Veterans' benefits entangled in red tape

In one of the earlier post it was pointed out that when going to the OMB "This
rule has not been publihed in a unified agenda".

What I found out on this is  that the Unified Agenda is only published wiced a
year, once in the spring and once in  the fall.  Since the rules were purposed
after the fall Agenda was published, there is nothing there.

The site will still provide us with updates to when OMB acts on this.

If you have any questions about this contact me directly at  oldvet@...

Alan

#1250

From: Nancy Jordan <applenannie5@...>
Date: Thu Jan 7, 2010 1:55 am
Subject: Fw: Veterans' benefits entangled in red tape

applenannie5

Offline

Three government investigations released in September paint a picture of an agency that simply can't keep up with the demand: but the servicemen and

women in SEA kept up with what was demanded of them.

FYI in case you are interested.

lso see: http://www.2ndbattalion94thartillery.com/Chas/VAmedia.htm

Originally published 05:45 a.m., December 31, 2009, updated 08:36 a.m., December 31, 2009

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/dec/31/veteran-benefits-entangled-in-heaping-red-tape/

Veterans' benefits entangled in red tape

Amanda Carpenter

Leading Democrats like to hold up the Veterans Benefits Administration as an example of how well government can provide health care. But veterans who deal with the complex federal bureaucracy have invented an unhappy refrain to describe the VBA: "Deny, deny until you die."

VBA, the branch of the Department of Veterans Affairs that dispenses aid and assistance to veterans and their families, is simply overwhelmed. It reported on Monday that there are 481,751 pending claims, some of which will take more than a year to be processed.

Among those flooding the VBA's facilities with claims are retirement-aged Vietnam veterans and elderly World War II veterans, middle-aged Gulf War veterans, and younger Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. All of these groups are applying in larger numbers because of the weak economy, said Larry Scott, the founder of the advocacy group VAwatchdog.org.

"You're getting a lot of people who came out of Vietnam and said, 'Excuse me, screw it.' They put their uniform away and didn't want anything to do with the VA. Now they're getting older and know if their boots were on the ground [in Vietnam], they were presumably exposed to Agent Orange," Mr. Scott said, referring to the common name for a chemical defoliant widely used in Vietnam that can cause cancer and other diseases.
"There is also great stress on the system because people who qualified for private health insurance are now unemployed, or underemployed and their employer doesn't provide health care. So you've got all these people crawling out and saying, 'I didn't know I could get this, but let me go see now.'"
Three government investigations released in September paint a picture of an agency that simply can't keep up with the demand:
• An audit released Sept. 23 by the inspector general of Veterans Affairs found that 3 percent of all claims took more than a year for the VBA to process.
• A separate audit released Sept. 28, this one investigating VBA's control of veterans' claims folders, said that 437,000 claims - more than 10 percent of the 4.2 million on file - had been lost or misplaced.
• In a third report, released Sept. 30, the inspector general said employees at VA regional offices had shredded claims forms containing information needed to obtain benefits. Although the inspector general was unable to determine how many claims had been wrongly destroyed, the investigation found claims placed in shred bins, waiting to be destroyed, at 41 VBA locations nationwide.
Efforts to speak with someone at the VA about these matters on the record were not fruitful. The only person the VA would make available was a high-level technology officer at the VA, and that interview was canceled twice at the last minute.
The VA did provide information to The Washington Times attributable to a "VA spokesman," saying it hired an additional 4,200 people over the past three years to help reduce claims-processing times and is testing a number of pilot programs to streamline the process.
The VA also has put new controls in place to prevent workers from shredding needed documents; two staffers and a facility records management officer must now review a document before it can be shredded.
But any improvement will come too late to help Greg Hasler, who filed a disability claim with Veterans Affairs in May 2008 after being diagnosed with a severe form of internal cancer. His oncologist recognized it as a kind of cancer commonly caused by radiation and said it likely was caused by Mr. Hasler's service in the early 1960s in Operation Dominic at Christmas Island, a Pacific Ocean atoll where many nuclear tests were conducted.
Mr. Hasler died from his fast-spreading cancer on Feb. 4, 2009, at age 66. It wasn't until July that the VBA notified his wife that it was examining the claim; the agency told her in September - seven months after her husband's death - that his illness was service-connected and that she was entitled to benefits.
Mrs. Hasler said she was able to get the claim opened only after seeking help from advocates at VAwatchdog.org, who exposed her problems with the VBA to the public as "the Case of the Atomic Widow."
Other veterans, including former Vietnam helicopter pilot Jim Massey, are still fighting for benefits. Mr. Massey has retained legal counsel at his own expense after being spurned by the system. He can barely walk because of his back problems but was awarded a disability rating of only 20 percent, meaning the VA thinks he still has 80 percent of his normal function.
Mr. Massey is appealing the ruling, but the process is time-consuming and requires frequent appointments at far-away military hospitals. His wife, Georgia, must schedule time off work in order to drive her husband to the appointments since he cannot drive himself.
Such problems are not uncommon, said Jim Strickland, one of the two men who run VAwatchdog.org. "It is routine for the majority of people to have some sort of major glitch with filing their claim," he said.
Mr. Massey, whose military awards include the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star and numerous Air Medals, first hurt his back while serving as a door gunner in Vietnam when his helicopter crashed from engine failure in November 1966.
He reinjured his back twice during his 20-year Army career, once in 1972 lifting a heavy roll-up door of a helicopter hangar and more severely in 1984 while extracting a fellow soldier from concertina wire during a field exercise.
"Helicopters have vibrations, beats," said Mr. Massey, who served as a helicopter pilot and test pilot for 13 years. "It vibrates your head and just beats your neck and back continuously up and down and side to side."
Since 2003, Mr. Massey has undergone 10 surgeries, five of which have been on his lower back. Because of the "horror stories" he had heard about the VA application process, he said, he delayed filing for service-connected disability benefits until June 2007.
He was given a disability rating of just 20 percent even though he has extreme difficulty walking and requires strong pain medication, making it hard for him to seek a job. "I'm basically housebound," Mr. Massey said.
He and his wife are now appealing, a process requiring tremendous time and effort. Mrs. Massey, who keeps meticulous records, said she took her husband to 69 doctor appointments in 2008 alone.
"One time, they just measured the scars on my back," Mr. Massey said, after traveling 240 miles to be evaluated by the VA.
Mr. Massey was notified by mail about when and where to appear next and was not given any choices. Paperwork from his VA medical center warned: "Failure to report for any scheduled examination could have a detrimental effect on the outcome of your claim."
In August, Mr. Massey received a mind-boggling letter from the VA.
"We propose to rate you as incompetent for VA purposes," it said. "Evidence from your VA psychiatric examination dated February 6, 2008, revealed you stated that your short-term memory is quite poor, and your wife often makes you a list that you at times will even forget to read or follow through on.
"You said that you lose objects regularly, including telephone, camera, keys, and stated this has been going on for the past six to seven years. The examiner stated on the basis of this evaluation, you appeared minimally to partially capable of managing your VA benefits."
Mr. Massey worries that such a ruling would mean someone else would be appointed to manage his personal finances. "Who doesn't misplace items?" he asked.
Mr. Strickland has advised the Masseys to seek legal counsel, which they have done. "All I am asking for is fair compensation for the injuries my body and mind received during my 20 years of service in the defense of our country," Mr. Massey said.
Drew Early, a veterans lawyer based in Decatur, Ga., who is working with the Masseys, said it is not unusual to be threatened with a finding of incompetency.
"Any time they see anything that looks like it could be dementia or Alzheimer's, that rings a bell in their head, and they will automatically default to a finding of incompetency, which in and of itself can be harming," he said.
"The problem is that this is a federal agency making a determination that has many ramifications beyond the scope of the VA. They can extend it to say you can't own a gun. 'We are a federal agency and we are declaring you incompetent,' and that has baggage throughout [an individual's] life and engagement with the government."
Such findings are difficult for a veteran to appeal.
"An enemy combatant in Guantanamo Bay has more rights than does a veteran," Mr. Early said. "And who has the time? These poor veterans don't have time to sit and wait and confront the nation's second-largest bureaucracy. They are in need of help, but this bureaucratic fortress stands in their way."
Mr. Massey hopes eventually to be rated as 100 percent disabled, but regrets having to work so hard to get the rating to which he feels entitled.
Mrs. Hasler, the "atomic widow," is similarly upset that she had to get help from the men at VAwatchdog.org to receive compensation from the military that her husband served before dying prematurely from that service.
She said it "unnerved" her having to share the details of her husband's untimely death with other people, but "the one thing he made me promise was that I would not give up on the claim" that could provide her with payments on which to live.
"I'm a relatively private person, and the average person doesn't know where to go, and there is certainly no handbook from the VA to guide you," she said. "I don't think they give a rip."

#1249

From: Jim Richardson <jimmy2rich@...>
Date: Wed Jan 6, 2010 1:16 pm
Subject: Re: Re: Military .com article on presumptive issues.

jimmy2rich...

Offline

Thanks Noreen. Sometimes I feel so stupid!!

On Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 6:21 PM, Noreen <norham2009@...> wrote:

�

compenstation & pension.....--- In vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com, Jim Richardson <jimmy2rich@...> wrote:
>
> I'm having a SENIOR moment and can't, for the life of me, remember what a C
> & P appointment is but the Vet Rep. at the VA in Murfreesboro, TN. where I
> go has had a request for a video conference in to meet before the Board in
> Washington, D.C. for about 2 months now so I can dispute the denial of the
> claim for PD I had turned in. I don't know if I need to refile or not, my
> Rep. says no because they should have my claim still there and once all the
> rules are set then the claims will start being looked at again. I have no
> idea how long that will take but I'm hopeful that everything will work in
> all of our favors.
>
> On Mon, Jan 4, 2010 at 10:15 PM, Robert P. Walsh <rpwalsh@...>wrote:

>
> >
> >
> > Everyone:
> >
> >
> >
> > Always keep your C & P and VA hearing appointments. If you can't get to a
> > hearing in front of the VA judge or get to a C & P you must notify them in
> > writing and ask to reschedule. No show's cause many problems.
> >
> >
> >
> > Robert P. Walsh
> >
> > Two West Michigan Avenue
> >
> > Suite 301
> >
> > Battle Creek, Michigan 49017
> >
> >
> >
> > Telephone (269) 962-9693
> >
> > Telecopier (269) 962-9592
> >
> > E-mail: rpwalsh@...
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------
> >
> > *From:* vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com [mailto:

> > vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com] *On Behalf Of *arnold
> > flettrich
> > *Sent:* Monday, January 04, 2010 5:42 PM
> > *To:* vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com
> > *Subject:* Re: [vets_parkinsons_agentorange] Military .com article on
> > presumptive issues.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > I am scheduled for a C&P exam should I keep this appt.or cancel this is my
> > 1st. my doctor filled out the forms sent to him he has been treating me for
> > 10 yrs. is this test neccessary and what is it i have no idea Thanks Arnold
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------
> >
> > *From:* Jim Richardson <jimmy2rich@...>
> > *To:* vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com

> > *Sent:* Sun, January 3, 2010 8:07:29 PM
> > *Subject:* Re: [vets_parkinsons_agentorange] Military .com article on
> > presumptive issues.
> >
> >
> >
> > *Boy!!!! It sure isn't promising after watching 60 min. I've had a request
> > in for a video conference on my appeal of the denial on my claim for PD for
> > months now and haven't heard anything yet.*
> >
> > On Sun, Jan 3, 2010 at 10:20 AM, Robert P. Walsh <rpwalsh@sbcglobal. net<rpwalsh@...>>

> > wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > Congress passed a law long ago, 38 USC section 5125, which permits your
> > private physician's report to be accepted with no need for a VA C & P exam.
> > This has been the law since 1994.
> >
> >
> >
> > Of course, the VA C & P exam is the best chance for the VA to come up with
> > a reason to deny a claim, so they always have one, or two, or three.
> >
> >
> >
> > What this means is the VA is going to think about following the law. Think
> > about it. Maybe they will actually do it. Or not.
> >
> >
> >
> > It is not easy building up a 1 million claim backlog. You have to really
> > put forth an effort. Watch 60 Minutes on CBS tonight.
> >
> >
> >
> > Happy New Year and good luck.
> >
> >
> >
> > Bob
> >
> >
> >
> > Robert P. Walsh
> >
> > Attorney
> >
> > Two West Michigan Avenue
> >
> > Suite 301
> >
> > Battle Creek, Michigan 49017
> >
> >
> >
> > Telephone (269) 962-9693
> >
> > Telecopier (269) 962-9592
> >
> > E-mail: rpwalsh@sbcglobal. net <rpwalsh@...>
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------
> >
> > *From:* vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com<vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com>[mailto:vets_parkinsons_
> > agentorange@ yahoogroups. com<vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com>]

> > *On Behalf Of *Delores Lisle
> > *Sent:* Saturday, January 02, 2010 9:15 PM
> > *To:* vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com<vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com>

> > *Subject:* Re: [vets_parkinsons_ agentorange] Military .com article on
> > presumptive issues.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > What does this mean? NAUS also advised members that VA, to avoid
> > aggravating its claims backlog, intends to "accept letters from family
> > physicians supporting claims for Agent Orange-related conditions."
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------
> >
> > *From:* arnold flettrich <arnoldflettrich@ yahoo.com<arnoldflettrich@...>
> > >
> > *To:* vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com<vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com>

> > *Sent:* Sat, January 2, 2010 7:13:03 PM
> > *Subject:* Re: [vets_parkinsons_ agentorange] Military .com article on
> > presumptive issues.
> >
> > special about veterans
> >
> > affairs oa Jan 3rd 60 minutes must watch Arnold
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------
> >
> > *From:* AlanO <theoldvet@grouply. com <theoldvet@...>>
> > *To:* vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com<vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com>

> > *Sent:* Thu, December 31, 2009 11:58:15 AM
> > *Subject:* [vets_parkinsons_ agentorange] Military .com article on
> > presumptive issues.
> >
> >
> >
> > Costly Agent Orange-Heart Disease Link Looms
> > Tom Philpott | December 31, 2009
> >
> > The cost of war -- on veterans' health and taxpayer wallets -- will loom a
> > little larger in the new year when the Department of Veterans Affairs issues
> > a final rule to claim adjudicators to presume three more diseases of Vietnam
> > veterans, including heart disease, were caused by exposure to Agent Orange.
> >
> > The rule, expected to be published soon, will make almost any veteran who
> > set foot in Vietnam, and is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, B cell
> > leukemia or ischemic heart disease (known also as coronary artery disease),
> > eligible for disability compensation and VA medical care. The exception
> > would be if credible evidence surfaces of a non-service cause for the
> > ailment.
> >
> > Katie Roberts, VA press secretary, said no estimates will be available on
> > numbers of veterans impacted or the potential cost to VA until after the
> > rule change takes effect sometime in 2010. But the National Association for
> > Uniformed Services was told by a VA official that up to 185,000 veterans
> > could become eligible for benefits and the projected cost to VA might reach
> > $50 billion, said Win Reither, a retired colonel on NAUS' executive board.
> >
> > NAUS also advised members that VA, to avoid aggravating its claims backlog,
> > intends to "accept letters from family physicians supporting claims for
> > Agent Orange-related conditions." It said thousands of widows whose husbands
> > died of Agent Orange disabilities also will be eligible for retroactive
> > benefits and VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation.
> >
> > "This is huge," said Ronald Abrams, co-director of the National Veterans
> > Legal Services Program. NVLSP has represented veterans in Agent Orange
> > lawsuits for the last 25 years. The non-profit law group publishes the
> > "Veterans Benefits Manual," a 1900-page guide for veterans' advocates to
> > navigate the maze for VA claims, appeals and key court decisions.
> >
> > Abrams said he can't guess at how many more thousands of veterans
> > previously denied disability claims, or how many thousands more who haven't
> > filed claims yet, will be eligible for benefits. But numbers, particularly
> > of those with heart disease, will be very large, he suggested.
> >
> > All of the veterans "who have been trying to link their heart condition to
> > a service-connected condition won't have to do it now if they're Vietnam
> > vets," Abrams said. For VA, it will mean "a significant amount of money --
> > and many, many, many people helped."
> > The excitement over expansion of benefits for Vietnam veterans, and worry
> > by some within the Obama administration over cost, flows from an
> > announcement last October by VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. He said three
> > categories would be added to the list of diseases the VA presumes were
> > caused by Agent Orange. Veterans with the presumptive Agent Orange ailments
> > can get disability compensation if they can show they made even a brief
> > visit to Vietnam from 1962 to 1975. With a presumptive illness, claim
> > applicants don't have to prove, as other claimants do, a direct association
> > between their medical condition and military service.
> >
> > Shinseki said he based his decision on work of the Institute of Medicine
> > (IOM) of the National Academies. VA contracts with IOM to gather veterans'
> > health data and investigate links between diseases and toxic herbicide used
> > in Vietnam to destroy vegetation and expose enemy positions.
> >
> > In a speech last July, Shinseki, former Army chief of staff and a wounded
> > veteran of Vietnam, expressed frustration that "40 years after Agent Orange
> > was last used in Vietnam, this secretary is still adjudicating claims for
> > presumption of service-connected disabilities tied to its toxic effects." VA
> > and the Defense Department should had conducted conclusive studies earlier
> > on presumptive disabilities from Agent Orange, he suggested.
> >
> > "The scientific method and the failure to advocate for the veteran got in
> > the way of our processes," Shinseki bluntly concluded.
> > In last October's announcement he said VA "must do better reviews of
> > illnesses that may be connected to service, and we will. Veterans who endure
> > health problems deserve timely decisions based on solid evidence."
> >
> > When a disease is added to VA's list of ailments tied to Agent Orange,
> > veterans with the disease can become eligible for retroactive disability
> > payments, back to the date original claims were rejected, if after 1985.
> >
> > Joe Violante, legislative director for Disabled American Veterans, praised
> > Shinseki's decision. But he said VA faces a "logistical nightmare" in trying
> > to find veterans turned down on earlier on claims. A VA official told
> > Violante, he said, that cost of the search could be part of that nightmare.
> >
> > Chairman of government affairs for Vietnam Veterans of America until last
> > October was John Miterko. He said he wasn't surprised that Shinseki added
> > ailments to the Agent Orange presumptive list including heart disease.
> >
> > "If you look at the Vietnam veteran population, the diseases we've
> > contracted and the mortality rate, the only group dying faster rate are the
> > World War II veterans," Miterko said. "We're picking up diseases by our `60s
> > that we shouldn't be getting until our late `70s, early `80s. So his adding
> > other diseases, heart disease in particular, isn't a surprise."
> >
> > Both Shinseki and his predecessor, James Peake, former Army surgeon
> > general, had long military careers and served in Vietnam. "That's a hell of
> > a bonus for us," Miterko said. Both of them have shown "much more empathy,
> > much more understanding. They would have seen many of their own peer group
> > suffering from the effects of exposure to Agent
> > Orange."
> >
> > Miterko doesn't believe anyone can estimate how many veterans will benefit
> > from the new presumptive diseases. VA will continue to process claims
> > individually, he said, and likely won't be accepting Agent Orange as the
> > cause of heart disease for someone "who has smoked for 40 years and is
> > mobidly obese. Common sense is going to have to prevail as well."
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>

#1248

From: "Noreen" <norham2009@...>
Date: Wed Jan 6, 2010 12:21 am
Subject: Re: Military .com article on presumptive issues.

norham2009

Offline

compenstation & pension.....--- In vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com,
Jim Richardson <jimmy2rich@...> wrote:
>
> I'm having a SENIOR moment and can't, for the life of me, remember what a C
> & P appointment is but the Vet Rep. at the VA in Murfreesboro, TN. where I
> go has had a request for a video conference in to meet before the Board in
> Washington, D.C. for about 2 months now so I can dispute the denial of the
> claim for PD I had turned in. I don't know if I need to refile or not, my
> Rep. says no because they should have my claim still there and once all the
> rules are set then the claims will start being looked at again. I have no
> idea how long that will take but I'm hopeful that everything will work in
> all of our favors.
>
> On Mon, Jan 4, 2010 at 10:15 PM, Robert P. Walsh <rpwalsh@...>wrote:
>
> >
> >
> >  Everyone:
> >
> >
> >
> > Always keep your C & P and VA hearing appointments.  If you can't get to a
> > hearing in front of the VA judge or get to a C & P you must notify them in
> > writing and ask to reschedule.  No show's cause many problems.
> >
> >
> >
> > Robert P. Walsh
> >
> > Two West Michigan Avenue
> >
> > Suite 301
> >
> > Battle Creek, Michigan 49017
> >
> >
> >
> > Telephone (269) 962-9693
> >
> > Telecopier (269) 962-9592
> >
> > E-mail: rpwalsh@...
> >
> >
> >   ------------------------------
> >
> > *From:* vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com [mailto:
> > vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com] *On Behalf Of *arnold
> > flettrich
> > *Sent:* Monday, January 04, 2010 5:42 PM
> > *To:* vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com
> > *Subject:* Re: [vets_parkinsons_agentorange] Military .com article on
> > presumptive issues.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > I am scheduled for a C&P exam should I keep this appt.or cancel this is my
> > 1st. my doctor filled out the forms sent to him he has been treating me for
> > 10 yrs. is this test neccessary and what is it i have no idea Thanks Arnold
> >
> >
> >  ------------------------------
> >
> > *From:* Jim Richardson <jimmy2rich@...>
> > *To:* vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com
> > *Sent:* Sun, January 3, 2010 8:07:29 PM
> > *Subject:* Re: [vets_parkinsons_agentorange] Military .com article on
> > presumptive issues.
> >
> >
> >
> > *Boy!!!! It sure isn't promising after watching 60 min. I've had a request
> > in for a video conference on my appeal of the denial on my claim for PD for
> > months now and haven't heard anything yet.*
> >
> > On Sun, Jan 3, 2010 at 10:20 AM, Robert P. Walsh <rpwalsh@sbcglobal.
net<rpwalsh@...>>
> > wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > Congress passed a law long ago, 38 USC section 5125, which permits your
> > private physician's report to be accepted with no need for a VA C & P exam.
> > This has been the law since 1994.
> >
> >
> >
> > Of course, the VA C & P exam is the best chance for the VA to come up with
> > a reason to deny a claim, so they always have one, or two, or three.
> >
> >
> >
> > What this means is the VA is going to think about following the law.  Think
> > about it.  Maybe they will actually do it.  Or not.
> >
> >
> >
> > It is not easy building up a 1 million claim backlog.  You have to really
> > put forth an effort.  Watch 60 Minutes on CBS tonight.
> >
> >
> >
> > Happy New Year and good luck.
> >
> >
> >
> > Bob
> >
> >
> >
> > Robert P. Walsh
> >
> > Attorney
> >
> > Two West Michigan Avenue
> >
> > Suite 301
> >
> > Battle Creek, Michigan 49017
> >
> >
> >
> > Telephone (269) 962-9693
> >
> > Telecopier (269) 962-9592
> >
> > E-mail: rpwalsh@sbcglobal. net <rpwalsh@...>
> >
> >
> >   ------------------------------
> >
> > *From:* vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups.
com<vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com>[mailto:vets_parkinsons_
> > agentorange@ yahoogroups. com<vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com>]
> > *On Behalf Of *Delores Lisle
> > *Sent:* Saturday, January 02, 2010 9:15 PM
> > *To:* vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups.
com<vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com>
> > *Subject:* Re: [vets_parkinsons_ agentorange] Military .com article on
> > presumptive issues.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > What does this mean? NAUS also advised members that VA, to avoid
> > aggravating its claims backlog, intends to "accept letters from family
> > physicians supporting claims for Agent Orange-related conditions."
> >
> >
> >  ------------------------------
> >
> > *From:* arnold flettrich <arnoldflettrich@ yahoo.com<arnoldflettrich@...>
> > >
> > *To:* vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups.
com<vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com>
> > *Sent:* Sat, January 2, 2010 7:13:03 PM
> > *Subject:* Re: [vets_parkinsons_ agentorange] Military .com article on
> > presumptive issues.
> >
> >   special about veterans
> >
> > affairs oa Jan 3rd  60 minutes must watch Arnold
> >
> >
> >  ------------------------------
> >
> > *From:* AlanO <theoldvet@grouply. com <theoldvet@...>>
> > *To:* vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups.
com<vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com>
> > *Sent:* Thu, December 31, 2009 11:58:15 AM
> > *Subject:* [vets_parkinsons_ agentorange] Military .com article on
> > presumptive issues.
> >
> >
> >
> > Costly Agent Orange-Heart Disease Link Looms
> > Tom Philpott | December 31, 2009
> >
> > The cost of war -- on veterans' health and taxpayer wallets -- will loom a
> > little larger in the new year when the Department of Veterans Affairs issues
> > a final rule to claim adjudicators to presume three more diseases of Vietnam
> > veterans, including heart disease, were caused by exposure to Agent Orange.
> >
> > The rule, expected to be published soon, will make almost any veteran who
> > set foot in Vietnam, and is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, B cell
> > leukemia or ischemic heart disease (known also as coronary artery disease),
> > eligible for disability compensation and VA medical care. The exception
> > would be if credible evidence surfaces of a non-service cause for the
> > ailment.
> >
> > Katie Roberts, VA press secretary, said no estimates will be available on
> > numbers of veterans impacted or the potential cost to VA until after the
> > rule change takes effect sometime in 2010. But the National Association for
> > Uniformed Services was told by a VA official that up to 185,000 veterans
> > could become eligible for benefits and the projected cost to VA might reach
> > $50 billion, said Win Reither, a retired colonel on NAUS' executive board.
> >
> > NAUS also advised members that VA, to avoid aggravating its claims backlog,
> > intends to "accept letters from family physicians supporting claims for
> > Agent Orange-related conditions." It said thousands of widows whose husbands
> > died of Agent Orange disabilities also will be eligible for retroactive
> > benefits and VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation.
> >
> > "This is huge," said Ronald Abrams, co-director of the National Veterans
> > Legal Services Program. NVLSP has represented veterans in Agent Orange
> > lawsuits for the last 25 years. The non-profit law group publishes the
> > "Veterans Benefits Manual," a 1900-page guide for veterans' advocates to
> > navigate the maze for VA claims, appeals and key court decisions.
> >
> > Abrams said he can't guess at how many more thousands of veterans
> > previously denied disability claims, or how many thousands more who haven't
> > filed claims yet, will be eligible for benefits. But numbers, particularly
> > of those with heart disease, will be very large, he suggested.
> >
> > All of the veterans "who have been trying to link their heart condition to
> > a service-connected condition won't have to do it now if they're Vietnam
> > vets," Abrams said. For VA, it will mean "a significant amount of money --
> > and many, many, many people helped."
> > The excitement over expansion of benefits for Vietnam veterans, and worry
> > by some within the Obama administration over cost, flows from an
> > announcement last October by VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. He said three
> > categories would be added to the list of diseases the VA presumes were
> > caused by Agent Orange. Veterans with the presumptive Agent Orange ailments
> > can get disability compensation if they can show they made even a brief
> > visit to Vietnam from 1962 to 1975. With a presumptive illness, claim
> > applicants don't have to prove, as other claimants do, a direct association
> > between their medical condition and military service.
> >
> > Shinseki said he based his decision on work of the Institute of Medicine
> > (IOM) of the National Academies. VA contracts with IOM to gather veterans'
> > health data and investigate links between diseases and toxic herbicide used
> > in Vietnam to destroy vegetation and expose enemy positions.
> >
> > In a speech last July, Shinseki, former Army chief of staff and a wounded
> > veteran of Vietnam, expressed frustration that "40 years after Agent Orange
> > was last used in Vietnam, this secretary is still adjudicating claims for
> > presumption of service-connected disabilities tied to its toxic effects." VA
> > and the Defense Department should had conducted conclusive studies earlier
> > on presumptive disabilities from Agent Orange, he suggested.
> >
> > "The scientific method and the failure to advocate for the veteran got in
> > the way of our processes," Shinseki bluntly concluded.
> > In last October's announcement he said VA "must do better reviews of
> > illnesses that may be connected to service, and we will. Veterans who endure
> > health problems deserve timely decisions based on solid evidence."
> >
> > When a disease is added to VA's list of ailments tied to Agent Orange,
> > veterans with the disease can become eligible for retroactive disability
> > payments, back to the date original claims were rejected, if after 1985.
> >
> > Joe Violante, legislative director for Disabled American Veterans, praised
> > Shinseki's decision. But he said VA faces a "logistical nightmare" in trying
> > to find veterans turned down on earlier on claims. A VA official told
> > Violante, he said, that cost of the search could be part of that nightmare.
> >
> > Chairman of government affairs for Vietnam Veterans of America until last
> > October was John Miterko. He said he wasn't surprised that Shinseki added
> > ailments to the Agent Orange presumptive list including heart disease.
> >
> > "If you look at the Vietnam veteran population, the diseases we've
> > contracted and the mortality rate, the only group dying faster rate are the
> > World War II veterans," Miterko said. "We're picking up diseases by our `60s
> > that we shouldn't be getting until our late `70s, early `80s. So his adding
> > other diseases, heart disease in particular, isn't a surprise."
> >
> > Both Shinseki and his predecessor, James Peake, former Army surgeon
> > general, had long military careers and served in Vietnam. "That's a hell of
> > a bonus for us," Miterko said. Both of them have shown "much more empathy,
> > much more understanding. They would have seen many of their own peer group
> > suffering from the effects of exposure to Agent
> > Orange."
> >
> > Miterko doesn't believe anyone can estimate how many veterans will benefit
> > from the new presumptive diseases. VA will continue to process claims
> > individually, he said, and likely won't be accepting Agent Orange as the
> > cause of heart disease for someone "who has smoked for 40 years and is
> > mobidly obese. Common sense is going to have to prevail as well."
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>

#1247

From: Jim Richardson <jimmy2rich@...>
Date: Tue Jan 5, 2010 9:10 pm
Subject: Re: Military .com article on presumptive issues.

jimmy2rich...

Offline

I'm having a SENIOR moment and can't, for the life of me, remember what a C & P appointment is but the Vet Rep. at the VA in Murfreesboro, TN. where I go has had a request for a video conference in to meet before the Board in Washington, D.C. for about 2 months now so I can dispute the denial of the claim for PD I had turned in. I don't know if I need to refile or not, my Rep. says no because they should have my claim still there and once all the rules are set then the claims will start being looked at again. I have no idea how long that will take but I'm hopeful that everything will work in all of our favors.

On Mon, Jan 4, 2010 at 10:15 PM, Robert P. Walsh <rpwalsh@...> wrote:

�

Everyone:

�

Always keep your C & P and VA hearing appointments.� If you can�t get to a hearing in front of the VA judge or get to a C & P you must notify them in writing and ask to reschedule.� No show�s cause many problems.

�

Robert P. Walsh

Two West Michigan Avenue

Suite 301

Battle Creek, Michigan 49017

�

Telephone (269) 962-9693

Telecopier (269) 962-9592

E-mail: rpwalsh@...

�

From: vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of arnold flettrich
Sent: Monday, January 04, 2010 5:42 PM
To: vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [vets_parkinsons_agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

�

�

I am scheduled for a C&P exam should I keep this appt.or cancel this is my 1st. my doctor filled out the forms sent to him he has been treating me for 10 yrs. is this test neccessary and what is it i have no idea Thanks Arnold

�

From: Jim Richardson <jimmy2rich@...>
To: vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sun, January 3, 2010 8:07:29 PM
Subject: Re: [vets_parkinsons_agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

�

Boy!!!! It sure isn't promising after watching 60 min. I've had a request in for a video conference on my appeal of the denial on my claim for PD for months now and haven't heard anything yet.

On Sun, Jan 3, 2010 at 10:20 AM, Robert P. Walsh <rpwalsh@sbcglobal. net> wrote:

�

Congress passed a law long ago, 38 USC section 5125, which permits your private physician�s report to be accepted with no need for a VA C & P exam.� This has been the law since 1994.

�

Of course, the VA C & P exam is the best chance for the VA to come up with a reason to deny a claim, so they always have one, or two, or three.

�

What this means is the VA is going to think about following the law.� Think about it.� Maybe they will actually do it.� Or not.

�

It is not easy building up a 1 million claim backlog.� You have to really put forth an effort.� Watch 60 Minutes on CBS tonight.

�

Happy New Year and good luck.

�

Bob

�

Robert P. Walsh

Attorney

Two West Michigan Avenue

Suite 301

Battle Creek, Michigan 49017

�

Telephone (269) 962-9693

Telecopier (269) 962-9592

E-mail: rpwalsh@sbcglobal. net

�

From: vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com [mailto:vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com] On Behalf Of Delores Lisle
Sent: Saturday, January 02, 2010 9:15 PM
To: vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com
Subject: Re: [vets_parkinsons_ agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

�

�

What does this mean? NAUS also advised members that VA, to avoid aggravating its claims backlog, intends to "accept letters from family physicians supporting claims for Agent Orange-related conditions."

�

From: arnold flettrich <arnoldflettrich@ yahoo.com>
To: vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com
Sent: Sat, January 2, 2010 7:13:03 PM
Subject: Re: [vets_parkinsons_ agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

special about veterans

affairs oa Jan 3rd� 60 minutes must watch Arnold

�

From: AlanO <theoldvet@grouply. com>
To: vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com
Sent: Thu, December 31, 2009 11:58:15 AM
Subject: [vets_parkinsons_ agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

�

Costly Agent Orange-Heart Disease Link Looms
Tom Philpott | December 31, 2009

The cost of war -- on veterans' health and taxpayer wallets -- will loom a little larger in the new year when the Department of Veterans Affairs issues a final rule to claim adjudicators to presume three more diseases of Vietnam veterans, including heart disease, were caused by exposure to Agent Orange.

The rule, expected to be published soon, will make almost any veteran who set foot in Vietnam, and is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, B cell leukemia or ischemic heart disease (known also as coronary artery disease), eligible for disability compensation and VA medical care. The exception would be if credible evidence surfaces of a non-service cause for the ailment.

Katie Roberts, VA press secretary, said no estimates will be available on numbers of veterans impacted or the potential cost to VA until after the rule change takes effect sometime in 2010. But the National Association for Uniformed Services was told by a VA official that up to 185,000 veterans could become eligible for benefits and the projected cost to VA might reach $50 billion, said Win Reither, a retired colonel on NAUS' executive board.

NAUS also advised members that VA, to avoid aggravating its claims backlog, intends to "accept letters from family physicians supporting claims for Agent Orange-related conditions." It said thousands of widows whose husbands died of Agent Orange disabilities also will be eligible for retroactive benefits and VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation.

"This is huge," said Ronald Abrams, co-director of the National Veterans Legal Services Program. NVLSP has represented veterans in Agent Orange lawsuits for the last 25 years. The non-profit law group publishes the "Veterans Benefits Manual," a 1900-page guide for veterans' advocates to navigate the maze for VA claims, appeals and key court decisions.

Abrams said he can't guess at how many more thousands of veterans previously denied disability claims, or how many thousands more who haven't filed claims yet, will be eligible for benefits. But numbers, particularly of those with heart disease, will be very large, he suggested.

All of the veterans "who have been trying to link their heart condition to a service-connected condition won't have to do it now if they're Vietnam vets," Abrams said. For VA, it will mean "a significant amount of money -- and many, many, many people helped."
The excitement over expansion of benefits for Vietnam veterans, and worry by some within the Obama administration over cost, flows from an announcement last October by VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. He said three categories would be added to the list of diseases the VA presumes were caused by Agent Orange. Veterans with the presumptive Agent Orange ailments can get disability compensation if they can show they made even a brief visit to Vietnam from 1962 to 1975. With a presumptive illness, claim applicants don't have to prove, as other claimants do, a direct association between their medical condition and military service.

Shinseki said he based his decision on work of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies. VA contracts with IOM to gather veterans' health data and investigate links between diseases and toxic herbicide used in Vietnam to destroy vegetation and expose enemy positions.

In a speech last July, Shinseki, former Army chief of staff and a wounded veteran of Vietnam, expressed frustration that "40 years after Agent Orange was last used in Vietnam, this secretary is still adjudicating claims for presumption of service-connected disabilities tied to its toxic effects." VA and the Defense Department should had conducted conclusive studies earlier on presumptive disabilities from Agent Orange, he suggested.

"The scientific method and the failure to advocate for the veteran got in the way of our processes," Shinseki bluntly concluded.
In last October's announcement he said VA "must do better reviews of illnesses that may be connected to service, and we will. Veterans who endure health problems deserve timely decisions based on solid evidence."

When a disease is added to VA's list of ailments tied to Agent Orange, veterans with the disease can become eligible for retroactive disability payments, back to the date original claims were rejected, if after 1985.

Joe Violante, legislative director for Disabled American Veterans, praised Shinseki's decision. But he said VA faces a "logistical nightmare" in trying to find veterans turned down on earlier on claims. A VA official told Violante, he said, that cost of the search could be part of that nightmare.

Chairman of government affairs for Vietnam Veterans of America until last October was John Miterko. He said he wasn't surprised that Shinseki added ailments to the Agent Orange presumptive list including heart disease.

"If you look at the Vietnam veteran population, the diseases we've contracted and the mortality rate, the only group dying faster rate are the World War II veterans," Miterko said. "We're picking up diseases by our `60s that we shouldn't be getting until our late `70s, early `80s. So his adding other diseases, heart disease in particular, isn't a surprise."

Both Shinseki and his predecessor, James Peake, former Army surgeon general, had long military careers and served in Vietnam. "That's a hell of a bonus for us," Miterko said. Both of them have shown "much more empathy, much more understanding. They would have seen many of their own peer group suffering from the effects of exposure to Agent
Orange."

Miterko doesn't believe anyone can estimate how many veterans will benefit from the new presumptive diseases. VA will continue to process claims individually, he said, and likely won't be accepting Agent Orange as the cause of heart disease for someone "who has smoked for 40 years and is mobidly obese. Common sense is going to have to prevail as well."

�

�

�

�

#1246

From: oldvet@...
Date: Tue Jan 5, 2010 2:57 pm
Subject: Re: VA

theoldvet

Offline

I am both the owner and moderator of the Vets_parkinsons_AgentOrange yahoo site. I took care of Lynn request not to receive emails. They are still a member and can visit the site, read the messages but they will not receive individual emails from the site.

Alan

Alan Oates
U.S. Military Veterans with Parkinson's
USMVP
4270 South Ox Rd
Edinburg, VA 22824
oldvet@...
540-325-1232

In a message dated 1/5/2010 2:37:40 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, DHELTON1@... writes:

Gee, Lynn...I am so sorry. I do not have the list of names of those people that are listed under the vets parkinsons agentorange group, so I have no way to delete your name. You don't have to read any of them....just click on the message one time, and hit "delete".

BTW, Group.....please do not delete David's name from the group. The messages you are sending are providing information on PD that we would never receive otherwise. You are all a wonderful group, and we are all sharing the same problems. God Bless you all, and Happy New Year

David and Betty Helton, South Carolina

----- Original Message -----

From: LYNN C SHINDEL

To: vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Friday, January 01, 2010 1:09 PM

Subject: RE: [vets_parkinsons_agentorange] VA

do not send me anymore e-mails

Lynn C. Shindel Vietnam Veteran 1968-69-70 [ AGENT ORANGE ] Navy Seabee

Illinois State Chairman Sons & Daughters Pearl Harbor Survivors

Reply | Forward | Messages in this Topic (5)

#1245

From: country <glenn.toothman@...>
Date: Tue Jan 5, 2010 7:52 pm
Subject: Re: Military .com article on presumptive issues.

country_cia

Offline

Not only that, if the VA schedules you for ANY appointment, don't be a no show, it can be used against your in any decision they will make.

From what I'm seeing there are going to be many appeals and new cases, and they will use anything they can to disqualify someone so they do not have to pay them..

Be vigilant and prompt..

On Mon, Jan 4, 2010 at 10:15 PM, Robert P. Walsh <rpwalsh@...> wrote:

�

Everyone:

�

Always keep your C & P and VA hearing appointments.� If you can�t get to a hearing in front of the VA judge or get to a C & P you must notify them in writing and ask to reschedule.� No show�s cause many problems.

�

Robert P. Walsh

Two West Michigan Avenue

Suite 301

Battle Creek, Michigan 49017

�

Telephone (269) 962-9693

Telecopier (269) 962-9592

E-mail: rpwalsh@...

�

From: vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of arnold flettrich
Sent: Monday, January 04, 2010 5:42 PM

To: vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [vets_parkinsons_agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

�

�

I am scheduled for a C&P exam should I keep this appt.or cancel this is my 1st. my doctor filled out the forms sent to him he has been treating me for 10 yrs. is this test neccessary and what is it i have no idea Thanks Arnold

�

From: Jim Richardson <jimmy2rich@...>
To: vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sun, January 3, 2010 8:07:29 PM
Subject: Re: [vets_parkinsons_agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

�

Boy!!!! It sure isn't promising after watching 60 min. I've had a request in for a video conference on my appeal of the denial on my claim for PD for months now and haven't heard anything yet.

On Sun, Jan 3, 2010 at 10:20 AM, Robert P. Walsh <rpwalsh@sbcglobal. net> wrote:

�

Congress passed a law long ago, 38 USC section 5125, which permits your private physician�s report to be accepted with no need for a VA C & P exam.� This has been the law since 1994.

�

Of course, the VA C & P exam is the best chance for the VA to come up with a reason to deny a claim, so they always have one, or two, or three.

�

What this means is the VA is going to think about following the law.� Think about it.� Maybe they will actually do it.� Or not.

�

It is not easy building up a 1 million claim backlog.� You have to really put forth an effort.� Watch 60 Minutes on CBS tonight.

�

Happy New Year and good luck.

�

Bob

�

Robert P. Walsh

Attorney

Two West Michigan Avenue

Suite 301

Battle Creek, Michigan 49017

�

Telephone (269) 962-9693

Telecopier (269) 962-9592

E-mail: rpwalsh@sbcglobal. net

�

From: vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com [mailto:vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com] On Behalf Of Delores Lisle
Sent: Saturday, January 02, 2010 9:15 PM
To: vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com
Subject: Re: [vets_parkinsons_ agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

�

�

What does this mean? NAUS also advised members that VA, to avoid aggravating its claims backlog, intends to "accept letters from family physicians supporting claims for Agent Orange-related conditions."

�

From: arnold flettrich <arnoldflettrich@ yahoo.com>
To: vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com
Sent: Sat, January 2, 2010 7:13:03 PM
Subject: Re: [vets_parkinsons_ agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

special about veterans

affairs oa Jan 3rd� 60 minutes must watch Arnold

�

From: AlanO <theoldvet@grouply. com>
To: vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com
Sent: Thu, December 31, 2009 11:58:15 AM
Subject: [vets_parkinsons_ agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

�

Costly Agent Orange-Heart Disease Link Looms
Tom Philpott | December 31, 2009

The cost of war -- on veterans' health and taxpayer wallets -- will loom a little larger in the new year when the Department of Veterans Affairs issues a final rule to claim adjudicators to presume three more diseases of Vietnam veterans, including heart disease, were caused by exposure to Agent Orange.

The rule, expected to be published soon, will make almost any veteran who set foot in Vietnam, and is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, B cell leukemia or ischemic heart disease (known also as coronary artery disease), eligible for disability compensation and VA medical care. The exception would be if credible evidence surfaces of a non-service cause for the ailment.

Katie Roberts, VA press secretary, said no estimates will be available on numbers of veterans impacted or the potential cost to VA until after the rule change takes effect sometime in 2010. But the National Association for Uniformed Services was told by a VA official that up to 185,000 veterans could become eligible for benefits and the projected cost to VA might reach $50 billion, said Win Reither, a retired colonel on NAUS' executive board.

NAUS also advised members that VA, to avoid aggravating its claims backlog, intends to "accept letters from family physicians supporting claims for Agent Orange-related conditions." It said thousands of widows whose husbands died of Agent Orange disabilities also will be eligible for retroactive benefits and VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation.

"This is huge," said Ronald Abrams, co-director of the National Veterans Legal Services Program. NVLSP has represented veterans in Agent Orange lawsuits for the last 25 years. The non-profit law group publishes the "Veterans Benefits Manual," a 1900-page guide for veterans' advocates to navigate the maze for VA claims, appeals and key court decisions.

Abrams said he can't guess at how many more thousands of veterans previously denied disability claims, or how many thousands more who haven't filed claims yet, will be eligible for benefits. But numbers, particularly of those with heart disease, will be very large, he suggested.

All of the veterans "who have been trying to link their heart condition to a service-connected condition won't have to do it now if they're Vietnam vets," Abrams said. For VA, it will mean "a significant amount of money -- and many, many, many people helped."
The excitement over expansion of benefits for Vietnam veterans, and worry by some within the Obama administration over cost, flows from an announcement last October by VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. He said three categories would be added to the list of diseases the VA presumes were caused by Agent Orange. Veterans with the presumptive Agent Orange ailments can get disability compensation if they can show they made even a brief visit to Vietnam from 1962 to 1975. With a presumptive illness, claim applicants don't have to prove, as other claimants do, a direct association between their medical condition and military service.

Shinseki said he based his decision on work of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies. VA contracts with IOM to gather veterans' health data and investigate links between diseases and toxic herbicide used in Vietnam to destroy vegetation and expose enemy positions.

In a speech last July, Shinseki, former Army chief of staff and a wounded veteran of Vietnam, expressed frustration that "40 years after Agent Orange was last used in Vietnam, this secretary is still adjudicating claims for presumption of service-connected disabilities tied to its toxic effects." VA and the Defense Department should had conducted conclusive studies earlier on presumptive disabilities from Agent Orange, he suggested.

"The scientific method and the failure to advocate for the veteran got in the way of our processes," Shinseki bluntly concluded.
In last October's announcement he said VA "must do better reviews of illnesses that may be connected to service, and we will. Veterans who endure health problems deserve timely decisions based on solid evidence."

When a disease is added to VA's list of ailments tied to Agent Orange, veterans with the disease can become eligible for retroactive disability payments, back to the date original claims were rejected, if after 1985.

Joe Violante, legislative director for Disabled American Veterans, praised Shinseki's decision. But he said VA faces a "logistical nightmare" in trying to find veterans turned down on earlier on claims. A VA official told Violante, he said, that cost of the search could be part of that nightmare.

Chairman of government affairs for Vietnam Veterans of America until last October was John Miterko. He said he wasn't surprised that Shinseki added ailments to the Agent Orange presumptive list including heart disease.

"If you look at the Vietnam veteran population, the diseases we've contracted and the mortality rate, the only group dying faster rate are the World War II veterans," Miterko said. "We're picking up diseases by our `60s that we shouldn't be getting until our late `70s, early `80s. So his adding other diseases, heart disease in particular, isn't a surprise."

Both Shinseki and his predecessor, James Peake, former Army surgeon general, had long military careers and served in Vietnam. "That's a hell of a bonus for us," Miterko said. Both of them have shown "much more empathy, much more understanding. They would have seen many of their own peer group suffering from the effects of exposure to Agent
Orange."

Miterko doesn't believe anyone can estimate how many veterans will benefit from the new presumptive diseases. VA will continue to process claims individually, he said, and likely won't be accepting Agent Orange as the cause of heart disease for someone "who has smoked for 40 years and is mobidly obese. Common sense is going to have to prevail as well."

�

�

�

�

--
Ft. Leonard Wood '65
Ft. Devens '65-'66
138th Avn Co (RR) 66-67
HHC USASATR Ft Devens 67-68
507th USASAE SPD 68-70
138th Avn Co (RR) 70-71
293rd Avn Co (SA) 71 - 72
NATTC Memphis, 74
VS-30 Cecil Field, FL 74-75
AIMD Corpus Christi TX 75-78
NMRC Corpus Christi TX 78-80
NRC San Antonio, TX 80-81
HS-10, North Island CA, 81-82
HS-8, North Island CA 82-83

#1244

From: oldvet@...
Date: Tue Jan 5, 2010 2:46 pm
Subject: Re: A little help

theoldvet

Offline

You should apply for both Parkinson's disease and Ischemic Heart disease right away. If you are near a VA Hospital there should be a Veterans Service Officer (VSO) there. The VSO is not part of the VA. They are provided by the County or by organizations like Vietnam Veterans of America

Alan Oates
U.S. Military Veterans with Parkinson's
USMVP
4270 South Ox Rd
Edinburg, VA 22824
oldvet@...
540-325-1232

In a message dated 1/5/2010 2:40:13 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, michaelwhatfield@... writes:

For those in the know (and there are a LOT of you).

My Dad has PD, and with the new ruling that PD is presumptive, I am beginning to start the paperwork for benefits, herein lies the problem.

In November he fell and broke his hip, at the same time we found that he had ischemic heart disease and he underwent 2 cardiac caths to place stents. The surgeries went off without a hitch, the rehab though, has been a nightmare.

He is not ambulatory by any stretch of the imagination not can he be transported by wheelchair van at the moment so I cannot take him to the VA to sign the paperwork, how do I get assistance from, or who do I contact at the VA to get assistance in filling out the paperwork?

The VA site lists a number of organizations that assist in helping to file claims, but Most of the ones I called so far, no longer have someone who does that.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Michael Hatfield
"The main part of intellectual education is not the acquisition of facts but learning how to make facts live." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

#1243

From: Michael Hatfield <michaelwhatfield@...>
Date: Tue Jan 5, 2010 6:39 pm
Subject: A little help

michaelwhatf...

Offline

For those in the know (and there are a LOT of you).

My Dad has PD, and with the new ruling that PD is presumptive, I am beginning to start the paperwork for benefits, herein lies the problem.

In November he fell and broke his hip, at the same time we found that he had ischemic heart disease and he underwent 2 cardiac caths to place stents. The surgeries went off without a hitch, the rehab though, has been a nightmare.

He is not ambulatory by any stretch of the imagination not can he be transported by wheelchair van at the moment so I cannot take him to the VA to sign the paperwork, how do I get assistance from, or who do I contact at the VA to get assistance in filling out the paperwork?

The VA site lists a number of organizations that assist in helping to file claims, but Most of the ones I called so far, no longer have someone who does that.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Michael Hatfield
"The main part of intellectual education is not the acquisition of facts but learning how to make facts live." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

#1242

From: "Robert P. Walsh" <rpwalsh@...>
Date: Tue Jan 5, 2010 4:15 am
Subject: RE: Military .com article on presumptive issues.

wa8moa2003

Offline

Everyone:

Always keep your C & P and VA hearing appointments.� If you can’t get to a hearing in front of the VA judge or get to a C & P you must notify them in writing and ask to reschedule.� No show’s cause many problems.

Robert P. Walsh

Two West Michigan Avenue

Suite 301

Battle Creek, Michigan 49017

Telephone (269) 962-9693

Telecopier (269) 962-9592

E-mail: rpwalsh@...

From: vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of arnold flettrich
Sent: Monday, January 04, 2010 5:42 PM
To: vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [vets_parkinsons_agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

I am scheduled for a C&P exam should I keep this appt.or cancel this is my 1st. my doctor filled out the forms sent to him he has been treating me for 10 yrs. is this test neccessary and what is it i have no idea Thanks Arnold

From: Jim Richardson <jimmy2rich@gmail.com>
To: vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sun, January 3, 2010 8:07:29 PM
Subject: Re: [vets_parkinsons_agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

Boy!!!! It sure isn't promising after watching 60 min. I've had a request in for a video conference on my appeal of the denial on my claim for PD for months now and haven't heard anything yet.

On Sun, Jan 3, 2010 at 10:20 AM, Robert P. Walsh <rpwalsh@sbcglobal. net> wrote:

Congress passed a law long ago, 38 USC section 5125, which permits your private physician’s report to be accepted with no need for a VA C & P exam. This has been the law since 1994.

Of course, the VA C & P exam is the best chance for the VA to come up with a reason to deny a claim, so they always have one, or two, or three.

What this means is the VA is going to think about following the law. Think about it. Maybe they will actually do it. Or not.

It is not easy building up a 1 million claim backlog. You have to really put forth an effort. Watch 60 Minutes on CBS tonight.

Happy New Year and good luck.

Bob

Robert P. Walsh

Attorney

Two West Michigan Avenue

Suite 301

Battle Creek, Michigan 49017

Telephone (269) 962-9693

Telecopier (269) 962-9592

E-mail: rpwalsh@sbcglobal. net

From: vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com [mailto:vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com] On Behalf Of Delores Lisle
Sent: Saturday, January 02, 2010 9:15 PM
To: vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com
Subject: Re: [vets_parkinsons_ agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

What does this mean? NAUS also advised members that VA, to avoid aggravating its claims backlog, intends to "accept letters from family physicians supporting claims for Agent Orange-related conditions."

From: arnold flettrich <arnoldflettrich@ yahoo.com>
To: vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com
Sent: Sat, January 2, 2010 7:13:03 PM
Subject: Re: [vets_parkinsons_ agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

special about veterans

affairs oa Jan 3rd 60 minutes must watch Arnold

From: AlanO <theoldvet@grouply. com>
To: vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com
Sent: Thu, December 31, 2009 11:58:15 AM
Subject: [vets_parkinsons_ agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

Costly Agent Orange-Heart Disease Link Looms
Tom Philpott | December 31, 2009

The cost of war -- on veterans' health and taxpayer wallets -- will loom a little larger in the new year when the Department of Veterans Affairs issues a final rule to claim adjudicators to presume three more diseases of Vietnam veterans, including heart disease, were caused by exposure to Agent Orange.

The rule, expected to be published soon, will make almost any veteran who set foot in Vietnam, and is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, B cell leukemia or ischemic heart disease (known also as coronary artery disease), eligible for disability compensation and VA medical care. The exception would be if credible evidence surfaces of a non-service cause for the ailment.

Katie Roberts, VA press secretary, said no estimates will be available on numbers of veterans impacted or the potential cost to VA until after the rule change takes effect sometime in 2010. But the National Association for Uniformed Services was told by a VA official that up to 185,000 veterans could become eligible for benefits and the projected cost to VA might reach $50 billion, said Win Reither, a retired colonel on NAUS' executive board.

NAUS also advised members that VA, to avoid aggravating its claims backlog, intends to "accept letters from family physicians supporting claims for Agent Orange-related conditions." It said thousands of widows whose husbands died of Agent Orange disabilities also will be eligible for retroactive benefits and VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation.

"This is huge," said Ronald Abrams, co-director of the National Veterans Legal Services Program. NVLSP has represented veterans in Agent Orange lawsuits for the last 25 years. The non-profit law group publishes the "Veterans Benefits Manual," a 1900-page guide for veterans' advocates to navigate the maze for VA claims, appeals and key court decisions.

Abrams said he can't guess at how many more thousands of veterans previously denied disability claims, or how many thousands more who haven't filed claims yet, will be eligible for benefits. But numbers, particularly of those with heart disease, will be very large, he suggested.

All of the veterans "who have been trying to link their heart condition to a service-connected condition won't have to do it now if they're Vietnam vets," Abrams said. For VA, it will mean "a significant amount of money -- and many, many, many people helped."
The excitement over expansion of benefits for Vietnam veterans, and worry by some within the Obama administration over cost, flows from an announcement last October by VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. He said three categories would be added to the list of diseases the VA presumes were caused by Agent Orange. Veterans with the presumptive Agent Orange ailments can get disability compensation if they can show they made even a brief visit to Vietnam from 1962 to 1975. With a presumptive illness, claim applicants don't have to prove, as other claimants do, a direct association between their medical condition and military service.

Shinseki said he based his decision on work of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies. VA contracts with IOM to gather veterans' health data and investigate links between diseases and toxic herbicide used in Vietnam to destroy vegetation and expose enemy positions.

In a speech last July, Shinseki, former Army chief of staff and a wounded veteran of Vietnam, expressed frustration that "40 years after Agent Orange was last used in Vietnam, this secretary is still adjudicating claims for presumption of service-connected disabilities tied to its toxic effects." VA and the Defense Department should had conducted conclusive studies earlier on presumptive disabilities from Agent Orange, he suggested.

"The scientific method and the failure to advocate for the veteran got in the way of our processes," Shinseki bluntly concluded.
In last October's announcement he said VA "must do better reviews of illnesses that may be connected to service, and we will. Veterans who endure health problems deserve timely decisions based on solid evidence."

When a disease is added to VA's list of ailments tied to Agent Orange, veterans with the disease can become eligible for retroactive disability payments, back to the date original claims were rejected, if after 1985.

Joe Violante, legislative director for Disabled American Veterans, praised Shinseki's decision. But he said VA faces a "logistical nightmare" in trying to find veterans turned down on earlier on claims. A VA official told Violante, he said, that cost of the search could be part of that nightmare.

Chairman of government affairs for Vietnam Veterans of America until last October was John Miterko. He said he wasn't surprised that Shinseki added ailments to the Agent Orange presumptive list including heart disease.

"If you look at the Vietnam veteran population, the diseases we've contracted and the mortality rate, the only group dying faster rate are the World War II veterans," Miterko said. "We're picking up diseases by our `60s that we shouldn't be getting until our late `70s, early `80s. So his adding other diseases, heart disease in particular, isn't a surprise."

Both Shinseki and his predecessor, James Peake, former Army surgeon general, had long military careers and served in Vietnam. "That's a hell of a bonus for us," Miterko said. Both of them have shown "much more empathy, much more understanding. They would have seen many of their own peer group suffering from the effects of exposure to Agent
Orange."

Miterko doesn't believe anyone can estimate how many veterans will benefit from the new presumptive diseases. VA will continue to process claims individually, he said, and likely won't be accepting Agent Orange as the cause of heart disease for someone "who has smoked for 40 years and is mobidly obese. Common sense is going to have to prevail as well."

#1241

From: "Betty Helton" <DHELTON1@...>
Date: Tue Jan 5, 2010 7:44 am
Subject: Fw: FW: Mayo Clinic will stop accepting Medicare patients as of tomorrow.]

DHELTON1@...

Is this what's in our future?

What can I say? It just keeps getting worse and worse. Is this a path that more of our larger hospitals will be taking? Betty Helton

----- Original Message -----

From:

To: undisclosed-recipients:

Sent: Friday, January 01, 2010 9:17 AM

Subject: Mayo Clinic will stop accepting Medicare patients as of tomorrow.

Dec. 31 (Bloomberg) -- The Mayo Clinic, praised by President Barack Obama as a national model for efficient health care, will stop accepting Medicare patients as of tomorrow at one of its primary-care clinics in Arizona, saying the U.S. government pays too little.

More than 3,000 patients eligible for Medicare, the government�s largest health-insurance program, will be forced to pay cash if they want to continue seeing their doctors at a Mayo family clinic in Glendale, northwest of Phoenix, said Michael Yardley, a Mayo spokesman. The decision, which Yardley called a two-year pilot project, won�t affect other Mayo facilities in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota.

Obama in June cited the nonprofit Rochester, Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio for offering �the highest quality care at costs well below the national norm.� Mayo�s move to drop Medicare patients may be copied by family doctors, some of whom have stopped accepting new patients from the program, said Lori Heim, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, in a telephone interview yesterday.

�Many physicians have said, �I simply cannot afford to keep taking care of Medicare patients,�� said Heim, a family doctor who practices in Laurinburg, North Carolina. �If you truly know your business costs and you are losing money, it doesn�t make sense to do more of it.�

Medicare Loss

The Mayo organization had 3,700 staff physicians and scientists and treated 526,000 patients in 2008. It lost $840 million last year on Medicare, the government�s health program for the disabled and those 65 and older, Mayo spokeswoman Lynn Closway said.

Mayo�s hospital and four clinics in Arizona, including the Glendale facility, lost $120 million on Medicare patients last year, Yardley said. The program�s payments cover about 50 percent of the cost of treating elderly primary-care patients at the Glendale clinic, he said.

�We firmly believe that Medicare needs to be reformed,� Yardley said in a Dec. 23 e-mail. �It has been true for many years that Medicare payments no longer reflect the increasing cost of providing services for patients.�

Mayo will assess the financial effect of the decision in Glendale to drop Medicare patients �to see if it could have implications beyond Arizona,� he said.

Nationwide, doctors made about 20 percent less for treating Medicare patients than they did caring for privately insured patients in 2007, a payment gap that has remained stable during the last decade, according to a March report by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, a panel that advises Congress on Medicare issues. Congress last week postponed for two months a 21.5 percent cut in Medicare reimbursements for doctors.

National Participation

Medicare covered an estimated 45 million Americans at the end of 2008, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the agency in charge of the programs. While 92 percent of U.S. family doctors participate in Medicare, only 73 percent of those are accepting new patients under the program, said Heim of the national physicians� group, citing surveys by the Leawood, Kansas-based organization.

Greater access to primary care is a goal of the broad overhaul supported by Obama that would provide health insurance to about 31 million more Americans. More family doctors are needed to help reduce medical costs by encouraging prevention and early treatment, Obama said in a June 15 speech to the American Medical Association meeting in Chicago.

Reid Cherlin, a White House spokesman for health care, declined comment on Mayo�s decision to drop Medicare primary care patients at its Glendale clinic.

Medicare Costs

Mayo�s Medicare losses in Arizona may be worse than typical for doctors across the U.S., Heim said. Physician costs vary depending on business expenses such as office rent and payroll. �It is very common that we hear that Medicare is below costs or barely covering costs,� Heim said.

Mayo will continue to accept Medicare as payment for laboratory services and specialist care such as cardiology and neurology, Yardley said.

Robert Berenson, a fellow at the Urban Institute�s Health Policy Center in Washington, D.C., said physicians� claims of inadequate reimbursement are overstated. Rather, the program faces a lack of medical providers because not enough new doctors are becoming family doctors, internists and pediatricians who oversee patients� primary care.

�Some primary care doctors don�t have to see Medicare patients because there is an unlimited demand for their services,� Berenson said. When patients with private insurance can be treated at 50 percent to 100 percent higher fees, �then Medicare does indeed look like a poor payer,� he said.

Annual Costs

A Medicare patient who chooses to stay at Mayo�s Glendale clinic will pay about $1,500 a year for an annual physical and three other doctor visits, according to an October letter from the facility. Each patient also will be assessed a $250 annual administrative fee, according to the letter. Medicare patients at the Glendale clinic won�t be allowed to switch to a primary care doctor at another Mayo facility.

A few hundred of the clinic�s Medicare patients have decided to pay cash to continue seeing their primary care doctors, Yardley said. Mayo is helping other patients find new physicians who will accept Medicare.

�We�ve had many patients call us and express their unhappiness,� he said. �It�s not been a pleasant experience.�

Mayo�s decision may herald similar moves by other Phoenix- area doctors who cite inadequate Medicare fees as a reason to curtail treatment of the elderly, said John Rivers, chief executive of the Phoenix-based Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association.

�We�ve got doctors who are saying we are not going to deal with Medicare patients in the hospital� because they consider the fees too low, Rivers said. �Or they are saying we are not going to take new ones in our practice.�

Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free. Sign up now.

#1240

From: "Betty Helton" <DHELTON1@...>
Date: Tue Jan 5, 2010 8:01 am
Subject: Re: VA

DHELTON1@...

Gee, Lynn...I am so sorry. I do not have the list of names of those people that are listed under the vets parkinsons agentorange group, so I have no way to delete your name. You don't have to read any of them....just click on the message one time, and hit "delete".

BTW, Group.....please do not delete David's name from the group. The messages you are sending are providing information on PD that we would never receive otherwise. You are all a wonderful group, and we are all sharing the same problems. God Bless you all, and Happy New Year

David and Betty Helton, South Carolina

----- Original Message -----

From: LYNN C SHINDEL

To: vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Friday, January 01, 2010 1:09 PM

Subject: RE: [vets_parkinsons_agentorange] VA

do not send me anymore e-mails

Lynn C. Shindel Vietnam Veteran 1968-69-70 [ AGENT ORANGE ] Navy Seabee

Illinois State Chairman Sons & Daughters Pearl Harbor Survivors

Reply | Forward | Messages in this Topic (5)

#1239

From: Jerry Houp <jerryhoup@...>
Date: Tue Jan 5, 2010 4:04 am
Subject: Re: Re: OMB has the presumptive purposed regulation (You Can Track Here)

jerryhoup

Offline

it will "not" allow us to read it gives Unified Agenda. Goes to another page and nothing??

Jerry Houp

Silverstar 1968-69

TET.

From: Noreen <norham2009@...>
To: vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Mon, January 4, 2010 8:18:38 PM
Subject: [vets_parkinsons_agentorange] Re: OMB has the presumptive purposed regulation (You Can Track Here)

Thank you Alan for the info... Ive been searching for this on the reg. thanks again... Noreen
--- In vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com, "AlanO" <theoldvet@. ..> wrote:
>
> As our group has alway tried to give you up todate information, I want to share the site at OMB to track the purposed rules.
>
> The Secretary of the VA signed off on the rules on Dec 23, 2009.
>
> OMB received them on Dec 28, 2009. As mentioned before they have up to 90 days to review the purposed rules.
>
>
> Here is the web site:
>
> http://www.reginfo. gov/public/ do/eoReviewSearc h
>
> On this site go the select agency block;
>
> Select Department of Veterans Affairs;
>
> Click the submit button;
>
> The web site that then comes up shows all the VA submission under review by OMB.
>
> If you read down you will find the 2900 AN54
>
> 2900 is the code for VA and AN54 is the number assigned to our purpose rules.
>
> I am traveling today back to D.C.
>
> Hope everyone had a wonderful New Years.
>
>
> Alan
>

#1238

From: country <glenn.toothman@...>
Date: Tue Jan 5, 2010 3:51 am
Subject: Re: Military .com article on presumptive issues.

country_cia

Offline

Don't ever turn down any appts from the VA, it will give them a reason to deny you...�� Keep it, and reference the paperwork your doc did, if you can get copies make one to take with you (keeping a copy for your personal records)...

On Mon, Jan 4, 2010 at 4:41 PM, arnold flettrich <arnoldflettrich@...> wrote:

�

I am scheduled for a C&P exam should I keep this appt.or cancel this is my 1st. my doctor filled out the forms sent to him he has been treating me for 10 yrs. is this test neccessary and what is it i have no idea Thanks Arnold

From: Jim Richardson <jimmy2rich@...>

To: vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Sun, January 3, 2010 8:07:29 PM

Subject: Re: [vets_parkinsons_agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

�

Boy!!!! It sure isn't promising after watching 60 min. I've had a request in for a video conference on my appeal of the denial on my claim for PD for months now and haven't heard anything yet.

On Sun, Jan 3, 2010 at 10:20 AM, Robert P. Walsh <rpwalsh@sbcglobal. net> wrote:

�

Congress passed a law long ago, 38 USC section 5125, which permits your private physician�s report to be accepted with no need for a VA C & P exam.� This has been the law since 1994.

�

Of course, the VA C & P exam is the best chance for the VA to come up with a reason to deny a claim, so they always have one, or two, or three.

�

What this means is the VA is going to think about following the law.� Think about it.� Maybe they will actually do it.� Or not.

�

It is not easy building up a 1 million claim backlog.� You have to really put forth an effort.� Watch 60 Minutes on CBS tonight.

�

Happy New Year and good luck.

�

Bob

�

Robert P. Walsh

Attorney

Two West Michigan Avenue

Suite 301

Battle Creek, Michigan 49017

�

Telephone (269) 962-9693

Telecopier (269) 962-9592

E-mail: rpwalsh@sbcglobal. net

�

From: vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com [mailto:vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com] On Behalf Of Delores Lisle
Sent: Saturday, January 02, 2010 9:15 PM
To: vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com
Subject: Re: [vets_parkinsons_ agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

�

�

What does this mean? NAUS also advised members that VA, to avoid aggravating its claims backlog, intends to "accept letters from family physicians supporting claims for Agent Orange-related conditions."

�

From: arnold flettrich <arnoldflettrich@ yahoo.com>
To: vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com
Sent: Sat, January 2, 2010 7:13:03 PM
Subject: Re: [vets_parkinsons_ agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

special about veterans

affairs oa Jan 3rd� 60 minutes must watch Arnold

�

From: AlanO <theoldvet@grouply. com>
To: vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com
Sent: Thu, December 31, 2009 11:58:15 AM
Subject: [vets_parkinsons_ agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

�

Costly Agent Orange-Heart Disease Link Looms
Tom Philpott | December 31, 2009

The cost of war -- on veterans' health and taxpayer wallets -- will loom a little larger in the new year when the Department of Veterans Affairs issues a final rule to claim adjudicators to presume three more diseases of Vietnam veterans, including heart disease, were caused by exposure to Agent Orange.

The rule, expected to be published soon, will make almost any veteran who set foot in Vietnam, and is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, B cell leukemia or ischemic heart disease (known also as coronary artery disease), eligible for disability compensation and VA medical care. The exception would be if credible evidence surfaces of a non-service cause for the ailment.

Katie Roberts, VA press secretary, said no estimates will be available on numbers of veterans impacted or the potential cost to VA until after the rule change takes effect sometime in 2010. But the National Association for Uniformed Services was told by a VA official that up to 185,000 veterans could become eligible for benefits and the projected cost to VA might reach $50 billion, said Win Reither, a retired colonel on NAUS' executive board.

NAUS also advised members that VA, to avoid aggravating its claims backlog, intends to "accept letters from family physicians supporting claims for Agent Orange-related conditions." It said thousands of widows whose husbands died of Agent Orange disabilities also will be eligible for retroactive benefits and VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation.

"This is huge," said Ronald Abrams, co-director of the National Veterans Legal Services Program. NVLSP has represented veterans in Agent Orange lawsuits for the last 25 years. The non-profit law group publishes the "Veterans Benefits Manual," a 1900-page guide for veterans' advocates to navigate the maze for VA claims, appeals and key court decisions.

Abrams said he can't guess at how many more thousands of veterans previously denied disability claims, or how many thousands more who haven't filed claims yet, will be eligible for benefits. But numbers, particularly of those with heart disease, will be very large, he suggested.

All of the veterans "who have been trying to link their heart condition to a service-connected condition won't have to do it now if they're Vietnam vets," Abrams said. For VA, it will mean "a significant amount of money -- and many, many, many people helped."
The excitement over expansion of benefits for Vietnam veterans, and worry by some within the Obama administration over cost, flows from an announcement last October by VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. He said three categories would be added to the list of diseases the VA presumes were caused by Agent Orange. Veterans with the presumptive Agent Orange ailments can get disability compensation if they can show they made even a brief visit to Vietnam from 1962 to 1975. With a presumptive illness, claim applicants don't have to prove, as other claimants do, a direct association between their medical condition and military service.

Shinseki said he based his decision on work of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies. VA contracts with IOM to gather veterans' health data and investigate links between diseases and toxic herbicide used in Vietnam to destroy vegetation and expose enemy positions.

In a speech last July, Shinseki, former Army chief of staff and a wounded veteran of Vietnam, expressed frustration that "40 years after Agent Orange was last used in Vietnam, this secretary is still adjudicating claims for presumption of service-connected disabilities tied to its toxic effects." VA and the Defense Department should had conducted conclusive studies earlier on presumptive disabilities from Agent Orange, he suggested.

"The scientific method and the failure to advocate for the veteran got in the way of our processes," Shinseki bluntly concluded.
In last October's announcement he said VA "must do better reviews of illnesses that may be connected to service, and we will. Veterans who endure health problems deserve timely decisions based on solid evidence."

When a disease is added to VA's list of ailments tied to Agent Orange, veterans with the disease can become eligible for retroactive disability payments, back to the date original claims were rejected, if after 1985.

Joe Violante, legislative director for Disabled American Veterans, praised Shinseki's decision. But he said VA faces a "logistical nightmare" in trying to find veterans turned down on earlier on claims. A VA official told Violante, he said, that cost of the search could be part of that nightmare.

Chairman of government affairs for Vietnam Veterans of America until last October was John Miterko. He said he wasn't surprised that Shinseki added ailments to the Agent Orange presumptive list including heart disease.

"If you look at the Vietnam veteran population, the diseases we've contracted and the mortality rate, the only group dying faster rate are the World War II veterans," Miterko said. "We're picking up diseases by our `60s that we shouldn't be getting until our late `70s, early `80s. So his adding other diseases, heart disease in particular, isn't a surprise."

Both Shinseki and his predecessor, James Peake, former Army surgeon general, had long military careers and served in Vietnam. "That's a hell of a bonus for us," Miterko said. Both of them have shown "much more empathy, much more understanding. They would have seen many of their own peer group suffering from the effects of exposure to Agent
Orange."

Miterko doesn't believe anyone can estimate how many veterans will benefit from the new presumptive diseases. VA will continue to process claims individually, he said, and likely won't be accepting Agent Orange as the cause of heart disease for someone "who has smoked for 40 years and is mobidly obese. Common sense is going to have to prevail as well."

�

#1237

From: oldvet@...
Date: Mon Jan 4, 2010 10:48 pm
Subject: Re: Military .com article on presumptive issues.

theoldvet

Offline

You need to keep this appointment. The VA can elect to accept a private doctors but if they scheduled you for a C&P then you need to keep it. I am attaching a uniform rating schedule to this email. It is not a VA rating schedule. But it lets you go through and make sure you point out all the problem you have with Parkinson's. It is for your use nothing to do with the VA.

Alan Oates
U.S. Military Veterans with Parkinson's
USMVP
4270 South Ox Rd
Edinburg, VA 22824
oldvet@...
540-325-1232

In a message dated 1/4/2010 10:36:37 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, arnoldflettrich@... writes:

I am scheduled for a C&P exam should I keep this appt.or cancel this is my 1st. my doctor filled out the forms sent to him he has been treating me for 10 yrs. is this test neccessary and what is it i have no idea Thanks Arnold

From: Jim Richardson <jimmy2rich@gmail.com>
To: vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sun, January 3, 2010 8:07:29 PM
Subject: Re: [vets_parkinsons_agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

Boy!!!! It sure isn't promising after watching 60 min. I've had a request in for a video conference on my appeal of the denial on my claim for PD for months now and haven't heard anything yet.

On Sun, Jan 3, 2010 at 10:20 AM, Robert P. Walsh <rpwalsh@sbcglobal. net> wrote:

Congress passed a law long ago, 38 USC section 5125, which permits your private physician’s report to be accepted with no need for a VA C & P exam. This has been the law since 1994.

Of course, the VA C & P exam is the best chance for the VA to come up with a reason to deny a claim, so they always have one, or two, or three.

What this means is the VA is going to think about following the law. Think about it. Maybe they will actually do it. Or not.

It is not easy building up a 1 million claim backlog. You have to really put forth an effort. Watch 60 Minutes on CBS tonight.

Happy New Year and good luck.

Bob

Robert P. Walsh

Attorney

Two West Michigan Avenue

Suite 301

Battle Creek, Michigan 49017

Telephone (269) 962-9693

Telecopier (269) 962-9592

E-mail: rpwalsh@sbcglobal. net

From: vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com [mailto:vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com] On Behalf Of Delores Lisle
Sent: Saturday, January 02, 2010 9:15 PM
To: vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com
Subject: Re: [vets_parkinsons_ agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

What does this mean? NAUS also advised members that VA, to avoid aggravating its claims backlog, intends to "accept letters from family physicians supporting claims for Agent Orange-related conditions."

From: arnold flettrich <arnoldflettrich@ yahoo.com>
To: vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com
Sent: Sat, January 2, 2010 7:13:03 PM
Subject: Re: [vets_parkinsons_ agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

special about veterans

affairs oa Jan 3rd 60 minutes must watch Arnold

From: AlanO <theoldvet@grouply. com>
To: vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com
Sent: Thu, December 31, 2009 11:58:15 AM
Subject: [vets_parkinsons_ agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

Costly Agent Orange-Heart Disease Link Looms
Tom Philpott | December 31, 2009

The cost of war -- on veterans' health and taxpayer wallets -- will loom a little larger in the new year when the Department of Veterans Affairs issues a final rule to claim adjudicators to presume three more diseases of Vietnam veterans, including heart disease, were caused by exposure to Agent Orange.

The rule, expected to be published soon, will make almost any veteran who set foot in Vietnam, and is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, B cell leukemia or ischemic heart disease (known also as coronary artery disease), eligible for disability compensation and VA medical care. The exception would be if credible evidence surfaces of a non-service cause for the ailment.

Katie Roberts, VA press secretary, said no estimates will be available on numbers of veterans impacted or the potential cost to VA until after the rule change takes effect sometime in 2010. But the National Association for Uniformed Services was told by a VA official that up to 185,000 veterans could become eligible for benefits and the projected cost to VA might reach $50 billion, said Win Reither, a retired colonel on NAUS' executive board.

NAUS also advised members that VA, to avoid aggravating its claims backlog, intends to "accept letters from family physicians supporting claims for Agent Orange-related conditions." It said thousands of widows whose husbands died of Agent Orange disabilities also will be eligible for retroactive benefits and VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation.

"This is huge," said Ronald Abrams, co-director of the National Veterans Legal Services Program. NVLSP has represented veterans in Agent Orange lawsuits for the last 25 years. The non-profit law group publishes the "Veterans Benefits Manual," a 1900-page guide for veterans' advocates to navigate the maze for VA claims, appeals and key court decisions.

Abrams said he can't guess at how many more thousands of veterans previously denied disability claims, or how many thousands more who haven't filed claims yet, will be eligible for benefits. But numbers, particularly of those with heart disease, will be very large, he suggested.

All of the veterans "who have been trying to link their heart condition to a service-connected condition won't have to do it now if they're Vietnam vets," Abrams said. For VA, it will mean "a significant amount of money -- and many, many, many people helped."
The excitement over expansion of benefits for Vietnam veterans, and worry by some within the Obama administration over cost, flows from an announcement last October by VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. He said three categories would be added to the list of diseases the VA presumes were caused by Agent Orange. Veterans with the presumptive Agent Orange ailments can get disability compensation if they can show they made even a brief visit to Vietnam from 1962 to 1975. With a presumptive illness, claim applicants don't have to prove, as other claimants do, a direct association between their medical condition and military service.

Shinseki said he based his decision on work of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies. VA contracts with IOM to gather veterans' health data and investigate links between diseases and toxic herbicide used in Vietnam to destroy vegetation and expose enemy positions.

In a speech last July, Shinseki, former Army chief of staff and a wounded veteran of Vietnam, expressed frustration that "40 years after Agent Orange was last used in Vietnam, this secretary is still adjudicating claims for presumption of service-connected disabilities tied to its toxic effects." VA and the Defense Department should had conducted conclusive studies earlier on presumptive disabilities from Agent Orange, he suggested.

"The scientific method and the failure to advocate for the veteran got in the way of our processes," Shinseki bluntly concluded.
In last October's announcement he said VA "must do better reviews of illnesses that may be connected to service, and we will. Veterans who endure health problems deserve timely decisions based on solid evidence."

When a disease is added to VA's list of ailments tied to Agent Orange, veterans with the disease can become eligible for retroactive disability payments, back to the date original claims were rejected, if after 1985.

Joe Violante, legislative director for Disabled American Veterans, praised Shinseki's decision. But he said VA faces a "logistical nightmare" in trying to find veterans turned down on earlier on claims. A VA official told Violante, he said, that cost of the search could be part of that nightmare.

Chairman of government affairs for Vietnam Veterans of America until last October was John Miterko. He said he wasn't surprised that Shinseki added ailments to the Agent Orange presumptive list including heart disease.

"If you look at the Vietnam veteran population, the diseases we've contracted and the mortality rate, the only group dying faster rate are the World War II veterans," Miterko said. "We're picking up diseases by our `60s that we shouldn't be getting until our late `70s, early `80s. So his adding other diseases, heart disease in particular, isn't a surprise."

Both Shinseki and his predecessor, James Peake, former Army surgeon general, had long military careers and served in Vietnam. "That's a hell of a bonus for us," Miterko said. Both of them have shown "much more empathy, much more understanding. They would have seen many of their own peer group suffering from the effects of exposure to Agent
Orange."

Miterko doesn't believe anyone can estimate how many veterans will benefit from the new presumptive diseases. VA will continue to process claims individually, he said, and likely won't be accepting Agent Orange as the cause of heart disease for someone "who has smoked for 40 years and is mobidly obese. Common sense is going to have to prevail as well."

#1236

From: "Noreen" <norham2009@...>
Date: Tue Jan 5, 2010 2:18 am
Subject: Re: OMB has the presumptive purposed regulation (You Can Track Here)

norham2009

Offline

Thank you Alan for the info... Ive been searching for this on the reg. thanks
again... Noreen
--- In vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com, "AlanO" <theoldvet@...>
wrote:
>
> As our group has alway tried to give you up todate information, I want to
share the site at OMB to track the purposed rules.
>
> The Secretary of the VA signed off on the rules on Dec 23, 2009.
>
> OMB received them on Dec 28, 2009.  As mentioned before they have up to 90
days to review the purposed rules.
>
>
> Here is the web site:
>
> http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eoReviewSearch
>
> On this site go the select agency block;
>
> Select Department of Veterans Affairs;
>
> Click the submit button;
>
> The web site that then comes up shows all the VA submission under review by
OMB.
>
> If you read down you will find the 2900 AN54
>
> 2900 is the code for VA and AN54 is the number assigned to our purpose rules.
>
> I am traveling today back to D.C.
>
> Hope everyone had a wonderful New Years.
>
>
> Alan
>

#1235

From: arnold flettrich <arnoldflettrich@...>
Date: Mon Jan 4, 2010 10:41 pm
Subject: Re: Military .com article on presumptive issues.

arnoldflettrich

Offline

From: Jim Richardson <jimmy2rich@...>
To: vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sun, January 3, 2010 8:07:29 PM
Subject: Re: [vets_parkinsons_agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

Boy!!!! It sure isn't promising after watching 60 min. I've had a request in for a video conference on my appeal of the denial on my claim for PD for months now and haven't heard anything yet.

On Sun, Jan 3, 2010 at 10:20 AM, Robert P. Walsh <rpwalsh@sbcglobal. net> wrote:

Congress passed a law long ago, 38 USC section 5125, which permits your private physician’s report to be accepted with no need for a VA C & P exam. This has been the law since 1994.

Of course, the VA C & P exam is the best chance for the VA to come up with a reason to deny a claim, so they always have one, or two, or three.

What this means is the VA is going to think about following the law. Think about it. Maybe they will actually do it. Or not.

It is not easy building up a 1 million claim backlog. You have to really put forth an effort. Watch 60 Minutes on CBS tonight.

Happy New Year and good luck.

Bob

Robert P. Walsh

Attorney

Two West Michigan Avenue

Suite 301

Battle Creek, Michigan 49017

Telephone (269) 962-9693

Telecopier (269) 962-9592

E-mail: rpwalsh@sbcglobal. net

From: vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com [mailto:vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com] On Behalf Of Delores Lisle
Sent: Saturday, January 02, 2010 9:15 PM
To: vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com
Subject: Re: [vets_parkinsons_ agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

What does this mean? NAUS also advised members that VA, to avoid aggravating its claims backlog, intends to "accept letters from family physicians supporting claims for Agent Orange-related conditions."

From: arnold flettrich <arnoldflettrich@ yahoo.com>
To: vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com
Sent: Sat, January 2, 2010 7:13:03 PM
Subject: Re: [vets_parkinsons_ agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

special about veterans

affairs oa Jan 3rd 60 minutes must watch Arnold

From: AlanO <theoldvet@grouply. com>
To: vets_parkinsons_ agentorange@ yahoogroups. com
Sent: Thu, December 31, 2009 11:58:15 AM
Subject: [vets_parkinsons_ agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

Costly Agent Orange-Heart Disease Link Looms
Tom Philpott | December 31, 2009

The cost of war -- on veterans' health and taxpayer wallets -- will loom a little larger in the new year when the Department of Veterans Affairs issues a final rule to claim adjudicators to presume three more diseases of Vietnam veterans, including heart disease, were caused by exposure to Agent Orange.

The rule, expected to be published soon, will make almost any veteran who set foot in Vietnam, and is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, B cell leukemia or ischemic heart disease (known also as coronary artery disease), eligible for disability compensation and VA medical care. The exception would be if credible evidence surfaces of a non-service cause for the ailment.

Katie Roberts, VA press secretary, said no estimates will be available on numbers of veterans impacted or the potential cost to VA until after the rule change takes effect sometime in 2010. But the National Association for Uniformed Services was told by a VA official that up to 185,000 veterans could become eligible for benefits and the projected cost to VA might reach $50 billion, said Win Reither, a retired colonel on NAUS' executive board.

NAUS also advised members that VA, to avoid aggravating its claims backlog, intends to "accept letters from family physicians supporting claims for Agent Orange-related conditions." It said thousands of widows whose husbands died of Agent Orange disabilities also will be eligible for retroactive benefits and VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation.

"This is huge," said Ronald Abrams, co-director of the National Veterans Legal Services Program. NVLSP has represented veterans in Agent Orange lawsuits for the last 25 years. The non-profit law group publishes the "Veterans Benefits Manual," a 1900-page guide for veterans' advocates to navigate the maze for VA claims, appeals and key court decisions.

Abrams said he can't guess at how many more thousands of veterans previously denied disability claims, or how many thousands more who haven't filed claims yet, will be eligible for benefits. But numbers, particularly of those with heart disease, will be very large, he suggested.

All of the veterans "who have been trying to link their heart condition to a service-connected condition won't have to do it now if they're Vietnam vets," Abrams said. For VA, it will mean "a significant amount of money -- and many, many, many people helped."
The excitement over expansion of benefits for Vietnam veterans, and worry by some within the Obama administration over cost, flows from an announcement last October by VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. He said three categories would be added to the list of diseases the VA presumes were caused by Agent Orange. Veterans with the presumptive Agent Orange ailments can get disability compensation if they can show they made even a brief visit to Vietnam from 1962 to 1975. With a presumptive illness, claim applicants don't have to prove, as other claimants do, a direct association between their medical condition and military service.

Shinseki said he based his decision on work of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies. VA contracts with IOM to gather veterans' health data and investigate links between diseases and toxic herbicide used in Vietnam to destroy vegetation and expose enemy positions.

In a speech last July, Shinseki, former Army chief of staff and a wounded veteran of Vietnam, expressed frustration that "40 years after Agent Orange was last used in Vietnam, this secretary is still adjudicating claims for presumption of service-connected disabilities tied to its toxic effects." VA and the Defense Department should had conducted conclusive studies earlier on presumptive disabilities from Agent Orange, he suggested.

"The scientific method and the failure to advocate for the veteran got in the way of our processes," Shinseki bluntly concluded.
In last October's announcement he said VA "must do better reviews of illnesses that may be connected to service, and we will. Veterans who endure health problems deserve timely decisions based on solid evidence."

When a disease is added to VA's list of ailments tied to Agent Orange, veterans with the disease can become eligible for retroactive disability payments, back to the date original claims were rejected, if after 1985.

Joe Violante, legislative director for Disabled American Veterans, praised Shinseki's decision. But he said VA faces a "logistical nightmare" in trying to find veterans turned down on earlier on claims. A VA official told Violante, he said, that cost of the search could be part of that nightmare.

Chairman of government affairs for Vietnam Veterans of America until last October was John Miterko. He said he wasn't surprised that Shinseki added ailments to the Agent Orange presumptive list including heart disease.

"If you look at the Vietnam veteran population, the diseases we've contracted and the mortality rate, the only group dying faster rate are the World War II veterans," Miterko said. "We're picking up diseases by our `60s that we shouldn't be getting until our late `70s, early `80s. So his adding other diseases, heart disease in particular, isn't a surprise."

Both Shinseki and his predecessor, James Peake, former Army surgeon general, had long military careers and served in Vietnam. "That's a hell of a bonus for us," Miterko said. Both of them have shown "much more empathy, much more understanding. They would have seen many of their own peer group suffering from the effects of exposure to Agent
Orange."

Miterko doesn't believe anyone can estimate how many veterans will benefit from the new presumptive diseases. VA will continue to process claims individually, he said, and likely won't be accepting Agent Orange as the cause of heart disease for someone "who has smoked for 40 years and is mobidly obese. Common sense is going to have to prevail as well."

#1234

From: arnold flettrich <arnoldflettrich@...>
Date: Mon Jan 4, 2010 9:28 pm
Subject: OMB

arnoldflettrich

Offline

got my letter today,i8m scheduled for a neuro exam next week looks liike the are
moving along. ill keep you posted.Arnold

#1233

From: "AlanO" <theoldvet@...>
Date: Mon Jan 4, 2010 6:58 pm
Subject: OMB has the presumptive purposed regulation (You Can Track Here)

theoldvet

Offline

As our group has alway tried to give you up todate information, I want to share
the site at OMB to track the purposed rules.

The Secretary of the VA signed off on the rules on Dec 23, 2009.

OMB received them on Dec 28, 2009.  As mentioned before they have up to 90 days
to review the purposed rules.


Here is the web site:

http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eoReviewSearch

On this site go the select agency block;

Select Department of Veterans Affairs;

Click the submit button;

The web site that then comes up shows all the VA submission under review by OMB.

If you read down you will find the 2900 AN54

2900 is the code for VA and AN54 is the number assigned to our purpose rules.

I am traveling today back to D.C.

Hope everyone had a wonderful New Years.


Alan

#1232

From: STEVEN FISCUS <swfiscus@...>
Date: Sun Jan 3, 2010 9:21 pm
Subject: RE:

swfiscus

Offline

Anyone with any type of heart problems will be denied
from this program. This is the NIH rules.

Steve Fiscus
Executive Director
USMVP

"ADAPT,IMPROVISE,OVERCOME"

To: vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com
From: raprage@...
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 2010 13:56:12 -0600
Subject: RE: [vets_parkinsons_agentorange]

I've been denied participation in the NIH study. Something about me having a difibulator and them wanting to do a MRI. I also filed a claim for tremors and heart disease in 1981. The new directive says if denied after 1985. Can anyone advise on the 4 year differential?

To: swfiscus@msn.com
From: swfiscus@msn.com
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 2009 09:16:17 -0600
Subject: [vets_parkinsons_agentorange]

"ADAPT,IMPROVISE,OVERCOME"

Hotmail: Powerful Free email with security by Microsoft. Get it now.

Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection. Sign up now.

Hotmail: Free, trusted and rich email service. Get it now.

#1231

From: "Noreen" <norham2009@...>
Date: Mon Jan 4, 2010 2:11 am
Subject: Re: Military .com article on presumptive issues.

norham2009

Offline

Hold on here, no one knows whats going on yet! the rules need to be put in
place. The va does take a GP report into record as does SSI. I dont give a rats
a--s what the VA is going to have to pay. I dont care what any so called reports
coming from reports from news(60 mins )  have to say. It is what it is untill
the rules are issued.
Noreen Hamm vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com, "Robert P. Walsh"
<rpwalsh@...> wrote:
>
> Congress passed a law long ago, 38 USC section 5125, which permits your
> private physician's report to be accepted with no need for a VA C & P exam.
> This has been the law since 1994.
>
>
>
> Of course, the VA C & P exam is the best chance for the VA to come up with a
> reason to deny a claim, so they always have one, or two, or three.
>
>
>
> What this means is the VA is going to think about following the law.  Think
> about it.  Maybe they will actually do it.  Or not.
>
>
>
> It is not easy building up a 1 million claim backlog.  You have to really
> put forth an effort.  Watch 60 Minutes on CBS tonight.
>
>
>
> Happy New Year and good luck.
>
>
>
> Bob
>
>
>
> Robert P. Walsh
>
> Attorney
>
> Two West Michigan Avenue
>
> Suite 301
>
> Battle Creek, Michigan 49017
>
>
>
> Telephone (269) 962-9693
>
> Telecopier (269) 962-9592
>
> E-mail: rpwalsh@...
>
>
>
>   _____
>
> From: vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com
> [mailto:vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Delores
> Lisle
> Sent: Saturday, January 02, 2010 9:15 PM
> To: vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [vets_parkinsons_agentorange] Military .com article on
> presumptive issues.
>
>
>
>
>
> What does this mean? NAUS also advised members that VA, to avoid aggravating
> its claims backlog, intends to "accept letters from family physicians
> supporting claims for Agent Orange-related conditions."
>
>
>
>   _____
>
> From: arnold flettrich <arnoldflettrich@...>
> To: vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Sat, January 2, 2010 7:13:03 PM
> Subject: Re: [vets_parkinsons_agentorange] Military .com article on
> presumptive issues.
>
>
>
>
> special about veterans
>
> affairs oa Jan 3rd  60 minutes must watch Arnold
>
>
>
>   _____
>
> From: AlanO <theoldvet@...>
> To: vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Thu, December 31, 2009 11:58:15 AM
> Subject: [vets_parkinsons_agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive
> issues.
>
>
>
> Costly Agent Orange-Heart Disease Link Looms
> Tom Philpott | December 31, 2009
>
> The cost of war -- on veterans' health and taxpayer wallets -- will loom a
> little larger in the new year when the Department of Veterans Affairs issues
> a final rule to claim adjudicators to presume three more diseases of Vietnam
> veterans, including heart disease, were caused by exposure to Agent Orange.
>
> The rule, expected to be published soon, will make almost any veteran who
> set foot in Vietnam, and is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, B cell
> leukemia or ischemic heart disease (known also as coronary artery disease),
> eligible for disability compensation and VA medical care. The exception
> would be if credible evidence surfaces of a non-service cause for the
> ailment.
>
> Katie Roberts, VA press secretary, said no estimates will be available on
> numbers of veterans impacted or the potential cost to VA until after the
> rule change takes effect sometime in 2010. But the National Association for
> Uniformed Services was told by a VA official that up to 185,000 veterans
> could become eligible for benefits and the projected cost to VA might reach
> $50 billion, said Win Reither, a retired colonel on NAUS' executive board.
>
> NAUS also advised members that VA, to avoid aggravating its claims backlog,
> intends to "accept letters from family physicians supporting claims for
> Agent Orange-related conditions." It said thousands of widows whose husbands
> died of Agent Orange disabilities also will be eligible for retroactive
> benefits and VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation.
>
> "This is huge," said Ronald Abrams, co-director of the National Veterans
> Legal Services Program. NVLSP has represented veterans in Agent Orange
> lawsuits for the last 25 years. The non-profit law group publishes the
> "Veterans Benefits Manual," a 1900-page guide for veterans' advocates to
> navigate the maze for VA claims, appeals and key court decisions.
>
> Abrams said he can't guess at how many more thousands of veterans previously
> denied disability claims, or how many thousands more who haven't filed
> claims yet, will be eligible for benefits. But numbers, particularly of
> those with heart disease, will be very large, he suggested.
>
> All of the veterans "who have been trying to link their heart condition to a
> service-connected condition won't have to do it now if they're Vietnam
> vets," Abrams said. For VA, it will mean "a significant amount of money --
> and many, many, many people helped."
> The excitement over expansion of benefits for Vietnam veterans, and worry by
> some within the Obama administration over cost, flows from an announcement
> last October by VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. He said three categories
> would be added to the list of diseases the VA presumes were caused by Agent
> Orange. Veterans with the presumptive Agent Orange ailments can get
> disability compensation if they can show they made even a brief visit to
> Vietnam from 1962 to 1975. With a presumptive illness, claim applicants
> don't have to prove, as other claimants do, a direct association between
> their medical condition and military service.
>
> Shinseki said he based his decision on work of the Institute of Medicine
> (IOM) of the National Academies. VA contracts with IOM to gather veterans'
> health data and investigate links between diseases and toxic herbicide used
> in Vietnam to destroy vegetation and expose enemy positions.
>
> In a speech last July, Shinseki, former Army chief of staff and a wounded
> veteran of Vietnam, expressed frustration that "40 years after Agent Orange
> was last used in Vietnam, this secretary is still adjudicating claims for
> presumption of service-connected disabilities tied to its toxic effects." VA
> and the Defense Department should had conducted conclusive studies earlier
> on presumptive disabilities from Agent Orange, he suggested.
>
> "The scientific method and the failure to advocate for the veteran got in
> the way of our processes," Shinseki bluntly concluded.
> In last October's announcement he said VA "must do better reviews of
> illnesses that may be connected to service, and we will. Veterans who endure
> health problems deserve timely decisions based on solid evidence."
>
> When a disease is added to VA's list of ailments tied to Agent Orange,
> veterans with the disease can become eligible for retroactive disability
> payments, back to the date original claims were rejected, if after 1985.
>
> Joe Violante, legislative director for Disabled American Veterans, praised
> Shinseki's decision. But he said VA faces a "logistical nightmare" in trying
> to find veterans turned down on earlier on claims. A VA official told
> Violante, he said, that cost of the search could be part of that nightmare.
>
> Chairman of government affairs for Vietnam Veterans of America until last
> October was John Miterko. He said he wasn't surprised that Shinseki added
> ailments to the Agent Orange presumptive list including heart disease.
>
> "If you look at the Vietnam veteran population, the diseases we've
> contracted and the mortality rate, the only group dying faster rate are the
> World War II veterans," Miterko said. "We're picking up diseases by our `60s
> that we shouldn't be getting until our late `70s, early `80s. So his adding
> other diseases, heart disease in particular, isn't a surprise."
>
> Both Shinseki and his predecessor, James Peake, former Army surgeon general,
> had long military careers and served in Vietnam. "That's a hell of a bonus
> for us," Miterko said. Both of them have shown "much more empathy, much more
> understanding. They would have seen many of their own peer group suffering
> from the effects of exposure to Agent
> Orange."
>
> Miterko doesn't believe anyone can estimate how many veterans will benefit
> from the new presumptive diseases. VA will continue to process claims
> individually, he said, and likely won't be accepting Agent Orange as the
> cause of heart disease for someone "who has smoked for 40 years and is
> mobidly obese. Common sense is going to have to prevail as well."
>

#1230

From: Jim Richardson <jimmy2rich@...>
Date: Mon Jan 4, 2010 2:07 am
Subject: Re: Military .com article on presumptive issues.

jimmy2rich...

Offline

Boy!!!! It sure isn't promising after watching 60 min. I've had a request in for a video conference on my appeal of the denial on my claim for PD for months now and haven't heard anything yet.

On Sun, Jan 3, 2010 at 10:20 AM, Robert P. Walsh <rpwalsh@...> wrote:

�

Congress passed a law long ago, 38 USC section 5125, which permits your private physician�s report to be accepted with no need for a VA C & P exam.� This has been the law since 1994.

�

Of course, the VA C & P exam is the best chance for the VA to come up with a reason to deny a claim, so they always have one, or two, or three.

�

What this means is the VA is going to think about following the law.� Think about it.� Maybe they will actually do it.� Or not.

�

It is not easy building up a 1 million claim backlog.� You have to really put forth an effort.� Watch 60 Minutes on CBS tonight.

�

Happy New Year and good luck.

�

Bob

�

Robert P. Walsh

Attorney

Two West Michigan Avenue

Suite 301

Battle Creek, Michigan 49017

�

Telephone (269) 962-9693

Telecopier (269) 962-9592

E-mail: rpwalsh@...

�

From: vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Delores Lisle
Sent: Saturday, January 02, 2010 9:15 PM
To: vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [vets_parkinsons_agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

�

�

What does this mean? NAUS also advised members that VA, to avoid aggravating its claims backlog, intends to "accept letters from family physicians supporting claims for Agent Orange-related conditions."

�

From: arnold flettrich <arnoldflettrich@...>
To: vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sat, January 2, 2010 7:13:03 PM
Subject: Re: [vets_parkinsons_agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

special about veterans

affairs oa Jan 3rd� 60 minutes must watch Arnold

�

From: AlanO <theoldvet@...>
To: vets_parkinsons_agentorange@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thu, December 31, 2009 11:58:15 AM
Subject: [vets_parkinsons_agentorange] Military .com article on presumptive issues.

�

Costly Agent Orange-Heart Disease Link Looms
Tom Philpott | December 31, 2009

The cost of war -- on veterans' health and taxpayer wallets -- will loom a little larger in the new year when the Department of Veterans Affairs issues a final rule to claim adjudicators to presume three more diseases of Vietnam veterans, including heart disease, were caused by exposure to Agent Orange.

The rule, expected to be published soon, will make almost any veteran who set foot in Vietnam, and is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, B cell leukemia or ischemic heart disease (known also as coronary artery disease), eligible for disability compensation and VA medical care. The exception would be if credible evidence surfaces of a non-service cause for the ailment.

Katie Roberts, VA press secretary, said no estimates will be available on numbers of veterans impacted or the potential cost to VA until after the rule change takes effect sometime in 2010. But the National Association for Uniformed Services was told by a VA official that up to 185,000 veterans could become eligible for benefits and the projected cost to VA might reach $50 billion, said Win Reither, a retired colonel on NAUS' executive board.

NAUS also advised members that VA, to avoid aggravating its claims backlog, intends to "accept letters from family physicians supporting claims for Agent Orange-related conditions." It said thousands of widows whose husbands died of Agent Orange disabilities also will be eligible for retroactive benefits and VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation.

"This is huge," said Ronald Abrams, co-director of the National Veterans Legal Services Program. NVLSP has represented veterans in Agent Orange lawsuits for the last 25 years. The non-profit law group publishes the "Veterans Benefits Manual," a 1900-page guide for veterans' advocates to navigate the maze for VA claims, appeals and key court decisions.

Abrams said he can't guess at how many more thousands of veterans previously denied disability claims, or how many thousands more who haven't filed claims yet, will be eligible for benefits. But numbers, particularly of those with heart disease, will be very large, he suggested.

All of the veterans "who have been trying to link their heart condition to a service-connected condition won't have to do it now if they're Vietnam vets," Abrams said. For VA, it will mean "a significant amount of money -- and many, many, many people helped."
The excitement over expansion of benefits for Vietnam veterans, and worry by some within the Obama administration over cost, flows from an announcement last October by VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. He said three categories would be added to the list of diseases the VA presumes were caused by Agent Orange. Veterans with the presumptive Agent Orange ailments can get disability compensation if they can show they made even a brief visit to Vietnam from 1962 to 1975. With a presumptive illness, claim applicants don't have to prove, as other claimants do, a direct association between their medical condition and military service.

Shinseki said he based his decision on work of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies. VA contracts with IOM to gather veterans' health data and investigate links between diseases and toxic herbicide used in Vietnam to destroy vegetation and expose enemy positions.

In a speech last July, Shinseki, former Army chief of staff and a wounded veteran of Vietnam, expressed frustration that "40 years after Agent Orange was last used in Vietnam, this secretary is still adjudicating claims for presumption of service-connected disabilities tied to its toxic effects." VA and the Defense Department should had conducted conclusive studies earlier on presumptive disabilities from Agent Orange, he suggested.

"The scientific method and the failure to advocate for the veteran got in the way of our processes," Shinseki bluntly concluded.
In last October's announcement he said VA "must do better reviews of illnesses that may be connected to service, and we will. Veterans who endure health problems deserve timely decisions based on solid evidence."

When a disease is added to VA's list of ailments tied to Agent Orange, veterans with the disease can become eligible for retroactive disability payments, back to the date original claims were rejected, if after 1985.

Joe Violante, legislative director for Disabled American Veterans, praised Shinseki's decision. But he said VA faces a "logistical nightmare" in trying to find veterans turned down on earlier on claims. A VA official told Violante, he said, that cost of the search could be part of that nightmare.

Chairman of government affairs for Vietnam Veterans of America until last October was John Miterko. He said he wasn't surprised that Shinseki added ailments to the Agent Orange presumptive list including heart disease.

"If you look at the Vietnam veteran population, the diseases we've contracted and the mortality rate, the only group dying faster rate are the World War II veterans," Miterko said. "We're picking up diseases by our `60s that we shouldn't be getting until our late `70s, early `80s. So his adding other diseases, heart disease in particular, isn't a surprise."

Both Shinseki and his predecessor, James Peake, former Army surgeon general, had long military careers and served in Vietnam. "That's a hell of a bonus for us," Miterko said. Both of them have shown "much more empathy, much more understanding. They would have seen many of their own peer group suffering from the effects of exposure to Agent
Orange."

Miterko doesn't believe anyone can estimate how many veterans will benefit from the new presumptive diseases. VA will continue to process claims individually, he said, and likely won't be accepting Agent Orange as the cause of heart disease for someone "who has smoked for 40 years and is mobidly obese. Common sense is going to have to prevail as well."

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