Benefits

Question:

Seeing how I was at 90%, my lawyers highly suggested that I filing for TDIU. Fast forward, I was granted TDIU. However, I hate the fact that I am unable to work to include capped financially knowing I have high earning potential. I would have preferred 100% scheduler and/or P/T instead of TDIU. At least with 100% scheduler and/or P/T a veteran is not capped financially and able to continue earning and feel worth/not worthless. Of course, I should be happy (shut up and color) that the VA understood my multiple chronic disabilities thus granting me TDIU... My question is; how to convert/change TDIU to 100% P/T? Is that evening possible? How would the change impact my overall case for 100% P/T?

Jim's Reply:

I hate to tell you this but these aren't choices you get to make. This is how the system works and it won't adapt to you because you think it should.
 

If you are so confident that you have a very high income potential, why don't you simply return to work? It was many many years ago that I was very relieved to get my TDIU rating and prior to that I had a very high income. If I had been able to return to work I'd have traded that for the TDIU rating in a heartbeat.
 

You're asking to keep your rating of 100%, maximize the money VA is giving you yet you insist that you don't really need these benefits because you are very able to work.
 

Trying to turn a 100% TDIU rating to a schedular rating almost always ends up with the vet losing the TDIU and reverting to the base rate...in your case, 90%. 
 

Good luck.

Question:

If you are awarded compensation for IHD, and afterward you have a pacemaker installed, can it be claimed as secondary? Thanks.

Jim's Reply:

Yes. When we have Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) that disease may cause damage to the electrical conduction pathways of the heart and then require some electrical assistance from a pacemaker or an AICD. The pacemaker is installed to monitor the heartbeat and send impulses to the heart when it needs it.
 

There are other reasons that may require a pacemaker (viruses, valve disease) to be installed so your doctor must agree and make notes to your records that your conduction problems were caused by the IHD. Once your doctor agrees to that, you can file a claim to have the pacer rated as secondary to your IHD. Good luck.

Question:

Hello my question is my VA healthcare provider told me that I must not use any other medical and dental insurance other then then the VA. This was told to me in 2013 until present day and I have not used any other insurance since then. I have asked them why I can't use other insurance and they reply that I need to use the VA.
 

I have asked a couple of other veterans an they have never heard of this. I saw that you are a extremely knowledge with the VA policy's and am hoping you might give me some direction on this subject. I could have got a lot more dental work done and more medical issues taken care of if I could have used other insurance. It's gotten to the point that my health is now in bad shape because of I can't get anything done with the VA am having to repeat the process so many times. Any information on this is greatly appreciated an thank you for taking the time to read questions.

Jim's Reply:

I'm with all the other veterans you've asked, I've never heard of anything like this. To be honest, I'm not at all sure you understand what someone told you whenever that was. If a provider told you that there was no reason to seek care elsewhere, that's a lot different than telling you that you aren't allowed to get health care other places.
 

The first concern that comes to my mind is how you'll pay for health and dental care outside VA? Do you have civilian insurance or a pile of cash to spend? Civilian care costs a lot of money and if you don't have insurance the VA may not help you pay for civilian care.
 

You can get your care anywhere you'd like to but you'll have to foot any bills that arise. Good luck.

Question:

Jim, Thank you for setting up “Jim’s Mailbag.” Here’s my question: What, if anything, do Representatives & Senators typically do when VA, to the Veteran’s distinct disadvantage, demonstrably misrepresents to them, the facts of their constituent’s case at VA? [NB: I’m not taking about a he-said, she-said situation, I’m talking about a situation where the VA tells them, “the record states X,” but when you go to the record, you find it unambiguously states the opposite?

Jim's Reply:

Congresspersons, senators and representatives, are legislators. They make the laws, they have no power to enforce the law that they make. When a veteran seeks  a Congressional inquiry about their claim, the representative (or their aide) will write a simple letter to VA seeking an explanation to the veterans problem. While the representative has no authority to tell VA what to do, this often solves the problem just by the problem being raised to this level.
 

Often enough VA will write to the Congressperson to tell them everything is going according to plan and that ends the inquiry.
 

VA would tell you that mistakes do sometimes happen and that if you discover a mistake worthy of attention, the only thing to do is to appeal and appeal again. You are the only person who can initiate an appeal when you find an error. Go for it.

Question:

If granted TDIU, will I still pay house taxes?

Jim's Reply:

Maybe. Maybe not. That's up to the state you're in. Some states will allow a 100% P & T veteran to skip paying taxes on the mortgage (and auto registration and a lot more) and other states aren't quite as generous but there are still significant benefits.
 

To learn what your state can do for you, use the Google search engine to look for your state veterans affairs department and you'll find all that info in there. Good luck!

Question:

Is there a doctor in the Pensacola area that can provide a DBQ and nexus letter for lower back and mental health condition?

Jim's Reply:

I don't refer to anyone there. However, the good news is that you don't want or need someone in your region to do a DBQ or an IMO for you. You don't need to meet the doctor face to face, all this can be managed over the phone and in emails. The doctors can write up what you need based on medical records that you provide.
 

You can find your doctor here. These are the small handful of people I trust to help you take care of your claim. 
 

I have to warn you that the doctors who write IMOs for mental health exams probably aren't going to feel comfortable writing a DBQ/IMO for your back and docs who work with physical issues won't write the mental health portion you need. You can talk with any or all of them for free so you'll get some good words of advice while you decide. Good luck.

Question:

Is an enlarged heart and arrhythmia related related ischemic heart disease or exposure to agent orange?

Jim's Reply:

Maybe. Maybe not. Cardiomegaly is the term used for an enlarged heart and that can be caused by many different things. Cardiomegaly isn't a disease in and of itself, it's a symptom of an underlying problem. 
 

The underlying problem may be a virus, hypertension, valve problems, IHD and many more diseases that can lead to an enlarged heart. An arrhythmia (an erratic heart beat) may be caused by the enlarged heart and then may require a pacemaker or an AICD to stabilize the heart rhythm.
 

The only way to know the underlying cause of your enlarged heart is to ask your cardiologist. If the doctor says that Ischemic Heart Disease caused the heart to enlarge, and you're rated for IHD, then you may claim the enlarged heart and other conditions related to that as secondary to the rated IHD. If the doctor says that the enlarged heart is due to any other condition than IHD, VA isn't likely to accept that as service connected.

Question:

I've had 3 strokes already how do I find an IMO in my area. Thanks.

Jim's Reply:

Well...you don't want or need an IMO doctor in your area, you want someone who is competent to review your records. They can be anywhere since you don't need to meet the doctor face to face. You won't need an examination, the doctor will review your medical records you provide and from that he or she will render an opinion about your illnesses.

You can find your IMO doctor here https://www.vawatchdog.org/imo-ime-medical-opinions-exams.html

Question:

Jim I am on the sec 8 program and I have read conflicting things about whether or not it is counted as income at the federal level. There seems to be a difference in whether or not you are on state housing or federal housing and being unemployable. I read that if you are unemployable they count only $1800 as income. Is this true?

Jim's Reply:

I don't know. To be honest, I don't understand the question. I'll try to answer...

When we talk of the unemployability or TDIU benefit, it isn't means tested. In other words the amount of income you have from all sources doesn't count against you, only income from gainful employment counts with the TDIU benefit. You could win a lottery and still be eligible for TDIU.
 

The VA pension benefit is means tested and if your income is too high, you won't qualify for the pension benefit.
 

I can't comment on the requirements of any Section 8 benefits other than to say that most benefits like Section 8 are means tested and if you make too much money from any source, you probably aren't eligible. Good luck.

Question:

My disability and rating were reduced when my cancer went into remission. I had lasting affects which impacted other areas of my health but they were all denied by the VA resulting in years of appeal. Now cancer is back. What must I do?

Jim's Reply:

This isn't unusual for a cancer to recur, the VA is familiar with it happening in all sorts of cancers. When a cancer is cured or otherwise in remission, the typical 100% rating drops to reflect any residual conditions caused by the cancer or treatment.
 

If there is a recurrence you must file a claim just as you did originally. Once you've filed the claim you'll be contacted for a C & P exam and the process will proceed as before and your 100% rating will be in place again. Unless and until you file the claim nothing will happen so don't delay. Good luck.