Tag Archives: VA benefits

Disability Examination Worksheets

These 57 Disability Examination Worksheets are in use both by the doctors of VHA (Veterans Health Administration) who do the disability examinations and by the rating specialists, hearing officers, and Decision Review Officers of VBA (Veterans Benefits Administration) who do the disability evaluations.

These examination worksheets are in Adobe PDF format.

Go to web site above if those listed below don’t open for you, click on type of C&P Exam you have coming up.. review.  Also good guide for any civilian doctor.

Acromegaly (changed 05/25/10)
Aid and Attendance or Housebound Examination (changed 05/25/10)
Arrhythmias (changed 05/25/10)
Arteries, Veins, and Miscellaneous (changed 05/25/10)
Audio (changed 02/17/10)
Bones (Fractures and Bone Disease) (changed 05/25/10)
Brain and Spinal Cord (changed 05/25/10)
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (changed 05/25/10)
Cold Injury Protocol Examination
Cranial Nerves Changed May 1, 2007
Cushing’s Syndrome (changed 09/27/10)
Dental and Oral (changed 09/27/10)
Diabetes Mellitus (changed 09/27/10)
Digestive Conditions, Miscellaneous (changed 06/03/10)
Ear Disease (changed 06/03/10)
Eating Disorders (Mental Disorders) (changed 06/03/10)
Endocrine Diseases, Miscellaneous
Epilepsy and Narcolepsy (changed 06/03/10)
Esophagus and Hiatal Hernia <(changed 05/01/07)
Eye Examination (changed 01/05/09)
Feet (changed 05/01/07)
Fibromyalgia (changed 05/01/07)
General Medical Examination (changed 02/25/10)
Genitourinary Examination (changed 04/17/08)
Gulf War Guidelines
Gynecological Conditions and Disorders of the Breast
Hand, Thumb, and Fingers (changed 04/30/07)
Heart
Hemic Disorders
HIV-Related Illness (changed 05/01/07)
Hypertension
Infectious, Immune, and Nutritional Disabilities
Initial Evaluation for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (changed 04/02/07)
Intestines (Large and Small) (changed 05/01/07)
Joints (Shoulder, Elbow, Wrist, Hip, Knee, and Ankle) (changed 04/20/09)
Liver, Gall Bladder, and Pancreas (changed 05/01/07)
Lymphatic Disorders (changed 05/02/07)
Mental Disorders (Except Initial PTSD and Eating Disorders) (changed 05/01/07)
Mouth, Lips, and Tongue
Muscles
Neurological Disorders, Miscellaneous
Nose, Sinus, Larynx, and Pharynx (changed 05/01/07)
Peripheral Nerves
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: See Initial, Review and Mental
Prisoner of War Protocol Examination (changed 05/25/10)
Pulmonary Tuberculosis and Mycobacterial Diseases
Rectum and Anus (changed 05/02/07)
Residuals of Amputations
Respiratory (Obstructive, Restrictive, and Interstitial)
Respiratory Diseases, Miscellaneous
Review Examination for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (changed 04/02/07)
Scars (changed 02/19/09)
Sense of Smell and Taste
Skin Diseases (Other than Scars)
Social and Industrial Survey (Added 07-22-04)
Spine (Cervical, Thoracic, and Lumbar) (changed 04/20/09)
Stomach, Duodenum, and Peritoneal Adhesions (changed 05/01/07)
Thyroid and Parathyroid Diseases (changed 05/01/07)
Traumatic Brain Injury (updated 05/25/10)

God Bless
Jose M. Garcia PNC
National Deputy Service Officer
Catholic War Veterans,USA
josegarcia4@sbcglobal.net
Better to understand a little than to misunderstand a lot.
In God We Trust

Today Is the Deadline For Back Pay For Stop-Loss Payments

Last fall the Congress ordered the Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay program for eligible veterans and service members to receive up to $3500 of back pay. Only 38% of all those eligible have applied. October 21st is the deadline.

The formula for these payments is $500 for every month they were retained on active duty after 9/11 for national security reasons.

89,836 members of the Armed Forces were were forced to stay on active duty. 55,ooo have have filed claims and $212 million has been paid out.  There are no conditions attached to these claims other than the extended duty. If you know of someone who experienced this, and has not filed yet, please tell them to do so by midnight tonight with their respective military branches.

Congress Flunks on Veteran Advocacy

Dear Mike,

Did your representatives make the grade?

IAVA Action Fund just released its 2010 Congressional Report Card – and we want you to be the first to check it out. This critical tool shows who in Congress took action for new veterans and who was full of hot air.

The grades are not good. The Report Card shows just how little Congress accomplished for Iraq and Afghanistan vets this year. Out of 535 legislators, only 20 legislators earned an A+, and more than a third of Congress earned Ds and Fs.

Check here to see if your Senators and Representative made the D List or the Dean’s List.

Congress showed promise for vets in the first half of this session, but by the second half, everything went downhill.

They failed to achieve real reform in our three most critical areas: improving the outdated VA disability claims process, upgrading the Post-9/11 GI Bill and helping vets find jobs in a tough economy.

As we head into the midterm elections, Americans must hold Congress accountable for their voting record. Vets can’t wait for the gridlock to clear in Washington. IAVA Action Fund is keeping our nation’s lawmakers honest, and ensuring that Iraq and Afghanistan veterans remain a priority on Capitol Hill. This is what the Report Card is all about.

Veterans Benefits Improve/ Marine Times

Veterans bill improves benefits, protections

By Rick Maze – Staff writer
Posted : Friday Oct 15, 2010 13:27:03 EDT

An omnibus veterans benefits bill signed into law on Wednesday holds the promise of big changes for disabled veterans and their families, according to the two committee chairmen responsible for passing the compromise bill.

One example is an expansion of employment and re-employment legal protections and more financial protections for deployed and mobilized service members, including the opportunity for service members to sue people or businesses who violate the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act.

The bill, the Veterans’ Benefits Act of 2010, was passed by Congress before lawmakers took an election break and was signed by President Obama on Wednesday.

“Veterans across the country will see their benefits improve,” said Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, highlighting programs to increase automotive grants for disabled veterans, provide childcare services for homeless veterans and expand life insurance for disabled veterans.

“Many of these provisions were pending for some time, and I am pleased that they have now become law,” said Akaka, referring to the fact that the bill took two years to pass as lawmakers grappled with what programs to include and what to leave out.

Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., the House Veterans’ Affairs committee chairman, said the bill “will make a big difference in the lives” of many veterans. He mentioned improvements in employment help, more research into health issues facing Gulf War veterans and expansion of financial and legal protections of deployed troops as key items.

Until now, violations of the legal or financial protections under the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act did not include penalties. Now, violators would face fines of up to $55,000 for a first offense and up to $110,000 for subsequent violations, and individuals whose rights are violated also may sue for civil damages and attorney fees.

Additionally, the law expands termination rights for residential and motor vehicle leases and for telephone service contracts.

On auto and residential leases, the new law requires unpaid balances to be pro-rated from the effective date of termination, rather than being charged through the end of the next billing period. And when residential leases are canceled because of mobilization or deployment, early termination fees may not be charged.

On telephone contracts, the law allows termination of a cell phone or telephone exchange service any time a military member receives notice of orders to relocate for 90 days or longer to a location not served by the current contract.

Additionally, family-plan cell phone contracts could be terminated if anyone on the plan is a service member who deploys or moves out of the service area. When phone service is terminated, a phone company would have to keep it available for up to three years for reuse by a service member, but getting the old number would require re-subscribing to the phone service within 90 days of returning.

Veterans Weekly Legislative Update

S
Stay tuned for some commentary on the notion of privatizing the VA Health Care System.  The idea alone tells me the fringes groups in America can keep on chuggin’ with Freedom of Speech rights, but maybe we can get them to share them in the bathroom!
National Association
for Uniformed Services®
Weekly Update


WASHINGTON REPORT

Confirmation

This morning, October 15, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the Consumer Price Index figures for September.  The news squashed any lingering hopes for a COLA for 2011.  Due to the rate of inflation remaining below the level needed to automatically trigger a Cost of Living Adjustment, Social Security, Military retired pay and VA Disability pay will not increase for 2011.  This is only the second year without an automatic adjustment since the COLA went into effect in 1975. Unfortunately, it’s two years in a row.

The Social Security Act spells out the formula that determines the annual living adjustment for federal retirees (including military) and Social Security payments.  It is determined by comparing the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from the third quarter of one year to the third quarter of the next.  This year’s calculation produced no increase.

NAUS Note: NAUS supports legislation to use a different calculation, called the CPI-S (Consumer Price index for Seniors), to calculate the Social Security Cost of Living Adjustments.  Using CPI-S, as proposed in the CPI for Seniors Act (HR 5305), would account for the different products and different expenses encountered by older Americans, including much higher health-care costs.  With retirees facing double-digit increases in medical health care, the revised formula would provide a fairer and more accurate Social Security COLA each year.

Doc Fix Remains a Major Concern

As a reminder, legislation preventing cuts in payments to doctors that accept TRICARE and Medicare patients expires at the end of November.  As it stands right now, payment rates will be cut by 23.5 percent on December 1, unless Congress intervenes.

Congress Daily, a major media outlet that monitors congressional activity, reported this week that Senate leaders are eyeing a temporary, one-month patch for a looming Medicare physician pay cut, hoping to buy time to work out a longer-term fix.  Other sources suggest a temporary fix could run as long as six months to a year.

Failing to fix the problem could cause many doctors to stop seeing TRICARE patients due to reduced reimbursement for treatment and care.  Clearly, NAUS-members need to continue to raise awareness about this massive challenge before, during and after the coming elections, until a correction is made.  You can get it started by letting your Representative and Senators hear your concerns.  NAUS urges you to let them know you want the fix in place well in advance of the November 30 deadline.

You can use the NAUS CapWiz System to send them a message.  Please share this link with your family, friends and neighbors.  Congress must fix this and must make it a high priority on their post-election return.

Air Force Chief Calls for Higher TRICARE Fees

In a Tuesday speech at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said, “The world has changed and the United States Air Force must change too.”  Apparently in his eyes, increasing the amount military beneficiaries pay for their healthcare benefits should be part of that change.

Asked, during a question and answer period that followed his address, if military families and retirees should pay a greater share than they are right now Gen. Schwartz responded, “The reality is that the co-pays for TRICARE, which is a very good program certainly on par with many others in the country, have not changed since 1985.  I think it is inescapable that a change will have to be made and clearly these are matters for the executive to propose and the legislative to dispose.  But we collectively as a family of actively serving and formerly serving members and families have to recognize that if we’re not careful these unbounded costs can force out military content elsewhere in the DOD portfolio.  That is worrisome and something that will have to be addressed. Do it compassionately, rationally, but it has to be addressed.”

General Schwartz clearly misspoke when he stated fees have not increased since 1985; TRICARE did not come into existence until 1996.  Overlooking his misstatement, the Air Force Chief of Staff joins a growing number of senior military leaders and others who publicly say that the costs of the earned TRICARE program holds the potential to harm national security.  It is clear that this unfortunate viewpoint is scripted within the administration to dent and diminish the gratitude Americans have for the proud service given by military retirees and to put the benefits retirees earned first-in-line to help pay for today’s defense needs.  It is obnoxious and outrageous.

NAUS continues to press members of Congress to keep the current moratorium on higher fees in place.  You need to remain involved too.  Contact your elected officials and let them know how this affects you.

South Carolina Stolen Valor Legislation

A South Carolina legislator and a Medal of Honor recipient both say politicians who lie about their military records should be required to pay a $10,000 fine to the state Ethics Commission.

Charleston Republican State Rep. Chip Limehouse says the bill he is filing today is very important.  Limehouse says veterans have pushed for the legislation in reaction to misstatements by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal about his service during the Vietnam War.

Retired Marine Major General and NAUS Board Member James Livingston, says such incidents are frustrating and an affront to people who serve.  The Medal of Honor recipient says a law is needed in South Carolina so a similar situation doesn’t play out there.

Navy Birthday

On Oct. 13, 1775, the U.S. Navy was born when the Continental Congress authorized the arming of two sailing vessels with 80 men and 10 carriage guns in order to intercept British supply and munitions transports. The Declaration of Independence came nine months later, followed by the creation of the Department of the Navy in 1798.  Today, our Navy remains the most powerful in the world.

On Wednesday, the Navy celebrated its 235th official birthday.  NAUS salutes the men and women of the Navy for their courage and dedication.

HEALTH CARE NEWS

Combat Related Special Compensation Medical Travel

Over 100,000 Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) veterans are eligible for a new CRSC travel benefit to receive follow-up specialty care such as provided at the Mayo Clinic.

Section 1632 of the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act directs reimbursement for travel-related expenses when a member of the uniformed services who incurred a combat-related disability and is entitled to retired or retainer pay must travel more than 100 miles from the referring provider’s location to obtain medically necessary, nonemergency specialty care for a combat-related disability.  Reasonable actual-cost travel expenses (e.g., lodging, fuel, meals, parking, tolls) associated with receiving specialty care can be reimbursed.  And if the physician so indicates, a Non-Medical Attendant may accompany the veteran and have their expenses reimbursed as well.

Checking the website, NAUS found that the application, approval and reimbursement to be complicated and somewhat confusing.  We hope that DoD and TRICARE will work very hard to make the process much easier to navigate.

For more information on this benefit and how to apply for it, go to this TRICARE Website.  Please let NAUS know how we can help sort out and untangle any complications you may encounter.  We stand ready to assist.

NAUS will continue to monitor this benefit and will pass on any new developments as we find them.  We thank NAUS Board of Directors Advisor Win Reither for pointing out this benefit and website.

Finding the Right Provider for You

When using TRICARE Standard, you may receive care from any TRICARE-authorized provider without a referral.  TRICARE-authorized providers meet TRICARE licensing and certification requirements and are certified by TRICARE to provide care to TRICARE beneficiaries. TRICARE-authorized providers include doctors, hospitals, ancillary providers (laboratories and radiology centers) and pharmacies.

To find a TRICARE-authorized network provider in your region, allowing you to save money by using your TRICARE Extra benefit, use the provider directory located on your regional contractor’s Website or call your regional contractor.

ACTIVE DUTY NEWS

Navy Marks 10th Anniversary Of USS Cole Attack

Ten years ago, an explosives-laden boat approached the USS Cole as it was refueling in Aden Harbor, Yemen.  The explosives detonated, ripping a 40-by-60-foot hole in the Norfolk-based Cole.  Seventeen sailors died that day.

The Navy on Tuesday marked the 10-year anniversary of the attack on the Cole with a ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk led by Adm. J.C. Harvey Jr.  The public and members of the Cole’s extended family attended.

Recommended Mailing Dates for APO/FPO Destinations

Ensuring care packages arrive in time for the holiday season is a priority for friends and family members of military personnel serving around the world.  To help get packages on their way, the U.S. Postal Service offers a discount on its largest Priority Mail Flat Rate Box.

The recommended mailing date for the most economical postage to overseas military destinations, including Iraq and Afghanistan, is Nov. 12.

Mail sent to overseas military addresses is charged only domestic mail prices.  The domestic mail price for the Priority Mail Large Flat Rate Box is $14.50, but for packages to APO/FPO addresses overseas the price is reduced to $12.50.  Additional discounts are available for customers printing their Priority Mail postage labels online at Click-N-Ship.  Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes are available at no cost at any Post Office or can be ordered online at shop.usps.com.  Postage, labels and customs forms can be printed online anytime using Click-N-Ship.

The Postal Service continues to show support to those serving in the armed forces by offering free Military Care Kits, designed specifically for military families sending packages overseas.  The mailing kits can be ordered by phone by calling 1-800-610-8734 and asking for the Military Care Kit. Each kit includes two “America Supports You” large Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes, four medium-sized Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes, six Priority Mail labels, one roll of Priority Mail tape and six customs forms with envelopes.

For online ordering of the large Priority Mail APO/FPO Flat Rate boxes featuring the “America Supports You” logo and information about mailing letters and packages to military destinations, go to Supporting Our Troops.

To ensure delivery of Christmas cards and holiday packages by December 25 to military APO/FPO addresses overseas, the Postal Service recommends that mail for service members be sent no later than the mailing dates listed below.  Mail addressed to military Post Offices overseas is subject to certain conditions or restrictions regarding content, preparation and handling.  APO/FPO addresses generally require customs forms.  To see an online table of updated APO and FPO addresses and mailing restrictions by individual APO/FPO ZIP Codes, click here, select “Pull-Out Information” and click on “Other Information.”

MILITARY MAILING DEADLINES

Military Mail Addressed To Express Mail Military Service (EMMS)1/ First-Class Mail          Letters and Cards Priority Mail Parcel Airlift Mail (PAL) 2/ Space Available Mail (SAM)3/ Parcel Post
APO/FPO AE ZIPs 090-092 Dec-18 Dec-10 Dec-10 Dec-3 Nov-26 Nov-12
APO/FPO AE ZIP 093 N/A Dec-4 Dec-4 Dec-1 Nov-20 Nov-12
APO/FPO AE ZIPs 094-098 Dec-18 Dec-10 Dec-10 Dec-3 Nov-26 Nov-12
APO/FPO AA ZIP 340 Dec-18 Dec-10 Dec-10 Dec-3 Nov-26 Nov-12
APO/FPO AP ZIPs 962-966 Dec-18 Dec-10 Dec-10 Dec-3 Nov-26 Nov-12

1/ EMMS is available to selected military post offices. Check with your local Post Office to determine if this service is available to an APO/FPO address.
2/ PAL is a service that provides air transportation for parcels on a space-available basis. It is available for Parcel Post items not exceeding 30 pounds in weight or 60 inches in length and girth combined. The applicable PAL fee must be paid in addition to the regular surface rate of postage for each addressed piece sent by PAL service.
3/ SAM parcels are paid at Parcel Post postage rate of postage with maximum weight and size limits of 15 pounds and 60 inches in length and girth combined. SAM parcels are first transported domestically by surface and then to overseas destinations by air on a space-available basis.

Exchange ID Check Goes “Hi-Tech”

Implementation of an updated point-of-sale system that uses the technological advances available through “smart” Common Access Cards is streamlining the identification process for age-restricted items at Army and Air Force Exchanges.  Click here for more information.

VETERANS NEWS

Free Canes for Veterans

A national program, “Hugo Salutes Our Veterans,” will provide at no charge 36,000 state-of-the-art Hugo Folding Canes to any U.S. Military Veteran in need of mobility assistance.

The Hugo Folding Canes, which retail for $29.99, will be distributed at all Sam’s Clubs nationwide, November 10, 11, and 12.  This program was started several years ago by AMG Medical, based in Alpharetta, Georgia, in tribute to its employees who served in the military.

Additional information is available at the Hugo website.

New Ad Campaign Targets Veterans

This week VA launched a National Ad Campaign focusing on recently separated veterans.  Former Marine and Iraq Veteran Robert Kugler speaks to veterans about benefits they have earned through service.  Click here to watch the video and be sure to share it with veterans you may know.

Save the Date

In past years, NAUS Chapters and members across the country have participated in Wreaths Across America, a special program that honors deceased veterans by placing wreaths on their graves during the holiday season.  This year events are scheduled for December 11.   We hope you can join in this extremly  wothwhile endeavor in your local area and an early reminder so you can plan accordingly.  Check the Wreaths Across America site for details on being a participate in this year’s honor.

NAUS NEWS

NAUS on the Road

Tomorrow is a busy day for NAUS representatives across the country.

On Saturday, NAUS President MG Matz will be the keynote speaker at the Ft. Monmouth, NJ, Retired Activity Day (RAD).  MG Matz and his wife Linda will man the table.

Also Saturday, NAUS Senior Legislative Assistant Morgan Brown will be the keynote speaker at the New London, CT, Submarine Base, Retiree Seminar.

Also on Saturday, NAUS Regional Vice President Chuck Partridge, accompanied by his wife Nancy, mans a table at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, RAD.

NAUS encourages you to stop by and say Hello to our representatives … and bring a friend to share in the activities and find out more about NAUS.

Future RADs include:

Next Thursday, Oct. 21, President Matz will address retirees at the Wright-Patterson, AFB, RAD in Dayton, Ohio.

And on Saturday, Oct. 30, President Matz delivers the keynote at the Ft. Hood, TX, RAD.

The 2010 NAUS Directories have been Shipped

If you ordered a NAUS Directory back in the spring/summer (thank you!), the good news is they have shipped.  You should be receiving your order soon.  If you wish to return your order, you should send it back to Harris Connect unopened to avoid paying the shipping cost.  If you have any questions or problems with your Directory order, please call the publisher, Harris Connect, at 888-618-4227 (press 2 for Customer Service). 

NAUS Annual Membership Meeting

Make plans now to attend the NAUS Annual Membership Meeting and luncheon on Saturday, 6 November, at the Officers Club at Fort Belvoir, VA.  Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki will be the keynote speaker this year.  Cost to attend the meeting and luncheon is $20 per person.  Fill out the Reservation Form (also found on page 6 of your September/October Uniformed Services Journal) and mail in with your payment, or contact Mike Boone for more information.

Back to top

Our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen stand in harm’s way around the globe to defend our nation and our cherished liberties. NAUS asks you to please pray for their continued strength and protection—and pray as well for their families, who daily stand in support of their spouses, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, and brothers and sisters.

GODBLESSAMERICA

National Association for Uniformed Services®
5535 Hempstead Way
Springfield, VA 22151
1-800-842-3451
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God Bless
Jose M. Garcia
Past National Commander
Catholic War Veterans,USA
josegarcia4@sbcglobal.net
Better to understand a little than to misunderstand a lot.
In God We Trust

For The Good of the Order

President Barack Obama and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs met with a group of journalists recently to declare their promises to restore faith in the the VA System. Those declarations were thus;

To reach out to all Veterans and bring them into the system. Enrollment is open again for Priority 8 clients.

The electronic medical records system is to be installed at every facility

More resources dedicated to mental health

Veterans health benefits will not be reduced or impacted in any way by national health care reform. (note this is health care reform, not insurance reform).

Insure that veterans are not denied benefits because links have not yet been made to war-zone burn pits. Evidence is still coming in and no premature decision should be made, like the exposure to the atomic tests in the 1950’s. Agent Orange in Vietnam,( which is now known to have been utilized 2.4 times more often than was reported), or toxins in the 1991 Gulf War.

Boosting the VA funding is going to be a necessity for many years to come as the Iraq and Afghan vets rotate home for maybe the next 10 years. We know this will be the case, and this time around we can plan ahead instead of crimping the VA budget, just to go begging and then have the media shout that we are not taking care of our troops.
The bean counters are struggling with this, as we have never in the history of modern warfare had so many survivors who have lost limbs and mental faculties. As we provide a guardianship for the world this going to pester us for years to come

Benefits for Widows Due to Lou Gehrig's Disease

Widows Benefits Due to Lou Gehrig's Disease
Widows Benefits Due to Lou Gehrig's Disease

A reminder: On Sept. 23, 2008, Lou Gehrig’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, was made a presumptive condition for all veterans who served in our armed forces for at least 90 days.

This means that widows of those veterans who died of Lou Gehrig’s disease in years past are now eligible for the VA widows’ monthly benefit.

For more information, contact Fred Campbell, Chairman of VA Outreach for American Ex-Prisoners of War, 3312 Chatterton Dr., San Angelo, TX 76904, or at fredrev@webtv.net.

This benefit affects widows of all veterans, not just former POWs).

It is  vital information such as this that generally circulates by word of mouth or helpful sites like ours.