Services to our Veterans
2008-06-06 | Filed Under Government |
Thursday, June 05, 2008 11:25 AM
Greetings,
My name is Quinton Walker and I have assumed a newly implemented position, Prosthetics Patient Advocate located in the VA Central Office in Washington, DC. One of my main duties will be to monitor and respond to the IRIS web based inquiry system.
For those that are unaware, the IRIS system is a communication tool used by veterans and the general public for information pertaining to different appliances and services available, and can also be used as a sounding board if the veteran feels wronged by his local Prosthetic and Sensory Aid Department.
I keep a weekly tally of our topics along with site monitoring to see if our website is being used to its fullest. I will provide to you monthly breakdowns of our site which will include the amount of visits to the site along with the most popular inquiries.
My timeline for response to inquiries are five business days. Most have been answered within the day the inquiry was received, provided more information was not requested. The veteran or public can access IRIS through our Prosthetic and Sensory Aid website http://www.prosthetics.va.gov/ and clicking on the “Contact VA” link located at the top right of the page. I recommend taking a look as our website is constantly updated with new information that will serve to benefit those who would like to know about Prosthetics in the VA system. This is another way our Prosthetics and Sensory Aid staff are trying to reach out to our veterans.
Regards,
Quinton Walker
Prosthetic Patient Representative
Office of Prosthetics and Clinical Logistics (10FP)
1722 I Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: 202*254*2543
Fax: 202*254*0470
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South Texas Visual Impairment Services Program (VIS) June Newsletter
2008-06-06 | Filed Under Newsletter |
Hello everyone
Here is the South Texas Visual Impairment Services Program (VIS) Newsletter. I hope you find it enjoyable and useful.
In the paper copy of the newsletter we attach the forms to file for Chapter 61.
The forms to file for Chapter 61, CRSC benefits are available at:
https://www.hrc.army.mil/site/crsc/documents/ClaimForm.pdf
When you fill out the form, write in Chapter 61, in box 8, I have been doing that in the a, b, and C section… though the instructions given say you only need to do it once in any of those sections…
The Army website has a question and answer section on Chapter 61, you can access at:
https://www.hrc.army.mil/site/crsc/index.html
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Thresholds of Vision Ratings
2008-04-23 | Filed Under Vision |
Thresholds of Vision Ratings
The loss of one eye is only a 30 or 40% rating with possibly a K award. I had a active duty person who said to me I lost an eye - it is a 50% rating. I told him he was correct - for TSGLI, he received $50,000 dollars, but for VA compensation it is not a 50% rating… it will be a 40% with a K award - but he intends to stay on active duty.
Next, is the 20/100 20/200 rating - it does not make you legally blind, but it does put you at a 60% rating - enough to file for individual Unemployability.
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Overview A&A and Housebound Benefits
2008-04-23 | Filed Under Aid and Attendance |
NSC Pension and Housebound Ratings
Background
NSC Pension has 3 levels, Basic Pension, Housebound, and Aid and Attendance.
- The past definition of Housebound ratings. To be rated at this level a veteran needed to have one 100% disability and one 60% disability
- Many veterans have something really wrong with them - their vision, and maybe other things also, such as dialysis. If a veterran has 5/200 vision bilaterally they are at the 100% level. But, they also hit one of the automatic thresholds for Aid and Attendance. So many of the veterans who might have been eligible for Housebound ratings were also eligible for A&A, which was a higher rating.
20/200 bilaterally is a 70% rated condition
20/200 and 20/100 is a 60%
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Aid & Attendance Overview
2008-04-23 | Filed Under Aid and Attendance |
Aid & Attendance Overview
A&A is an extremely important benefit.
A&A is intended to be paid to a person with severe disabilities beyond merely being disabled. A VA pension is paid to a veteran who is poor and no longer able to work. Reaching the age of 65 and being poor is sufficient. The person deemed eligible for a pension may be quite functional and independent. In all cases the person is poor. The basic pension is to keep veterans off welfare. A veteran on pension is far better off than his counterpart in civilian life.
To get A&A one must first qualify for a pension. This means that the person must first be poor. Poor is defined by the VA. If qualified for a pension and the person develop disabilities that reflect the following then A&A can be paid.
The person’s disabilities must be reflected in decreased functioning to such an extent that someone has to be involved to keep the person from dying, being at unreasonable risk, getting hurt or requiring placement in an institution.
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Housebound and A&A
2008-04-23 | Filed Under Aid and Attendance |
HOUSEBOUND
(Pension)
LEGAL AUTHORIZATION: 38 U.S.C. 521
38 CFR § 3.351(d)
3.351(d) Housebound. or permanent and totalplus 60 percent: disability pension. The rate of pension payable to a veteran who is entitled to pension under 38 U.S.C. 521 and who is not in need of regular aid and attendance shall be as prescribed in 38 U.S.C. 521(e) if, in addition tohaving a single permanent disability rated 100 percent disabling under the Schedule for Rating Disabilities (not including ratings based upon unemployability under § 4.17 of this chapter) the veteran:
(1) Has additional disability or disabilities independently ratable at 60 percent or more, separate and distinct from the permanent disability rated as 100 percent disabling and involving different anatomical segments or bodily systems., or
(2) Is “permanently housebound” by reason of disability or disabilities. This requirement is met when the veteran is substantially confined to his or her dwelling and the immediate premises or, if institutionalized, to the ward or clinical area, and it is reasonably certain that the disability or disabilities and resultant confinement will continue throughout his or her lifetime.
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Aid and Attendance
2008-04-23 | Filed Under Aid and Attendance |
Aid & Attendance
A&A is confusing because there are many aspects to it, and in and of itself is not single thing, it is a general health condition that allows you to apply for higher monetary amounts from the VA. It can apply to the veteran or the dependent spouse
A&A is basically more money for the veteran. He/she gets a larger monthly check. The extra monies are intended to offset some of the cost of care. There is no intent to offset all the cost of care.
Being confined in a nursing home
A veteran with excessive income and not eligible for a VA pension can qualify for A&A. This is based on medical expenses. A simple example will shed light.
A single veteran has a income of $3000 a month. The veteran otherwise meets the criteria for eligibility for receiving a VA pension. A pension is not being received due to excessive income. The VA allows the NSC veteran to submit medical cost as a way to adjust income that is counted by the VA. In this case the nursing home cost the veteran $4000 a month. The is a medical expense that consumes all the veterans income. The VA would thus consider the veteran to have no money. The veteran would this qualify for a VA pension and A&A as a package. The monies can be used to pay the additional cost of the nursing home.
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