The Veteran C & P Evaluation

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apollick

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Joined
Jun 12, 2011
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65
Reason
Lost a loved one
Diagnosis
05/2009
Country
US
State
Florida
City
Groveland
HI, I am sure that this has probably been questioned and for the life of me I cannot find it.

My husband has ALS and he has gone through the Veteran's Administration. We filed our claim in May of 2011. We finally got to the James Haley VA hospital in Tampa, FL ( Ed was in there 7 days) and we are going back on the 24th, 25th and 26th for the final tests.

My question is the VARO in St, Petersburg sent the file to Daytona Beach, FL and we receive two letters this week stating that we need to go to Orlando VA on the 22nd of September for the C & P evaluation with a Dr. Duggal. Does anyone know Dr. Duggal and does the 100% award come before that or does this evaluation determine if he is getting the 100% award?

Please let me know if I have not made any sense.
 
Once your husband is diagnosed with ALS, he is considered a disabled vet with 100% service connection and an automatic disability rating of 30%. The C & P exam will determine if the disability rating should be higher. The higher the disability rating, the higher the disability compensation. There are a few benefits that don't kick in until you receive a 50% disability rating. It is important to show the examiner your husband's total limitations. This is not a time to show how MUCH he can do, but how little.
 
I've heard of people being in Tampa 7 days, so we specifically asked to do it all in just one day. They gave us a room for the night coming in and going out. Very nice.

Miss--correction: Service Connection is either yes or no. The percentage rating is the amount of disabled. For instance, a person with tinnitus is 10% disabled. ALS starts at 30% even if you have no symptoms. You're right that you get more benefits at 50%. For one thing, if you're 50% for a single condition, your ER visits to a non-VA hospital are paid for by the VA, as long as it's a true emergency, you report the visit to the VA within 72 hours, and you went to the NEAREST ER.

We had our C&P at Orlando VAMC and felt the guy (not a doctor) didn't even know what the disease was! Sometimes, he didn't know the names of body parts. Turns out the C&P guy does not have to be a doctor.

He kept looking for a nexus, a service connection, where Krissy had "caught" the disease or been treated for it during her service time in 1989-1992. Of course, he wrote in his report "no evidence of service connection." He didn't seem to know what "presumptive" meant.

So we drove up to St Pete and saw the Public Contact Team on the second floor. We arrived late. When they closed at 5 PM, a nice lady decided to see us rather than kick us out. We ensured the nice lady understood fully, saw all our documents, and marked "Expedite" in red letters and took the file upstairs immediately.

About a month latter the VARO gave us 100% SC, Permanent and Total, right out of the gate.

VA itself lobbied Congress to make it ALS 100% from the get-go, but it didn't happen.

THE BIG DEAL is to get the P&T rating. You get all your healthcare free without copays when you're P&T. Of course, ALS is permanent, and once you have two legs or two arms or a leg and a arm become useless, you're TOTAL. (Curiously, many people are only 60%, but still rated P&T. The percentage system is not just simple intuitive arithmetic.)

Also, when you're P&T, your family members get 45 months of schooling paid for at the GI Bill rates, about $960 monthly. So state college is paid for for my kids, and I can get a PhD.

If you can't wheel yourself out of the house, you're rated as "housebound." Also, if you might choke on your own saliva, you're rated as needing Aid and Attendance. We have a Home Health Aid 5 hours a day, 5 days a week.

THE BIG MONEY--$7000 monthly--comes when you are approved for Special Monthly Compensation level "R2" which means you've lost the use of both legs, both feet, and at least one arm and hand.

Another good deal: they BACK DATE the money to when you got disabled if you had a claim in. Unfortunately, you didn't put in your claim when you were diagnosed two years ago. Should have.

Good luck and God Bless.
 
Atsugi
Thanks for posting all of the info about C&P. My husband was diagnosed in April by Emory, received the automatic 30% rating and we went to an outside evaluator (we questioned while we were there if it was a legit doctor's office - glad there were other vets there) in June. Our PVA service officer said the exam was shoddy, whatever that means. He says we now must be seen by VA but no appointment has been scheduled. I will be calling the State Veteran Services of Monday. I'm tired of being jerked around and my husband only gets worse every single day.
 
PVA said that the exam at Emory was "shoddy"? Sounds like his brain has been exposed to some toxic chemicals!
 
Georgia, Put in for an increase, and they will schedule a C&P within 30 days.
 
How do I put in for an increase for my husband? PVA said the compensation and disability exam by QTC was shoddy not Emory.
We love Emory and the doctors and nurses!
 
Thank you all for the input. There are so much different information that is coming my way and I have been on this website off and on. I am the caregiver for my husband. I am still working and hope to be able to quit soon. But the decision will not be made now until the end of September or October. We know that he will get the 100% and may possibly be more since he loss the use of his legs. He has pseudobulbar palsy and the doctor gave him zoloft which has helped with the anger, crying and laughter at any given time. The choking is still happening - He has the cough assist. We have the hoyer lift which cannot fit under the bed and we need to get a new bed and we have to remodel the bathroom because of how everything is placed not handicap accessible. I am still lifting him into the shower and bathing him and lifting him into the commode area all is very tight.

OK here is another question, I know that as his spouse I get ChampVA healthcare but does that stop once my husband passes on?
 
ReChmpVA; you get it till you are 65, and go on Medicare. For an increase, it is form 21-4138 "Statement in support of claim"
 
I knew there was a reason why God put me on this website. Thank you. My retirement age is 66. That may be a problem.
 
No, you get it till you have medicare.
 
This is from the ChampVA webpage:
For your benefits to be extended past age 65, you must meet the following conditions:

*if the beneficiary was 65 or older prior to June 5, 2001, and was otherwise eligible for CHAMPVA, and was entitled to Medicare Part A coverage, *then the beneficiary will be eligible for CHAMPVA without having to have Medicare Part B coverage.
*if you turned 65 on/or before June 5, 2001, and have Medicare Parts A and B, you must keep both Parts to be eligible.
*if you turned 65 on or after June 5, 2001, you must be enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B to be eligible.
*you are not required to enroll in Medicare Part D in order to become or remain CHAMPVA eligible.


*if you turned 65 on or after June 5, 2001, you must be enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B to be eligible. - doesn't this mean you can still have ChampVA and Medicare with Medicare as primary so long as you are enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B?

For example - if your veteran spouse is 100% and dies when their spouse is say 60 years old, doesn't the above mean that the spouse is eligible for ChampVA as the primary insurance until they turn 65, then they enroll in Medicare Parts A and B with Medicare becoming primary and ChampVA still in play as the secondary insurance?

If I am wrong I would love for someone to explain it.
 
Ohhhhh! I was wondering, as
Emory has such a respectable reputation. I wouldn't trust my care to anyone else!
L
 
Mary that was my understanding that ChampVA will still be there but you must enroll in Medicare Part A & B. Also because I am 60 I will be grandfathered in so that my retirement age does not change at 66.

Also anyone else that has ALS are they or have they experienced tingling in the hands, arms and legs. Ed is beginning to feel tingling in his extremities.
 
Tingling could lots of things. Could be unrelated. Could be about to paralyze that muscle,

Krissy says that before a muscle got weak, she felt constant fasiculations in it.

Mirapex, AKA Pramipexole, made the muscle twitching feel better so she could sleep.
 
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