I would hate those hospital bills but I would also hate to get legally married just for my girlfriend to get health care lol What are my options? Edit: Forgot to add I’m 100% PT.

Hello everyone,

It looks like I may be separated from the reserves for a service connected condition. I separated from AD in 2021 and continued on in the reserves as a full timer. Since then I have become 100% p&t (2024). The condition I may be getting the boot for is rated at 60% (effective 2022). 9 years of military service to date.

So my question is, what will my separation look like? I’ve looked around google but the answers are fairly mixed or I’m too dumb to understand what applies to my specific case.

Thanks ahead of time to this invaluable sub!

Did I get denied or approved?

I'm sure this has been answered before, but I couldn't find it exactly. I'm currently guard bumming on MPA orders.

Question: Do I wait until I'm done guard bumming or do I submit an increase now?

Background: I left active duty in a combat role after 8 years in 2020, with an approved claim for degenerative disc disease (10%) and tinnitus (10%) for a total of 20%.

Since then, I went back on MPA orders in 2021 and have been diagnosed (on base) with PTSD, anxiety requiring meds, insomnia with meds, a cervical neck fracture, worsened degenerative disc disease in c5/c6/c7 via an MRI, arthritis in both knees, TMJ requiring botox injections for relief, hemorrhoids, and I'm sure several other minor ones I'm blanking on currently.

My plan is to file an intent to file as soon as I come off active orders, but I'm curious if it's solid judgement?

If I got 90% or 100% I would totally leave the mil world and go for the private sector. The 8 years left of tafms and retirement is what is keeping me in at this point.

• Separated on Jan 12
• Got my rating on Jan 23
• aren’t I supposed to be paid on Feb 1st?

Hello family,

Im burnt out of my law enforcement career after 6 years and policing not being the same. I'm 100% disabled through the VA and have been wondering about becoming a helicopter pilot. Does anyone have experience with VA benefits helping cost of flight school for rotary wing?

Thank you family, Chris

Pay Audit

I got medically seperated and was rated at 70%. I immediately filed a claim and got bumped to 80%, backdated to my EAS.
The entire time I was receiving less than my amount, and thought it was for paying back my severance. When I submitted a new claim and got bumped to 100 P&T I realized my severance was not being paid back, but the VA was paying me at 70% for over 5 years while I was at 80%. I asked for a financial audit in August, and it hasn't moved since. Does anyone know how long it should take for them to audit payments?
Is asking for a pay audit considered "poking the bear?"

So I applied for CSC when I was 90% and was denied now I have reached 100% P&T. Would I be approved for now that I am 100%? Retired 22 years Guard which equates to like 8-9 active. E8 70% DOD 100% va. If so any idea of how much?

I’m 100% disabled p/t. I need a new roof and need to get a loan to get it. Is there anything available to me to help me with a low interest rate? Has anyone els been in this situation? Thank you in advance anything helps

I’m having an impossible time getting anyone at the VA to set an appointment to ask this question so I thought maybe someone here knows.

My kid is graduating early this year at 16. He is already duel enrolling (we are paying) but will start full time (online) college in the fall.

Will he be able to claim 35, and we still claim him as a dependent with my husbands benefits (100% t&p)? Who at the VA do we talk to to sort the paperwork and have him removed or changed? Last time we started the process to talk to someone about education benefits they said only my husband qualified to talk to a counselor and then it got dropped. I’m seeing on the VA site in some places that my kids do qualify for an educational counselor though the VA though.

I guess I have multiple questions. Thank you for any help!

I'm waiting on a decision for mental health and have a question about evidence reconciliation.

My initial C&P examiner for mental health said my mental health issues diagnosed in service were the result of a TBI from childhood. He didn't support the opinion. He just stated it.

I filed a supplemental with a private nexus and DBQ. The VA ordered a medical evidence reconciliation opinion. That opinion found that the original examiner did not support his opinion and that the evidence better aligns with the opinion in my private nexus. I figure this should get me service connected.

What I am not sure about is which DBQ will be used to assign the rating. Will they use the original DBQ, which probably aligns with a 10% rating, use the private DBQ that aligns with a 70% rating, or do something else entirely?

I know what I want them to do. But I am curious as to what the rater's on here think. Also, if anyone has been through a similar situation following and evidence reconciliation opinion, I'd appreciate their insight as well. TIA.

Is anyone else’s school taking a long time to pay out tuition? We’ve had our requests in for about a month now, and it’s been crickets. Our veteran support center just put out this information today, and I can’t make heads or tails of it.

So I just applied for Va life insurance. Any advice or opinions on this ? How is it going for you and do you like it ?? 🤔…by the way I didn’t have any life insurance before this . ?

Being medically retired as an E4, 60 DOD, proposed 100VA. Should I expect anything other than VA disability because I was medically retired and not separated?

Posting on my wife’s account.

I accidentally made her an account on va.gov as we have both ID.me login saved to the same device.

I’m wondering if we need to contact the VA to get it deleted, I was trying to login to add her and my son as a dependent anyways, and now she’s worried about getting in trouble for making an account when she shouldn’t have.

I recently got denied my claims for Sinusitis, Rhinitis and Hypertension for the second time (initial and supplemental). The stated reason is there is no service connection. These are documented conditions in my VA medical records. It appears that without a Nexus letter I will not get these claims approved. I tried to get the BS doctors the write them but they always decline saying it is a conflict of interest for them to do so. Two outside doctors I have seen also Declined based on their unfamiliarity with the VA requirements despite my attempt to educate them. I m at a loss as to what to do next other than give up. Does anyone have recommendations on what else I can do?

So I filed a few claims on Aug. 5 of last year. Opened my VA app today and to my surprise, my once 20% is now 50% (Win!) My question is, when I went to look at my benefits letters, to my the effective date is showing Dec. 2024. Not Aug or Sept, what I thought it would’ve been, based on when I filed. Anyone know why that might be? Does that means that I would only get back payed for one month, and not the 4or 5 it should have been, correct? Also, the above letter says “Net paid” I have not received that payment. The 50% just showed up today, last night the app still showed 20%. Can someone please give me some insight. I don’t have my letter that shows what they approved me for yet. So this is all I know at the moment.

I was “approved” for VR&E. Counselor scheduled my second appointment and in her email she said that appointment would be filling out the paperwork. She informed me at the meeting that I would be getting a non compliance letter and I need to submit within 30 days. I sent the files last Monday. Our appointment was Friday. Zero response, I followed up Thursday, zero response. At what point do I reach out to a supervisor. I don’t want to lose the benefits. I’m thinking midweek next week. The program I want to start begins in mid march.

I got 60% granted on 12/9/24 but my MH claim was denied it was the only one denied. My VSO called me told me the back pay and what my rating was and all that, then he mentioned that as soon as the notification letter got sent to me that he wanted to file an HLR on the MH denial. Fast forward a few days and he put in the HLR and said I’d be contacted with an email to set up a call he said it would likely be 6 months so I’m not sitting here bitching about the time my question is who does the email come from so I can keep an eye out so I don’t miss it ! Does anyone have any idea or some suggestions on how these HLRs go ? Thanks in advance !

Back in Mayish time frame of 2021 I Submitted claims for pes Planus and plantars fasciitis, and degenerative disc disease (cervical strain) in my neck. I was already 30% rated at the time. Due to lack of knowledge on my part not using an accredited VSO being able to find the appropriate evidence in my medical service records. Those claims were denied. Fast forward to November 2024 I submitted suplimental claims for the denied claims. In between those times 2021 and 2024 I've gone from 30% to 90%. I've just recently found out that I won those suplimental claims and that will put me at 100% now. I've also learned that I will be collecting back pay from those denied claims. I've no clue how this works or when or where or how they figure what my back pay is. But I'm curious to know before the back pay hits my account.

I am a 100% T&P Vet living in Miami-Dade County. Florida offers Property Tax exemption for DV’s. They gave me the 5% PTax exemption prior to my full diagnosis of 100%, which took time to get. I applied for the 100% Property Tax exemption and was denied. They want my paperwork from the VA to state my disability is Combat-related, rather than Service-related. I showed them all my paperwork, 2 combat campaigns (Ops Just Cause & Desert Storm)and the PTSD rating is very high. They still denied me. HELP!!!

Has anyone successfully claimed migraines as presumptive under PACT? Can you share your journey? Thank you!!!

I have a friend who joined the National Guard back in 2008. I didn't know him then. But while he was at boot camp he got hurt. Guess it was bad enough that they gave him a line of duty for it. He has been collecting VA benefits for the conditions on that line of duty at varying percentages for like 16 years now. He's currently at 80%.

Fast forward to 2024 and he assumed he would be eligible for a VA home loan due to his service connected disabilities. The online system denied him and so it was sent up for review and a claim opened. His DD-214 says discharge was "uncharacterized". When I asked about why no med board, he said he didn't know. He thought he was going to be after the line of duty but then Xmas block leave was coming and anyone who was waiting around to be discharged at that time got an uncharacterized for various reasons and sent home the day before Xmas block leave started.

He said he thought the VA had upgraded it to honorable or that it didn't matter because he was able to get VA disability with his line of duty and the treatment records he had despite the "uncharacterized" on the DD-214.

He came to me because the other day he got a letter in the mail asking him to complete this form about why his character of service should be upgraded to honorable. And that basically if it doesn't get upgraded he may not be entitled to VA benefits..? We are both confused cuz he has that line of duty and has been collecting VA disability for like 16 years at varying percentages.

I have no idea what to tell him. I don't know how certificates of Eligibility work for someone in the National Guard nor for someone who has a line of duty but didn't actually get med boarded. He called VERA about it but they were unhelpful. The rep he got told him she didnt know anything about it cuz she'd never seen this type of claim.

Figured I'd pick y'all's brain and see if anyone had any insight? Any advice? Who he can talk to? How worried should he be about losing his benefits?

He's not trying to get the "uncharacterized" changed, he is just trying to get a damn VA home loan......

Edit to add: The paperwork he got states that uncharacterized discharges at entry level separation "do not require characterization of service by the military department concerned. Entry level separation is considered under conditions OTHER THAN dishonorable"

So why they even sending him this discharge upgrade request form??? Just for a damn VA loan ..?

I hit 100% P&T a couple weeks ago. From the original batch, I was denied service connection for congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, varicose veins and urinary frequency. I believe that I have a strong stand on claiming all of them as a secondary condition to obesity and hyperlipidemia as both of those conditions are documented within my service treatment records (and obesity was documented as being caused by hypothyroidism which I developed while in service). I'm not afraid of poking the bear, all of my approved conditions have strong documentation, and they aren't going away for basically the rest of my life. My question is if there is any valid reason to chase after these claims? Would it effect DIC or anything else? Or would I just be wasting both mine and the VBAs time and resources?

Anyone have experience or advice on going on a 3 year Active Guard Reserve tour for QA at my reserve unit while having a disability rating? Currently at 70%, I work civil service at my unit and the AGR position is an E-7 spot and I have 12yrs of service so I'm considering applying for it for retirement points, easier job, it would be about the same pay I currently recieve, and looks good on my resume.

While in priority group 6, I noticed almost all appointments I was set up for in several departments were all about a 5-6 month wait at my VA hospital. I chose to go with community care in all instances as the wait time was 1-2 months and a lot closer. Now that I am in priority group 1, what difference can I expect in the wait times at the VA once all of my referrals expire? How big of a difference will that change make from your experiences?

If I have claims with several conditions, but I would like only one or two to be HLR. Is that possible or would they reevaluate the other percentages they gave me?

Just wanted to share my experience. I recently went to patrick airforce base to do our shopping with the family. They said they dont allow veteran's families on base anymore. I was curious if anyone else has had the same experience. As far as i know they allowed service connected vets and their familes on base.

Hey all. I am in the middle of my first claim and at 148 days. Sleep apnea. While active duty I had a sleep study with OSA, they did surgery "tonsil removal, adenoid removal, uvula removal, soft pallet removal". A few months later still on AD I had another sleep study which said I still have sleep apnea. I was never prescribed a cpap in service and it is now 20 years later. To be fair I forgot I even had the second sleep study so I just assumed my fatigue was just from getting older. I decided to set up another sleep study on my own which is next week to get a cpap but still waiting on my sleep apnea claim to finalize "in step 7" currently. Any advice on what I could potentially be expecting and what I shpould plan for in the future if I get the cpap next week? TIA

Yesterday I was upgraded from 90% to 100% P&T after my HLR informal conference which was held earlier in the week. I calculate my rating to be exactly at 95%. The HLR increased my rating for several disabilities, and noted that "A duty to assist error has been identified during the higher-level review" for three claims. Given that I'm now at 100% P&T, does it even make sense to pursue those claims? Will my backpay be withheld until those claims are closed out? Would leaving the DTA claims open be considered "poking the bear"? Sorry if these questions were obvious - I looked through past posts but didn't find anything addressing this issue.