On 1 June 2016 the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald had granted “equitable relief to more than 24,000 Veterans following a national review of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) medical examinations conducted in connection with disability compensation claims processed between 2007 and 2015 … Equitable relief is a unique legal remedy that allows the Secretary to correct an injustice to a claimant where VA is not otherwise authorized to do so within the scope of the law.” Read the rest of this entry »
LVMAC Tidbit — Did You File A Claim For Traumatic Brain Injury And Were Denied?
June 19, 2016LVMAC News — Are You Transitioning? A’s for Vets Has an Education Fair for You
February 12, 2015The key purposes of a GI Bill are to assist a returning military veteran in readjusting and retraining for new employment. While not all veterans have the need or seek the use of their educational benefits, approximately 25 per cent of returning veterans do within two years of discharge. It therefore behooves us to pay attention to their needs for us to reap the biggest gain for our society. Academics for Veterans, or A’s for Vets, intends to do just that; and it is about to conduct its first major event with that intention. The LVMAC alliance will conduct an education fair for military veterans and their families on 28 February, beginning at 8 a.m., at Moravian College’s Haupert Union Building. Click here for the details and on how to register while space is available. Read the rest of this entry »
LVMAC Tidbit — Phone Phishing — Don’t Get Caught
November 22, 2013Gift Card for Personal Information Scam
Tis the season to deceive veterans … We thought you might want to know about this one because it is particularly devious in the way it is done. We wish to thank our Navy Club brothers from the Reading area for putting us onto it. Read the rest of this entry »
Forward Observer — VBA Claims Initiative Aims at Reducing Processing Time and Adding Convenience – Is it Possible?
February 13, 2013No More In-Person Exam Requirement for Some?
On 31 January 2013, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced it had begun a new initiative which will reduce the requirement for an in-person medical examination for some veterans when applying for a service-connected disability compensation rating – when sufficient information is in the individual’s records. The intent is to shorten processing times. It is a product of the Veterans Benefits Administration’s (VBA) Transformation Plan – a five-year effort to improve its processes with the goals of eliminating the widely reported backlog in claims and processing all claims within 125 days with 98 percent accuracy by 2015. Read the rest of this entry »
LVMAC Tidbit — The COLA Increase for 2013
January 4, 2013Since we have been asked, the President’s signing of the 2013 National Defense Act last November authorized veterans to receive a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) increase of 1.7% in their compensation and pension payments. The same applied to survivors enrolled in either a pension or dependency and indemnity compensation program, and also to Social Security recipients and military retirees (except 2012 retirees and REDUX retirees). Read the rest of this entry »