Benefits Update
Independence Day
No VA Hearing on Shinski’s Agent Orange Decision to add Parkinson’s, heart disease & B-cell leukemia to presumptive list. Senator Webb proposed, and senators accepted May 27, an amendment to the fiscal 2010 war supplemental funding bill (HR 4899) to limit spending on claims filed for these new presumptive Agent Orange diseases for 60 days. That will allow Congress time to study the VA decision and examine more closely the link found between these diseases and herbicide exposure. Shinseki's decision and how the hefty cost -- $42.2 billion over 10 years -could impact other VA services. That final rule likely won't be published until fall, at the earliest, but when claims can be paid they will be retroactive the date first filed To stop the regulation from taking effect, both the House and Senate would have to pass a blocking resolution. Veterans' service organizations say that is not likely to happen. VA Announces New Hotline for Homeless Vets The telephone hotline willprovide emergency support and resources to homeless veterans. 1-877-4AID VET Stolen Memorial Reward Increases The Veterans of Foreign Wars is reporting that the reward fund for the crossshaped Mojave Desert Veterans Memorial that was stolen recently has increased from $25,000 to
$125,000, thanks to the generosity of a decorated combat veteran who wishes to remain anonymous. Anyone with information relating to the crime should call the National Park Service Tip Line at 1760-252-6120. VA Makes Filing Claims Easier and Faster for Veterans VA has shortened application forms to reduce paperwork for Veterans. The new forms, which are being made available on VA's Web site include: * A shortened VA Form 21-526 for Veterans applying for the first-time to VA for disability compensation or pension benefits. This form has been cut to 10 pages. It is immediately available to Veterans via Web download, and will be available through VA's online claim-filing process later this summer. * VA Form 21-526b for Veterans seeking increased benefits for conditions already determined by VA to be service-connected. This new form more clearly describes the information needed to support claims for increased benefits. VA has also introduced two new forms for Veterans participating in the Department's new fully developed claim (FDC) program, which is one of the fastest means to receive a claims decision. If VA receives all of the available evidence when the claim is submitted, the remaining steps in the claims-decision process can be expedited without compromising quality. To participate in the FDC program, Veterans should complete and submit an
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FDC Certification and VA Form 21-526EZ, "Fully Developed Claim (Compensation)," for a compensation claim, or a VA Form 21-527EZ, "Fully Developed Claim (Pension)," for a pension claim. Disability compensation is a tax-free benefit paid to a Veteran for disabilities that are a result of -- or made worse by -- injuries or diseases that happened while on active duty, active duty for training or inactive duty training. Pension is a benefit paid to wartime Veterans with limited income, and who are permanently and totally disabled or age 65 or older. For additional information visit, www.va.gov/ or call VA's toll free benefits number at 1-800-827-1000. Committee Advances Legislation to Support VA Health Practitioners, Offer Chiropractic Care at VA Facilities H.R. 1017, as amended – Chiropractic Care to All Veterans Acts (Filner) This bill will require the VA to expand veterans’ access to chiropractic care and services at their local VA facilities. This care is intended to help veterans get necessary treatments, especially those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and continue to report musculoskeletal ailments. H.R. 5145 – Assuring Quality Care for Veterans Act (McNerney)
H.R. 5145 would increase the reimbursement for continuing professional education for all health care professionals employed by the VA. H.R. 3885 – Veterans Dog Training Therapy This bill requires VA to conduct a 5-year pilot program for relieving veterans’ post-deployment mental health and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms through training service dogs for veterans with disabilities. The bills will next be considered by the U.S. House of Representatives. Changes to Some CoPays As previously announced on January 7, 2010, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) froze prescription copayment increases for six months. Veterans who generally have higher income and no service-connected disabilities - referred to as Priority Groups 7 and 8 Veterans will now pay an additional $1 for each 30-day supply of outpatient medications. Taking effect July 1, the increase to $9 from $8 is the first change in VA’s medication copay since Jan. 1, 2006. Veterans, Psych Drugs, and Deaths It has been noted that psychotropic drug-induced sudden deaths are increasing in Iraq War Veterans. Most of the newer psych drugs are fluoride based
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and are known to have cardiac effects among the many problems they cause. If you suppress respiratory function enough you will impact heart function because of low oxygen levels. Old studies showed that low O2 levels in the blood caused more deaths at 4 AM and that often there was evidence of cardiac arrythmia. Interactions: Combined Seroquel, Klonopin, Paxil clonazepam ↔ paroxetine Applies to: Klonopin (clonazepam), Paxil (paroxetine) clonazepam ↔ quetiapine Applies to: Klonopin (clonazepam), Seroquel (quetiapine) MONITOR: Central nervous system- and/or respiratory-depressant effects may be increased in patients taking multiple drugs that cause these effects, especially in elderly or debilitated patients. paroxetine ↔ quetiapine Applies to: Paxil (paroxetine), Seroquel (quetiapine) MANAGEMENT: Dur-
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ing concomitant use of these three drugs, patients should be monitored for potentially excessive or prolonged CNS and respiratory depression . Ambulatory patients should be counseled to avoid hazardous activities requiring mental alertness and motor coordination until they know how these agents affect them, and to notify their physician if they experience excessive or prolonged CNS effects that interfere with their normal activities.
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