The letter
came in a plain manila 8x11 window envelope on Monday. The return address was a Veterans’ Affairs regional
office in Nashville TN. I’ve been
waiting for this envelope since 1 November 2011. Thursday, past, I was treated to an
un-official glimpse of its most important contents. I was told that my VA claim for disability had
been decided and that I was no longer rated as 10% disabled for chronic
tinnitus and bilateral, service connected hearing loss.
That 10% rating,
originally determined as 20% but re-imbursed at 10% is of critical importance
to us. It provides a small monthly compensation
payment. More importantly, it allows me
to receive health care and medications from the VA system due to the service-connected
nature of my injuries. Since 2003, I’ve
had that “service connected” label on my file and my ID card. It has saved us the cost of endoscopies,
cataract surgeries, and countless prescriptions dispensed and re-filled for
only reasonable co-pay (Unlike Medicare, Congress allows VA to negotiate for
low cost medications.)
PTSD carries
greater weight in the rating and compensation schema. I have it; I’ve had it for quite some
time. It is now compensable.
More
astonishing to me, the higher rating has some increased benefits.
I no longer
have to pay for medications from VA. Any
meds dispensed since 1 November 2012 are reimbursable. I am now eligible for more travel
compensation. That will help a great
deal now that gasoline is skyrocketing upward at alarming velocities.
I suspect
that there are other benefits that I have yet to discover. I’ll do some digging on my trips in for OT,
immunizations, routine exams, etc.
The amazing
thing, as of today, is that when I hear someone say, Thank you from a grateful
nation.” It is almost possible to believe it.
Certainly, the people who staff Veterans Affairs offices and hospitals
mean it. And that’s a good enough place
to begin with today.
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