Posted on Nov 17, 2023
VA attempts to crack down on predatory fees related to filing veterans’ claims
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Erica Fernandez joined the Navy In 2019. She eventually became a parachute rigger. The work was physical and demanding.
She ended up on the crew of the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, but a series of ailments began piling up.
“I have melanoma in my right eye, going blind in it,” she said. “I'm also going deaf in my right ear, and I have deteriorating discs in my lower back, and many other medical conditions. So when I didn't pass my last physical, they went ahead and discharged me.”
At 26 years old, she was medically separated from the Navy and applying for disability benefits through the Veteran Benefits Administration.
Fernandez has binders full of medical records that take up her couch in Portsmouth which helped her prove that some of her disabilities were service-connected.
“When I first got out, I immediately went ahead and put in my claim,” she said. “No waiting at all. It was almost instant. And I looked at the claim, I was reading it more and more in fine print, and I realized I didn't have half of my disability on there.”
She lost her appeal to add additional disabilities to her claim. Initial denials are not uncommon in the VA system but the delay put tremendous stress on the limited income of Fernandez and her spouse.
“I gave up. I completely gave up,” she said.”We gave up to the point where we sat here for roughly, I want to say, a year with a $1,500 a month income. We were losing our house, we were losing our car.”
Fernandez said she got a call from a company that said they were run by veterans and they would help with her appeal.
She ended up on the crew of the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, but a series of ailments began piling up.
“I have melanoma in my right eye, going blind in it,” she said. “I'm also going deaf in my right ear, and I have deteriorating discs in my lower back, and many other medical conditions. So when I didn't pass my last physical, they went ahead and discharged me.”
At 26 years old, she was medically separated from the Navy and applying for disability benefits through the Veteran Benefits Administration.
Fernandez has binders full of medical records that take up her couch in Portsmouth which helped her prove that some of her disabilities were service-connected.
“When I first got out, I immediately went ahead and put in my claim,” she said. “No waiting at all. It was almost instant. And I looked at the claim, I was reading it more and more in fine print, and I realized I didn't have half of my disability on there.”
She lost her appeal to add additional disabilities to her claim. Initial denials are not uncommon in the VA system but the delay put tremendous stress on the limited income of Fernandez and her spouse.
“I gave up. I completely gave up,” she said.”We gave up to the point where we sat here for roughly, I want to say, a year with a $1,500 a month income. We were losing our house, we were losing our car.”
Fernandez said she got a call from a company that said they were run by veterans and they would help with her appeal.
VA attempts to crack down on predatory fees related to filing veterans’ claims
Posted from whro.orgPosted in these groups: 
Veterans Affairs (VA)
Veterans Affairs (VA)
Posted 6 mo ago
Responses: 4
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel 20% is the legal amount...
..."“I have melanoma in my right eye, going blind in it,” she said. “I'm also going deaf in my right ear, and I have deteriorating discs in my lower back, and many other medical conditions. So when I didn't pass my last physical, they went ahead and discharged me.”
At 26 years old, she was medically separated from the Navy and applying for disability benefits through the Veteran Benefits Administration.
Fernandez has binders full of medical records that take up her couch in Portsmouth which helped her prove that some of her disabilities were service-connected.
“When I first got out, I immediately went ahead and put in my claim,” she said. “No waiting at all. It was almost instant. And I looked at the claim, I was reading it more and more in fine print, and I realized I didn't have half of my disability on there.”
She lost her appeal to add additional disabilities to her claim. Initial denials are not uncommon in the VA system but the delay put tremendous stress on the limited income of Fernandez and her spouse.
“I gave up. I completely gave up,” she said.”We gave up to the point where we sat here for roughly, I want to say, a year with a $1,500 a month income. We were losing our house, we were losing our car.”
Fernandez said she got a call from a company that said they were run by veterans and they would help with her appeal.
“If you don't get any increase, we don't charge you,” she remembers the caller saying. “But if you do get an increase, we take one-third of your back pay. And I was like, ‘OK, you know what? That's fair because I need a lot of help.’”
She got another call from the company months later, saying the VA agreed to declare her 100 percent disabled."...
..."“I have melanoma in my right eye, going blind in it,” she said. “I'm also going deaf in my right ear, and I have deteriorating discs in my lower back, and many other medical conditions. So when I didn't pass my last physical, they went ahead and discharged me.”
At 26 years old, she was medically separated from the Navy and applying for disability benefits through the Veteran Benefits Administration.
Fernandez has binders full of medical records that take up her couch in Portsmouth which helped her prove that some of her disabilities were service-connected.
“When I first got out, I immediately went ahead and put in my claim,” she said. “No waiting at all. It was almost instant. And I looked at the claim, I was reading it more and more in fine print, and I realized I didn't have half of my disability on there.”
She lost her appeal to add additional disabilities to her claim. Initial denials are not uncommon in the VA system but the delay put tremendous stress on the limited income of Fernandez and her spouse.
“I gave up. I completely gave up,” she said.”We gave up to the point where we sat here for roughly, I want to say, a year with a $1,500 a month income. We were losing our house, we were losing our car.”
Fernandez said she got a call from a company that said they were run by veterans and they would help with her appeal.
“If you don't get any increase, we don't charge you,” she remembers the caller saying. “But if you do get an increase, we take one-third of your back pay. And I was like, ‘OK, you know what? That's fair because I need a lot of help.’”
She got another call from the company months later, saying the VA agreed to declare her 100 percent disabled."...
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Trump hurts Veterans :
1.) Sending More Veterans to Private Care Isn’t Solving the VA’s Problems :
Source : http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/12/sending-vets-to-private-care-isnt-solving-the-vas-problems.html
2.) Trump Picked Fight With Vietnam Vets Over Who Better Understood What Agent Orange Was :
Source : http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/08/omarosa-trump-vietnam-veterans-agent-orange-napalm-apocalypse-now.html
3.) The Trump Administration Is Launching Stealth Attacks on Veterans :
Source : http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/08/president-trump-cfpb-military-lending-act-veterans-mulvaney-attack-va.html
4.) White House: U.S. Can’t Afford Veterans’ Health Care Without Cuts :
Source : http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/07/trump-u-s-cant-afford-veterans-health-care-without-cuts.html
https://youtu.be/pCfxcI-99sM
1.) Sending More Veterans to Private Care Isn’t Solving the VA’s Problems :
Source : http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/12/sending-vets-to-private-care-isnt-solving-the-vas-problems.html
2.) Trump Picked Fight With Vietnam Vets Over Who Better Understood What Agent Orange Was :
Source : http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/08/omarosa-trump-vietnam-veterans-agent-orange-napalm-apocalypse-now.html
3.) The Trump Administration Is Launching Stealth Attacks on Veterans :
Source : http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/08/president-trump-cfpb-military-lending-act-veterans-mulvaney-attack-va.html
4.) White House: U.S. Can’t Afford Veterans’ Health Care Without Cuts :
Source : http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/07/trump-u-s-cant-afford-veterans-health-care-without-cuts.html
https://youtu.be/pCfxcI-99sM
Sending More Veterans to Private Care Isn’t Solving the VA’s Problems
A report found that the Veterans Choice program led to higher costs and longer waits, which does not bode well for Trump’s move toward privatization.
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SGT (Join to see)
CPL LaForest Gray yet there are RP Veterans...MAGA Supporters... who continue to praise that POS. Thanks for the FACTS... they matter... and you seldom are challenged on them.
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