Reporting for ROLL CALL 7/31/13 8:56AM
Hey Captain!
Per your 1): You are somewhat close to the 'arbitrary VA formulas' as to making a claim. If you have ten physical wounds, and you have symptoms of PTSD and you were exposed to any toxins, you have a dozen points to deal with. If there are any problems at this point of your needs to cover your 6, then re-read ROLL CALL Phase I from top to bottom. You need to follow all the steps and apply all the rules to get to this point with me. You need to get a thorough physical covering all bases and finish it off with a thorough mental evaluation from a VA 'shrink'. Get is all down on paper!
Per your 2): It is not relevant that the VA and the services are in cahoots with each other as to the departing Cherry Troop. It is the Cherry Troops responsibility to get his VA card and start the process of 'playing the game'.
Per your 3): The Advocate is a 'guide' for the Cherry Troop's mission of getting from Point A to Point Z. Depending on who the Advocate is, his 'leverage" is conditional. The Cherry Troop needs to 'trust' his Advocate. There are @ one million backlogged claims at the VA today. Don't you think "arbitrary administrative/bureaucratic" might be the explanation?
Making a claim at the VA for the wounds the Cherry Troop has received in serving his country is 'his/her' responsibility. If the wound is a serious physical one, such as loss of limb or sight, then the process is conditional and pretty much 'cut & dry'. If however, there are other wounds, then it is the responsibly of the Cherry Troop to get them talked out and on paper with his primary care doctor and 'shrink'. Just doing this can start initiating the 'claim' because it brings into focus the wounds.
I call PTSD "The Black Snake". If the Cherry Troop has been subjected to any form of combat, the the Black Snake is apparent. If the Cherry Troop was subjected to any sort of 'abuse' in his service, then the Black Snake is tangible. It is so very important for the Cherry Troop to get to ROLL CALL's first phase immediately after discharge because he can remember the 'stressors' better then than 20 years downy the road. And the 'stressors' are so very important in 'playing the game'.
LT
Reporting for Roll Call:19:30Hrs - 8-7-13
ReplyDeleteHi LT:
A brief update on my comments Re: Your No. 3
1) The fact that the VA uses the Claims Adjuster approach to handle disability claims, to my mind, explains a lot of things, including the backlog problem. In short, the VA adopted the insurance industry's way of processing claims. For that purpose, a Claims Adjuster's mission is to minimize the dollar value of any payout for a claim. That being so, it gives us a clearer insight about why the VA deals with claims the way it does.
2) Given that, everything you have mentioned to date about the process makes more sense. Simply put, the moment a veteran files a disability claim, of any kind, everything related to it, all the back and forth involved, becomes an "adversarial" process. Thus, in that context, your urging that it's essential for a veteran to get an Advocate to help deal with the process is right on. In many ways, it's the equivalent of getting a lawyer when dealing with an insurance Adjuster. My only question about that is...how does a veteran know if that Advocate knows and understands both the language and terminology used by the Adjuster?
3) Re: Recent comments from Dennis (OR). This shows that there's a real lack of knowledge about the VA's rules and regulations, even within its own bureaucrats and affiliates. The gap between -date of diagnosis- and -date of claim- is the best example of that. What this suggests is that a veteran should file a claim as close to a date of diagnosis as possible. All of which goes back to some of my earlier comments re: medical vs.administrative determinations when it comes to levels of disability.
4)Getting back our Cherry Troop, for the sake of this discussion, let's say he's done everything previously outlined in Phase I, and in this Phase II, and he's locked and loaded ready to file his claim. Just exactly what are the steps he takes to do that?
CENTURION