VET2VET

State Veterans Homes are facilities that provide nursing home, domiciliary or adult day care. They are owned, operated and managed by state governments. They date back to the post Civil War era when many states created them to provide shelter to homeless and disabled Veterans.

To participate in the State Veterans Home program, VA must formally recognize and certify a facility as a State Veterans Home. VA then surveys all facilities each year to make sure they continue to meet VA standards.

VA does not manage State Veterans Homes.

What are the Major Differences between DoD and VA Disability Benefits?

The Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), sometimes called the Inactive Ready Reserve, is composed of former military personnel who still have time remaining on their enlistment agreements but have returned to civilian life. They are eligible to be called up in "states of emergency".

The IRR is an inactive (as most Vets remember it back in the day STANDBY Reserve as opposed to Ready Reserve) group of service members who still have time remaining on their signing agreements and are eligible to call up during local state or national “states of emergency.” The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) defined a National State of Emergency as American citizens being in a war for survival of our nation.

For most veterans, having to deal with hearing loss and tinnitus is quite common. Nearly 933,000 veterans were being compensated for hearing loss and almost 1.3 million veterans were compensated for tinnitus.  A veteran with either of these two conditions may be wondering what is needed to establish service connection for hearing loss and/or tinnitus.

#SE1E18 Hearing Loss And Tinnitus (part 1)

Scar disabilities are rated under 38 CFR §4.118, diagnostic codes 7800-7805. Scars are rated based on the number of scars or disfigurements a veteran has, the area of the body affected, their permanence, and the presence of pain or instability.

If one were to just look at the VA system from a distance, one would immediately assume inefficiency and bureaucracy cause the delays in such a large system, and that would be partly correct. But, it is often overlooked that a major cause of the delays in the VA system is because the system is replete with protections for our nation’s veterans.

This podcast will highlight three of the ways Congress has expressed a “special solicitude” for the veteran in the benefit process.

In the event of an emergency, when a VA facility is not the nearest medical facility, do not delay treatment by attempting to request VA payment authorization first. Instead, proceed to the nearest emergency room to get the care you need. A medical emergency is generally defined as a condition of such a nature that a prudent layperson would reasonably expect a delay in seeking immediate medical attention to be hazardous to life or health.

It is impossible to listen to or read news reports concerning the VA without finding volumes of information, mostly negative, regarding the delays in the benefit system. What likely will not be found is information explaining why some of the reasons for the delays in the system are actually positives. This podcast will address the aspects of the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act.

Appeals process: The multi-stage appellate process is available to you after you have already received one or more decisions on your claim, but disagree with some aspect of VA’s decision.  During the appellate process, an appeal undergoes additional independent reviews, often multiple times and by different adjudicators, as you or your representative submit new evidence and/or a new argument. Nearly 74 percent of appeals are from Veterans who are already receiving VA disability compensation, but are seeking either a higher level of compensation or payment from an earlier effective date.

VA has modernized and updated its appeals process to better ensure Veterans receive the benefits they deserve in a more-timely manner.

Well before its official creation, Abraham Lincoln defined the VA’s primary goal in his Second Inaugural Address: “to care for him who shall have borne the battle.”  Many would agree the VA’s secondary goal is to provide veterans their benefits as quickly and efficiently as possible.

When a veteran files a new claim, the VA will issue a rating decision that must contain the following: what issues were decided, summary of evidence considered by the VA, summary of applicable laws and regulations, identification of findings favorable to the claimant, explanation of why claim was denied, explanation of how to get evidence used in making the decision, and identification of criteria that must be satisfied to grant service connection or the next higher level of compensation. After this rating decision, you have one year to take action. You are to appeal for a higher review at the RO, file new evidence or file an NOD to go to the Board of Veterans’ Appeal