VA Publishes Changed Agent Orange Policy – Audrey Beebe

The VA published their new policy that will hopefully add some peace to the recent Agent Orange strife.  Previous policy concerning military members who served near the DMZ between North and South Korea was very limiting.  The only thing clear about it was the dates under which a veteran could claim they were exposed.

Under previous policy, a veteran who believed that his or her illness was related to exposure to Agent Orange had to leap a few hurdles.  Among the requirements was service in pre-specified units known to have served along the DMZ, and only if service was between the dates of April 1968 and July 1969.  Additionally, veterans were required to prove that their health symptoms were definitely caused by exposure to Agent Orange.

The new policy is much more “veteran-friendly.”  Under the new policy, the list of qualifying units has been expanded.  Instead of just a few units, a slightly more liberal application of those which served in or near the DMZ is used.  Additionally, the dates of possible exposure have been dramatically lengthened.  The beginning date remains April 1, 1968, but the end date has been push back several years, until August 31, 1971 to allow for residual contamination in addition to direct exposure.     Continue…

Fraudulent Benefits Claim Lands Recruiter in Jail – James Kelley

Randall Moneymaker, a former Army recruiter, was sentenced to three years in prison and will be required to repay $18,449 after being found guilty of falsifying documents.  The ruling was filed on Thursday, January 13^th, by U.S. District Court Judge James Turk in Roanoke.

Moneymaker falsified records claiming that he served in the Mideast and the Caribbean, amongst other places to secure his employment, and in 2008 was convicted of six charges related to fraudulent benefits claims and theft.  During his three day trial, Moneymaker’s list of declared service related wounds and honors was brought into question by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jake Jacobson.

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Congress Looking to Require Chiropractic Availability at All VA Facilities – Audrey Beebe

Representative Bob Filner recently introduced the Chiropractic Care to All Veterans Act to the House, which both the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) and theAssociation of Chiropractic Colleges (ACC) have demonstrated strong support of.

Under the new bill (H.R. 329), chiropractic care will become more readily available to veterans.  The bill is similar to another piece of legislation which passed the House in 2010, but failed to gain the attention of the Senate.

Should the Chiropractic Care to All Veterans Act pass, all major VA medical facilities will be required to have at least one chiropractic physician on staff by 2014.  Chiropractic care will also be protected under the Department of Veteran Affairs Health Care Programs Enhancement Act of 2001 so that the treatment will be included in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations and no longer denied coverage.

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How to File a VA Claim Appeal – Audrey Beebe

Filing a VA claim involves lots of paperwork and a lot of waiting.  Often, when a response is finally received, many veterans find that they have been told they will receive less help than they were hoping for, than they feel they deserve.  The next step, if you find yourself in this situation, is to appeal your claim.

First:  Acquire a copy of the physical exam you took to enter your first claim.  You can get this from the VA facility where you had the physical performed.  If you have troubles getting this report, the Freedom of Information Office is the next best place to go for assistance.

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A Tribute to the Big Guys: Cell phone Companies that Give a Discount to Veterans  – Audrey Beebe

Well, I could amend this to say, companies that give a discount to veterans and were happy to talk with me.  None the less, heres the deal.  Many large corporation have partnerships with the major cell phone companies.  Generally the corporation says to their employees, “hey, go get your cell service from T-Mobile.”  Then, that cell company will turn around and give all those employee a small percentage discount on monthly phone plans.  Usually the discount is between 10% and 15%.  So I called and emailed around to the major companies that have re-occuring monthly cell service plans to see who would give me, as a veteran, a discount, and what I had to do to get it.

Here are the rankings!

T-Mobile :  T-Mobile offers veterans a 15% discount.  To get the discount you have to contact their customer service and supply your retirement date and brance of service.  Though I was not told, I’d be ready to fax or email a .pdf copy of your DD-214 as well, just in case.

Verizon :  Verizon also offers veterans a 15% discount on most, but not all, of their plans.  Again, to aquire this discount, contact their customer service and have your DD-214 ready.

Sprint: Sprint is above AT&T on my list, not because they offer veterans a discount (sadly, they do not), but because they talked with me on the phone in a very nice manner.  They do, however, give active duty military a discount on phone plans, including international plans.

AT&T :  This is a large “maybe.”  Unforunately I was unable to ever talk to the “right person” who could give me and answer.  My email replies simply stated that to apply for a discount, a person had to enter their corporate supplied email address for recognition.  Well, the VA doesn’t supply the millions of veterans in America with email addresses, so the logical conlusion is that no, AT&T does not offer veterans’ discounts.

Readers’ Letters

In future issues, we’d love to print some of our readers’ letters.  You can send us a response on anything we’ve printed in the newletter.  All opinions, favorable or unfavorable will be given fair consideration for reprinting. Please address your email to audrey@vabenefitblog.com .

YOU Benefit

Do you have a compelling story to tell regarding your VA Benefits? We also have a 100% user-generated blog we call YOU Benefit. We’d love to host your writing. Take a quick look at our writing guidelines and send an email to audrey@vabenefitblog.com if you’re interested.