The weeks news. VA math is confusing

It’s been a quiet week up here on the mountain, my little slice of heaven in the great northwest. The Va finely gave me a decision on my claim, bumping me up from 90% to 100%. It means a big bump in my monthly check, and now, the lovely wife will be covered by the VA as well. One of many perks afforded by the government for those of us who served and are 100% disabled. I achieved this rating in a rather round about way, though mostly thanks to the new PACT act signed into law recently, that not only covers those of us who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, but those who also served in Vietnam. However, the VA uses math that would send any mathematician into a fit of rage, followed quickly by insanity. When I was first medically retired, the VA said I was 60% disabled. Fine, I said, but what about the ringing in my ears? OK, said the VA, we’ll give you another 10% for that, bringing you up to 70%. So far pretty straight-forward. A few years ago, during my first medical visit to the VA clinic, an on-the-ball VA doctor asked the right questions, and it became apparent that I have PTSD. After initial therapy that got the PTSD documented in my medical records and filing for a disability rating for it, the VA said they were giving me 70% for PTSD. Wait, you can’t get more than 100%, but in my math 70 + 70 adds up to higher than 100. No, they said, you’re now at 90%. Huh? The explanation given was that this additional 70% was taken out of the portion of the “non-disabled” 30%, and that was what was then added to the original 70% to get the 90% decision. If this leaves you scratching your head in confusion, you are by no means alone in this. From there, it continues to be just as, if not more, confusing. It was suggested that, because I also have osteoporosis (thank you thyroid), I should have a higher disability rating. After more testing, the VA said they would give me another 10% for that. Surely, that would make me 100%, right? Nope, I was still at 90%. Turns out that I actually needed 40% to make it to 100% even though I was already at 90%. Now, the VA has determined that, because of my COPD (thank you, Persian Gulf, and the lack of an EPA there), they would give me another 30% to add to that previous 10%, which , finally, brings the grand total up to 100%. Phew! Is it any wonder most veterans get frustrated with the VA? It’s often a confusing system where vets give up after many years of fighting for something that should be a given since they served. Now, thanks to the PACT act, many things are presumptive, meaning that the VA says you were there, you have this or that, we will assume it’s service connected already so you don’t have to fight for it, other than for it to be documented in your military medical records. As I said, this goes all the way back to those who served in Vietnam, were exposed to agent orange, and now have cancer, or other health issues related to that exposure. Many vets now won’t have to struggle so much with the system, and for that I am thankful. As to my own situation, thanks to my boost, the lovely wife no longer has to work if she doesn’t want to; my check will cover our expenses with some left over. For now, she’s going to finish out the school year, unless the school district extremely pisses her off. We will see where we are next fall, but if we’re still here, she might continue working, since they are so short on drivers, or she might stay home and drive me crazy, only time will tell. Well, that’s all the news for the week. Bye for now.