Blog: News & Insights

“Dementia” is a descriptive diagnosis, but by itself is not a specific diagnosis of the cause of the condition. There is some underlying disease process that is causing death of brain cells, and the type of process explains just what is happening to the different parts of the brain and what the trajectory is likely to be. Alzheimer’s dementia, Lewy body dementia,...

National Senior Citizens Day was proclaimed by President Ronald Reagen in 1988. Proclamation 5847 began with this: “Throughout our history, older people have achieved much for our families, our communities, and our country. That remains true today, and gives us ample reason this year to reserve a special day in honor of the senior citizens who mean so much to our land.” It became a...

When a medicaid application is processed, five years’ of transactions are examined, and among other things, they look to see if there were uncompensated transfers or “gifts.” The agency then must presume that the transfers were made for the purpose of expediting eligibility, and can impose a transfer penalty  for the gifts. You are entitled to a Fair Hearing at the Office of...

I previous blogs, we have written about the regulations governing what is now called Gulf War Illness (GWI).  As prescribed in regulation, the terms of art “undiagnosed illness” and “medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illness (MUCMI)” are little understood and difficult for veterans and physicians to understand.  In handling claims involving exposure to...

A few days ago, the VA’s own blog, VAndage Point, published a retrospective article concerning the infamous 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), St. Louis.  The article can be access at http://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/22133/the-nprc-records-fire-of-1973/. As the article explains, the fire “destroy 80 percent of Army personnel records for soldiers discharged...

As we have previously blogged about, there are special rules for effective dates of award that may apply to veterans with service in Vietnam (colloquially referred to as “boots on ground”) for presumptive conditions related to Agent Orange listed under 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e).  The rules are encompassed within 38 C.F.R. § 3.816 (regulation concerning effective dates of award under the...

If you’ve been an advocate for a person who enters the hospital for treatment and then is discharged to a nursing home several days later, you know that after a three-day hospital admission, Medicare Part A can pay for up to 100 days of skilled nursing and physical/occupational/other therapy in a subacute or rehabilitation facility, provided that the patient requires that level of...

Over the years, I have commented how the informal process of “reconsideration” of an initial VA Rating Decision simply does not exist in regulation or statute.  I previously commented, “This practice has permeated through some of the Regional Offices  . . . but with no predicate in law and, therefore, little protection for the veteran.” While the notion of...

Special Needs Trusts are established with the assets belonging to a disabled person, and if they are properly structured and properly administered, the assets won’t be countable as “resources” and the distributions won’t be countable as “income.” This is particularly important when the beneficiary depends on Medicaid, SSI, DDD and other means-tested...

Laws change. Sometimes, federal law stays the same and state laws implementing it change. State statutes may remain the same but the state regulations change. State regulations may stay the same, but the executive branch agency issues advisory memoranda which change the procedures. That’s what occurred back in 2001 when the State of New Jersey Division of Medical Assistance and health...