VA’S FISCAL CLIFF–EOUIJA?

Posted on November 26, 2012 by asknod

The 1989 VJRA Fiscal cliff for VA is well known. It had become so clannish and dysfunctional as to be rife with delays. Sound familiar?

As the CAVC became entrenched and the delays grew anew, VA promised to expedite, hire more personnel, and streamline the process. The BVA promptly geared up for the expected onslaught by ordering more martini shakers.

By 1994, things were getting pretty slippery where a six month delay was the norm for an uncomplicated claim. VA screamed for more of everything to “right the cart”. BVA disbanded three-judge panels and permitted new “single judge” boards consisting of one (1) (uno) judge. This immediately produced sixty “Boards” where there were only twenty. VAROs geared up by training several new raters every year.

 By 2000, nothing had really changed. As with the schools system, more money was thrown at the problem but with new wars came new, injured Vets. A spate of new hospital spending on the VHA side was instituted but was delayed for far too long. “More money!” they shouted down at 810 Vermin Ave. NW. And Congress obliged. More raters were hired and training began in earnest. Bonuses were offerred to entice workers to become more productive. Eventually they were proffered just to get raters to come in to work. Starbucks® Coffee shops were collocated in VAROs to increase productivity. Suggestion boxes were installed in restrooms.

Claims once again began to pile up and a loud cry and hue arose over how poorly VA was doing their job. Gold-plated VHA facilities were coming on line but yet the claims backlog continued. Extensive studies were funded and investigators investigated. They concluded that the VA was simply underpopulated and needed more involved, committed “stakeholders” who were willing to improve the system. Congressional hearings were held and it was determined that more money was needed to keep up with the influx of new Veterans. Congress grudgingly complied but asked if this was the proper cure. Assured by the highest Agency talking heads that the logjam was less than a year from being solved, more funds were allocated. More raters were hired with an expected on-line status of two years.

Along about 2010, everyone was assured that responsible stakeholders had stepped up to the plate and large numbers of new mental health workers were going to stem the high tide of suicides accumulating. Homeless Vets, too, were seated at the big table. Women Vets, long neglected, began to see clinics opening that catered specifically to them. Still the dogged problem of backlogged claims persisted. It was felt that due to the propensity of Vets to start claiming everything but the kitchen sink, they were being unreasonable and bogging down the system. This nine or ten claims-per-Vet thing was getting out of hand. Backlogs were now growing in numbers unforeseen and medical facilities found themselves in over their heads. Few wanted to work for the much-vaunted VHA due to their increasingly poor reputation and miserly wages.  Even extensive TV advertising failed to fill the breech. Suicides increased while homelessness abated. Once again, the call went out: “Mo’ money, honey.”

Congress was fit to be tied. The more gold-plated the machine, the slower it traveled. The more personnel hired and bonuses administered, the larger the backlog and the time required to adjudicate an ingrown toenail. After additional hearings and lots of acrimony, Under Secretary of Apologies Allison A. Hickey did her best mea culpas before the Inquisition. Promises were made and gifts were exchanged. 2015 was now being touted as the magic year for resolution. Fabulous predictions of 125 days (or less!) claims resolution in a modern, paperless society all from the comfort and privacy of one’s own home were foretold. Trees could breathe a sigh of relief. Global warming would abate. Our dependence on foreign oil would become a distant memory. Ebenefits was the wave of the future. MyhealthEvet predicted their system would very soon have all our records a keystroke away. In fact, by 2015 technology would be so precise as to guarantee a 98% chance of accuracy. DBQs would make new claims all the more precise and accurate. Everyone rejoiced except the Vets.

So, here we are at the cusp of 2013. The backlog stands at 1.25 million claims with new ones coming in droves daily. Accuracy, in reality, is currently about 30% and falling like a winter low pressure system coming in.

Victor Alpha, ever optimistic, sees things differently.

I eagerly await the new stakeholders’ explanations for the disparity in all these prognostications. I also smell Eouija on the 2015 horizon.

Download your VA Ebenefit phone app to track your claim here. Takes you directly to ULUZ@va.gov

 

Posted in VA BACKLOG | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

XMAS SPECIALS FROM NOD YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS

Posted on November 25, 2012 by asknod

Yes, pilgrims. Member Tombo of the Few and the Proud presses “send” on this valuable collection of unbearable bargains for Christmas. I personally have searched high and low for a nail unbender for years and consigned myself to the fact that no one made one. Well now we’re all in high cotton.  18 Volt cordless hammers? Laser-guided paint brushes? They got your six, bubba. If you can’t find something in this catalog to give someone you’re not extremely fond of, you have higher standards than even me. Shoot, this stuff is the story of legends and regifting. Chances are you’ll see it back under your own tree in several years.

Posted in Humor | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT–PATRIOT BRASS

Posted on November 25, 2012 by asknod

If you live in the northeast, this is just the ticket for your Christmas Office Party or a large gathering. The donations or funds invested in their endeavor couldn’t go to a better cause. Old friend and fellow Air Force brat Emo asked me to put this up and I gladly comply.

Posted in All about Veterans, Food for the soul | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

INTERFERON–ONE SIZE FITS ALL

Posted on November 25, 2012 by asknod

Exciting new cancer drug  March 31st, 1980…

But wait, exciting new cancer AIDS drug in 1992?

 

Hold the presses. We have a winner. It kills humans er, HCV in 30 to 40% of cases  investigated. Whooo-hoooo! It works, sort of.

Seems like scientists just can’t let a worthless drug go. If at first you don’t succeed, kill, kill again. Thanks for the artwork, Squidley. Maybe that’s why they call it Dragon’s breath, rat piss, the cure that kills, 52 ways to leave your lover and more.

 

Posted in HCV Health | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

VA FY 2013 Budget mysteries

Posted on November 25, 2012 by Laura

I’ve spent too much time looking in the VA budget for the line item for grant payments to VSOs without success.  The VSOs serve under the VA’s Office of General Counsel as accredited partners and have read-only access to CAPRI and veterans health and compensation records.  They are congressionally chartered, non-profit organizations.  They get perks like free rent and hold their own conventions in vacation spots.  But what federal department funnels funds to them?  Are they buried in the massive discretionary funds categories?

In states like Michigan, VSO’s can apply for grants funds.  See page 16 for the size of recent grants awards. http://www.house.mi.gov/hfa/briefings/MilitaryVets%2010-11.pdf

In Pennsylvania, VSO’s may use their grant money for salaries and benefits (4).   Some private SOs are unpaid volunteers; others are assumed to be paid staff (accreditation form 7B by the VA.  County SO salaries are paid by state budgets.  VSOs like the VFW, get large donations from corporate sponsors and small ones from citizens who donate during the poppy drives.

A consortium of VSOs publish an “independent budget” that calls for better salaries and HR training (more Orlando parties?) for VA workers as a critical issue!  What’s weird about the VSO budget is that it doesn’t present even one spread sheet.  It’s all words as bland and sugarly as a Twinkie.   http://www.independentbudget.org/2011/CI_2012.pdf

There is no question that VSOs help active military and veterans in many ways and I’m grateful for their efforts.  But the monetary relationships between governmental entities like the VA and VSOs should be an open book.  And the qualifications of SOs working under the OGC need to be improved given their high denial rates.  At the BVA level, attorney’s have the lowest denial rates.  To see which VSOs rates best, re-read Average Joe Vet’s post. https://asknod.wordpress.com/2012/07/15/vsos-report-card-for-2011/ 

At the RO level, veterans are denied the right to a qualified attorney in this special legal arena and the denial rates reflect this fact.

Ed. note: Wheeeeeeew, doggies. She sure touched a sore nerve there. I know, too, that the chartered VSOs get funds from VA (read congress) for representing Vets. They obtain these via the Form 21-22 POA. That is why VSOs are constantly trolling for more. It’s their cash cow that feeds them. The actual sum seems to be hard to discern. I talked at length with the Washington State PR gal at the Dept. of State Vets Affairs last year in pursuit of an answer. She danced around a number but would not commit to an actual sum.  All she would say was that it was paltry. In government, paltry can be $2000.00 a head. Government types have difficulty quantifying paltry. To them, no sum is too exorbitant where their salaries are concerned.

Posted in Guest authors, vA news | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

ILP–NOD ON GREENHOUSE

Posted on November 25, 2012 by asknod

WIN OR DIE

True to my word on putting up a copy of my Greenhouse NOD, at fifteen pages this one is a  veritable Gutenberg bible. For those of you who are filing for the ILP or have lost, this will give you a lot of good ammo to fight with. All the regulations, statutes and M-21 references are in there. vA’s favorite Miriam Webster definitions for necessary and vital are already assembled. Virtually all you need to do is insert the correct VARO address, the appropriate disabilities,  and formulate why you need them for your independence. With twenty other ILP entries on  the subject on our site, you should be able to get a solid claim together for this project. And yes-it’s our site. Yours and mine. Written for Veterans by Veterans (and their wives). We do it for you because, quite frankly, if the shoe was on the other foot I’m sure you’d do it for us.

Make no mistake about it. This is every bit as arduous as a claim for benefits. You’ll have long, dead spells in between filings but nothing on the order of years. After the denial of it’s existence is abandoned, progress will ensue.

Go to the widget at the top and click on VAROs-Who’s who. Enter Veterans Benefits Admin and your VARO state and county to see who the ILP folks are who will be giving you grief. They’re usually GS-10s and above and  listed as “psychologist” or “Social Science”. More subterfuge or vA’s rude attempt at humor. Add up their combined wages for a year and you’ll see a lot of tax $ being squandered denying the very programs you’re entitled to. If this doesn’t incur your wrath, nothing will. The wages paid to VR&E folks at the SEARO alone are $1,465,737.00 not counting the bonuses. My daddy used to say “That government work is thirsty business and liquor costs money.”

Go to Hadit.com and look at this site. Note the posts by USNDW. He’s very knowledgeable on this subject and has much experience dealing with them. Fortunately, they seem to be working with him rather than against him. My bozos at the Seattle RO are not so accommodating.

I’d also like to thank Rick Townsend for a wonderful program tonight. He’s one of the best secret weapons we have in our war with the vA for our benefits. Make no mistake about it. This program is not about a grab bag of goodies for greedy Vets. The ILP was designed for the most disabled among us. Congress saw fit to ameliorate the rotten remuneration afforded Vets on compensation by offering extras to enhance our lives. Do not ever think this is cheating another Vet out of a vocational goal. The avocational funds were set aside for us and are being usurped for other causes at our expense. The mere fact that they have chosen to bury this out back behind the outhouse is proof that they’d prefer we didn’t know. On the rare occasion when the cat gets out of the bag, they try to substitute extendahand top shelf grabbers, portapottys, cordless phones in lieu of Life Alert pendants, and grab bars at the water closets. Don’t fall for it.

I’ll leave this in Microword so those of you who desire can modify it to your needs.

VR-E NOD for Greenhouse 11-21-12

There are no rules for this. The ILP is in the form of a grant. There is great leeway to entertain your requests. A medical need is most likely going to be granted, but computers are one of the big ones these days. No one can say they are “necessary and vital” to independence in everyday living any more so than a Tempurpedic bed. Remember that when they abruptly deny you. Force them to put it in writing with a complete rationale for their denial. Their reasons will look petty and spiteful when committed to paper.

To Todd and Bill-we wish you the best of luck in your endeavors on this. Questions can and will be answered about this at asknod@gmail.com always. Email me and I’ll send you an autographed copy of the book if you so desire.  And may I say in all seriousness- Thank you both (and all Vets) for being so selfless as to offer to serve your country that others might receive the enduring gift of freedom. Few hear the call. Even fewer sign on the line.

Four years ago and nothing to show for it… Way to go Congress. I notice nobody missed out on their precious perks up on the Hill in the interim.

Posted in ASKNOD BOOK, Independent Living Program, NEW BOOK, Stardust Radio, VR&E | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

PREPARATION FOR APRIL FOOLS

Posted on November 24, 2012 by asknod

As most know, my birthday is six minutes before April Fools Day and finding something politically appropriate (read not racist or designed to marginalize )  nowadays is becoming exceedingly hard. Thus I was overjoyed to plagiarize this from my Facialpage. Rebecca with the longest name in California put up the idea we should dig a hole in our back yard at night and thus elicit the consternation of our neighbors and maybe even get our pictures in the news. This is good. Most of us go through a long dull period between confirmation and marriage. An equally long time usually ensues from then until the obituary. Thus it’s always refreshing to see your cheerful  countenance  staring back at you in the local section on page three with the shiny bracelets on (in front).

Since the only interest I’d provoke digging in my back yard would be from the horse wondering if it involved food, I’ll be forced to do this in the back yard of one of my empty rental properties. Finding noble endeavors that are harmless on April Fools is almost becoming a fool’s errand. All the good pranks have been used. The pink, plastic Walmart flamingos are old hat. Writing in your neighbor’s front lawn with undiluted Roundup? Booooring.  The real estate sign out front with  a ridiculous $29,995.00 price (private financing available) ? Very passé. This is new material. Thank you, Rebecca.

Make plenty of noise, too.

Five years from now for the final bang.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Humor | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

STARDUST RADIO SUNDAY–1900 HRS EDT

Posted on November 24, 2012 by asknod

Same Bat time

Same Bat channel

Richard asked me to slot in for this in early November. I have been itching to talk about the Independent Living Program. This is the cat’s pajamas at the vA and they refuse to acknowledge it exists until you call them on it. My counselor called back after repeated IRIS entreaties and said “Oh. That ILP program. Why didn’t you specify which one?” Like there’s what? Sixty programs for this? Hellooooooooooooooooo, Dave? Either we’re talking vocational as in “get a job when we’re done” or we’re talking walking dead as in “Who cares what his rating is? His shelf life sticker is blinking.”

As usual. Acerbic wit and sarcastic demeanor. No sacred cows permitted. Not very politically correct humor. Feel free to call in. Rick like to get calls. He may get a bonus like the VA gives out if you call in. The magic number is  877-213-4329. What the hey? You can even ask me questions so it’ll prove we’re doing it live instead of Memorex.

The magic Bat Channel is Stardust Radio.

Rick’s personal email is  http://firebaseveteranshour.tripod.com/

My Swiss Bank account Number is #ER23114 and is case-sensitive if you are making deposits.

Posted in Independent Living Program, Stardust Radio, VR&E | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

CAVC KNOWLEDGE–5–JMRs

Posted on November 24, 2012 by asknod

Sadly, some of this knowledge I am preparing to discuss seems to be on a “need to know” basis much like classified info. You’ll never hear it from VSOs which is peculiar. After all, they profess to have their ear to the ground and are in touch with the inner workings of the fabled agency.

The CAVC, formerly the COVA, used to knock out about 50 to 80 panel or en banc decisions a year in the beginning. Nowadays they spend more time on the martini circuit or the Army-Navy Country Club’s links. Last year is a classic example with only thirty three opinions decided. Of those, some like the April Fool’s decision in Heino are a joke. Buie stands out as cutting edge jurisprudence but is all too rare.

Of more import is what happens behind the Wizard of Oz’s curtain that we don’t see or hear about. I speak of the Joint Motion for Remand or JMR. This is akin to the secret handshake and password to enter in. Few Vets know of this and fewer still are aware that this is becoming a de facto settlement tool in light of the deteriorating quality of the decisions handed down at AOJs (VAROs) and the BVA. It’s becoming ludicrous to hear about all the players sitting down in a conference call at the outset, airing their mea culpas and asking for a do over. Of course no admission of outright perfidy is voiced but that isn’t the sine qua non of a JMR. The fact that something is amiss and needs to be “reaccomplished” is.

Because justice is becoming so slipshod at the BVA, and, by extension, the VA in general, the Court employs the Central Legal Staff (CLS) more and more frequently in an effort to weed out stupidity and flawed law. VA consistently maintains their rate of correctness in their decision making is on a par with 86%. VA might maintain that my goat Wally has an IQ of 120 if that’s the case. The job of the CLS is, according to the  NVLSP’s VBM “to promote settlements on appeals, with minimal involvement by a judge of the Court.” An admirable undertaking, yes,  but one that is predicated on the premise that the BVA’s fact-finding prowess is less than stellar. I might be tempted to say VA is unable to find their own ass even with both hands and a methane detector. This is what I’ll discuss today.

The CLS has apparently come into its own in recent years. Why is that? Innovation? Cutting edge law dogs on top of it like white on rice? No, gentle reader. It’s something far more mundane. Error is the operative word here. There is so much of it and it’s so endemic to the system that the sheer volume of stupidity issuing forth from the BVA requires a cleaning crew like the CLS to sweep up the mess and weed out the easily repaired wrongs. This is how bad it is. From the VBM:

During fiscal years 1999-2009, of the 23,699 cases terminated by the CAVC on the merits, in 19,006 appeals (or approximately 80 percent), the Court has either vacated the BVA decision because of legal error and remanded the case to the Board for further proceedings, or reversed the decision of the Board and ordered the Secretary to grant relief to the appellant. The large majority of these decisions vacating or reversing the Board decision were based on a finding that the Board committed one or more legal errors.

This give us pause before we proceed. How can it be that the vA gets to profess an 86% accuracy rate when the CAVC pokes a hole in this statistic the size of the iceberg’s damage to the Titanic’s hull? The jury is still out on that but it consists of an amalgam of several things. If you do not appeal (and most don’t) the decision is “correct”- n’cest pas? Further, if you appeal to the BVA and (gasp) lose again, it’s even more correct. Only when that miniscule percentage of motivated Vets arrive at the Court does this disparity rear its ugly head. VA has discovered that they can nip this in the bud with a do over. Thus the heavy use now of the JMR to “get it right”. Sometimes this is just an opportunity to wax the hangman’s rope and do it all over legally. More often than not, they are pulled up short by eagle-eyed, knowledgeable attorneys who insert boilerplate language to ensure this doesn’t transpire all over again. The VBM goes on to say:

This is quite a high error rate. Fortunately for claimants, in the majority of these cases, the errors are identified and the appeal is resolved without the necessity of either full briefing by the parties or expenditure of time by a single judge or a panel of three judges. This relatively speedy resolution occurs through the filing of either a joint motion to vacate the BVA decision and remand or a joint motion to dismiss accompanied by a settlement agreement.

This is the ugly secret like the mentally deranged aunt kept in the upstairs bedroom out of sight. Nobody, VA included, wants their dirty laundry aired out of doors in plain sight for all to comment on. This is why you have a better that not chance your claims will be taken seriously and not swept under the carpet.

Unfortunately, the VA’s General Counsel (section 027), headed up right now by the illustrious Will Gunn (a legend in his own mind and no relation to Peter), tends to drag their heels occasionally and in some cases dig them in. This is what they are doing with my claims. I’m sure the horrible consequences of failing to adjudicate mine in 1994 are  going to have financial consequences and thus are being objected to strenuously. Nevertheless, the VBM instructs that they occasionally see the light and are remorseful:

Some of these joint motions result because counsel for one of the parties contacts opposing counsel early in the appeals process and initiates settlement negotiations, without any help from CLS. For example, Group VII of the Office of the General Counsel of the VA (which represents the appellee, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, on all appeals) is comprised of teams of appellate attorneys, with each team including at least one attorney screening BVA decisions shortly after appeals are filed to detect legal error. This sometimes results in a telephone call, before the record is even developed by the Secretary, from counsel for the Secretary to counsel for appellant suggesting that the BVA decision contains certain legal errors and that the parties settle the case with a joint motion for remand.

More often, however, joint motions are reached somewhat later in the appeals process, prodded by a Rule 33 staff conference. Shortly after the clerk has sent the notice to the appellant that his or her brief is due within 60 days of the date of the notice, the Court’s practice in most cases is for a member of the staff of the CLS to schedule, shortly prior to the date the initial brief is due, a three-way telephone conference. The Court issues an order officially setting that date and time for the telephonic briefing conference, identifying the attorney from CLS who will conduct the conference, stating that the purpose of the conference is to discuss the issues to be briefed and the future course of the appeal, requesting the parties to notify CLS if they reach agreement on a joint disposition of any or all issues prior to the conference, requiring that the parties attend the briefing conference with authority to enter into a joint motion for remand, and warning that the conference does not affect or toll the running of the 60-day deadline for submitting the initial brief.

This is where my case stands. The initial briefing resulted in the GC steadfastly refusing to budge. Therefore my leagle beagle is forced to draw stick figures in the sand and do a DickandJanespeak presentation that explains in monosyllabic words where the vA went astray. At that point, the vA will probably admit their error-or not.

We would like to belief this is a non adversarial process with all concerned advocating what’s best for the Veteran. Ah, Padawan, you are full of misguided conceptions. If the 027 krewe has been bearded often by the Vet’s attorney, animosity accrues. When next he appears, the score is remembered and old disagreements resurface. They have limitless funding and can make justice pure hell for you and me. This is where the CLS can intervene. When it’s patently obvious your position is justified, the Court can issue that order that in essence chides Mr. Gunn and his entourage to be more conciliatory and reasonable.

To cement the deal, your attorney needs to insert stiff language that forces the VA into only one outcome-a ruling in your favor. Keep in mind that this only results in a ruling granting that which you contend is the true state of affairs. The next insult awaits you at the VARO when they remand it back to the chuckleheads who screwed it up initially. They (the raters) will take this opportunity to exact their displeasure at being dissed and give you as little a possible resulting in a whole new NOD and a fight for a higher rating.

But I get ahead of myself. Here is more valuable insight for Veterans to consider. Often you do not see these behind the scenes events and attorneys are too busy to recount the blow-by-blow arguments that finally result with action in your favor:

Sometimes, counsel for the parties confer prior to the conference to discuss their positions on how the appeal should be resolved, and sometimes these pre-conference discussions bear fruit and an agreement is reached. Often, however, the staff conference is conducted as scheduled, either because counsel for the parties have not conferred prior to the conference (there is no requirement that they confer beforehand) or because pre-conference discussions have not resulted in a settlement of all of the issues. When pre-conference discussions do not result in a settlement of the issues, advocates are advised to go forward with the conference because the CLS attorney may be able to exert pressure on the VA attorney to settle the case.In addition, while nothing that occurs during the conference may be mentioned to a judge, the CLS attorney prepares a legal memorandum to the judge assigned to the case, so there may be a benefit to going forward with the conference if there is any doubt regarding the parties’ ability to reach a joint disposition.

This, too, from Section 15.6.9 in the VBM is a prerequisite for the proper pursuit and wording of an eventual concession of VA’s part:

As indicated above, counsel for the parties often are able to agree to a settlement of an appeal without briefing the case or the intervention of a judge. The settlement typically takes one of two forms. If the parties agree that the appellant is entitled to an award of additional benefits (for example, service connection, a higher disability rating, or an earlier effective date) the parties typically submit two documents: (1) a settlement agreement in which the Secretary, without conceding error, agrees to award additional specified benefits and (2) a joint motion to dismiss the appeal in light of the settlement agreement.

Remember that most of you are appealing a simple denial of your claim. As we know on Hepatitis jurisprudence, the evidence used to convict you (read deny) is specious and has no rational basis medically. I have illustrated this more times than I can count in the numerous BVA decision I regularly dissect.  I have expounded that going to the CAVC without a minder is a poor choice. Doing your homework and sharing your work with the law dog you choose can speed things up immensely if you have the talent. Once VA sees the writing on the wall, they will be the ones begging for another chance to throw a new rope over the branch on the hanging tree. Thus this little warning in the VBM:

The most important issue in drafting a joint motion to vacate the Board decision and remand involves whether the conduct of the Board and/or the regional office on remand will be affected by what is said in the joint motion for remand. It does little good for an appellant to obtain a Court Order vacating the Board decision and remanding based on a joint motion in which, for example, the parties agree that the VA erred by not obtaining a medical nexus opinion from a certified orthopedist, if the agency on remand will feel free to ignore the words of the joint motion and deny the claim without obtaining any additional medical evidence.

This, then, is the thrust of my dissertation today. Any JMR entered into must have parameters to keep the little buggers on the reservation. Anally concise parameters that cannot be accidentally “misconstrued” as only the VA is renowned for must be employed. Semantics are the play toys of their ilk. Any chance for a misinterpretation of what you are trying to accomplish will be gleefully employed. It will be couched in those inimitable words “It was felt that the Veteran was trying to say…” or “The ratings examiners extrapolated that the claim was for..” and so on. As often as they are admonished by the Court and indeed the BVA to engage the Vet (and his advocate) at all stages, we only seem to hear from them about five times. Once to inform us that they got what we sent, once to inform us we are denied, again with an SOC following the NOD, and a confirmation that the claim was certified and sent to DC about 15 months after the F-9 is received.

Similarly, the BVA is so loquacious they feel compelled to inform us three years later of the news pro or con with absolutely nothing in the interim unless it’s the bad news announcing the involvement of the dreaded AMC. Remember the inception of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs)? Three lies in one condensed acronym. The same applies to the Appeals Mismanagement Center also known as the orphan 57th RO.

JMRs are a double-edged sword. If worded properly, they can be a Godsend and instruct the BVA or RO in what they were remiss on as well dictate what needs to be reaccomplished. If worded sloppily, they can result in more errors and an outright failure on VA’s part to comply with the original reason for it in the first place. Since you’re going to be flogging the dog for about ten years on one of these things, it behooves you to go through it line by line and eliminate any vague language they can run  in the wrong direction with. Murphy’s law is axiomatic here. They are a government organization. Need I say more?

Keep in mind that when you arrive at the hallowed halls of 625 Wagon Burner Ave. NW, your VSOs will be told to wait in the lobby. They have no legal training and thus are not allowed to practice any more of their voodoo leaglezoom.com on you. You have no idea how blessed you are at this point to be rid of them. Hopefully, your claim was well-enough assembled that it will hold water at this point. Remember also that good news  at the beginning. There’s an 80% chance they stepped on their necktie in their haste to step on yours. Bon chance.

Wally the goat, triple digit IQ. Not to be confused with …

Posted in CAVC Knowledge, Veterans Law | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Military Veterans and Hepatitis C

Posted on November 24, 2012 by Laura

HCV advocacy group writer Terry Baker provides a 6-page chapter (22) about veterans in the book, Hepatitis C Choices (4th Ed.); it reiterates information discussed here with supporting charts and footnotes.   A major flaw in the chapter is its failure to address MUNJIs–a surprising omission for Baker, a Vietnam Vet!

You can download the whole book or selected sections (left menu) for free. Table 1 shows a military timeline and Hepatitis C.  Mr. Baker is a VVA service officer in Delaware.

To protest Baker’s failure to mention MUNJIs or note their withdrawal by the DoD in his timeline, contact:

Lorren Sandt, Program Director
Caring Ambassadors Hepatitis C Program

503-632-9032
E-Mail: lorren@hepcchallenge.org

Address:P.O. Box 1748, Oregon City, OR 97045

Posted in HCV Health, Medical News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments