PTSD–IT’S ALL IN YOUR HEAD

Posted on March 31, 2016 by asknod

635646931319099161-veterans-administration-logoRead this if you ever had any doubts about the C&P Examiners who are independent and open-minded with no preconceived notion of a Veteran having (or not having) a psychiatric disorder that is compensable.

http://myvaeducation.loudunskeptic.com/?view=mosaic

Posted in Medical News, MST, PTSD, research | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Pretty Santa Barbara’s HCV nightmare

Posted on March 30, 2016 by Laura
Aerial-SantaBarbaraCA10-28-08

Image Credit: By John Wiley User:Jw4nvc – Santa Barbara, California – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5618491

HCVAdvocates and other sites have followed the dismal 2015  story of  Dr. Allen Thomashefsky’s medical practice and reopening.  Briefly, as of June 4, 2015, 7 patients were identified with HCV, 5 of whom had received injections on the same day at the doctor’s office. Molecular genetic results confirmed that those patients were infected with the same strain.

The Santa Barbara Dept. of Health didn’t fool around with this outbreak and their report of announced and unannounced visits to the medical office is full of shocking details (LINK). PDF: Inspection Report FINAL 9-28-15.

santa barbara

WHAT NOT TO DO!!! Click image .” The One & Only Campaign is a public health campaign, led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Safe Injection Practices Coalition (SIPC), to raise awareness among patients and healthcare providers about safe injection practices. The Campaign aims to eliminate infections resulting from unsafe injection practices.”

Anyone who has even a slight awareness of “Standard Precautions,” such as the need for hand washing, dirty areas/clean areas,  multi-dose vials, gloves, safe injections, labeling, environmental cleaning, medical device cleaning, single-use IV bags disposal after use once, will be appalled at the discoveries.  Apparently, the doctor administered injections as illustrated in the graphic: he just changed the needles, not the syringes. He told inspectors that changing a syringe was “overkill.”

The receptionist, reported to be his daughter, (LINK) claimed not to be involved with the procedures but inspectors found that she was very involved.  ASKNOD readers may be upset to read, for example, of how she disposed of patients’ blood and fat in the office kitchen’s sink (page 7). Initially she told inspectors that a locked door led to a storage room.  Later, she opened the room to reveal a bedroom with filled trash bins.  This was Dr. Thomashefsky’s living quarters when he wasn’t working at his Ashland, Oregon office. (One wonders where the bare-handed doctor bathed? Sponge baths in the kitchen sink?)

The office was closed on March 19 due to the infection control breaches but allowed to reopen in the fall, according to an article (9/16/15) in a local paper (LINK).

Needless to say, modern “Standard Precautions” were not being used by the military when tens of thousands of veterans became infected with blood-borne pathogens during their military service.  But that they aren’t be used today in all medical practices, is alarming.  In contrast to the Minot Dept. of Health, the Santa Barbara Dept. of Health did a good job at putting patients’ interests first by releasing a revealing and honest report.  And I expect this practice will be monitored closely going forward.

 

Posted in Guest authors, HCV Risks (documented), medical injections, Medical News, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

ILP–GREENHOUSE COERCION TECHNIQUES

Posted on March 28, 2016 by asknod

va-approved-greenhouseSo I’m sitting around the barn swamping a stall and I’m thinking to myself “I wonder when them ol’ boys are gonna see fit to come on over and hook me up with a greenhouse.” Hell, I’ve already committed to spring planting. It figures VA would show up with a bulldozer about the time I get the tomatoes in the ground. Smart money said call them up before I commit. 

Being polite as pie, I always couch legal threats in all manner of niceties:

Dear Mr. Boyd,

It has now been almost seven months since the BVA granted my request for a greenhouse. I have heard nothing since my brief communication with Mr. Holloway. Since the VA considers itself proactive and insists it works closely with stakeholders, I am asking you for an update.

I understand each VR&E office is independent from The VACO VR&E in Washington DC. Nevertheless, I can understand why they might want to have a more “hands-on” approach to my grant.

If you can, please update me on the process and where we are with regards to beginning construction on this. In the absence of any input, I have begun my spring plantings. It would be sad to have all that hard work bulldozed out of the way for a new greenhouse due to a lack on VA’s part to communicate in a meaningful way. In the event you are powerless to effect the grant or are being left out of the loop, please give me an appropriate contact name and number to someone who can answer my queries.

If there is anything you are aware of regarding the grant, I would be deeply appreciative of you conveying it to me. I have emailed Mr. Kammerer on the subject and received nothing but silence in reply. Absent any movement on VA and VR&E’s part to enlighten me as to particulars, I will be once again forced to litigate for a timely enforcement of the grant.  I would prefer not to do that. Having an adverse relationship with you is the last thing I desire. Mr. Holloway tells me you are now my Vocational Counselor. I therefore look to you for information and a timeline leading to fulfillment of grant.

I have also copied this to my congressman, Derek Kilmer for a Congressional Inquiry as there seems to be no cohesive plan or guidance from your office or VACO VR&E. I look forward to hearing from you should you choose to comment.

imagesForty five minutes later, I got the commo from VA. I immediately e-mailed Congressman Kilmer back and thanked him for his intercession. Nick Carr, his rainmaker on staff emailed back “We aim to please, Alex. Sorry it took 45 minutes for them to get motivated. They usually respond sooner.” As you can imagine, VA has a storied history with Congressman Kilmer over my neighbor Butch Long and it isn’t all warm and fuzzy.

Mr. Graham,

We do apologize for your inconvenience, your claim is very unusual and we are working to meet all regulatory guidelines in order to provide the services you requested.  I have been working with Kris Hollaway to complete our local requirements and we are now soliciting for an approved Construction Manager to assume responsibility of the project.  I make no excuses, but sometimes when dealing with several government agencies, things do not happen as expeditiously as you would like.

 There are still some steps that have to be accomplished that involve meeting with you.  We would like to meet at the proposed construction site on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 at 11:00 to discuss and complete final paperwork that requires your signature.   Are you available to meet with us at that time.    

 David Boyd

I’m getting a phlebotomy on the 29th so I’d probably agree to a prefrontal lobotomy afterwards I get so loopy. The last thing I want is to read through a complicated legal document designed with multiple trip wires to hamstring my grant. I declined and offer a day earlier (today). Could be they haven’t even typed up the fake greenhouse contract yet so that makes sense. We mutually agreed on the twelfth of April at 1100 hours as GH-day

Considering that any Individualized Independent Living Program (IILP) document is a complex, concise agreement between two parties to provide services with promises made and gifts exchanged, I find it an anomaly that they have a IILP in hand, or soon will, with an agenda I had no hand in creating. This is how those 24 inch by 48 inch greenhouses lit by 20 candlepower heating somehow materialize out of thin air. Thus I find it refreshing that a construction manager is going to be hired. That bodes well for VA to honor my original request I mailed in. It also pretty much says VACO in Washington DC wrote it word for word and Dave and Kris are simply going to be the ring bearers.

downloadNow for the good news. If these turkeys can be rolled so easily by a sharply worded email, have I aimed far too low? This might be a propitious time to put in a request for my very own steakhouse. What the hey. I always had a hankering to own and run a whorehouse too. I really don’t think anyone has yet plumbed the depths of this IL program for all it’s worth.

download (1)

What I figured a couple of years back is the VR&E guys had this figured for an indoor Marijuana farm. I assure all of  you that isn’t the plan. This is not my greenhouse. It is all Veterans’ greenhouse. It is a Win or Die attempt to prove any Veteran, given the stamina and enough paper and ink, can prevail with the VA on a program touted as helping us achieve a higher level of independence. If 2,700 severely disabled Veterans are eligible every year and VA cannot fill their quota, I needed to throw my hat in the ring.

Good thing I like to self-actualize. I like that term. It describes that VA itch I can’t scratch.

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Posted in Humor, Independent Living Program | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Despite all the problems, most veterans need the VHA to exist as an improved and inclusive Federal institution

Posted on March 24, 2016 by Laura

Thank you for the comments to my guest post about the Veterans’ Choice Plan and to Frank for the link to the Gazette editorial. I think that the Tricare idea has merit but are the benefits better or the same as the VA’s? There are a myriad of stupid and wasteful VHA practices but I can think of many reasons why it should not be privatized but rather become more veteran- inclusive, simplified, expanded (Choice Program) and improved. 

For example, during the “Great Recession,” a 40-something moderate-income Navy veteran I know, lost his good-paying job and health insurance.  During his period of unemployment he sought health care at the VA but was turned down because he owned a retirement 401K plan, lived in a mortgaged “upside down” house and owned a car. Six years in the service–including dangerous duty working on nuclear submarines–but the first time he really needed VA health care, he was turned away. What reasonable veteran wouldn’t be bitter about that? He is.

He was also ineligible for state insurance plans. Due to pre-existing health issues, high risk insurance pools were not affordable on unemployment checks.  His COBRA plan was also not affordable and if he drained his 401K, he’d have to pay a tax penalty.  He eventually landed another job 800 miles away, which offered good insurance and affordable premiums, before any medical disaster struck.  But, like millions of other folks, he lost his home in foreclosure during the Wall Street economic debacle.

current-status-of-the-medicaid-expansion-decisions-healthreform3

Image credit: Kaiser Family Foundation. Click to view slide show that illustrates the problems: Who is Impacted by the Coverage Gap in States that Have Not Adopted the Medicaid Expansion?

Consider the fates of very poor and low-income non-elderly veterans, without a qualifying child, in the 19 states which have not expanded Medicaid.  Like states which tax FOOD, I call them the mean states.  (These are also the states in which the majority of voters vote against their own self interest when it comes to health care.)

Many adult veterans living in these states will have no other viable option for health care if the VA doesn’t have facilities or Veterans’ Choice providers in their locale.  Small businesses employ veterans but finding jobs with any health benefits can be hard because many small employers have been forced to drop health insurance or go out of business.  Big employer/small employer, group insurance or none: vets earning “slave wages” can’t afford their portion of  private insurance premiums anyway so the point is moot. 

When veterans can’t access VA health care, what do their out-of-pocket costs look like? Consumer Reports received grant funding for their retail drug price research (LINK).  Need insulin?  Don’t ask.

drugs

Should veterans be subject to income or asset tests?  No!  No way!  Veterans have earned this benefit yet only some can get medical help when they need it.  Better-off insured vets? The VA bills their health insurance and collects needed income.  Win-win. In rural areas that don’t have waiting lists, why not allow family members/widows with health insurance to access VA health care rather than close facilities?  Help families and get paid.

mccain

John McCain POW 1967-1973

The notion that fraud, waste, and medical incompetence can be eliminated by VA privatization is utopian because corrupt, egotistic and greedy leadership exists in the non-profit and for-profit worlds.  It takes a lot to embarrass anyone these days.  The big cheeses just say/do whatever they want, apologize, and wait for things to blow over.

Getting rich veterans into VA care might actually help a lot!   Sen. McCain is probably eligible for VA care as a former POW (LINK) but I think we would all agree that he should be eligible for VA care regardless of his affluence or SC disabilities.  If Sen. John McCain was a regular patient at the Phoenix VA I think the health outcomes for all veterans would improve markedly.  Maybe ALL Congressional veterans should be required to receive VA health care, at least once a year, in their home states.

Veterans often have different health care needs from those of the civilian populations (Agent Orange. Burn pits? What’s that?); In our experience, many private doctors don’t even ask their patients if they ever served in the military much less understand the implications of who, what, where and when.  My opinion is that we shouldn’t give up on the VHA yet.

 

Posted in All about Veterans, Food for thought, General Messages, Guest authors, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 14 Comments

Will using the VA’s Choice Program wreck your credit?

Posted on March 23, 2016 by Laura
choice

click

It very well might according to the VA itself.  

The VA wants my husband to drive about 200 miles round-trip for an x-ray and pulmonary appointment.  I called to see if the VA Choice Program (LINK) or non-VA care program could be used instead based on the geographical hardship factor. The VT scheduler said to call back in two days. Then I checked out the VA website and saw the alarming notice to the right.  Talk about disincentives!

 

I will follow-up to see if he’s eligible however after seeing this notice and doing a little reading, I think we’d rather use his Medicare Advantage card, cough up the $50 specialist co-pay and not jeopardize our good credit rating.  Besides, according to the VA Choice Provider Search tool, there are no local pulmonary specialists in the program.

According to a recent article in the Military Times (HADIT.com link here) providers are not being paid for months and some veterans are getting calls from collection agencies.  If Medicare fees and payment practices are acceptable to most private practices, the VA and their contractors should be able to follow suit.

We’ve found that Medicare, a single-payer government (yes, democratic socialist) insurance plan, works pretty darn well. Depending on your choices, it can get expensive. We employ different strategies each year.   I have original Medicare, plus a medigap policy, and a standalone Part D plan; My husband has a very cheap Medicare Advantage plan until he turns 65. Then we’ll shell out for another medigap plan for him.  Dual-eligible, his care will be split between the VA and private care.

The Choice Program is temporary according to the law but it should be perfected, expanded and permanent.  Probably Medicare should handle the non-VA care payment aspect of the program since they have the expertise.  It would save taxpayers a ton of money too.

Posted in All about Veterans, Guest authors, Medical News, Medicare for VETS, VA Medical Mysteries Explained, vA news, Veterans Choice card | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

HADIT.COM “POST IT” RADIO NOTES

Posted on March 23, 2016 by asknod

haditlogo2007One hour and four minutes to launch. Here are a few notes to consider on DRO reviews:

Bryant v. Shinseki  is here

38 CFR 3.103(c)(2) is here:

(2) The purpose of a hearing is to permit the claimant to introduce into the record, in person, any available evidence which he or she considers material and any arguments or contentions with respect to the facts and applicable law which he or she may consider pertinent. All testimony will be under oath or affirmation. The claimant is entitled to produce witnesses, but the claimant and witnesses are expected to be present. The Veterans Benefits Administration will not normally schedule a hearing for the sole purpose of receiving argument from a representative.

 

It is the responsibility of the VA employee or employees conducting the hearings to explain fully the issues and suggest the submission of evidence which the claimant may have overlooked and which would be of advantage to the claimant’s position.

 

To assure clarity and completeness of the hearing record, questions which are directed to the claimant and to witnesses are to be framed to explore fully the basis for claimed entitlement rather than with an intent to refute evidence or to discredit testimony.

In cases in which the nature, origin, or degree of disability is in issue, the claimant may request visual examination by a physician designated by VA and the physician’s observations will be read into the record.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501)

This should be read into the record at the beginning of any hearing-be it a Predetermination hearing, a DRO hearing or a Video or Travel Board Hearing face to face. Put VA on notice that this is not an adversarial event.

It isn’t VA against Johnny Vet and his mouthpiece. It’s all three collaborating in such a way as to make sure Johnny Vet is given that to which he is entitled. If a DRO fails to mention that it sure would help a shit ton if Johnny’s chowderhead DAV rep had presented him (Mr. DRO)with a nexus letter (attached to, say, the DBQ) saying Johnny’s flat feet were more likely than less likely attributable to service because he used to jump out of perfectly aerodynamic C-130s with a parachute on his back when he was in the 173rd Airborne- then the DRO has failed to comply with 38 CFR 3.103(c)(2) and it is more evidence of a shoddy claims adjudication.

This is important to have on appeal above to the BVA or the CAVC.

NEVER GO TO A DRO HEARING WITHOUT NME 

I guess I need to point that out.

  • Take witnesses.
  • Make Johnny Vet a person- not a SSN. Show the debilities to the DRO. Have your witness(es) testify to the “before and after” version of Johnny Vet.
  • Your contentions must focus on either case (law) or controversy ( how the facts are being weighed).
  • Focus on why you are right and VA is wrong without making the DRO feel like a dumb shit. Always give your opponent an “out”. Let the blame fall on the poop-for-brains GS 10 VSR who wrote the denial and isn’t acquainted with the laws/regulations your Johnboy is claiming.
  • And yes-bring a new nexus or some dynamite evidence that clinches the deal. You screwed up and didn’t show up with one of the three items required to win. This is your opportunity to avoid four long years of appeals to the BVA to accomplish what you can do right here.
  • Always go on the record.
  • If your DRO discovers something missing that would help you win, then ask for the record to be left open for a 60-day window to allow submission of new evidence to “fix” it.
  • If it is merely to grab his noggin and jamb his eyeballs into a STR from 1966 that is already in the Evidence of Record (EOR or c-file), then there is no need to keep the record open and you ask for the DRO review to proceed apace.

Mr. Goss, who taught the class, also gave us a sample letter to submit. I excerpt part here to give you an idea of where you want to head.

To make the hearing productive, per Bryant the DRO hearing officer is requested to review the file prior to the hearing in order to provide:

1. what elements of the disability the VA agrees the veteran has satisfied;

2. what evidence the decision review officer requires to grant the claim; and

3. what other issues or methods of proving the claim the veteran may have overlooked.

The purpose of the meeting is to expedite the veteran’s claim in a positive professional manner and to meet with the DRO/RO working their claims. The discussion should cover the VCAA requirements the VA owes the veteran, have the DRO/RO tell the veteran what the VA has accepted, what evidence is needed to grant the claim(s), and allow the veteran to Understand exactly what evidence is required to prove the claim, and to have a positive working relationship. The veteran deserves this professionalism.

If you wish to learn more about Mr. Goss’ briefing, you may contact him for the course materials.

Law Office of Robert B. Goss, P.C.

Bob@gosslaw.com

713-572-4838 (4Vet)

There’s a lot more there I could discourse on but it belongs to Mr. Goss. That’s why we pay big bucks to go to NOVA school.

_______________________________________

VA Agent Alan Gumpenburger put up 99 test questions for what was going to be on the VA agent’s exam. I wrote of a few of them. Here’s a few more as reported back by those who took the test.

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Here’s a sample of NOVA’s  Friday, March 11, 2016 schedule of available things to partake of. Thursday and Saturday were equally rich in topics to choose from. Sometimes the choices were difficult.

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Feel free to hit #1 on the phone and ask a question. John said he’d run it for 90 minutes tonight.

___________________________________________________

Also in the news, LZ Cork’s Butch Long got a few xrays taken in a newer machine. They turned up a lot more that the 1950’s  machine we first used to look for metal. VA hasn’t even begun to pay him for the 2.9mm chunk in his forehead-let alone any of the rest of this. He filed for it April 1970. VA has yet to even x ray his left hand or his head. They don’t even know there’s any steel on board in the noggin, face, left hand or the rib cage. We Gonna Burn Their Asses  (WGBTA)as they say down in Georgia.

Butch Long X Rays shrapnel 3-16 Redacted

 

Posted in DRO and BVA Hearings, KP Veterans, Lawyering Up, Medical News, Nexus Information, Tips and Tricks, vA news, VBMS Tricks, Veterans Law | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

MILESTONES–PAUL BURCH

Posted on March 22, 2016 by asknod

leigh-and-paulSome of you older followers know the long series of battles we fought to get Leigh “Silver Queen” Burch her long-overdue Permanent and Total rating. No one fought harder, drove further and read the law deeper into the night than her husband of 30 years. Paul probably emailed me over a thousand times on just her claims. They bought the Silver Queen corn Cupcake and I planted for the last three years. They encouraged me to fight for my greenhouse. In the course of the claim, Leigh had to have a liver transplant. 

They finally prevailed February 2015 after years of appeals to the BVA and even an Extraordinary Writ to the CAVC in pursuit of her c-file. I learned  that Paul had been diagnosed in September with cancer and had prayed the chemo had been successful. Apparently it wasn’t. Paul passed on March 8th, 2016 and was buried with full military honors at Sarasota Veterans Cemetery March 10.

One of the greatest advocates for HCVets  now joins a treasured list on my site. With the advent of Sovaldi/Harvoni, the list is not growing quite as fast as it was. We’ll sure miss Paul as he and Leigh had made plans to come out west when they won. I had looked forward to shaking the hand of a True Marine- one who refused to leave his wife of thirty years behind.

Paul Burch 1.jpg

Paul Burch 2.jpg

Sarasota, Florida Veterans Cemetery 

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Posted in Inspirational Veterans, Milestones | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

I’M APOLITICAL, BUT JUST SAYIN’…

Posted on March 22, 2016 by asknod
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USAF SSGT. Alicia Watkins (ret.)

I do not condone any candidate. I refuse to be political because they are all cut from the same bolt of cloth. But… you do have to admit this is the stuff that wins votes. It’s like kissing babies  and  gladhanding or any other meaningless political gesture, but… this is the second time Mr. T has decided to do something  Pro-Veteran in as many months. 

I’m not a betting man and I do not need to slay a chicken to study its entrails. Conduct of this nature will bring him much in the way of Veterans’ support. It appears he has learned Vetspeak. Whether this particular incident was contrived or genuine, it was a masterful ploy to play on our collective conscience. I’d say it works. You don’t notice any other candidates from either party jumping in there and hiring us cold off the street.

Incredible timing? Coincidence? I doubt it. Occam’s Razor dictates the whole thing was orchestrated. But… Veterans are natural problem-solvers and solution oriented folks. We get about 15% of our due so any uptick in successes is noticed. Do it on a National stage and you stand out like white on rice.

And that’s all I’m going to say about that.

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Posted in All about Veterans, Food for thought, KP Veterans | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

HADIT.COM RADIO– WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS NEVER STAYS THERE

Posted on March 21, 2016 by asknod

2016-03-15 17.19.35John and Jerrel have invited me to come spill the secrets of the NOVA Witches and Warlocks Supreme Council in Lost Wages, Nevada last week. I gladly do so in hopes none of this valuable information is buried but rather   dispersed far and wide. What we learn to help others should never be hoarded and kept in a locked room. This is the primary reason for NOVA’s spring and fall conferences. Unfortunately, I am not able to bail on harvest season to go gallivanting hither and yon for legal acumen. My tryst is always spring after the tomato starts are safely birthed. 

Eagle-eyed horticulturalists will spot the cilantro in the foreground and try to call me out. Well, excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me.I have a powerful hankering for that in my salsa and my last batch bolted. I think the tomato count was about 488 yesterday morning  and they’re still popping up like popcorn.

The show Wednesday will focus initially on DRO reviews. I learned a passel of goodies in that class. The one on VA agent training for the test was even more intense. I’d love to share that one with any of you who aspire to that high calling. The information is proprietary but by no means unique and unheard of law. As most who know me will agree, it’s just a springboard to more audacious behaviour. I can never sit still when I consider the enormity of the crime being perpetrated on Veterans. The more regulations I read the more I discover how dumb I am.  Did you know we have the power to subpoena a VA doctor and/or his curriculum vitae and present it as evidence? Did you know you could ask for a “Predetermination hearing” to allow a briefing to the VSR/RVSR who will be adjudicating your claim —before they decide it? Think of it as a “pre-denial review.” You can make certain s/he doesn’t come down with a bad case of dumbitis right before doing your claim or go temporarily blind and miss the exculpatory evidence. Pretty cool beans, huh?

If that doesn’t perk your interest, maybe the abysmal report from Mr. James Ridgeway Chief Counsel for Policy and Procedure (and a BVA VLJ) will. He sees seven lean years of slow BVA progress until the appeals subside. Newsflash. We just finished 16 years of continuous warfare and a Marine bought the farm last week in Iraq. What part of Appeals Nightmare on Elm Street don’t these chuckleheads get? Their own current statistics are projecting a certified appeal today will see the light in 3.5 years sans remands. Let’s do the math. 60, 000 claims in each year. 40,000 out currently. They’ll catch up in… (use VA core math). Ridgeway estimates a million appeals on “hold” in 2020. Then the shit really begins to hit the fan.

Mr. Ridgeway is an avid advocate of the new Fully Developed Appeal. That might seem like tongue in cheek humor but it isn’t far off the mark. The lengths the BVA is willing to go to fix USB Allison Hickey’s VBMS hurry up and wait program is legend. All manner short of outright suspension of any rights to due process is subject to rescission in order to make this go away. Their desperation is palpable. You thought the VA budget was in trouble? Try adding about another one hundred or more VLJs to the payroll at $150 K + and  see Congress’ eyes roll back in their collective head. What do you do with all them leagle beagles when this phenomenon finally subsides? Right. Sub it out to 3M or Xerox.

As for my favorite Vegas hobby, I was not disappointed. Cupcake made me refrain until school was out.

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The show will begin at 1900 Hrs on the East Coast and a far more civilized time of 1600 Hrs on the left. We welcome callers and will be happy to hand out tips on the care and feeding of one-armed bandits. The call in number remains

347-237-4819

Hit #1 if you wish to speak to the peanut gallery. haditlogo2007

Posted in BvA Decisions, CAVC Knowledge, KP Veterans, Medical News, Nexus Information, Tips and Tricks, VA Attorneys, vA news, VBMS Tricks, Veterans Law | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

VA–VA AGENT’S TEST FOR ACCREDITATION

Posted on March 20, 2016 by asknod

Wowser. My fingers are getting laryngitis. One of the primary reasons for Cupcake’s and my expedition to the NOVA conference  was Alan Gumpenburger’s presentation on the VA Agent’s examination for accreditation as a non-attorney practitioner. While it might not seem as daunting as, say, scaling the Eiffel tower, reading over the questions seems like a scenario I witnessed as a child. 

In 1962, during dove season. my father was adamant that I begin learning the art of deflection shooting. Towards that end, he would show up at St. Mary’s (Catholic) and remove me from Fifth grade shortly before lunchtime to practice the 20 gauge art of birding. Somewhere in the last 50 years that term headed south and has taken on a completely different meaning. The Audubon Society has perverted it to convey “observing” birds.

On one foray, we had to stop by the Goldsboro, N.C. Police Department and get the gate keys to a promising cornfield recently harvested. The Chief ( who owned the property) invited us in and an old black man was standing in front of him. He had come for permission to vote that fall and, like all blacks in rural North Carolina at the time, had to pass a ‘literacy test’ to qualify. The Sheriff withdrew an old faded copy of a Japanese newspaper from his top desk drawer and held it up.

” How ’bout you tell me what this says, Lenny.” he asked.

“It say I h’aint gonna be voting this year agin, suh.” Lenny remarked.

“That’s right, Lenny. Now you run on home and get back to work. I reckon I’ll see you next year, hear? Give my best to the missus.” was the Sheriff’s parting remark.

Now you can imagine how I felt when I saw Alan Gumpenburger’s epistle of questions. I felt like Perry Mason being told he was going to have to memorize patent law with a side of international tax law in order to practice in LA County. Seriously. Alan tells me that prospective agents who have taken this send back some of the zingers they encountered (below). I was prepared for some highly technical how-to’s on SMC or perhaps suspense dates for various motions. Chew on a few of these actual questions.

6. Is it true that Active Duty for Training includes duty performed as a temporary member of the Coast Guard Reserve?
a. True
b. False

9. A claimant’s net worth is a factor in determining eligibility for Improved Pension and for continuing eligibility to Section 306 Pension, but is not a factor in determining whether to continue entitlement to Old Law Pension.
a. True
b. False

43. What is the deadline to request a waiver of a debt owed to the VA?
a. 180 days
b. 90 days
c. 30 days
d. 100 days

57. According to 38 CFR 1.911, when a veteran challenges the amount owed from an individual participating in a VA benefit or Home Loan program, and the VA determines that an overpayment amount was proper and renders a decision indicating the amount owed and specific reasons for the debt, does the veteran have 1 year to appeal this decision?
a. Yes, paragraph (c)(3) provides…”In accordance with parts 19 and 20 of this title, the debtor may appeal the decision underlying the debt.”
b. No, the appeal must be submitted within 180 days as provided under section 1.963 and 1.964.

79. The Vietnam veteran has been service connected for diabetes type I since 1999. Initially, the VA regional office granted service connection as a presumptive condition under 3.309(e) as due to herbicide exposure (Agent Orange). The VA regional office determined that service connection was not in order, since presumptive only extends to Type II diabetes and has determined that service connection should be severed. Can the VA sever service connection? Explain the basis for your answer.
a. Yes…________________________________

_____________________________________
b. No…________________________________

_____________________________________

The last one here is a piece of cake but it illustrates that there may or can be written answers as opposed to strictly multiple choice answers.

Mr. Gumpenberger teaches classes on this subject and can be reached at:

Allen Gumpenberger, Independently Accredited VA Claims Agent
•
Gumpslegal Veterans Service, LLC
•
888 854 8677 Ext 110
•
agumpenberger@gumpslegal.com
•
http://www.gumpslegal.com

dea1e5cff1f84af61eb633473b001172I’m gonna go out on the little branches here and just guess that Alan’s not related to Forrest but I bet he gets a lot of ribbing. The Las Vegas presenter informed us that the Office of General Counsel’s (OGC) test now consists  of just 19 questions and you have to answer 75% correctly within 90 minutes-or 14.25 questions. Rounding up means 15 answered correctly.

However, here’s an update. I sat for the test July 18th, 2016 and it was 27 questions. 21 would be the required 75% to pass in this instance.

Of note, I would have expected the conference to draw a large number who would be seeking accreditation.  I doubt there were more than 15 of us in the room. Keep in mind even VSOs have to have a couple of these guys salted around the country to nominally be in charge of a Veteran’s claims. A gomer representative in East Bumfork, NY can still work under the auspices and accreditation of the poohbah in Syracuse or Albany. Unlike them, every VA agent like me has to pass it. Legally, I can have no one working under me on VA claims whatsoever. I do plan on hiring Cupcake as a typist though.

After reading half of 38 CFR, I now understand why only 15% of of us win our claims. First, no one in the ratings biz down at Fort Fumble or even up at the Puzzle Palace at 810 Yellow Brick Rd NW knows as much as an attorney or an agent. No one at a VSO, with the possible exception of a few who have passed the test, are even remotely educated enough on the subject to do more than fill out a 526EZ. Thus you cannot depend on the little people (or pray) for much more than their ability to spell correctly. Since VSOs owe their allegiance to those who pay their rent and provide them their electricity/heat/ phones/desks, you cannot rely on them to represent your best interests. Being beholden to someone else and professing to be free quality legal help is a non sequitur. Well, actually I never heard a service officer blurt out or imply he was “quality”-or qualified for that matter.

Considering I have heard nothing but pure hatred and vitriol towards attorneys from the VSOs for the last decade, I find it almost risible that DAV Grand Poohbah Roy Spicer confided in me that Chisholm, Chisholm and Kilpatrick now are the go-to law firm for all DAV appeals to the Court. Roy even actively solicits them (Veterans repped by DAV at the BVA) for CCK.  He tells me the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) now use Bergmann and Moore exclusively as well. Seems I remember a buddy who went to them recently only to discover they require a tithe of 33 1/3% instead of 20%. That’s legal if the matter is of some complexity but will require some tall talking through the top of your hat when you submit your fee agreement to the OGC. You almost have to be God’s gift to jurisprudence to justify 33 1/3.

And speaking of God’s gift to Veterans jurisprudence, I had the good fortune to meet and talk to none other than Kenneth Carpenter, that mellifluous,  golden-tongued legal orator about taking my EAJA fee dispute up to the Dead Circus if I get the bum’s rush from my request for a panel at the CAVC.  I promised I would never badmouth any Veterans Charity ever again if he’d let me take a picture of us. Et voilà! He believed me!

Alex and Ken Carpenter

One day soon I hope to be street legal and continue this marvelous tradition of helping Veterans navigate their way through the maze, onto and off the hamster wheel and up to the BVA if necessary. Having made the trip three times now all the way to the CAVC, I almost have the train schedule to DC memorized. I’m still working on memorizing 38 CFR.

P.S. Street Legal August 4th, 2016. Accepted to the CAVC to practice, November 22nd, 2017.

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