Veteran Services

My office submitted an inquiry on behalf of a constituent with a claim stemming from his Agent Orange exposure. We provided the VA regional office working the issue with evidence which would hopefully meet the VA’s criteria to expedite the claim. In a follow-up email, it was learned the VA was moving on this and expected to have it completed within 90 days. Three weeks later, my office checked again to see if everything was still moving forward, allowing for the claim to be completed within the 90 days. At that time, the VA reported the rating decision had been made, and the notification letter had gone out to the veteran.

A constituent contacted our office with trouble scheduling a non-VA surgery through the Choice Program. The VA had already approved the surgery, but the federal contractor for the Choice Program, Health Net, was unresponsive to the provider’s request to schedule it. Our office contacted the VA, which subsequently scheduled a three-way call between the constituent, the VA and Health Net and resolved the issue.

A veteran had received an award with an effective date of 2009, and while he had received a retro check, he felt it was not accurate. Because both combat related compensation and concurrent retirement disability pay were involved, a request was made to DFAS for an audit of the veteran’s account. We continued to follow the audit and found it had stalled when a required step had been overlooked at DFAS.  The agency fixed this error and we learned that just over $150,000 had been direct deposited into the constituent’s account.

A veteran's pension been terminated and notified of a debt of almost $17,000 would have to be repaid. We contacted Pension Management Center on her behalf and were able to provide a timeline of events regarding her eligibility. This information allowed PMC to not only eliminate the debt but also send a nearly $1,000 check to the constituent.