UNBELIEVABLE SUCCESS STORY

[MARYINVIRGINIA]

I AM SO HAPPY  THIS IS A TRULY A BLESSING!!  MY MOTHER'S CLAIM FOR AID AND ATTENDANDANCE WAS APPROVED IN JUST 45 DAYS AND SHE WILL RECEIVE HER FIRST CHECK FOR THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT.  I MAILED THE CLAIM ON SEPTEMBER 19TH AND RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF THE APPROVAL ON OCT. 25TH AND THE FIRST PAYMENT WILL START THE 1ST OF NOVEMBER.  I DIDN'T EXPECT TO HEAR ANYTHING FOR AT LEAST 6 MONTHS ESPECIALLY AFTER SHE GOT A LETTER SAYING THEY RECEIVED THE PACKET WITH THE CLAIM FORMS AND SAID IT WOULD PROBABLY TAKE AWHILE SINCE THEY WERE BACKLOGED.  SO KEEP THE FAITH...I DID PRAY ON THIS A LOT!!  I DID MY HOMEWORK AND MADE SURE THEY HAD ALL THE INFORMATION THEY NEEDED.  THIS WILL MEAN A LOT FOR MY MOM'S CARE AND I AM SO GRATEFUL. SO DON'T GIVE UP, IT'S WORTH IT!!

[vetadmin]

Mary,

What fantastic news!  Thank you for sharing and offering encouragement to our other members.

Your prayers were truly answered to have such a short processing time with approval.

God Bless you and your family.

[nananorma]

Congratulations Mary!!  Unbelieveable that you had success in such a short period of time.  Prayer does work, doesn't it?  I prayed, prayed, prayed, but God told me to have patience - good things come to those who wait and we finally had success too.  Hopefully you will be an encouragement to others!!

[lhutch]

Mary, you are so fortunate-we are waiting over a year.  In May 08 my step dad was approved for A&A benefits, still no release of funds.

[RandyF]

I would like to throw in my  2 cents of the subject of A&A.  I work as a County Veteran Service Officer in Indiana.  A&A is the worst subject I like to talk about.  One thing that really bothers me is that I can help a veteran or a spouse and do it entirely for free.  My only problem is that I have no way to hide monies that a veteran or spouse has over the 80,000 dollar amount.

I know that there are many companies that are willing to do exactly what I can do for free and they charge (here in my area) anywhere from $450 to $700 to fill ut the forms and submit the claim.

I have two questions (1) Since it is unlawful for them to charge a veteran for assisting with appying for claims, how do they get their money, either from the veteran/spouse/family members or from the assisted living facility.  I know that many of them let these companies come in and present their ability to help.

Question 2, how do these companies (HIDE) the veterans/spouses assets?  And when the veteran or spouse passes away how does the family go about getting the money back?  Just wondering.  Thanks

[veteranadvocate]

I personally take your posting offensive.  First of all, the person in charge of this website is doing a great service for our veterans and their families.  Debbie is not profiting from hosting this site and she has spent a lot of her personal money and countless hours to keep it going.  If you will take some time and read many of the past postings you will see how many families have benefited from this site.  We all owe her a big salute and a bigger thank you.

If County Veterans Service Officers; Veterans Service Organizations; and the VA were doing their jobs there would be no need for this site.  Most of them have the same feeling about the A&A program as you do.  You stated in your posting, “A&A is the worst subject I like to talk about.”  Thank God that Debbie and other contributors to this site don’t have the same feeling.  They feel an obligation and an honor to help our needy veterans and their families.

Many individuals have posted their unfavorable experiences with the VA and County Veterans Service Officers.  Many did not have answers to their questions and/or just provided the application forms before sending the veterans and family members home to tackle the complex forms on their own.

I agree that veterans and widows should not have to pay someone to complete their applications but it is a small price to pay in order to obtain the benefits that our veterans have coming to them.  I recently read a statement presented to the Committee of Veteran’s Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations from a County Veterans Service Officer from Indiana.  The following comment was included in the CVSO’s presentation,”However, when reviewing our current active files, the most obvious reasons I see for claims not being adjudicated in a timely manner is that the veterans are not returning with the documents needed, have moved without notifying the VA or in some cases the claim may have been denied numerous times and the veterans continue to re-file. It is important that the initial claim be submitted properly and with all of the evidence needed.”

I have to wonder why this CVSO would submit an incomplete application to the VA for processing.  He stated that the review was of his current active files.  The VeteranAid site continuously reminds individuals to make sure that all forms and supporting documents are submitted. 

I have a couple of other comments but I will present those in a separate posting.

[veteranadvocate]

I would like to comment on the two questions presented by RandyF.  First of all, I am not one of these individuals that present these ‘Aid and Attendance’ programs to nursing homes and/or assisted living facilities.  I see no problem for the nursing homes and/or assisted living facilities paying these presenters. 

Maybe if the local County Veterans Service Officers or veterans’ service organizations were doing their outreach programs the need would not be there. 
I also see no problems with an Elder Law Attorney being paid for their services in guiding a family through the complex laws.  If they indeed were doing something wrong their law licenses would be revoked and we would see these individuals being sent to prison.  I feel they are providing the same type of service as a tax accountant or investment advisor.

I fail to see where you are coming up with the implication that this website and/or those who make postings have ever encouraged anyone to ‘hide’ or be untruthful.  Someone asked about the ‘look back clause’ and a proper response was made.  If you have documented evidence to the contrary, I am sure Debbie and others would appreciate seeing it.

I’ve never personally met Debbie but have communicated with her through emails and phone calls.  I can honestly say that her only goal is to help others.  I encourage you to take the time to read about her past experiences with the VA in trying to get benefits for her father.  She encountered a situation that needed fixing and she is determined that others will not have to go through what her father and family had to endure. 

You can be a big help to her in accomplishing her goal.  If you chose not to, then please don’t be a stumbling block for her.

Debbie, keep up the great work and may God bless you and the work you are doing.