processing time limits?

RDMURPHY
Registered: 07/31/10
Posts: 49

	03/31/11	#1

Awaiting decesions on multiple secondary claims related to hep c and transplant. Va says the claims are in the development stage, all physical information received by VA 9 feb2011. Yearly bene statement now shows me permenatly and totally disabled did not last year is there a time limit for processing secondary claims? Houston regional office
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NOD

Manager
Registered: 11/22/08
Posts: 654

	03/31/11	#2

I love the brevity of men. No offense intended, sir. You have condensed your message down to its most essential component. Women tend to expand rather than contract. I can always discern the difference without having to retreat to the profiles section to determine your gender. What we need in order to ascertain what you desire is more info. You are awaiting decisions on claims secondary to Hep. Has the hep decision been made yet w/ respect to SC? Any downstream secondary claims rest on that premise so we ask for clarification’s purposes. You mention a yearly benefits statement yet we are not acquainted with such a beast. Is this something related to less than a 100% rating or is it of pension vs. Compensation origin? If you are P&T, it follows you would be 100% schedular or more and be receiving monies commensurate with a 100% rating . There is no time limit for processing any claims with the VA. I have read about some which have dragged out for four or five years in the initial development stage due to additional information submitted and /or searches for PTSD stressors. All this before an appeal, mind you. My second attempt to summit Mt. VA in 2007 was 16 months from 2/07 to 7/08. The PCT (secondary) from the same claim stream went on until 10/08 before resolution. VA is inundated with claims from Iraqi and Afstan Vets. It’s no wonder they are in the dog house for delays in adjudication. If the new info for secondaries was submitted in 2/11, do not be surprised if you don’t get some acknowledgement that they received it before 7/11. A decision on the merits may still be another 6 months after that. Have you signed up for Ebenefits yet? You can keep track of it on that venue-or so they say. If you need more info on that, shoot us back a query RFN and we’ll show you how. If it ever works as advertised, Vets will suspect they’re in the info loop and feel less like cultured mushrooms in the basement. As with any government computer program, the first hurtle is to get it to work at all. Most are incompatible with the very people they aspire to serve. The Ebenefits program and its orphan sister, HealtheVet , are inspired efforts that allow you to ostensibly view your VA files and medrecs from the VISTA medrecs. Reality is somewhat different. HealtheVet now allows you to see what meds you are prescribed and currently eating. If you are so forgetful that you have use their venue to remember them, you may find this epistle to be unintelligible. We had some input about the Houston VARO last year. They appear to be capable of rational thought processes and possess GED equivalent educational documentation. One of our members received very decent treatment from them. Johnny59’s 10% Hep rating under DC 7345(1989) was upgraded to 60%, his cirrhosis under DC 7312 went from 0% to 100% and he also received 20% for DM2, second to the hep. When he was finished, we had him up to 190%. He is very ill and deserved it. Too bad VA made life a b*tch for him right up to decompensation. He has to be cancer free for several years in order to qualify for a transplant and that will be another ten months. He just underwent a TIPS procedure to relieve the portal gastropathy. This will turn his brain into oatmeal until he has the transplant. We all pray that won’t become permanent. Happy Birthday , Johnny. It could have been worse- like April Fools day. Get well soon, too.
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RDMURPHY
Registered: 07/31/10
Posts: 49

	04/01/11	#3

Thank you for your speedy response, sorry for the brevity, just how I am. I am s/c for hepc, transplant and depression, currently rated at 100%. filed for multiple secondary claims in response to an attempt to reduce from va. They have admitted reception from qtc on feb 9 2011. the va doctors at audie murphy have actually been quite haplful in stating my secondary problems were directly connected to hepc. as for Johnny59 I know what he is going thru, had a tips procedure prior to transplant, as long as he controls the ammonti levels it is bearable. i was to far gone for tips to help me, i hope it helps him. NOD is godsend to our uniformed brothers and sisters for the information and support you supply. As for houston varo in all fairness to them they have treated me fairly, if very slowly in the past. I will happy to share my experience with tips and liver transplant with anyone who might need it. THANK YOU.
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cdneh
Registered: 01/20/11
Posts: 44

	04/01/11	#4

I for one would be most interested in hearing about your transplant/tips experience. My husband is headed for that in all likelihood down the track.I agree totally. NOD is an absolute godsend. __________________ donnelly.kate@gmail.com
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RDMURPHY
Registered: 07/31/10
Posts: 49

	04/01/11	#5

as for the benefits letter I am unsure why, however I have received a statement of benefits from va every year since 2008. It lists what level of disability I receive, S/C, if I am unemployable ETC. This year the letter shows me as totally and permenantly disabled, however no change has meen made as far as retroactive payment or date of dasibility. I hope this means positive things for my family. sorry I did not post this with the first reply.
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NOD

Manager
Registered: 11/22/08
Posts: 654

	04/01/11	#6

Mr. RDMurphy brings up an excellent point. The VA is renowned for pulling you in for a new exam every few years to determine if reducing your rating is appropriate commensurate with your symptoms. There are rules and regulations prescribing how it shall be done and under what circumstances. If, for instance, you have a brain fart and forget to attend the dog and pony show, your reduction will be automatic. They must wait 6 months to institute this reduction in order for you to prepare for the financial shock. I suppose that also allows you to get your act together and start a defense by filing a NOD. For those of us with Hep., the road is a little rougher. VA always contemplates a reduction as soon as you have a transplant. They try not to be too obvious and allow you time to recuperate, but the unadulterated truth is they are sharpening the pencils and ready to misinterpret anything you say. Vets regularly say positive upbeat things to their doctors when they are having a good day. Saying the same thing to a QTC examiner can be fatal to your wallet. Obviously you will be feeling better following a transplant. That goes without saying. Communicating this joyously to the QTC examiner results in his/her annotating that you are a latter day Lazurus, recently returned from the dead. VA will take this good news and “construe” it to mean they can now reduce you from the former 70% w/ TDIU back down to 40% without. You, of course, are still a doorbell’s distance away from decompensation and hardly prepared to rush out and seek work. Nevertheless, this is how VA envisions it. I severely doubt the “examiners” at the VARO who come to these misguided conclusions are evil and uncaring. They work from a book (M-21) which dictates their choices. We all know that each Vet’s circumstances differ depending on a host of variables including the plethora of secondary ailments too numerous to mention here. To arbitrarily reduce a Vet on one set of criteria without viewing the disease process in its totality renders a decision both flawed and arbitrary. It can take months, sometimes years, to correct these inequities. So, today’s teaching moment obviously is- Do not miss your VA C&P exams. If you do, immediately contact them and ask for a do over. Don’t let it fester. I know whereof I speak. I missed a hearing exam in 1994 and it cost me Tinnitus (10%) for 13 years. For those of you without calculators, that was about $15, 368 dollars with no interest. Chump change you say? Well, in my former life when I had a good job and ample $, that would have bought 10 really nice bottles of 1945 Château Lafitte Rothschild. Everyone knows they are rare and hard to find. What few know is that it is unarguably the finest vintage since 1918. I don’t drink now so that’s a lot of pee under the bridge. Besides, I can ill afford it. Making the mortgage payments on time is the most exciting financial aspect of my new life. I’m sure some of you can equate with that reality. The legal posture says they cannot change your rating after 5 years. It is considered “protected”. Likewise, after 10 years of P&T, your spouse is protected and will receive DIC. If you perish prior to the 10 year date, your spouse can still qualify. The codicil is that you must have died from the service connected disease you are rated for. If you’re rated for hep. and die from hemorrhoids prior to the 10 year mark, you lose. All your spouse gets is a really neat flag and a burial allowance. And before you get all teary eyed and blubbery, the burial allowance wouldn’t cover a decent cremation for your pet hamster.
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RDMURPHY
Registered: 07/31/10
Posts: 49

	04/01/11	#7

good morning kate. wish you and your husband well. my tips procedure did not help me due to my advanced condition at the time. It may help your husband. as for transplant this sounds corny but it is important to keep a positive attitude before and after sugery. it helped me greatly. Unsure if you are awaiting transplant with va or civilian doctors, but there has been a change in how patients are rated as far as priority. in 2007 this probobly save my life when they started using ‘meld’ scores to determine transplant priority. Hopefully the tips procedure works for your husband and buys him time for transplant. If you go to transplant and get thru the first 90 to120 days without complications your out of the woods. Have hope, next generation treatment for hep c is coming out this year, hopefully much better than last batch. my sugery was in 11/07 and I am still here. Hang in there
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cdneh
Registered: 01/20/11
Posts: 44

	04/01/11	#8

We will, and thank you 🙂 We are waiting to hear back on the MELD score, they ran that the last time we were in.__________________ donnelly.kate@gmail.com