Post No. 12 - Getting Closer

Reporting for Roll Call 16:50 Hrs 6-12-13

Hi

First off...Re: Backlog Figure...that one million number was in various news outlets...not just the Net.

Well, we're getting closer to what I'm trying to get from all this...investigating the process...and doing a bit of "forensics" along the way. Your comment confirms things for me...you get fully checked out going into service...but nothing beyond a handshake when you leave it.  Frankly, it's not so much a case of indifference or considering any GI as nothing more than cannon fodder. It really is more of a matter of it being just an old practice...from way way back...which has more or less become a "normal" procedure (you might even say it's almost become...tradition).

Anyway, as I've pointed out, maybe that entire entry/exit process needs to be re-thought. That is,, given the state of the art in technology, perhaps those old dog tags of ours, instead of just the bare bones data on them, why not make them similar to a -flash drive -. On entry into service, the EEI re: physical, mental, condition is put in it.During service, any further medical entries are added to it. When being discharged, a close out medical entry is made, with whatever appropriate notes re:any physical or other dings incurred while in service. Something along these lines. Hell, instead of metal, the new style dog tags could be made of -graphene- (thinner, and almost indestructable). Okay...something the powers that be should chew on. You may be right...they just might catch up and get into this 21st Century of ours.

Moving on: Now, we've brought our Cherry Troop up to the point to where he's gotten his VA card,he's gotten an Advocate (of sorts...sounds like a 50/50 proposition to me), a primary care doctor,and now a complete physical. Based on the results from that, this puts him on the "threshold" so to speak. What if one of the results comes back showing he has either a physical or emotional problem/condition to one degree or another. What happens next? It seems to me that at this point the question of "disability" should logically come up. Who initiates that? The doctor? He's the primary care medical professional, shouldn't his medical opinion have some weight? Here's where things seem to get fuzzy in the process...for me. Can you elucidate on how things happen at this point?More importantly...who starts the process going forward?

Here's the impression I have of what happens. If you recall, last year, there was a big hooha about the Oakland, CA  VA facility having some 34,000 disability claims backlog. That suggests to me that the problem begins at the "intake" end of the funnel, not somewhere further up the chain. That is, it sounds like there is a preliminary evaluation/determination process right there at that facility, so if a given facility (such as Oakland) is not able to do that process in a timely way, all those who are trying to work their claim through it, get jammed up. Whereas at some other facility somewhere, if they don't have that problem, things move better forward. In some places, it may even be worse ( remember that other case in SC...the dead weight of those files were a menace to the structural integrity of the facility). All of which suggests that the key first "obstacle" or "land mine" in the process is the state of any given VA facility's capacity to handle the volume of claims it is handling. 

Let's do a bit of "disection" here, and see what are the pieces involved.

CENTURION

Post 12 on ROLL CALL 6/11/13 1:51PM

We have come a long way in a short time on ROLL CALL, and we have overcome some bumps in the road, and now, it is safe to say it is an established venue for any Veteran of the United States military system to use to educate one on the rights and benefits he or she has upon the honorable discharge of said individual.  This is not a BLOG or a 'social media' site.  Only 3 Veterans are running this site, and our 'mission' is to make available one 'truthful' medium whereby a Veteran can assimilate data not available from any other source.  It is also somewhat entertaining.  A dialogue between two Army Armor Officers who both had 'tank' experience, one in the Korean Conflict, and the other in the Vietnam "Peace Action", who have been Veteran Advocates for decades, coming together here, to question and answer each other in such a way as to share with others important facts as to how to get what you fought for in your service to this great nation.

I have a friend who is a few years older than I am, who is a retired police officer in the Sacramento area, a teacher, and a world traveler.  He is in my LRRP Network, and we meet several times a week at a local Starbucks here in Elk Grove, and 'shoot the bull'.  The other day, he questioned me about '...where did you get the figure of one million back logged claims pending at the VA?'.  I told him from the Internet.  He then asked me if I believe everything I read from the Internet?  I said, 'no'.  Then he stated that if he relays what I'm posting here and elsewhere about the million number of back logged claims, then he would be violating his principles of being truthful.  I then told him I have asked my doctors, CalVet consular and my 'shrink' about this number, and they all verified it.  Needless to say, I do not want any 'bad numbers' on this ROLL CALL, nor do I want to be spreading anything that is not the truth.

So, from the get-go, I have been directing Dan Da Man who is our 3rd Man here and my trusted web designer for most of my career and a fellow Vietnam Veteran who served with me in my outfit in Vietnam to place 'links' on this site.  Just today, I had him place a very important link that gives you the 'benefits' to an honorably discharged Veteran in every State in America.  These are 'facts'.  And, if you visit the links here, you will know the 'truths' we are discussing here are 'real' and are not 'rumors'.  So, if you in fact are a Cherry Troop and have been recently discharged from your service, or if you are about to be honorably discharged, this site is dedicated to you.  If in fact, you are a World War II Veteran, and you are interested in receiving some benefit for your honorable service, then this is also your site to gather needed facts.  

It is my mission here on ROLL CALL to entertain the reader in a way that makes him curious to see just what rights and benefits he has for serving our great Nation.  Be this as it may, I do hope the reader will benefit from this site.  And remember, I am here, as your Veteran Advocate to answer each and every question you may have, or to give me some specific information I can share with all here.  

LT Bobby Ross

Post No. 11 -- Baby Steps Forward

Reporting for Roll Call -14:35Hrs - 6-10-13

Hi LT:

Re: Your comment my Post No. 10. My impression is what you're advocating amounts to a "stealth" approach. That is, getting a complete, head to toe, physical at this point in the process, will preclude any later bureaucratic efforts to apply the "pre-existing condition" ploy against our troop. Fair enough, But this brings up a possible bit of reinforcing support here. When someone enters military service, they are subjected to a similar head-to-toe physical and even psche eval before being accepted for service. Thus, if the results of that are okay, that individual is deemed fit for service, and accepted, with no "pre-existing" dings of one kind or another. Later, upon release from active service shouldn' the Services perform another complete physical, like the first one? In effect "certifying" that the individual is free of any dings of one kind or another...or not. I'm not sure, but unless the service member was released from a medical facility, that isn't the case. When I was release from active duty back in the day...other than being handed my DD214, and a parting citation by my boss...it was just good-by-Charlie- and-it-was-great-to-know-you... I coud have been incubating the Bubonic Plague...for all they knew. So, in my view, this is one of the first "land mines" in the system. The Services should be requiredd to perform a complete head-to-toe exam before releasing anyone.

Okay, now, after some time has passed since return to the civilian world, our troop does as you advocate, and gets another (this time VA) complete physical. He will now have not just one, but TWO, physical "certifications" saying he is fine, or, has specific indications otherwise. Either way, he has a stronger foundation for any future needs. My point to all this is that our troop would be better prepared for any future encounters in the claims process, than he is currently.

CENTURION

Post No.10 - On With The Process

Reporting for Roll Call 16:25 Hrs 6-7-13

Hi LT:

Well, it was D-Day, and some folks did remember about it. At the rate things are going it may soon be seen as "ancient" history.

Meanwhile, I'll continue picking away at the process involved with filing a disability claim.

You are correct...a wound is a wound is a wound...whether physical or otherwise. The question boils down to what extent does it affect normal functionality? So, here's where the process begins, that is, having been assigned a primary care physician, and having had the first appointment with him/her, our troop now faces the first scrutiny on the subject. Physical problems from physical wounds are self-evident. PTSD related problems are something else. So...two questions appear to need answers here:

 1)To what extent does the PCDr's preliminary medical evaluation of the troop's condition have a bearing on a potential disability rating?

 2)How is that recorded?

What I'm asking here, LT, is who initiates the process...the doctor? So what does the troop have to do?

While the Dr.'s medical opinion must have some validity, I suspect that the next thing is probably referral to a specific specialist of one kind or another (that would seem to be a logical step to take).

From your experience, is this correct?

CENTURION

Post No. 9 -Moving on

Reporting for Roll Call ; 18:58 Hrs 6-5-13

Hi LT:

Well, now that we' ve chatted on the side, I now know where your responses to my questions are...and we can move on.

First, to summarize, we've gotten our troop with his VA card, and he/she is ready to continue with the process.

You may, or may not, have gotten together with one of those State advocate groups, like CalVet. But, regardless, you now need to get connected with a VA-Primary Care doctor. From what you've explained, you do so by asking the VA directly, and you will get whatever one is appointed by it for you. Once you have that, your next move is to make an appointment with that doctor for a preliminary face-to-face.

I think we can both agree that the most critical thing is...make sure you keep that appointment...and on time too! In fact...never miss any appointment, no matter whether with you primary doctor or anyone else.I'd even go so far as saying...keep your own log of all appointments, and with whom, and for what...so you have your own "record".

All right, so you meet with your PCDr...now you're on the threshhold. SIDEBAR COMMENT HERE: While my contact with VA doctors has been minimal, as far as I can figure...most are as good as you'll find anywhere else, and most are really there to do their best for you...whatever is medically justified.

The next question is....how does the subject of "disability" come up? I'm curious about what the interaction between a troop and the doctor might be for that. Believe it's worth "dissecting" a bit because that will be the foundation for any claim for it.

CENTURION

Post No.8 -Moving Forward

Reporting for ROLL CALL - 15;56Hrs. 5-29-13

Hi LT:

Well another Memorial Day has passed for us. Good as usual. Of course, it had its not so uplifting moments...like having to listen to some of our career politicos' blather on about how much they have done, and are doing veterans, etc., etc., etc. Like the Church Lady might say...isn't that special!

So, can somebody explain to me why there's a million or more backlog of disability claims at the VA..if these "honorables" have done, and are doing so much for Veterans? Well...it is what it is...but I prefer to move forward from here.

Re: Before returning to our cherry troop, however, let's clear up a difference in perspectives we argued about on the way to lunch on Memorial Day. That is, a lot of older veterans from earlier times have never filed fo "disability". That's not because any of them are shy about doing so, or having some kind of macho attitude about not needing-no-stinking-help-from-no-goddam-VA, etc.It's very simple...they don't have any disability, service connected or otherwise. Just because they served, and just because they were lucky enough to come out of any combat experience with neither physical nor emotional dings, they don't see that as any kind of basis for claiming disability or anything else. They have, and do, apply for whatever other "benefits" their service entitles them to however, but none of these have anything to do with "disability". That's the clarification I wanted to make.

Re: Having a VA card. As I mentioned, when they announced all veterans needed to get one, i did. Went directly to Member Services (my DD214 was in a file folder in an old footlocker, in storage, back in Missouri, at the time), walked in, and within a few minutes sat in front of a sweet young clerk lady.Even without a DD214 in my hand...no problem. Gave her my name, rank and serial nujmbers(enl & comm), dates of services, etc. Within minutes, she had all the verification needed, had me stand up against the backdrop on the wall, facing one of those mugshot-type cameras, a quick flash, and five minutes later I walked out with my VA card in hand, classified as Category C. The category for all those who are not either retirees, or with a service-connected disability of some sort. What this means is...yes we can use the VA for medical services, but on a tail=end charlie priority basis. Fair enough. I use it once a year...for a free flu shot. And the reason I don't use it for more than that is because I have.. MEDICARE.

Now, there are hundreds of thousands of veterans just like me with MEDICARE...which is paid for out of our Social Security "benefit"(taken right off the top from that benefit...a no "opt out" deal, of course). But we can't use it at the VA...because of the Congressional prohibitions against the transfer of funds from one Federal program to another(even though Congress does it every day of the week). The VA can bill any other insurance provider, but not Medicare. Supposedly Congress was going to fix that problem, so veterans could use it with the VA, just like any other medical service provider, but they've been screwing around with that for the past 10 years...and there's still no resolution. in sight. So...since I'm forced to pay for Medicare anyway...no sense leaving that on the table...it takes care of any HMO bills. The co-pay it would cost me at the VA, would simply add to any medical expenses....and those rates are adjusted annually, always upwards, naturally. Yes, the quality of medical care and services would probably be much better at the VA...but until the Medicare issue is resolved...the economics of it just don't work. C'est la vie!

Re: Moving forward...we left our cherry troop out in the rain, with his DD214 in hand, and perhaps he's also gone ahead and gotten his VA card besides. Obviously his next move must be to get connected with a primary care physician of some kind. How does he do that? Does he pick from a directory at that facility...or is the process much like getting a Public Defender (you get whatever is assigned by the Court).?

Well enough for today, give me some specifics in answer to these questions,I'm trying to report on how the step by step process works here which, hopefully, will shed some light on why there's such a claim backlog.

CENTURION

Post No.7 - He's standin' in the rain, standin' in the rain

Reporting for Roll Call 1605 Hrs - 5-21-13

Hi LT:

Well, our cherry troop is standin' in the rain, standin' in the rain...so to speak, waiting for the next step in the process.

Okay, so he's ready to proceed...how does he initiate the process of filing his claim? Now what does he need to do it?

Need to have some specifics here. I'm asking because I don't know. Since you have first hand experience with the process, enlighten us on how he needs to do that. You mentioned that you had recently helped a young veteran get his claim officially filed, and that it took almost a year to do it. Can you explain why it took so long to do it? The details of what you went through with him should be instructive for our cherry troop, as he prepares his claim.

CENTURION