Transcript 0:00 It's too much Kerry. 0:02 [upbeat music] Hello and welcome to another VA, uh, question benef- question answer, uh, live. 0:24 Matt Hill here with Kerry Baker. Kerry, happy, uh, Veterans Day. Thank you for your service. Thank you, Matt. How you doing? I'm doing great. Kerry has the day off, but he agreed to, uh, sit in with me. 0:35 We haven't had a chance to do one of these together in a while, so I, I'm s- very appreciative of that. Well, I'm happy to do it. 0:45 Um, and I also just wanna say thank you all to the vets who are watching today for, for your service, and hopefully today we can kinda figure out some answers to your questions together and, and maybe get your claims further down the road where they need to be. 0:58 With that, let's go ahead and jump in. All right. We got Darwin here. "Hey gents. Darwin from Tampa. You served, you deserve." I don't know, Kerry, if you've had the privilege of being with mom, but she 1:10 has helped people make these, uh, snappy little slogans. Mm-hmm. Uh, "Last week we discussed my case, SMCL. I was awarded fifty percent for migraines, but I wasn't given SMCL and a half. I appealed with HLR. HLR denied. 1:25 Frustration on oh nine nine six and forty-one thirty-eight. I cited Berry. To add insult to injury, the St. Pete RO opened a claim for improper grant of SMCL. Appeal direct to VBA. Confused." 1:39 [sighs] "I require sleep apnea study via my primary care doctor. Unbeknownst to the rater who scheduled me for a, a sleep apnea exam, I received sleep apnea results, CPAP issued. Should I attend the exam?" And let's see. 1:52 "Had a C&P exam November twenty-fourth, DBQ, diagnosed lumbar sacral. The range of motion criteria under the reg, it warrants forty percent. The rater scheduled another lumbar C&P exam. Should I attend 2:07 or submit, uh, November twenty-four DBQ, diagnosis lumbar sacral range of motion DBQ with my radiculopathy DBQ and Nexus letter as a fully developed claim? The real fraud is VA's incompetence." Amen to that. 2:22 Uh, let's go back to, I think, the second part of this is where the first question was. Um, I don't know. Yeah, your thoughts here. It's interesting, Kerry. 2:32 So it looks like he's got an appeal going, yet the VA opened a claim below trying to reduce him. Yeah. My g- ca- what's the first, the first part say again? Yes. All right. 2:50 So it doesn't say, unless I missed it, what he's, uh, getting SMCL four. Mm-hmm. Um, sounds like it's A and A maybe. Um, 3:02 uh, so, uh, w- it's kind of hard to answer without knowing that, but it, it also sounds like maybe you had a HLR conference, and the HLR decided, uh, that, "Oh, uh, I think they awarded SMCL incorrectly," and started that inquiry, uh, which they're kinda not supposed to do things that are detrimental unless it's a CUE. 3:26 Um, but we do see them do that from time to time. So I, you know, without knowing what the, what the L was granted based on, 3:36 uh, I'm, you know, I'm not sure, but it, if they're trying to say now that was incorrect, yeah, I would absolutely appeal that to the board. Uh, if a, if a DRO is saying it, it's probably gonna... 3:48 you're gonna run into some issues there trying to get it corrected locally, uh, 'cause, you know, they kinda, they kinda r- rule the roost, uh, when it comes to local appeals. 3:58 Um, I would go to the exams, uh, just because if you don't, uh, you run the risk of them saying, "Well, you, you know, failure to show up, uh, for the exam, you know, we can't grant you benefits if you don't show up for the exam." 4:13 Uh- It's an easy denial for them. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you may have your own, uh, exam, and that's fine, but they have the discretion to order one if they want one. Uh, and you need to go to it. 4:25 If it turns out bad, and it's opposite of yours, then you've got yours to argue, uh, to the board, and, and theirs are ninety-nine percent of the time inadequate in some form or fashion. 4:37 Maybe ninety, maybe ninety percent. [laughs] Let's go to, uh, let's, I think, third part. Let's make sure we answered all this. 4:44 Um, yeah, so y- so it looks like you have exams both for, uh, your sleep apnea and your spine issues, and I agree with Kerry, you need to go to both of those. 4:53 Uh, just go to four and, real quick, just wanna make sure we got all this stuff here. Yes, attend. And the last one. 5:03 Um, I would, I would not resubmit a, a fully developed claim because you are in the middle of a claim here, and so that would just confuse things. 5:12 Question I have for you, Darwin, is I think you, you're, you're looking at forty percent for your back. 5:17 I'm interested in your radiculopathy if you have greater than twenty percent, you know, forty percent for one leg or the other, 'cause my, my thought that forty percent for a back- Yeah... 5:27 I just don't see the VA giving that. I mean, they, they're, they're so stingy with back ratings. 5:30 So I'm wondering how bad the radiculopathy is and if we should be talking about loss of use for one or both of your legs as well. Um, so, you know, the VA wants to play the reduction game. 5:38 Let's play the, hey, let's, let's get this even higher game. And then the key for me would be how you get the aid and attendance. Are we gonna get it through the back and the radiculopathy? 5:49 Can we get it just through the radiculopathy or the back so that then we can start stacking on from there? Um, but, but this is kinda just throwing that out there without knowing more about your ratings. Yeah. 6:01 And it, y- you know, the, this question too kind of causes me to get on my, my high horse just a little bit- Oh boy. He's worse than Carol, by the way, so here we goI, you know, I... 6:10 And I don't know all the disabilities, so I'm, you know, I'm taking some liberties here. But your SMCL, uh, and that may be, you may be underrated at SMCL. 6:19 Uh, but if you're not, and you're trying to squeeze out a half step, you're, you're, you're putting eyes on your case. Mm-hmm. 6:28 So you gotta ask yourself, is it, is it really worth you opening your case up when you've already got a pretty high benefit? 6:35 Uh, now, if, if, you know, that L is based on loss of use of both legs, something like that, uh, and then you've got extra disabilities, then it becomes a legal analysis. It's a mathematical issue. 6:48 Uh, did they apply Berry at all, much less correctly? Um, you know, and that becomes a little simpler. But when it's based on A and A, you know, did they base it on all your service-connected disabilities? Uh, you know, 7:04 y-y-you always run that risk when you're trying to squeeze a little bit extra out. So I always preach caution with that. 7:10 Uh, you don't wanna get into fighting to keep your benefits when you're trying to get inc- uh, additional benefits. Sometimes it's not worth it. 7:18 Of course, the response to that, since she's not here, from Carol would be squeeze them for every single thing they're worth. I tend to be a little more cautious and agree with Kerry. 7:26 But, you know, if, if it is just mathematical, meaning you've got L and not-- for one issue and now you, you got another fifty, I, I, I pursue that. Yeah. All right, next. 7:39 ST wanted to, "I have a PCFC denial that I sent to the BDA three years ago. It was just remanded and the judge ordered a clinical opinion and an actual letter with denial reason to be mailed to me, citing what is, 7:58 uh... I ha- uh, I have a PCAFC denial, that documentation they used to deny me. My question is, will CT-- 8:08 CEAT or whoever is over the PCAFC be required to follow the judge's orders and/or a clinical opinion?" Kerry, I, I don't know, uh, these particular acronyms, do you? 8:23 Well, the PCAFC is the caregiver program. Um, I, I... The CEAT I'm not sure about. Um, it- that's maybe a hierarchy of the, of the overall caregiver program. 8:38 But, uh, you know, the people at the local facility will be deciding it. Um, even though it's on remand from the board, it goes-- it still goes back to the local center. 8:48 And yes, they are required to follow, uh, the judge's orders on a remand. That's, that's, you know, they, they're not supposed to deviate from that. Doesn't mean they're gonna get it right. 8:59 They get it wrong all the time. Um, and if they do get it wrong, you go back to the board, and the board will send it back to them and try to enforce their, their remand instructions. But no, that's a requirement. Um, 9:11 but yeah, it sounds like they're, uh, they've got a remand on a caregiver appeal. So two things I'll say on that. One, caregiver cases to me are still the Wild West. It's like they're writing the rules as they go. 9:24 They don't know what they're doing. Um, unfortunately, this is going to the Veterans Health Administration, which is even less competent than the Veterans Benefit Administration when it comes to administering benefits. 9:34 So, uh, they're supposed to follow this law. You know, if, if they didn't get an opinion, I frankly would not be surprised. 9:42 The second issue that Kerry just said as far as appealing to the board, you gotta make sure that if they do this wrong, you actively appeal to the board. 9:50 It used to be that if they screwed up, it automatically went back to the board. That is not the case anymore. So I'm expecting they screw up, just being blunt with you. 9:59 Uh, so make sure you appeal that back to the board and make sure you can... The more you can articulate what you saw they did improperly, especially 10:07 pertaining to the board's remand, the better, better position you're gonna be in. Mr. Ray504, "Part one, vet service-connected PTSD due to MST, vet suffered h-head injury only documented through buddy statement written. 10:24 VA acknowledged buddy statement from previous PTSD claim. [thudding] Vet's now diagnosed with residual TBI. Can she add direct service connection, although no medical records in service for head trauma or secondary? 10:37 Thank you, and salute to you, all you veterans." Oh, I think the veteran can apply for A and-- A and AMC- SMCL, but once she's service-connected, does she apply for SMCT? Kerry? Uh, go back to that first one. Uh, 10:53 so vet has SCPTSD already, suffered a head injury. All right, so my understanding is, sounds like they got the TBI service-connected now. Is that right? Go to the second one. No, no, no. No service connection to TBI. Oh. 11:08 No service connection for the... Okay. Uh, now can she apply for direct? Okay. Well, uh, yes, but you can apply for direct service connection, uh, if you've got the evidence to show it. 11:21 Uh, you're gonna need a few things. You've got the buddy statement that may help show the in-service event. They're going to, uh, need a diagnosis, which sounds like they've got, of the TBI residuals. 11:32 Um, so yeah, I mean, that-- if the head trauma occurred in service, that's a direct service connection claim. Um, and the- And the buddy statement is enough. 11:41 [clears throat] The fact that you don't have medical records does not matter. Yeah. And what was the last... Was that the last part? Uh, wanted to talk about SMCL. 11:50 [clears throat] Well, I, you know, I would work on the service connection for the TBI first. 11:56 Uh, if you get that, you know, uh, c- you can show, if y- as long as she can show entitlement to SMCL, uh, then yeah, you can argue for aid and attendance. Uh, if you can't get the L, you're not gonna get the TAll right? 12:11 The T is the highest rate VA pays. It is not something they give out easily. Um, you gotta... 12:17 But, but you've gotta be able to get regular aid and attendance or they're n- never gonna give you the higher level of aid and attendance based on the T. So here's a, here's a theoretical for you, Kerry. 12:27 It sounds like they're, they're looking for SMCL based on the service-connected PTSD. I agree with you. Let's put that aside. 12:34 We get the service connection for TBI, and then let's say we get a grant of aid and attendance for both of those. Mm-hmm. Do you think that can then be bolstered up to a T? 12:45 Just saying, "Hey, uh, part of my aid and attendance is TBI." It, you know, it might can. Every case is obviously a little bit different. It, they... 12:55 In my opinion, they really muddied the waters between aid and attendance, uh, at the regular aid and attendance level and aid and attendance at the SMCT level. 13:06 Not that I disagree with the change that recently occurred in court, where you don't have to show that the, uh, that the, that the s- services that you need have to come from a medical expert. 13:20 You know, they took that away. Um, and so... But, but when you take it away, what, what is the real delineation between the two? Right? And that's kind of gray, uh, in my opinion now. 13:37 Now, that could help, uh, get SMCT in some cases, um, 13:45 or it can make it murkier, where some, uh, you know, under, uh, under-trained raters are gonna look for other criteria that you might not meet, you know, that would normally get you to R2, which is the same, same pay rate. 13:57 Um, but if, if you can show that you need the A&A due to the TBI or the s- or the combination of TBI and the PTSD, obviously that does set you up for potential T. Um, 14:11 but I, you know, I think some clarity is needed, uh, just in the business itself, uh, between those two. Uh, 'cause I, I think it, it's, it's really confusing at this point for a lot of vets. 14:26 Uh, what, what's your opinion on that, Matt? Well, I, I [laughs] I'd rather play the murkiness to our advantage right now, 'cause they, they've been using it- Sure. Sure... against us. 14:38 Now the court said, "Hey, they just gotta meet the base rate of SMCL." So I feel like, I mean, we've been winning a lot of these T cases- Yeah... and, um, I feel like we got a good formula out there. And, you know, Mr. 14:48 Ray, what I, I would say to you is you're not gonna win this at the regional office. This is... 14:52 There, there, there's too many, um, opportunities here for them to poke holes in it and not give you what you deserve if she, if she does deserve T. But I, I mean, I don't know, Kerry. I just feel like, 15:04 when does the VA give, give us clarity? You know, it's like that's kind of what our job is, is interpreting the mud. Yeah. Yeah. You know? 15:10 Well, I mean, you've got the question on needing institutionalization without the care, right? Mm. Right. Right. Um, you know, and if, i- if, if it's, if it's true, I think there's probably multiple thought processes. 15:22 If it's true that that's all you need to show extra, in addition to the regular A&A where you just need someone's care, th- then yeah, I think you could use that to, uh, uh... 15:34 You know, because if you need the care and you don't have it, where are you gonna go? Yeah. Yeah. Um, it seems like, well, you would have to go to an institution. I, I, I don't really see any other way. 15:47 [laughs] But, uh, on the flip side of that coin, there's an argument that, well, then that takes away the difference between regular and SMCT. Um- Yeah... but hey, if we can use it to our advantage, then, then great. 15:58 You know? Good luck to you with her on that, Mr. Ray. Yeah. Miss Ambiguity, good to see you. 16:06 "Can a vet use 70% mental health plus TDIU and use a combination of diabetic conditions that have a combined rating of 60% to get SMCS?" Yes. 16:17 "Can a vet get dual benefits for VA homemaker health aid program and caregiver family stipend program? If so, under what conditions and circumstances?" 16:29 I am not familiar with the home- Yeah, I, I, I don't know the homemaker either. Um, maybe that's something you would, uh, educate us on, but I, I, I have not heard of that. 16:41 Sorry, after the lovely comment you just, or lovely compliment you just gave us. [laughs] I Served, I Deserved, here we go. Uh, one of three. "Hello there. Filed for lumbar sprain. 16:54 It noted in my medical record with the military I had developed scoliosis due to the degenerative disc disease and the strain years later. I had a preexisting condition at age 13. 17:07 I joined, entry into the military, my back was in good shape. After the sprain in the military, it continued to worsen post-discharge. 17:14 I began having urinary frequency several years later, and my sprain turned into mod- moderate stenosis. I told the C&P examiner about this and she said she would note it, but didn't. 17:26 What are my hopes of getting approval at, for comp?" This is one where I would want to see, and if I were you, I'd wanna get a copy of your service records. You had a problem when you were 13. Did it resolve? 17:40 When you went in for your entry exam into service, it doesn't matter if that was noted. What matters is, was it noted with some kind of restrictions? 17:49 You know, you had this back disability and it caused these restrictions upon entry, but it wasn't enough to, to deny you entry into the service. 17:57 Um, because if it's noted and there's no problem, then they can't use the fact that you had a prior injury against you. 18:03 That's called a presumption of soundness, meaning that you were sound upon entry, and they have to show through clear and unmistakable evidence... Is it clear and unmistakable? Clear and- It is. 18:13 Cl- clear and unmistakable evidence that the preexisting injury is the cause of your current condition. So-That's my thoughts, um, r- I don't, I don't care. What, what do you got on that? So I... 18:26 All right, so be careful here with w- taking a, a... Do exactly what Matt said. 18:32 Look at your service records, uh, and is there a distinction between what was noted at age 13 and what, uh, uh, was found in the military? 18:44 'Cause VA likes to look at it under a broad, uh, view and say, "Well, you had a pre-existing back problem, so your back problem in service was due to that." It's not always that simple. If you had, say, a s- a, a... 19:01 If you were born with a spina bifida, uh, if I'm, if I'm, if I'm using the right terminology, um, it w- you know, but if there are multiple back problems you can be born with that aren't gonna affect you that much. 19:14 If you're, if, if you had s- one thing prior to the military, but in the military they diagnose something else, like degenerative disc disease, 19:24 well, then you don't h- eh, they can't say the degenerative disc disease pre-existed service unless the diagnosis at in- at entry was degenerative disc disease. Mm. 19:36 So y- you can, you still have an argument that you are entitled to the presumption of soundness, as Matt said, on the degenerative disc disease if that was diagnosed in service. 19:45 I'm not saying it was, I'm just using that as an example. So, so be careful with that. Y- y- you may be entitled to that presumption of soundness even though you have something noted, if they're not the same thing. 19:58 And the other thing is, if, if you were good when you went in, and you had to get treatment and s- problems started after you, you know, began training and, and serving in the military, 20:09 there is a presumption of aggravation. Uh, it is a little more complicated, uh, in some respects, 20:16 but if it got worse during service, then VA must presume that worsening is due to military service unless there is a specific finding that the, uh, worsening was due to the natural progress. 20:33 So first, did it get worse? If it did, the presumption attaches, and it's up to VA, it's, it's VA's burden to show that that worsening was the natural progress, and there has to be a specific finding of that. 20:46 The, the examiner just can't, or the rater just can't, you know, dream it up in their own head. Uh, so there's, there's some dual presumptions there that could help you. 20:56 Uh, it can be a little- And Kerry, how often do you see the VA acknowledging and obtain- and, uh, uh, meeting their burden? [laughs] Oh, very rarely un- okay, somebody, unless somebody like us forces it. 21:10 'Cause a lot, most of the, the, the frontline raters don't understand these presumptions. Uh, a lot of the DROs don't understand them. They'll tell you differently, but they'll, they'll still apply them incorrectly. 21:22 Uh, and then sometimes the board gets it wrong, too. Uh, so, you know, when it comes to these presumptions, it can get, uh... 21:29 You know, you can have a good case and just not know it, because the board's just simply applying the law wrong and you're not aware of it. I mean, so, so, so the carry-away here is 21:39 they, the burden shifts from you to prove your case to them to disprove... Oh, I'm gonna screw that up. 21:45 For them- Well, well that's a, that's a good point, because let's say you had the degen- the, the, the disc disease at entry. All right? But it was asymptomatic, and then you got treatment for it in the service. 21:58 Okay, they're gonna say, "Well, that pre-existed." Uh, to show aggravation, the burden then falls on the veteran to show that that worsening in service was due to service. Okay? Uh, does that make sense? 22:14 But when there- Yes... w- when there's a worsening in service where the presumption of soundness doesn't apply, uh, it, it immediately falls on VA. So y- you gotta make that distinction. W- does the burden lie with VA? 22:27 Does the burden lie, uh, with the veteran? Um, 22:32 I hope, I hope I didn't make that- Yeah, and, and, and, and, you know, every other case almost, the burden always lies with the vet, but this is a case, you know, reductions, severances, s- similar. 22:43 This is a case where the VA, once you show one of those, uh, presumption attaches, then the VA owns the burden. Okay? Yeah. 22:51 And as Kerry was laughing, we never see the VA take ownership of that burden in their C&P exams or in their decisions. 22:58 So, you know, if one of these presumptions, it, uh, uh, you know, works in your case, you gotta push the VA to say, "Hey, look, presumption of soundness or presumption of ag- aggravation works here. 23:08 You need to disprove my case." And what you'll see a lot these days are examiners b- being told to do an exam, offer an opinion as to whether, 23:21 name the disability, which clearly and unmistakably existed prior to service was, and then, and then finish the opinion, when there is no evidence whatsoever that that condition ever existed prior to service. 23:33 They just dream it up out of the blue and, and inject a, a, a, a pre-existence where no pre-existence even exists at all. So they, they get it really wrong sometimes. 23:45 So if you feel like we just spoke to you in circles, unfortunately that's kinda how these- Yeah... regs and statutes look. So, uh, anyway, hope we were some service there. 23:55 [laughs] "Benjamin, claim 1123, 20% approved, 324, and 60% 824. Dependent claim 125, approved effective date 125. Question, should it be backdated to 1123 original claim instead of 125?" Um, uh, 24:14 from what I'm seeing, your dependent claim was within a year of the approval date, both approval dates. So yes, that should go all the way back to the original effective date. 24:25 That, that's a, that's one of the VA's little tricks on saving money.So make sure you fight that. Yeah. B. 24:36 Thomas, twenty eleven C&P exam replied, "The onset of symptoms was two thousand and four after returning from Iraq. 24:43 Ongoing sleep problems with no benefit from meds, nightly nightmares, prolonged latency, uh, frequent wakening, tossing turns in bed, frequent sleep separately. Twenty twelve diagnosed with sleep apnea." 24:57 How does vet service connect these symptoms as a result of PTSD? Also, vet has temporary physical profile while in the reserves from twenty twelve noting sleep apnea, CPAP changes, uh, PULHES P, pulmonary one to two. 25:13 Can this document from reserves help direct your secondary service for sleep apnea to PTSD? All right, so let's go back. 25:20 First of all, I think we have to make an assumption here that he is service-connected for, uh, PTSD. It doesn't say that explicitly, but that's what I'm guessing. Um, if not, that's the, the... 25:33 Your sleep apnea claim is kind of secondary, and you gotta get that in first. Um, thoughts from you, Kerry, on sleep apnea and PTSD? [sighs] Uh, that, uh, no concrete ones, uh, but I would agree. 25:49 I, I would assume that the PTSD is service-connected here. Um, it looks like you've got a lot of symptoms going back to two thousand and four. So one, I would wanna know when you... 26:00 All right, when you say r- they noted these symptoms upon return from Iraq, were you still on active duty at that time? Mm. One question, 'cause if you were, that helps. 26:10 Uh, two, if you're service-connected for PTSD, and now you've got sleep apnea in addition to it, and you've got all these symptoms going back to two thousand and four, can any of them 26:22 be interpreted as the symptoms from sleep apnea versus PTSD? Because if, if the answer is yes, 26:32 then it's a little bit easier to get an examiner, uh, or your doctor or somebody to say, "Yes, this, this symptom was from sleep apnea, not PTSD," thereby making the sleep apnea, 26:47 uh, with its onset around two thousand and four with the PTSD. That way, you're not relying solely on s-sleep apnea caused by PTSD. All right? 26:58 A-anytime, i-in my opinion, if you can put sleep apnea during military service, you've got a better shot at it than relying solely on the PTSD. 27:09 'Cause they're gonna deny that claim, even if you've got good medical opinions. You're gonna have to go to board to win that. We, we do it all the time, uh, and they, they fight every one of them. Yeah. 27:21 Th-those are, uh... I, w- I, I'd love to see it. I bet you there's a memo or something somewhere saying, "Don't grant this," because we just see those- Yeah... come out across the board. And I agree with Kerry. 27:31 At the end of the day, the point is to get you the benefits you deserve as quickly as you deserve. So if you can do direct here, that's the line to go. Uh, go to the last part of this questions. 27:40 It's a question about reserves. It's a little more complicated. What do you think on this, Kerry, as far as it being noted in his reserves? It, um, a lot of times, that's not gonna help. Uh, you know, it, 27:54 there are a few things that are, uh, you can get service-connected because of the reserves, but sleep apnea, just noting it y-you know, in your medical records while you were undergoing some kind of, uh, exam or whatever during the reserves doesn't mean it started while you were performing duty, uh, in a limited capacity in those few days in the reserves. 28:18 Uh, if it's an exposure or something that, that happened while s- we'll say, for example, during one of your weekend drills, that's a different story. 28:27 If it's an actual injury during one of those drills, that's a different story. Uh, but in a systemic disease process, I try to stay away from using reserves as much as possible because it's, uh, it's rather difficult. 28:42 I agree. Debbie, one of two. "My friend's father served in the Air Force in the Korean War and then stationed in Japan during the '50s. He passed away February two thousand but had not filed any disability." 28:57 Oh, Kerry loves these. He's salivating. "Will her mother receive any VA compensation benefits?" All right, take it away, Baker. Well, it's not a Vietnam case. It's, uh, [laughs] uh, so, uh, go back to the first one. 29:09 Just make sure I've got all the, the facts right. He served in the Air Force during the Korean War. Um, all right, so what you're asking about is basically DIC. Um, it, it depends. 29:24 I mean, there's, there's a lot that's not being said here. Uh, what happened to him in the service, if anything significant, you know, of significance? Uh, was he, was he actually in the Korean War? Um, 29:39 as you know, did he participate in combat during the Korean War? Did he fight in the Chosin Reservoir? If so, did he have any frostbite? Uh, even though he never f-filed a claim for any of that stuff, if it existed, 29:55 and, and his surviving spouse can show that whatever it is that existed contributed to, at least, if not caused his death, then she's got, uh, a, a potential to get a successful DIC claim through. 30:12 She's going to file for DIC, so twenty-one dash five thirty-four, uh, and because that's a claim in her own right, even though she's not or he was never service-connected, she gets to come in and show that had he had gotten service-connected or something that would've been service-connected, and that something led to death or contributed to death, then she, uh, she can get, uh, DIC. 30:37 And she gets to fight that in her own right. Uh, so it doesn't matter that he was never service-connected for it. 30:44 But it could prove to be an uphill battleDepending on the scenario and what happened during a service and, and, uh, uh, you know, if he was there and nothing happened, he was fine when he got out, 30:57 you're gonna have a hard time with that claim. Yeah, something had to happen in service, but I think one, one big takeaway from this is even though he died twenty-five years ago, that's not a bar to benefits. 31:07 He can- Right... he can apply for the rest of her life. So let's take a couple scenarios. 31:12 Let's say he had a heart problem that was noticed in service while he was either in Korea or Japan, never filed for anything, and then he dies of a heart disease. That's, that's boom. That's direct. That's not- Right... 31:23 that's the primary cause of death. 31:25 Let's say a little more nuanced, he, he was in the war, he's in Chosun Valley, like Kerry was saying, and he had severe PTSD that he fought for most of his life, never really treated, but, you know, he had that, that combat incident, um, 31:39 and, and, and he died of a heart attack. Well, PTSD is a known contributory cause to heart disease. It's a-- it could have contributed to the stress that led to his heart attack. 31:48 So that could be service-connected, which would lead to her DSC benefit. So there's, there's angles here, but as Kerry said, bottom line, something had to happen in service. 31:56 There had to have been something that started disease process-wise in service to get that going. And we, and we've had claims where just, just like Matt said, you know, the vet was in combat. 32:06 There was, you know, if you talk to the surviving spouse or the children or, or other, it was clearly PTSD that existed. 32:13 Uh, you-- and, and you may have to pad the, the record with evidence from all those people- Mm-hmm... to show retrospectively in, in a, an examiner's opinion that the vet suffered from PTSD. 32:26 Uh, you know, but that's, th-that's, uh, rather possible in lots of scenarios. Good luck to you. All right. Got a next question here. 32:44 We answered them all. 32:46 [laughs] Timothy, "What's the best language I should use on my supplemental or Five Twenty-Six form filing for VA aid and attendance for service-connected conditions that are maxed out for those disability conditions? 32:58 PTSD fifty, migraines fifty, fifty for sleep apnea, forty over s- overactive bladder. 33:06 I don't want to convey to the rating activity that I'm seeking an increase, just the rate, just to be rated my claim based on evidentiary record, all static over five years." Okay. Is that it? 33:20 Um, all right, back to the first part, Kerry, what are your thoughts here? Well, there's no magic language. You're filing for A&A. So y- that's kind of the magic language [laughs] that I said there's none of. 33:33 Uh, you're gonna wanna m-make sure the form, the language on the form, uh, relays the fact that you're-- the benefit you're seeking is entitlement to SMC based on aid and attendance. 33:44 You're gonna have to put that on there. Apart from that, there's no real magic language. You know, that is a claim for an increase. It is a claim for an increase based on aid and attendance. There's no way around it. 33:57 Uh, it doesn't mean they're gonna give you, uh, a PTSD exam and, and a migraine exam. They're gonna give you an exam to determine if you need aid and attendance, and that's where you win or lose the case. 34:11 Uh, you can always submit your own Twenty-Six Eighty. Uh, a lot of doctors will help-- will, will fill that out. In fact, most of the questions on there require a, a doctor to do it, uh, or an ex- some kind of examiner. 34:23 Um, you know, your, your own doctor could do that. Uh, I would suggest doing it, uh, but they're gonna most likely, uh, examine you anyway, uh, and that's, you know, it's, it's gonna come down to that. Yeah. 34:40 Something I, I, I would add on here, this is where Carol would wanna be, "Let's, let's make this a money maker," and say, you know, can we say the PTSD in and of itself regularly affects your, your activities of daily living? 34:53 If that's the case, then you're looking at, um, getting steps higher for several of these. 34:58 Or, or maybe even better would be do the migraines affect you so much that you cannot regularly, um, complete your, your daily, uh, your, your active activities of daily living? 35:11 If that's the case, you can get A&A just for the migraines. You get a hundred percent bump for the PTSD, and then you get a half a bump for the sleep apnea. 35:18 I think we only had another forty percent after that, but you could get higher ratings. I, I would look at this and say, "Is there one of these two that causes A&A?" 35:28 If s- if so, then that's what you'd wanna base it on, because if you get it all lumped together, then you just get A&A, and you don't get the varied case, uh, steps, half steps and full steps. Uh-oh, Baker's thinking. 35:41 [laughs] Oh. Nope, nope. Uh, I got nothing to add to that. All right. Paula, good to see you. 35:47 "When claiming chronic diarrhea with constipation because there is no IBS diagnosis, is the undiagnosed illness MuckMe route most efficient, or would it be wise to get the diagnosis first?" Hmm. 36:02 Gulf War vet, Baker, what say you? 36:05 I say you need to read three point three one seven, not just the statute, because under the regulation, it's no longer just IBS, uh, it's functional gastrointestinal disorder. That includes IBS. 36:23 The good thing about functional gastrointestinal disorder, it includes constipation, it includes diarrhea. Uh, it, uh, it's basically a functional disease versus a structural disease, okay? 36:39 If you had a, a reflux b-due to a big hiatal hernia at the end of your esophagus, that's a structural defect. It's not gonna make for a very good, uh, Gulf War claim. 36:53 Uh, but if you've got chronic diarrhea and constipation, then that's almost the very definition of functional GI d-disabilityEven though it's not titled IBS. 37:06 So it's still a medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illness by being a functional GI condition. Now, somebody has to call it a functional GI condition, but you've got all the argument in the world there. 37:19 Um, and let's just say hypothetically, they say, "No, this is not a functional GI condition." Well, I mean, one, I would say, "Then what is it?" Okay? 37:29 If there's no structural cause to it, pull your head out of your butt a-and answer the question honestly. But it can still be an undiagnosed illness. Okay? If it's just the symptoms, 37:43 chronic diarrhea with no underlying cause, uh, it could, could still be an undiagnosed illness. So you kind of got two routes there. 37:52 Um, but I would go with a functional GI condition, uh, make that argument, and expect everyone involved 37:59 to give you the deer-in-the-headlights look, because nobody gets Gulf War claims, and it's been thirty years, and they still don't. So... 38:08 A-and as far as being wise to get a diagnosis first, d-don't, don't put that on you. Put it on them, okay? Yeah. File, get the C&P exam. 38:16 To me, it's heads you win, tails they lose, in that if you get a diagnosis of IBS, boom, we're there. If they say, "Hey, look, there's... We don't see a diagnosis here. 38:23 Yes, you have these symptoms, they're, they're objective, but we don't have a diagnosis," you win on that too. Now- And, and you can- You know... you can put functional GI condition on your form. 38:34 That's gonna cover all of it. Uh, and you can... But to include based on undiagnosed illness. Now, that may get them to look through a funnel and see only the word undiagnosed illness. 38:47 It shouldn't, but, uh, you can always kind of explain, um, you know, that you're filing it as a functional GI condition and/or, in the alternative, as an undiagnosed illness. 38:58 That way y-you've got your bases covered with the IBS, since that's, since that's a, a subcategory of functional GI condition. I hope that made sense, Matt. 39:10 I, I mean, again, this is, this is a muddy [chuckles] reg that they screw up, but yeah, it makes as much sense as you can out of that. All right, what do we got? Write me a Gulf War claim. [laughs] NCX vet. 39:22 Anyone know what it means, recent activity November 10th, 2025, we closed a request, exam review not performed November 10th, 2025, we closed request, exam request processing. Just popped up today. Yeah. 39:39 It sounds like th- somebody had ordered an exam and then somebody else come along and said, "We don't need this exam," and closed it out. Go, go back to it. Let me see. We closed a request, exam review not performed. 39:58 Closed request, exam request. Ooh. Okay, I'm, I'm, I'm reading between the lines here, so I could be wrong. Uh, it, it looks like the exam review was a... It could've been a, a, 40:17 a, a, a flag for them to review to see if they needed an exam. Maybe a, a routine future exam. And they did that review, and they closed it out, 'cause, you know, you're a VA employee, you gotta take your work credit. 40:30 Um, and then they set up an exam, which they could've done it under the same work credit, but now they got two and for price of one. Uh, and they're actually processing an actual exam request at the end of the day. 40:44 Uh, and so if that's the case, I could be wrong, uh, you will get a notice soon, uh, that you are being scheduled for an examination, unless they just plan to do it on the record and not bring you in, which would be odd. 41:01 Hmm. That's what I think, but I, you know, I... Veteran's Aid, good to see you. 41:07 If a veteran has asymptomatic bilateral pleuritis on the entry exam and it became symptomatic during service, but was never claimed, what's the best way to prove it years later if 41:19 service treatment records do not identify it as being symptomatic? Vet is outside of one-year presumptive. Would the C&P exam be enough, or would we need more evidence? Hmm. That is a perfect example 41:32 of the first question I think we had for the day, on when the burden is gonna be on the vet. 41:40 So if you had it on entry and y-you are saying it got worse and symptomatic during service, but there's nothing in the service records that show that, if, if I read what you wrote there correctly, 41:55 then the burden shifts to you to show that service aggravated the condition. If there was evidence of the aggravation, meaning you went to sick bay and your feet were hurting and all this and that, 42:08 then there's evidence of aggravation, the burden is on VA to sh- to show that it was just a natural progression. If I, if I got the facts right. I may not. What, what do you think, Matt? Yeah. 42:23 I, I think you're gonna need some kind of evidence here to get this, to get this through, unfortunately. Yeah. Um, but yeah, I, I agree that the onus is on you at the beginning of that. 42:33 That's what I would, what I would say. Mr. Reagan, can a veteran remove a dependent spouse even though they are still married? Veteran wants to avoid overpayment. [laughs] In theory you can. Uh, it's a... 42:48 They seem to not process these things timely, though, and the fact that you're still married, you're, you're still entitled. It would be once the divorce hap- I mean, I... What would you submit, Gary? 42:58 Like, you're not submitting divorce paperwork. You'd just say, "Hey, she's..." Ugh. You know, the-You, you can't-- here's a problem with this. You, uh, uh, you might run into what's called renouncement of benefits. Um, 43:14 and this is a benefit that you are entitled to. Uh, can you renou-renounce your benefits? The answer is yes, you can. Here's the stick-- the, the, the sticky part is it's all or nothing. Mm. 43:28 You renounce all your benefits, but you cannot renounce a part of your benefits. Okay? So they, and I've seen them do this, uh, they come back and say, "Look, this is your dependent spouse. You're still married. Uh, 43:43 the only way for us not to, to-- and now that she's on your award, y-you're gonna renounce that benefit, you gotta renounce all your benefits." Um, so I, uh, now in today's VA, are they gonna know that? Probably not. 43:57 Uh, they might take her off your award if you ask them to. Uh, but they're not gonna take all your benefits away if you ask them just to take her off your award. They may just say no. Uh, but if... 44:12 It sounds like you might be getting a divorce or something, you wanna, uh, avoid, avoid an overpayment or s-something's gonna end the marriage. Make sure you have all of your paperwork and submit it immediately. Yeah. 44:25 Uh, upload it. Not yet. Matt's right. They're, they're slow on these. 44:30 But because you did your due diligence to get it to them immediately, if they try to hit you with an overpayment, you've got very good grounds there to fight that overpayment. Um, there's... I think it's case law. 44:44 I, I know the board recently, 'cause we've had some of these, the board has, uh, uh, 44:50 you know, did away with the overpayment that they were trying to and said it was improper because the vet did everything they were supposed to, and everything else is just because the VA was slow. Um, 45:01 another thing is set that payment aside. Figure out the exact amount for the-- that you're getting for the spouse, set it aside just as a backup. If they don't take it, then you've got a little bit of savings. 45:17 Gee, good to see you. Happy Veterans Day, y'all. Let's celebrate us, and let's not allow the media to disrupt our mindset. We know the mission. We serve, we deserve. Agreed. 45:30 Sherry, happy Veterans Day to all my brothers and sisters. Last month, I got nine percent. Now, this week, I have new C&P exams for what I was just awarded. Went to VES, now going to Optum. What is happening? Oh, yeah. 45:46 Last month got awarded. I don't know, Kerry. You wanna speculate on this? [sighs] Uh, well, so first question I would have for you is, were any issues on your decision deferred? All right. 46:01 So it, it, you know, or did they grant ninety percent based on, say, the only disability you filed for? If anything's deferred, then odds are it's deferred for an exam. 46:14 Uh, it might feel like you're getting an exam, an exam for what they've decided, but if, if the stuff was deferred in the same exam that got you ninety-- or the same decision that got you ninety percent, it may just be a misinterpretation, and you may be getting exams for whatever was deferred. 46:32 Um, apart from that, it, it, it-- it's hard to know. It could be a number of things that, you know, they, they, they may be jumping the gun to see if it's still ratable at ninety percent. 46:44 That's, that's would be odd to do it that quickly. Um, a-again, if there are multiple things, they, they could have rated something minimally, right? And then set up exams to see if they could rate more, all right? 47:00 Especially, say, from a board grant. Uh, we see them do that all the time. Um, but without knowing more, it's, it's kinda just speculation. But we've seen this general scenario, uh, quite a bit in VA. 47:15 It just depends on the specifics. 47:18 And it, it could be if you're not working, the question of does that ninety percent cause you not to work was not answered, and they're doing a thorough analysis of this at the VA and saying, "Hey, we need to answer this because there's an unadjudicated unemployability claim here." 47:32 That's, that's, uh, that's assuming a lot of competence on the VA's part, though. Pearly, I am helping Army vet serve seventy-four to seventy-six, injured in seventy-five in Germany, worked heavy artillery. 47:50 VA claiming that he did not file until two thousand and fifteen, so what? Found an explanation of benefits in his record from eighty-two stating his disabilities were not service-connected. 48:01 Does this reopen the earlier claim? They had these records from Dallas VA all the time. Should he have been able to use this document to show that he had filed disability earlier than fifteen? 48:13 Also, does this make it an open claim? I have to go, go back to the first one. 48:23 [sighs] All right, go to the second one. 48:45 You wanna try this, Matt, or you want me to jump in here? [phone ringing] Busy man, that Baker. Um, uh, my thought is it doesn't matter when he applied. 48:56 Um, if he applied back in eighty-two and was denied and there was no appeal, that's a closed claim. For two thousand and fifteen, 49:04 the fact that he hadn't applied before, what they're saying, that, that doesn't go to the merits of the issue. So-I mean, I could see them saying that, not really understanding what they're saying. 49:13 But to reopen this claim at this point, because it, it's already been filed, you have to have new and relevant evidence of the disability. 49:21 So, um, this, this is kind of almost a red herring in my opinion, if they're saying that it, it was never filed before because that-- there's, there's no statute or regulation saying you have to file within a certain amount of time for direct service connection. 49:33 So, uh, I-I-I don't really understand what they're saying. Um- Yeah. I-- what I was gonna say was where, uh, so it says... All right, so you got s-something telling you these disabilities were not service-connected. 49:47 Explanation of benefits. Doesn't sound like it is definitely a rating decision, uh, it might be, uh, but does this reopen the earlier claim? I'd say the answer is no. 49:59 That in of itself, if the, if, if the earlier claim was in the seventies, the eighties, the nineties, whenever, 50:09 d- and they're saying it was twenty fifteen and you're saying it was something else, and you prove them wrong, it doesn't-- that doesn't necessarily open a claim. 50:17 You're still gonna need new and relevant evidence to reopen the claim regardless of when it was denied. Is, uh, if that makes sense. Yeah. This, this is the... This is like off course. Yeah. 50:31 Um, you need to show that new and relevant evidence of what, what actually goes to the merits or approving the claim. 50:41 Kuwait in oh eight: "If I'm already a hundred percent P&T, is it worth my time to file a new claim for fibromyalgia or should I just let it go?" Kerry? [sighs] Let it... Uh, personally, I would let it go. 50:54 Uh, you're a hundred percent P&T. Uh, so let's look at that in two different ways. 51:00 If you are a hundred percent for a single disability, right, and you file for the fibromyalgia, and they-- and you were able, not likely, but able to pull a sixty percent out of it, yes, you would have a hundred plus sixty, um, and you could go to a housebound rating, uh, SMCS. 51:23 If that hundred percent is based on multiple disabilities that combine up to a hundred percent, then it would not matter if the fibromyalgia is zero percent, sixty percent or another hundred percent. 51:36 Well, okay, it would if it were a hundred, but it doesn't go to a hundred. Uh, you know, another eighty percent, that's not gonna take you to SMCS at that point. Uh, 51:46 a-and again, the only way it would, if the other way, you have to have a single hundred, and you'd have to get a sixty for that fibromyalgia, uh, that's hard to do. 51:56 Uh, thirty is not all that difficult, but that wouldn't change your overall rating. Uh, and it is a set of eyes on your, uh, case. 52:05 Uh, the theory is they can't reduce you, but unless you've been there for twenty years, uh, they can, uh, if they see evidence of improvement. They're just not gonna call you in for an exam on their own. 52:17 So there's something to think about. Um, you know, take that for what it's worth. All right. Got another one. 52:30 Mick A Doodle, "I'm a hundred percent P&T, sixty percent rheumatoid arthritis, forty TMJ, twenty each knee, ten each knee flex and extension, thirty for left ankle, twenty for plantar left, and ten for foot plantar on the right. 52:47 I received SMCM for loss of use of both hands, only BVA rated. VA came back with SMC N and a half. Question is, how do I get A and A? I do not have and hold a part-time job." Hmm. 53:03 God, N and a half, you just have to get the O, right? And then you bound... Oh, you have to have A and A. Okay. No, go, go. VA came back with SMC N and a half. So loss of use of the hands M, 53:21 M and a half. N, N and a half. That might be right. Go back to the second one. 53:37 [mumbling] Oh, okay. All right. So, um, one, uh, do you have SMCK? Okay. Um, if not, can you get SMCK? 53:53 Uh, N and a half plus K takes you to R one. All right, there's two ways to get to R one. Uh, generally two ways to get to R one. That is to have two rates between L and N. 54:11 Okay. If you have two rates between L and N, you go to O. If you're at O and you need A and A, even if you're not rated for A and A, you just need to ha- need to be entitled to A and A, uh, you go to R one. Okay? 54:26 Now, I don't know anybody that has two rates between L and N and does not require A and A. Hmm. Okay. Um, in your case, 54:37 if you're working a part-time job, I don't know that I would go after that by trying to claim A and A. Now, how you would do it is, you've got lost use of both hands. Forget about those two things, those two. All right? 54:52 They are their own SMC rate. All right? Probably M. You can't use those for anything else. Would, would you be entitled to A and A based on every other disability you've got, a combination of all of them? 55:06 Don't leave anything out except for the hands. If the answer is yes-All right? You would have L for the A- A&A, M for the hands. That would take you to O, and even though the A&A got you to O, you can use it to go to R1. 55:22 Okay? But if you're at N and a half and all you need's a K, like loss of use of, uh, a creative organ, erectile dysfunction or something like that, the N and a half plus K is another way to get to R1. 55:37 So- I never knew that. That's interesting. It's... But you have to be at the rate of N and a half then. Right. Right. Or O, I take it? Well, it, it... Yeah. I mean, if you're at O, anytime you're at O 55:52 and you need A&A, even if the A&A got you to O, you go to R1. That's when we use the two rates, the two rates between L and N to get you to O. But if you're in, if you're at O in some other fashion, uh, y- you know, 56:08 I always explain it as you need two rates between L and N, but the, but the, but the quicker version is if you're at O and you need A&A, you go to R1. Mm-hmm. If you have N and a half plus K, you go to R1. Wow. 56:23 That's a new one for me, guys. Stepbystep, been a while. Good to see you. "My brother-in-law is retiring and doing a BDD claim. 56:31 He is worried that he will not complete all exams before leaving service and move to another state. Would you file now or wait until relocating?" I see no benefit to wait until relocating. Yeah, I'd file now. 56:46 Um- Relocation's a good cause if you miss exams, or redo them. Thomas, "VA wants to remove my 0% hypertension, saying that I was diagnosed during C&P with no IMO. I served at K2, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. Take 57:04 Laura Z- Zottan Bailey. I have 60 days to fight the removal. Rating." 57:11 Y- you know, it's funny, I usually advocate on a 0% rating not wasting time, but hypertension is just one of those gateway disabilities that can cause so many other things, including, if you're married, you know, hypertension could cause a stroke or a heart attack, and that would be how your wife would be getting, uh, benefits, um, through your death and DIC. 57:31 Uh, what do you think, Kerry? Well, uh, me and K2 have a little bit of history. Um, 57:39 uh, the, the VA, uh, I won't go into all that history, uh, VA recently changed the rules internally, uh, for K2 vet... Well, they, they changed it for all vets. 57:53 We were able to make the secretary sort of do it because of K2. Uh, they didn't wanna a- acknowledge radiation and, um- Gotcha... 58:02 depleted ur- not depleted, but, uh, enriched uranium and, and all that stuff was there on K2. 58:08 So instead of making benefits just for K2, they enhanced benefits for everybody [laughs] and still did not acknowledge the exposures on, on K2. Um, so I c- I don't re- recall if hypertension is on the updated list. 58:24 Uh, I should know that, but I don't off the top of my head. Um, but that's something you wanna look at. Make sure it's not on the updated list, 'cause if it is, then they're trying to take away a presumption. 58:37 Um- Which is easy to fight. Yeah. A- and, uh, you had 60... Right. Yeah. As far as the 60 days to fight the removal, you, you can request a hearing in that 60 days. Uh, if you're, if you're still in your first 30, 58:52 uh, you can request a hearing, and they cannot touch that service connection until they give you the hearing, okay? As long as you do it in the first 30. Uh, I would do that. 59:02 Um, if there's any evidence of the exposures leading to hypertension, and I bet you it probably is in your case, um, you know, it, it's, it's harder for them to s- they're, they're gonna... 59:19 The burden that they're really under is to show that hypertension cannot be, uh, related to military service, that, that... They need evidence showing it's not. Yeah. 59:32 If they, if they've assumed that it is, and there was a reason to do so, doesn't matter that k- somebody else comes along and says, "No, I don't, I don't think so." 59:40 No, you need to show that there's evidence that it's not related, not just that you have some opinion that it's not, or you didn't know about. You being VA. Yeah. 59:49 So it's a stronger case than you might think, even though it sounds like they have some ammunition to do it. Um, you know, they, they try this a lot lately. 1:00:00 Um, you're probably gonna have to go to the Board of Veterans' Appeals with it, but I would. Uh, any kind of medical opinion is gonna stop it, uh, or those new updates. 1:00:10 And like I said, I can't remember if hypertension was in them. Uh, I just, I just don't recall. Uh, but get the evidence of what was at K2. It is online. Uh, we made sure of that. All right. Uh, contact Burn Pits 360. 1:00:27 They can get you a copy, uh, of it. Uh, there was, uh, uranium ore, uh, in, in raw form floating all over that base, and people were br- breathing it in. That's not good for you. Uh, there was also enriched uranium 1:00:44 the DOD would absolutely not acknowledge. 1:00:48 Uh, and, and we had actual DOD's reports on the enriched uranium and the yellowcake uranium, and they sit- s- there and stared straight at us and said, "No, we, we don't know what you're talking about." [laughs] So, um, 1:01:05 hopefully they won't drop a rock on my house for saying that. But, uh- [laughs] So it's a good... Yeah, you've got potential a lot of benefits there for being at K2. 1:01:15 All right, let's take two moreRich Rod, 1678: "I was granted SMCL, and I appealed to the board for an effect-earlier effective date in the fifty-six days. 1:01:29 The board denied my claim, but told me I should have filed a CUE claim." Hmm. Uh, I don't know what that fifty-six days is, unless you-- this is an, uh, SOC from the legacy appeal. 1:01:44 Uh, 'cause you-- under the new, new, um, AMA, you should be able to-- you have a year. Uh, and then as far as CUE claim, [sighs] 1:01:55 I mean, if it's an effective date, you c-you don't have a freestanding claim, and if it was obvious that it went back to the date of the claim and not some arbitrary date that the [sighs] 1:02:03 RO picked up and thought, "I guess that's when you filed it." Um. Well, too, if the board said you should have filed a s- a CUE claim, you can still file a CUE claim. Yeah. There's no time limit on, on a CUE claim. 1:02:20 [sighs] All right, last one here. Raphael: "Uh, do you think we will lose benefits due to recent Senate hearing? Is it legal for them to reduce us just 'cause of cuts?" Your benefits are statutorily awarded. 1:02:36 Um, I'm trying to think, how could they go-- I mean, it's not gonna happen. The Senate wouldn't go and just start reducing benefits arbitrarily. 1:02:45 Um, you know, where I could see benefits being reduced is if the VA itself revises the diagnostic codes and what it rates. I mean, we've been seeing this with both mental health and sleep apnea. 1:02:57 They've been talking about doing it now for years. But the Senate is not gonna take benefits away. I mean, I, uh, Kerry, unless I'm missing something. No, no. It, uh, I mean, 1:03:09 it would, it would take a full act of Congress signed by the president, the whole nine yards, to reduce compensation levels. Uh, but, uh, no, I don't see that happening. Um, they could always withhold COLAs- Mm-hmm... 1:03:26 I suppose. Um, but, I mean, that's tied to cost, uh, the cost of living index, uh, so they have to disconnect that. Uh, I don't-- I think it would be kinda hard for them to do that. 1:03:40 They'd have to show the cost of living index, and if it stays flat or it goes down, well, then, then there would be no increase for that particular year. [coughs] Uh, 1:03:50 yeah, they can change the rating schedule, like Matt said. VA's trying to do that, uh, with some things. Um, VA owns the rating schedule 'cause it's in the regulations. Um, 1:04:01 it, you know, it's-- there's a, there's a, it, it's a little balance between Congress and VA, uh, what, what Congress could do and what VA can do. Um, 1:04:11 and if something's enacted by Congress, only Congress can take it away, VA can't- Mm-hmm... uh, unless there's provisions in the law that Congress passed that give VA certain authorities. 1:04:23 All in all, I think our benefits are, are safe. Uh, doesn't mean they won't pick away at some things. You know, if they ever pass the, uh, uh, the... If they ever finalize the regs for the respiratory, 1:04:37 the, then sleep apnea will max out at ten percent, uh, if that ever... You know, I, I don't know where those regs are. Was it, like, three years ago, Matt, that they, that they proposed that? 1:04:50 [sighs] I, I mean, I think it was the beginning of the, uh, Biden administration. It's been forever. I mean- Yeah. Been a long time... [coughs] yeah. So all right, folks. 1:05:01 Well, we appreciate you joining us on this Veterans Day, and appreciate Kerry taking time from his day off to join us on this Veterans Day. Um, thanks again for all the thoughts, comments, and, and questions. 1:05:10 We look forward to talking to y'all again next week. I, I wanna, um, throw this out there. Washington Post is keeping on with their articles bashing veterans and their benefits and talking about malingers. 1:05:22 And, and I want you to know that I'm actually gonna-- I've been drafting a letter, uh, to, to you all, um, that, that I'll send out on our, our email. I just-- I've been so infuriated. Kerry's been infuriated as well. 1:05:33 And, and, uh, just kinda responding to, to this is just... It's, um, really, 1:05:40 uh, it's hard for me to get past my anger and actually articulate how awful of a job they've done here, and so I've been pressing myself to do that, and I just wanted to let you know that that is gonna come out. 1:05:49 [sighs] Yeah, I, I, I am, I am certain I am not allowed to say what I'd like to say about that article o-other than, you know, to remind the Washington Post that it's people like us 1:06:05 that gave you the freedom to even write that garbage in the first place. Uh, so, uh, you know, I'll leave it at the nice way. But man, that, that's-- that hit piece is something else. Uh, 1:06:19 yeah, it deserves, it deserves some, some, some return fire. I agree. All right, folks. Y'all take care. Have a great week. 1:06:29 [outro music]
