Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
VETERANS POST
Agent Orange Payments Shift into High Gear
All across the country, Veterans Benefits Administration claims personnel are working to process the mountain of paperwork as a result of the Nehmer case. The upshot of Nehmer v. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is that the VA must re-adjudicate claims it denied in the past for the three newest presumptive illnesses for Agent Orange exposure. They are Ischemic Heart Disease, Parkinson’s Disease and certain leukemias. This covers claims filed or denied from Sept. 25, 1985 to Aug, 31, 2010, which is the date the service connection was established.
Now that the VA is under a court-ordered gun, the process must be completed by Oct. 1, 2011.
Here are some of the differences between a standard claim and one falling under this new ruling, taken from the training manual for new staff:
Current: Goes by the claim date.
Nehmer: No new claim need be filed if a presumptive illness appeared or was denied. Staff is to find the illness in your records and use that date.
Current: Benefits do not go to the estate of a deceased veteran.
Nehmer: Benefits survive the entitled member’s estate. Marriage license and birth certificates may be required.
Current: Payments are made when possible.
Nehmer: Payments must be made within 21 days of verification of entitlement.
To learn more about the specifics, go to http://www.nvlsp.org, which is the national Veterans Legal Services Program. Search for “Nehmer Training Guide,” which includes a letter and the manual. You’ll find dates and locations in the manual, as well as a list of vessels documented to have been at the shore or inland. You’ll also find a list of documents that can be used as evidence, such as TDY orders, shore-leave orders in writing and other documentation that shows the veteran “physically set foot” in the country.
Write to Freddy Groves in care of King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475, or send e-mail to columnreply@gmail.com
(c) 2011 King Features Synd., Inc.
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