SERVICE OFFICER JOHN LAVERY

VFW-DSO

CLAIMS REPRESENTATIVE

Cheyenne VA 

2360 E. PERSHING BLVD

CHEYENNE, WY 82001

John.Lavery1@va.gov

Phone 307-778-7340;  FAX 307-778-7549

Vicki Richards, Claims Consultant
VFW Service Office
Cheyenne, WY 82001

Vicki.Richards@va.gov

Good morning/afternoon All. I said last month that I would talk about the services the VA offers our Homeless Veterans.

1. National Call Center for Homeless Veterans- The VA has founded a National Call Center for Homeless Veterans hotline to ensure that homeless Veterans or veterans at-risk for homelessness have free, 24/7 access to trained counselors. The hotline is intended to assist homeless Veterans and their families, VA Medical Centers, federal, state and local partners, community agencies, service providers and others in the community. To be connected to a trained VA staff member call 1-877-4AID VET (877-424-3838).

2. VA Assistance to Stand Downs- VA programs and staff have actually participated in each of the Stand Downs for Homeless Veterans run by local coalitions in various cities each year. In wartime Stand Downs, front line troops are removed to a place of relative safety for rest and needed assistance before returning to combat. Similarly, peacetime Stand Downs give homeless Veterans 1-3 days of safety and security where they can obtain food, shelter, clothing and a range of other types of assistance, including VA provided health care, benefits certifications, and linkages with other programs suited to their particular needs.

3. Drop- in Centers- These programs provide a daytime sanctuary where homeless Veterans can clean up, wash their clothes and participate in a variety of Therapeutic and rehabilitative activities. Linkages with longer-term assistance are also available.

4. Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans (DCHV)- this program provides Biopsychosicial treatment and rehabilitation to homeless Veterans. This program provides residential treatment to approximately 5,000 homeless Veterans, with health problems, each year. The average length of stay in the program is 4 months. The domiciliaries conduct outreach and referral, vocational counseling and rehabilitation; and post-discharge community support.

There are so many other worthwhile programs that the VA is involved with. The VA is constantly looking for volunteers to help with this tremendous task.

Please remember our homeless Veterans in your thoughts and prayers.

From our VFW Service Office Vicki and I wish you all Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.

May God Bless America and all of our Veterans and their families!

SERVICE OFFICER JOHN LAVERY

VFW-DSO

CLAIMS REPRESENTATIVE

Cheyenne VA 

2360 E. PERSHING BLVD

CHEYENNE, WY 82001

John.Lavery1@va.gov

Phone 307-778-7340;  FAX 307-778-7549

Vicki Richards, Claims Consultant
VFW Service Office
Cheyenne, WY 82001

Vicki.Richards@va.gov

NOVEMBER 2011

Since this month and next month are the seasons of Thanksgiving and Peace on Earth I thought I would show the FY 2009 statistics that are available for our Homeless Veterans:

• There are 130,000-200,00 homeless Veterans on any given night.
• Between ¼ and 1/5 of all homeless are Veterans.
• Three times these are at risk for homelessness.
• Over 400,000 Veterans are homeless over the course of the year.
• 40% of homeless men are Veterans (only 34% of the general adult male population are Veterans).
• 97% of homeless Veterans are male.

More Demographics: Of the Homeless Veterans:
• 47% Vietnam-era Veterans
• 17% post-Vietnam
• 15% pre-Vietnam
• 67% served three years or more
• 33% stationed in combat zones
• 25% have used VA Homeless Services
• 85% completed high school/GED, compared to 56% of non-Veterans
• 89% received Honorable Discharges


More Demographics:
• 79% reside in central cities
• 16% reside in suburban areas
• 5% reside in rural areas
• 76% experience alcohol, drug, or mental health issues
• Veterans are 50% more likely than the average American to become homeless

Reports:
• 3,000+ cities/counties reported 75,609 homeless Veterans on a single night in January 2009.
• 57% stayed in emergency shelter/transitional housing program.
• 96% experienced homeless alone
• 4% were part of a family.
• Common characteristics of sheltered homeless Veterans:

1. White male
2. between the ages of 31 and 50
3. disabled

• Most Veterans in emergency shelters stayed for only brief periods:

~33% stayed less than one week
~61% stayed less than one month
~84% stayed for less than 3 months

Veterans remain in shelters longer than non-Veterans.

Please keep our Homeless Veterans and non-Veterans in your prayers.

Next month I will “talk” about services the VA offers for our Homeless Veterans.

Thank you.

SERVICE OFFICER JOHN LAVERY

VFW-DSO

CLAIMS REPRESENTATIVE

Cheyenne VA 

2360 E. PERSHING BLVD

CHEYENNE, WY 82001

John.Lavery1@va.gov

Phone 307-778-7340;  FAX 307-778-7549

Vicki Richards, Claims Consultant
VFW Service Office
Cheyenne, WY 82001

Vicki.Richards@va.gov

1. As of January 01, 2012 is the tentative date that the VA will terminate paying Veterans their disability compensation by mail. The VA has stressed through the last several years the benefits of electronic deposit. Problems with mail fraud/theft/loss have resulted in thousands of dollars in losses from the VA.

There is a pilot program that is on the “drawing board” for a debit-card that the VA wants to implement for those Veterans who still do not and or do not want a designated bank account. The VA will input the money on the debit-card at the first of the month and the Veteran will be responsible for monitoring the amount on the card.

2. From it system-wide electronic health record to its coordinated approach to the full range of care, including prevention as well as treatment, the VA has long been a leader in innovation and patient-centered care.

Several comprehensive studies, including those by the Congressional Budget Office, the Government Accountability Office and the Rand Corporation, agree that the VA provides excellent patient care, equal to or better than most other health systems..

The combination of its quality-measurement means, routine performance reporting and support tools put the VA at a distinct advantage. The VA also does much better on chronic disease care and in overall quality.



Thank you.

SERVICE OFFICER JOHN LAVERY

VFW-DSO

CLAIMS REPRESENTATIVE

Cheyenne VA 

2360 E. PERSHING BLVD

CHEYENNE, WY 82001

John.Lavery1@va.gov

Phone 307-778-7340;  FAX 307-778-7549

Vicki Richards, Claims Consultant
VFW Service Office
Cheyenne, WY 82001

Vicki.Richards@va.gov

1. There seems to be some confusion as to why a Veteran, who was awarded a combat badge or a combat medal of some type, cannot be awarded compensation automatically for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) by the VA.
The badge and/or award will help in processing and establishing a claim for PTSD, but the Veteran will still need a diagnosis of PTSD from a qualifying physician. Many times we have seen Veterans who have submitted a claim for PTSD only to be diagnosed with a mental health issue related to something else.
It could be depression/anger/anxiety from family issues, financial issues or civilian/military work-related issues.


2. The VA is required by law to help the Veteran obtained any and all service medical records that are available.
Quite frequently we have Veterans inform us that the Army Post or Air Force Base he/she was stationed at has been closed over the years and, after fruitless endeavors, the VA cannot obtain any medical treatment records for that individual Veteran.

Sadly, it is up to the Veteran to acquire those medical records in order for the VA to process their claim(s).
Some Veterans have stated, either in our office or to me over the phone, that the VA has to approve their claims since no service medical/treatment records are to be found. That is false. Without a copy of the Veteran’s service medical records the VA cannot process the claim and will not, of course, award said claim(s).
That action would constitute fraud on the part of the VA.

3. Veterans who feel that they may be facing homelessness as a result of losing their
home can call (877) 4AID VET (877-424-3838) or go to: www1.va.gov/HOMELESS/NationalCallCenter.asp to receive immediate assistance from the VA.

4. The VFW Service Office-Cheyenne VA, will be closed on 09/16/2011 through 09/24/2011. Vicki and I will be attending accreditation training in MD those days.
We will be open at normal business hours on 09/27/2011.


Thank you.

SERVICE OFFICER JOHN LAVERY

VFW-DSO

CLAIMS REPRESENTATIVE

Cheyenne VA 

2360 E. PERSHING BLVD

CHEYENNE, WY 82001

John.Lavery1@va.gov

Phone 307-778-7340;  FAX 307-778-7549

Vicki Richards, Claims Consultant
VFW Service Office
Cheyenne, WY 82001

Vicki.Richards@va.gov

1. If a Veteran wishes to file for a claim or claims then the following will be of great help:

a) If the Veteran has already retired or been honorably discharged from the military the Veteran will want to fill out a VA Form (VAF) 21-526.
The first four pages are instructions on how to fill out said form.
If the Veteran is filling out the form for disability only then the portion of the VAF 21-526 dealing with Pension need not be filled out.
It would be of a great help that when the Veteran is ready to file the form he/she has any copies of their military medical records that they may have on hand. Instead of hoping or thinking that the VA will acquire those medial records, it would be wise to provide the VA copies of what he/she may have. Being proactive is better than being reactive, I always say.
The Veteran will also have to provide a copy of their marriage certificate and/or birth certificates of any children/dependents under 18 years of age and/or children in college under the age of 23 years of age.

b) If the Veteran is still in the service and is retiring/getting out within the next 180 days a VAF 21-526c will have to be filled out. If this Veteran is married/has children then a VAF 21-686c will also have to be filled out.
A copy of the marriage certificate and birth certificates for children (as outlined above in “a”) will be needed also.
A “yet to be discharged/retired” Veteran will not know the status of their claim(s) until the VA receives a copy of their DD 214.
All QUICKSTART/BENEFITS DELIVERED UPON DISCHARGE (BDD) claims go to Salt Lake City, UT. So when then VA in Cheyenne or Sheridan gets the DD 214 they will FEDEX/UPS next day deliver it to SLC.

As I have mentioned before, the VA, in going through a Veteran’s service treatment records (SMR) will notate those disabilities that are chronic in nature. If a Veteran was seen several times for his/her back and it was documented by that military facility/sick call/clinic/hospital properly.
If the Veteran wants to file a claim for bilateral hips because he was a paratrooper; then hopefully he was seen on several occasions for that condition. If the Veteran was never seen for his hips while in the military, chances are the claim(s) will be denied. Food for thought.

c) At this time I would like to address the issue of Individual Unemployability (IU).
In order to meet the minimum requirements for the following must be met:

• Veteran has a service-connected disability at 60% or a disability of 40% for a combined total of 70% or more and a doctor’s statement (either VA or private provider) that states the Veteran is unemployable because of his/her service-connected PTSD or back condition or whatever.
So if a Veteran is service-connected (60%) for his/her back (person is, for instance, a truck driver) and cannot work anymore because of this disability; then we can file for IU if the Veteran can get a statement from his/her doctor informing the VA of this new development.
If this particular Veteran is a truck driver and is service-connected at 40%
for his/her back condition, but is rated at (combined) 70% for all
disabilities then we can file for IU as long as we get the health-care provider statement.
Many, many times we are getting request for IU and it is because the Veteran has decided he/she doesn’t want to work or can’t work because of the service-connected disabilities.
If the Veteran is service-connected at a lower degree of disability we can file for IU, but we must ask for an “Extra-Scheduler Decision” which is VA lingo that a managerial decision has to be made for this type of IU from the VA. I have been in this office for a year and I have yet to see a ESD IU approved!


Any questions, please call me.

Thank you.