Veteran Benefits: Delivering Compensation and Pension and Fiduciary Services
As research and environmental study evolves or new legislative and regulatory provisions are written regarding illnesses for Gulf War Veterans, the VA Compensation Service of the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) performs necessary rule-making and develops field training to support the changes. To further assist Gulf War Veterans, Compensation Service provides training letters designed to inform and instruct regional office personnel on development and adjudication of disability claims based on Southwest Asia service. VBA continues to work with the VA/DoD Deployment Health Working Group to identify environmental exposures whether related to the Gulf War or elsewhere. Finally, VBA continued to work with the VHA and various DoD offices on an effort to develop and execute a separation health assessment with DoD, an effort that is will reduce the future burden of proving service connection that Veterans often must bear when seeking recognition for exposure-related illnesses and injuries years after service.
Please provide your comments, questions, and suggestion on how we may improve the Veterans Benefits section of the report.
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Jim Bunker commented
The one person in KY VARO that even does the training needs to go. He stated he does not like the 3.317 and works to rate or deny them. in the last claim there. he asked for a medical opinion if fibromyalgia was cause in the service. sent to the examiner on jan. 2013. The same for a diagnosed IBS. and would not tuch the secondary of the headaches to FM. Now you think this guy that is training other is reALLY GOING TO HELP ANY ONE. I even still see this in the St. Pete RO on claims under 3.317.
No matter what you do it will not work until everyone in the VA system is all doing it right. Why do you think you have back logs???
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luisnegron commented
is simple you arecompeten you are not simple
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Tammy commented
Update the ratings levels. For many of us, Migraines are totally disabling, Many times preventing us from even completing daily activities of living, yet they only go to 50%. They should go to 100%.
CFS, for the 100% level, requires our doc to prescribe bed rest, yet all the VA, and other scientific literature says for the docs to never prescribe bed rest.
Several recent Gulf War Illness studies have shown that the majority of us have brain damage. You should add GWI to the ratings, and have it similar to TBI, The higher of 30%, or the total of the residuals.
Central sleep apnea should be recognized as a residual of GWI.
Add sleep disturbances to the ratings, lots of us only sleep for 3 hours. To get more, we need to load up on medications, which are not good for us in the long term.
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George Hale commented
Get a dose of reality. Those nine infectious diseases that you added, were taken as a slap in the face. Is there anyone that actually claimed any of them? then to say they must be diagnosed withing a year of us leaving service, when the vast majority of us have been out for more then 10 years? Was that a joke, to see if we are paying attention?
How about the research on Multiple Sclerosis that Congress directed you do? Where is that?