghan-translator.html https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/iraqis-work-for-us.html http://nooneleft.org/
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Sep 23, 2017 15:33
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Zero VGS posted:Hey, I just got a bitchin' credit card that I would describe as vet benefit: I got one of these cards a few months back. I am using it to buy all my supplies and tools for my expensive Voc Rehab program then I submit the receipts to the VA who reimburses me. It is working out pretty well so far.
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Oct 21, 2017 00:00
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Booger Presley posted:Anyone on C31 receiving the full C33 stipend? I am. After getting approved for Chapter 31, I had to send my certificate of eligibility for Chapter 33 to my VR&E counselor and he got it all set up.
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Feb 16, 2018 16:05
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