Tag Archives: Retirement

Learning a new skill: Salary and benefits negotiation part 1

Posted by Mike Grice on

In the military one learns a good many things:  How to stand at attention and march smartly about.  How to carry and shoot a rifle, and how to live out of a backpack for weeks on end.  How to fix a tank or fly a jet.  Lots and lots of things.

One thing that you don’t learn, however, is something that everybody else in the business world learns with their first job: how to negotiate.

Negotiation is a very important part the employment process.  When a candidate is offered a position with a company he or she begins the discussion of compensation with the hiring manager, where things like compensation, benefits, hours, vacation time, career progression, retirement plans, insurance, and countless other things that are part and parcel of employment.  In the corporate world all of these items are negotiable, and both job providers and job seekers know it.

In the military the situation could not be more different.  When a young man or woman joins the military they are provided a comprehensive pay and benefits package, but it is one that is set by law and regulation.  There is no negotiation for a better salary or more flexible hours — in fact, there is no negotiation at all.  The pay, allowances, and benefits for military folks are no secret, either.  The pay scale, which is based on rank and time in service, is readily available on the internet as are all of the other  benefits, special pay conditions (such as jump and dive pay), and housing stipends.  When you join the military you get what you get, just like everybody else in uniform.

As a result of the defined pay and benefits in the military those in uniform never engage in the process of employment negotiation, and that can place them at a disadvantage when they hang up their uniforms and enter the civilian world where everything is negotiable.

Everything from the salary you will earn to the amount of vacation you can take to where you can park your car is on the table.  It is up to you, the job seeker, to get the best offer that you can, and if you don’t know to engage in the back and forth of negotiation then you risk leaving valuable things on the table.  There is one guarantee in negotiation: you will never get things that you don’t ask for.

Fortunately, you can arm yourself for such a negotiation by doing a little research and preparing for it.

The research bit can make an enormous difference in the negotiation process because it can provide you with valuable information about the company and what you can and can not ask for.  You can surf the internet (at sites like www.glassdoor.com or www.payscale.com) and ask your friends and contacts (especially those in the industry you are entering or work at the company) about what the average salary for your desired position is as well as the benefits package that the firm offers.

As the job seeker you have leverage in the negotiation up until the point that you accept the job offer and the terms that it contains.  Once you say “yes” the negotiation is over, and you are highly unlikely to be able to change anything.  At that point anything that was left on the table will vanish like a thief in the night.

So what are the types of things that you can ask for?  Here is a quick list of twenty things that many companies will entertain and which may or may not be similar to military benefits:

1.  Performance bonuses.  Can you make more money if your performance merits it?

2.  Flexible hours.  Maybe a four day week with longer workdays?

3.  Work location.  Work from home?

4.  Overtime pay.  How much will you be compensated for working extra hours?

5.  Retirement plans.  What kind do they offer?  How much will the company match in a 401K?

6.  Vacation time.  You received 30 days a year in the military, and the base in the civilian world is two weeks, unless you negotiate for more.

7.  Travel expenses.  Can you get  company car?  Mileage compensation or a gas station credit card?

8.  Non-monetary compensation.  Can you earn stock options or fully valued shares of the company’s stock?

9.  Career flexibility.  Can you create a path that starts in one area of the company and then move to another?

10.  Time off.  How about personal days?  Sick days?

11.  Health care.  Is health insurance included?  What are the deductibles?  Is there an on-site clinic?

12.  Insurance.  You had SGLI in the military at a steeply discounted rate.  Does your employer offer life insurance?

13.  Meals.  Is there a company cafeteria?  Are meals subsidized?

14.  Child care.  Can you bring your child to work?  How about a nursing room for those who wish to nurse their infants?

15.  Tech equipment.  How about a company phone or laptop?

16.  Discounts.  If the company produces goods, can you purchase them at a discount?  Is there a company store?

17.  Memberships.  Will the company provide memberships to a health club or gym?

18.  Travel.  Will you be expected to travel in coach, business class, or even better when you travel?  How about upgrades?

19.  Education.  Will the company pay for you to pursue an MBA or other educational opportunitity?

20.  Relocation expenses.  Will the firm pay for you to move your family to the city where you will work?

These are only the tip of the pay and benefits iceberg.  If you don’t do your homework and come to the bargaining table knowing what you can and should ask for you will get less than you could have.

In my next post we will prepare for the negotiation by rehearsing and doing a little self examination to make sure we do the best job possible at the bargaining table.

__________

Lessons learned:

– Military benefits are set.  Corporate benefits are not.  To get the best salary and benefits possible you are going to have to negotiate for them.

– Not all companies offer all benefits.  You need to do some research to see what the company offers, and then be prepared to ask for them.

– Salary is usually the biggest aspect of the negotiation, but it is not the only element.  Unlike the military, many corporate benefit packages are tailored to the individual employee.

– Use your network of contacts and the internet to research what will likely be on the table during the negotiation.  Don’t look foolish by asking for something the company does not offer, and don’t forget to ask for something that they do.

Figuring out what to do next

Posted by Mike Grice on

After you leave the service you need to find something to do with the rest of your life.  Unless, of course, you are independently wealthy or have figured out how to live the life of Reilly on your pension.

Since most of us are in neither of those predicaments we have to decide what should come next in our lives.  There are many opportunities that veterans can pursue, such as an education, finding a trade, getting a job, or even moving back home with the parents.  Each opportunity has its allure, but other than moving back into your old room at your folk’s house they all involve a commitment to change your direction in life.

For some, going to college makes sense.  For others, pursuing a trade is a better idea.  For those with the pressing need for employment skipping an education and getting into the labor market is the right answer.

This post is for those veterans — the ones who need to get into the workforce as quickly as possible.

One of the most difficult parts of transition is finding a way to successfully bring your military skills into a civilian work environment.  One way that you can leverage your experience as a leader, manager, and technical expert is to determine what careers are best suited for your talents.  Another way to leverage them is to pursue practical training that will result in a certificate (as opposed to a college degree) that will prove your ability to perform in a business environment.

There are a lot of certificates out there, and a lot of agencies that offer them.  Some are tremendous opportunities and some are complete garbage, so you need to be very careful when you follow the certification path.  A friend of mine who is familiar with the certification process introduced me to UCLA’s Extension Certificate Program.

The program is an adult professional education opportunity for those people who are looking for specific training and education in a defined sector such as human resources, project management, global sustainability, nonprofit management, or one of the many others that they offer.

While this is not particularly groundbreaking (because lots of universities have adult professional education programs) I found one aspect of their model to be tremendously useful.  They offer an analysis tool on their website which can help you determine if a certificate program is for you, and in addition to help p0int you in the direction of the certificate best suited to your experience, learning style, and goals.

I surfed to their website (www.empowered.com) and took the assessment.  It took a few minutes, but once I was finished I learned that I was suited for project management.  It described what a project manager does and it all sounded interesting and right up my alley.  Although I am not personally looking for a PM certificate, the assessment was thorough and identified my strengths and talents.  Pretty neat, really.

So I recommend that you go to http://www.empowered.com and check it out.  There is no obligation, and you just may find something that interests you.  I learned a little about myself, and you will too — especially if you are looking to make yourself marketable in the corporate sector, where certificates are recognized and serve as a differentiator between job candidates.

Check it out- I did!

A call from the VA. Finally!

Posted by Mike Grice on

Well, the VA finally called me back.  For those readers who may be unfamiliar with my ongoing saga with the Veterans Administration, here is a quick recap:

My disability claim is well into its second year.  Some six months ago I was informed that my claim was partially completed, with about half of the identified conditions being adjudicated.  I would be “contacted” by the VA to schedule appointments which would take care of the unresolved issues.

So I waited for the call.  For five months I waited, and finally decided to take the initiative to call them instead of spending another day being deafened by the sound of no telephones ringing.  After a week of failed attempts, I finally reached a real live VA representative!  Together, we reviewed my case and initiated an inquiry that required the team that was actually working on my case to contact me and explain its status.  In ten working days.  Or less.

They never called.  So, at day twelve, I called them.

I eventually ended up speaking with another VA representative who (again) reviewed my case.  She determined (and was quite annoyed to report) that the team who was evaluating my case had indeed seen the inquiry, but had simply marked it closed and not bothered to contact me.

Nice.

She apologized and placed a note in the electronic file to her boss and the team that was supposed to contact me.  Whether or not they would actually call me back she could not say.  To her credit, she was very professional and really helpful.

Well, two weeks later the VA called back.

I don’t know if the gentleman who initiated the call was on my team or not, but he did explain the status of my claim.  It turns out that one of the remaining conditions requires an actual physical re-examination, but the others required administrative corrections (which, in his words, consist of checking different boxes on the processing forms).  Don’t worry, he said, I would be contacted soon (!) by the VA to schedule the appointment.

I won’t hold my breath.

He followed by instructing me to call two weeks after the appointment as a follow up.  Apparently, since my case is in the review stage it will not lose its place in line and go back to the beginning because all that is required is for the printouts from the examination and the corrected process forms to be placed in the file.  If I call, he said, it will make sure that the file keeps moving forward.

So now I am in week two of waiting for the call to schedule my appointment.  I’ll keep you posted…

__________

Lessons learned:

– Be proactive.  My experience shows that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and particularly if the VA promises something that they do not deliver.  Make sure to record names, dates, and times of your calls and reengage with the administration immediately after they fail to achieve a timeline milestone.

– Be patient.  It is not going to be a rapidly resolving process.  If you get angry, all you will do is slow it down.  I know it is incredibly frustrating at times, but the people on the other end of the phone are overwhelmed by a byzantine bureaucracy.  Don’t vent your frustrations at the messenger because you may find your file at the bottom of the pile.

 

The sound of no phones ringing as my VA saga continues

Posted by Mike Grice on

In my most recent post I lamented about the languishing status of my service connected disability claim.  It had been partially settled, but half of the conditions under review still required action and that action was very long in coming.  It is month seven and counting since I was informed that “I would be contacted” by a VA representative to continue the work on my claim.

At month five or so I called to see what was up.  After many failed attempts, I got up extra early and called when the call center opened, and after being on hold for a half hour I was able to speak to a representative.  Long story short, he initiated an official inquiry which included the promise that I would receive a telephone call from the regional office that was working my claim.  In ten working days or less.

Well, ten days came and went, so this morning I again got up extra early (well, not that extra early because I get up before 0500 anyhow) and I called the VA.  After navigating the automated menus I was informed that I would be on hold for 22 minutes, so I waited.  45 minutes later a voice broke the elevator-esque hold music monotony and asked how she could help.

I explained my dilemma, and she pulled my information up on her computer.  I heard the clattering of her typing on her keyboard along with a sigh.

“They did not call you?” she asked.

“Nope.”

“They marked it closed, but there are no notes that show a call was conducted…”

Great.

It turns out that my Official Inquiry had been marked closed with no action taken.  No call.  No notes.  No action on my claim.

I was a bit annoyed, and she was a bit perplexed.  I got the feeling that I was not the first person that she had spoken to with this problem.  To her credit, she calmly explained the next steps as she typed away.  She notified her local supervisor as well as the supervisor and the team that was supposed to contact me about the problem, and apologized for the whole incident.  She went so far as to say that whoever closed my inquiry had actually lied about it and not done their job.  She said that someone may call me to update me on the status of my claim, but she also wisely did not promise that anyone would actually pick up the phone.  Neato.

As for my claim, she further explained that the crux of the problem was that while my issues had been partially resolved (with a completed disability rating for half of my identified conditions) the remaining issues would be addressed in the future.  How far in the future she could not say.  Eight months was the average for the initial claim (which was close to my timeline), but there was no expected timeline for the rest of the issues.  It could be a day, a week, a month, a year, or more.  Neato again!

So there you have it.  My first call resulted in a promise of a call back that never came.  My second call resulted in a complaint that nobody called, and I don’t know if anyone ever will.  Time will pass, I suppose, and maybe my phone will ring.

I won’t hold my breath.

__________

Lessons Learned:

1.  Stay on top of the process!  If you are promised a phone call, follow up if you do not get it.

2.  Call early in the day and you will get through.  Eventually.   My experience is that your wait time is twice the amount of time announced, so get a cup of coffee or two and read the paper because it is going to take a while.

3.  Don’t get angry.  The person on the other end of the phone is a person too, and they had nothing to do with your particular issue.  If you make them angry they will not be helpful.  Remember the golden rule!  Be nice and help them help you.

Still waiting for the call that may never come…

Posted by Mike Grice on

My last post left all of us hanging in anticipation of a call from the VA in regards to my disability claim.  You see, I had called and called the VA’a customer service number during the day with no luck whatsoever.  After finally getting up waaaaay before the crack of dawn I called again and finally got ahold of a VA representative.  We reviewed my case, and he agreed that something was amiss.  He promised that a representative would call in the next ten working days to let me know what was up.

I cheerily hung up and waited by the phone like a thirteen year old waiting for a girl to call and invite him to the Sadie Hawkins dance.

Well, it is now working day number nine.  No call.  No dance.

I have been holding my breath so long that I have gone from blue to purple.  They are not late yet.  One day to go!

I wonder if they will call?

The anticipation is killing me!  If they do, I will write a post to tell you how it went.  If they don’t, I will write a post to tell you how it didn’t go.

I think I see a zero dark thirty phonecall to the VA in my future…again.

It was the appointment I was looking for…sort of. The continuing saga of my life with the VA

Posted by Mike Grice on

Every once in a while things make sense.  Unfortunately for my journey into the world of the Veterans Administration, that once in a while has not happened yet.

You may recall from my last post that two seemingly unrelated and paradoxical events occurred that centered around my VA disability claim.  Within the span of a single week I first received a telephone call to invite me to an appointment at the local veterans hospital, which I took as an augury that my claim was turgidly stumbling forward, and I secondly found out that my claim was marked “CLOSED” on the VA’s ebenefits website (which is the interface that veterans use to access their VA benefits information: ebenefits.va.gov ).

One step forward and a huge leap back?  To say I was confused would be a gross disservice to the concept of understatement.

At any rate, I showed up for the appointment earlier this week and learned a little more about how the various processes at the VA work, or at least are supposed to work.

Unbeknownst to me, my appointment was based on the interview that the VA social worker had conducted on the day I officially became a consumer of VA health benefits.  The survey identified some items in my history that required further evaluation, and the appointment that I attended a few days ago was one of those items (in this case, it was for a Traumatic Brain Injury, or TBI, evaluation that was warranted because of my close proximity to noisy exploding things while in Iraq).

Fast forward to earlier this week.  I checked into the medical center, and after filling out yet another questionnaire about various things related to my mental state I was called to see the doctor.  After a brief introduction, I followed her through the physical therapy section of the hospital to a small office tucked away behind the treadmills and medicine balls.

I spent the next 45 minutes or so answering questions about the noisy things that exploded in my vicinity and the possible effects that they could have on me these many years later.  She then performed a series of physical examinations.  After getting whacked on the knee and following her finger with my eyes and a dozen or so other tests she announced that I was unlikely to be suffering from any long term effects of getting my bell rung in combat.  “Maybe a slight concussion,” said she, “but you seem fine to me.  Any questions?”

Ahhh.  Finally.  I did have a question or two.

I inquired as to the purpose of my visit.  Was I here for a disability related evaluation?  I explained my confusion, and she gave me the patient smile of someone who has explained this to people a time or two before.

“No.  This exam is based on the social worker’s evaluation from the VA clinic.  It has nothing to do with the disability claim process.”

She saw my blank and vacuous stare, and continued.

“We don’t have anything to do with claims.  The systems are completely separate.  If they want, they can access the records of this appointment, but that is up to them.  We are the medical side, not the disability claims side of the fence.”

With that bit of insight the lightbulb went on in my head.  Suddenly I understood why the two events that had occurred a month previously had confused me: I mistakenly thought that I was dealing with one agency when in fact I was dealing with two.  And neither of them talks to each other.

How governmentally bureaucratic!

The medical side had set the appointment, and it was proof positive that the system (or at least their half of it) worked.

The claims side, on the other hand, clearly had something wrong.

With that shocking bit of knowledge, I set out to find out just what was amiss with my disability claim.  I called the toll-free number for the VA.  Not once.  Not twice.  Not three times.

I won’t bore you with how many times I pounded the keys on my phone trying to reach a VA counselor, but after many fruitless attempts I resorted to calling at 5:20 in the morning in an effort to get through.  It worked.  After waiting on hold for nearly 30 minutes, I finally found myself at last in contact with a real live VA person!

I explained my dilemma to the gentleman, and he looked into it.  Apparently the ebenefits website was depicting the results of the most recent review that my case file had received and was incorrectly showing my status as closed.  What had occurred was that my file was being reconciled to determine what still remained to be done, and once that reconciliation was completed that review was posted as closed.

For whatever reason (which the VA rep could not explain) the ebenefits site “sometimes” picks up the wrong status.  I was one of the lucky few to fall in the wonderful world of “sometimes”.  Fortunately, my case was still open.  The status on the website was wrong.  Unfortunately, there was also no indicator of progress in my case, so it really didn’t matter what the website said.  I was still going nowhere fast, but apparently I am making good time.

Sensing my consternation, the VA rep offered to initiate an inquiry.  The inquiry, he explained, means that someone in the office that held my claim would have to call me within the next ten working days to explain what was going on.

Hooray!  All I have to do now is wait for the phone to ring and then I will be able to talk to somebody who can explain just what is happening with my disability claim.

All I have to do is wait.

__________

Lessons Learned:

1.  The VA medical system and the VA disability claims system are two unrelated and unintegrated silos.  They each are performing their own important mission, but they do so independent of each other.  Make sure to find out which side of the fence your appointments fall on, or you will end up confused like I did by assuming that a medical appointment was for my disability claim or vice versa.

2.  Calling the VA during working hours is pointless and annoying.  There is supposedly a callback feature that you can use if you call after working hours, but I could never get it to work.  I resorted to calling early in the morning, right about the time that the call center opens, which is listed as 7:00 am Eastern time.  The number is 800-827-1000.  Good luck!!

3.  Write everything down, including the inquiry tracking number and the name of the person that you talked to.  It will be useful later on in case the inquiry gets lost or the information that you received turns out to be erroneous.

A Call from the VA and a change in claims status…

Posted by Mike Grice on

My last post discussed the confusing world of disability claims, healthcare, and appointments within the VA system.  This post offers no clarity in that regard; in fact, I am now even more confused than I was before.

I have gone from being simply puzzled to a state of complete consternation.

Two things occurred in the last week that have a direct impact on my VA disability claim.  The first is that I actually received a call from the VA to schedule an appointment for an examination that is a part of the regular (and sadly quite lengthy) evaluation process.  That was good!  The next day I checked my status on the VA’s website (www.ebenefits.va.gov) and discovered that my case was officially closed, but that an appeal was possible.

Huh?

A call on one day to schedule an appointment the following month is immediately followed by a notification that my case was closed?

You can imagine my furrowed brow and skyrocketing blood pressure as I reached for the phone to call and find out what was going on.

Well, that did not unfurrow my brow or reduce my blood pressure.  Instead, It added a nervous twitching to the hand that held the phone as I navigated my way through automated menus that resulted a complete waste of time.  Call volume was too heavy said the automated voice, but I could call back later or request for a specialist to contact me at a later time.  Unfortunately, the call was terminated before I could request a callback.

So I tried again, with the same result.  Awesome.

So I am now more confused than ever, and in serious need to talk to someone about it.  I will be making some calls in the next few days to the VSO as well as the VA to see if I can get to the bottom of this new and incredibly annoying mystery.

I’ll tell you how it goes!  Wish me luck…

Back to the Veterans Administration, Part 3: This is not the appointment you were looking for…

Posted by Mike Grice on

In my last blog entry I promised that I would update you on how my first official appointment with the VA went, and, well, that appointment has come and gone.  It was interesting, but not really what I had expected.  Or what I was hoping for.  It was, however, insightful because it provided a glimpse into the road that lay before me as a “customer” of the VA healthcare system as well as introducing me to many of my fellow veterans who frequent the local clinic.

The appointment was with the VA Clinic’s PTSD Services unit.  As I wrote in my last post, I spent an hour or so with my designated social worker whose job it is (among other things) to assess whether or not I needed to be evaluated for the effects of combat stress.  Her assessment was based on our meeting as well as the sixteen page questionnaire that I completed beforehand.  Since the questions were all about combat, and having spent a whole lot of time in and around a significant amount of combat in two different war zones, she determined that it was certainly appropriate for me to go for an evaluation.

A week later, I returned to the clinic for my first appointment: the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Services Orientation.  I wandered into the clinic’s Mental Health Services waiting room and, after checking in, was handed yet another set of forms to fill out.  After ten minutes of answering questions about my propensity for self-harm, manic episodes, and depression, I was finished.  Just in time, too, because as my government issued pen scratched out the last checkmark a young woman opened the waiting room door and asked those of us waiting for the PTSD orientation to follow her.

I joined a rather eclectic group as we accompanied her to a smallish room ringed with chairs padded with leather seats and backrests colored in the oddly disturbing green that is prevalent in hospitals and movies about psychiatric institutions.  They must have got them on sale somewhere, because I don’t think they would match anyone’s home decor.  To their credit, though, they were actually pretty comfortable.

Out of the twenty odd-colored seats ten or so were filled by my fellow attendees and me.  There was an elderly veteran of the Second World War, Korea, and Vietnam (as his hat proudly proclaimed), a man in his sixties, a few gentlemen in their 50’s, a young woman who never took off her sunglasses, a tattooed young man barely out of his teens, and me.  Not at all what I was expecting, to be honest.  I had figured that my meeting would be with young veterans from the recent decade of war, but to my surprise we veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan were in the minority.  There were three of us, one veteran of Desert Storm, the aforementioned WWII vet, and the rest were from the Vietnam War.

I know this because the young woman who led the session (another clinical social worker) had us introduce ourselves before we began the session.  In addition to asking where we served, she asked us to share why we were here.  The recently discharged veterans were pretty obvious, but the others were a surprise.  Each of them had been referred to the session by their primary care provider, which I found to be fascinating.  After hearing their introductions and listening to their conversations it became evident to me that many of these veterans were just now entering the VA medical system.  To me, that was a surprise because I had never really considered not entering the system.

That reveals a tremendous difference between the experiences that “new” veterans have in juxtaposition to the “old” ones.  Our transition process from active duty included a mandatory introduction to the VA, along with an education in the basics that the VA provides.  Many veterans of WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and the Cold War received no such exposure to the Veterans Administration.  As a result, thousands and thousands of veterans who are eligible for help and care never bothered to pursue it until they really need the services that the VA provides.  Unfortunately, for many of them, the help that the VA provides ends up trying to make up for years or decades of neglected conditions.  That was the explanation for why so many of the people in the room with me were there for the first time despite having removed their uniforms back when Disco Fever ruled the dance floor.

Anyhow, back to the session.  After introductions, the social worker ran through a dozen or so power point slides that described the multitude of programs that the VA offered in the clinic.  This particular clinic was focused on combat veterans who were at risk for PTSD, and the services that they provide were all focused on countering and healing the effects of combat stress.  She started with textbook (according to the American Psychiatric Association, who writes such things) definition of PTSD, which included things like experiencing traumatic events, re-experiencing previous trauma, hyper-vigilance and hyper-arousal, and avoidance of things that remind you of traumatic events.  Considering that everyone in the room has served in combat, the probability that at least some of these symptoms would apply to us rocketed up to about 100%.

After the explanation of what PTSD was completed she assured that recovery from PTSD was possible.  They offered over a dozen different methods to assist with recovery; including individual and group sessions on topics like anger management, coping, spiritually based recovery, couples and family therapy, anxiety disorders, and women’s groups.  The goal of each program is to help the veteran reach a positive outcome within three months, with a positive outcome being that the veteran being better able to cope with his or her condition.

Not surprisingly the clinic was overwhelmed with veterans who needed help.  The wait time to join in the programs was eight weeks or more.  The social worker explained the process for getting into one of the groups, and that is where I realized that this was actually not the appointment I was looking for.  Actually it was not even really an appointment, but instead just an introduction and orientation to the clinic.

Towards the end of the session she explained that for us to participate in any of the offerings we would have to set up another appointment in which we would actually meet with a healthcare provider who would then assign us to a group.  An intake appointment, she called it.  That was the first indicator that this was not the appointment I was looking for.  The second indicator was her announcement that the clinic did not have anything to do with disability claims.

As you know from my previous posts, I was actually hoping to get my disability claim back on track.  It had been five months since I had been notified that the claim had been partially settled and that I should wait to be contacted by the VA for further evaluation.  After spending almost half a year listening to the sound of no telephones ringing I called the VA to get the ball rolling.  I had wrongly assumed that once I was in the system that the claims process would proceed as a matter of course.

Nope.

I would need to call another number for that, or I could stop by the Veterans Service Office that happened to be just across the hall.  They would be able to help those of us working on our claims, she said, but unfortunately not today because their office was closed.

D’oh.

She then reviewed all of the forms that we completed prior to the session, and then she called each of us out individually to set up appointments for the intake interview.  I was a bit disgruntled, but resigned myself to just go with the flow and left the session with an appointment for an intake appointment some six weeks in the future and the phone number to the clinic’s VSO office which would help me with my claim.

I also left reminding myself that the VA was a bureaucracy and that patience was a virtue.  I was still disgruntled, though, and not feeling particularly virtuous.  So it goes.

__________

Lessons Learned:

1.  The medical side of the VA is different from the disability claims side of the VA.  Make sure to stay engaged with your VSO to ensure that your claim is moving forward, and also be specific with the VA representatives when you are making your appointments.  I was not specific enough because I made some errant assumptions, and as a result I have lost another month or two of forward progress on my claim.

2.  Be ready to devote a lot of time to the VA.  There are great programs available, but it will take a long time and plenty of seemingly repetitive red tape, paperwork, and meetings to actually see a provider.  Breathe deep, think happy thoughts, and go to your happy place.  Time will pass and you will get the help you need.  It will just take a lot more time than you would like.

3.  Ask questions up front.  Had I asked whether or not this appointment would help with my disability claim I would have saved some valuable time.  Assume nothing!

Back to the Veterans Administration, part 2: Entering the system

Posted by Mike Grice on

I left you, my dear readers, hanging with my last post.  When we last connected I was about to go to my first live and in-person post-retirement Veterans Administration engagement.  After months of waiting for a call that never came I shouldered the responsibility for my own situation and, after more than a few phone calls, set up an appointment to become a customer of the VA.

The instructions were simple enough.  I was directed to arrive at the local VA clinic at ten in the morning, and upon my arrival I would be meeting up with the Benefits and Enrollment specialist.

So arrive I did, right on time.  I walked into the lobby of the recently built and still sparkly building and sauntered up to the reception desk.  To my chagrin, there was no one at the desk, so I rather aimlessly just leaned on the counter until somebody arrived.  There were two chairs behind the desk after all, and they looked recently abandoned.

After a few minutes of pointless leaning I decided to find someone who could help me.  I wandered past the reception desk and into the halls beyond.  After walking from one side of the building to the other in hopes of randomly finding the office I was looking for I gave in and asked an employee (whom was readily identifiable by her hospital scrubs and prominently displayed VA Identification badge) for help.

“Go to the lobby and check in with the girl up front,” said she.

After explaining the absence of said girl, the employee shrugged and pointed back the way I came.  “Just go back to the lobby. Someone will call for you.”

I was not particularly optimistic that said calling would occur, but I meekly headed back to the lobby anyway.  Joining a few other patient souls in the chairs that ringed the perimeter of the room, I found a copy of Time Magazine from the previous year to fill my time as I waited for the call that I was not certain would come.

After ten minutes of reading about Time Magazine’s view of the world circa October 2011, a door that previously gone unnoticed burst open.  An energetic gentleman with short graying hair and an startlingly positive outlook on life fairly leapt onto the scene and immediately started asking each of us in the lobby why we were there.

After a staccato interchange between the people sitting next to me, he turned in my direction and asked if he could help me.  I explained that I was there to meet with the enrollment section.  He smiled and said “That’s ME!” and pointed me towards the still-open door and one of the vacant offices on the other side.  “Take a seat, I’ll be right there.”

So in I went, clutching my sheaf of medical records and other documents, wary to see what would happen next.

John, as I learned his name to be, had obviously introduced a few people to the VA system before I showed up.  Probably thousands of people.  He had it down!  He handed me a sixteen page long questionnaire to fill out and began firing questions at me faster than a belt fed machine gun.

“Retired?”  “Yep.

“How long were you in?”  “Twenty seven years.”

“Social?”  (As in what was my social security number, which is the key that opens my files in pretty much every government database).  I gave him my precious nine digits.

“Marine?”  “Yep.”

“What did you do in the Marines?”  “Where do you live?”  “Do you have TRICARE?”

Each question was accompanied by his furious banging on the computer keyboard as he entered my information into the computer.  I was trying to complete the form as he talked, which he noticed.

“Don’t worry about that right now.  That is for the social worker, who I will introduce you to in a few minutes.”

Social worker?  Really?  What was that all about?

“For now, let’s just get you in the system…”and from there we were off on a journey of questions and answers that lasted ten or fifteen minutes.  I won’t subject you to the lengthy details, but here is a rundown of the pertinent ones for those of you who will be headed to the VA:

– The difference between TRICARE and the VA.  He patiently explained that TRICARE is insurance, and the VA provides traditional medical care, just like your regular family physician.  While that statement sounds obvious, the ramifications are significant.   If you are injured in an accident or have an emergency away from your normal VA provider, TRICARE takes care of it because that is what insurance is for.  The VA is not insurance, so you would be in trouble when the bills came due for emergency treatment because the VA does not pay for such events because the VA is not insurance.  Kapisch?

– Online enrollment.  I had previously enrolled into the VA healthcare system because they had thoughtfully sent me an email several months ago.  The email, which suspiciously looked like spam (but wasn’t) encouraged me to register via the VA website by following this link: https://www.1010ez.med.va.gov/sec/vha/1010ez/  I filled out the form, and I am glad that I did because it reduced the amount of time I spent with with the enrollment specialist by at least half.

– The Packet.  The sixteen page packet that he handed me was the OIF/OEF/OND (Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation New Dawn) enrollment questionnaire.  In a nutshell, it was a long questionnaire that asked a lot of questions about my mental health, combat experiences, and exposure to traumatic brain injury (TBI).  The form would be used by my social worker.  More on that later.

– Explanation of how the clinic works.  This particular clinic is divided into three teams (Red, White, and Blue…pretty catchy!) and each team had a staff of its own.  In my case I became a member of Team White, and with my assignment came my choice of primary healthcare providers.  Since I did not know any of the doctors personally, I happily chose the one with the next available appointment time (which happened to be a month away).

– My first appointment with the doctor would be a “welcome aboard” type of physical examination, and I would be required to visit the lab and submit various bodily fluids beforehand.  Joy.

– Appointments.  In order to set up an appointment, I would not be allowed to call the doctor or the clinic directly.  I must call central appointments (via a 1-800 number) in order to contact someone at the clinic.  That is pretty much the same as life in uniform, so it wasn’t a shock, but it is annoying.  If I want to ask the doctor about a medication, for example, I need to call central appointments and leave a message for him.  Then, when he gets the message and has the time, he is supposed to call back.  I hope I don’t have any time critical severe allergic reactions!

-ID Card.  Towards the end of the interview he announced that it was time for me to get my VA ID.  I sat up straight and looked at the camera that was mounted above his computer screen, and when he said smile I did so.  In a week or two my card should show up in the mail, and then I will know just how stupid I look.  No second chance for a new picture!

As soon as John was done with me he guided me to another office and introduced me to a very nice woman who would be my social worker.  She asked if I had completed my form, and as I had not she gestured for me to take a seat and fill it out.

I did so, and after ten minutes of scribbling I knocked on her door.  She invited me in, and after taking the sheaf of papers from my clutches she began her own interview.

Now, you should understand that this is probably the first time in my life that I have ever been in a room with a social worker.  I have met people in that line of work in the past, but never have I actually been professionally engaged by one.  Honestly, I had no idea what social workers actually did, but after spending a half hour with a pro I was pleasantly surprised to learn that they fit a niche that is needed in the VA: helping veterans who are having difficulty transitioning back to the civilian world deal with the often confusing processes that come with  the title “veteran”, not to mention little things like PTSD, TBI, and other psychological issues.

At any rate, she had the unenviable task of manually inputting the responses I scribbled on my questionnaire into the computer database.  Obviously some parts of the VA could use a little modernization, but she explained that she actually got more out of re-inputting the data because she could interact with the client (me, in this case) and flesh out her perspective on the information.  This is important because she was evaluating things with real impacts on veterans, such as combat stress problems and indicators of violence, self harm, and suicide.  She was there to make sure that we, the combat veterans, were looked at objectively and offered the appropriate levels of care.

After an hour or so spent chatting with the social worker, she led me to the appointment desk at the combat stress clinic.  The results of my survey indicated that meeting with them would be a good idea, and to be honest I believe it is a place that all combat veterans need to visit.  The wars of the last decade have seen an unprecedented  level of stress on the military forces, with many veterans deploying to war time and again, and then again, and again.  The frantic deployment tempo means that many veterans bring issues and problems home, and the VA is there to help deal with them.  Going to the clinic is the first step along the way to getting better, and whether you think you need it or not you should stop by.

So now I am officially in the VA system, and I have several appointments in the future that I will tell you all about.  Stay tuned!

___________

Lessons Learned:

1.  After your claim settled, either partially or in full, you should be receiving an email inviting you to enroll in the VA via their website.  Initially I thought the email was spam, but after several attempts I finally paid attention and registered.  Doing so greatly streamlined my in-person registration process.  As an aside, they used the email address that I provided months earlier as I was transitioning out, so it behooves you to make sure that you provide an address that you will utilize for a long time to come.

2.  The VA is just like every other government bureaucracy.  Get ready to do some things twice, and if your are lucky, three times or more.  It is just the way it is.  Suck it up and march on.

3.  It will help for you to bring whatever documentation from the VA you have accumulated thus far.  I recommend that you buy a pocket folder or folio to keep everything in.  Even better, get yourself a dedicated filing system for all of the stuff that you are amassing because if you don’t you will end up with a disorganized pile of documents approaching the stature of the Eiffel tower.  If you don’t believe me, just look at the pile next to my desk at home.

 

Back to the Veterans Administration

Posted by Mike Grice on

Several months ago I received a rather large package from the Veterans Administration.  Inside was the copy of my medical record that I had submitted with my claim some nine months earlier as well as a sheaf of rather official looking documents.

Hooray, thought I!  My claim was settled.

Well, kind of.  Actually about half of my claim was settled, and the other half was not.

You see, as I departed active duty I was thoroughly examined by both military and veterans administration physicians as a part of the final physical process.  The Navy doctors and corpsmen checked me out and documented everything that was relevant into my records, and the VA then followed up with an examination of their own to determine what conditions, if any, that I had developed during my service would be considered disabling.  Having the conditions rated as disabling is important because the VA treats those conditions free of charge.

In my case, about half of the conditions that had been identified during my physicals were rated as disability-related conditions and would be addressed by the VA in the future.  The other half were marked as “deferred” because they needed additional information.  The letter went on to say that they had requested a medical examination, and that I would be “notified of the date, time, and place to report.”  It sounded reasonable, so all I had to do was be patient and wait.

One month went by.

Then two.  Then three.  Four.  Finally at month five I decided that my phone wasn’t going to ring any time soon and I needed to do something about it.  But what?

Thinking back to my experience at the Transition Assistance Course I remembered that a representative from the Disabled American Veterans had talked me through the VA medical evaluation process as he evaluated my medical record.  I had signed a limited power of attorney that appointed the DAV as the Veterans Service Organization that would represent me in my VA proceedings, and now it was time to give them a ring and ask for some help.

After rummaging through the rather tall pile of transition related documents that occupies a significant portion of my desk I found his business card.  “Aha!”  thought I.  “A call and it will all be fixed!”

Wrong again.

I did call the number, only to find that I was calling the wrong number.  It turns out that the gentleman that I had worked with during the TAP seminar was not the same gentleman that I would be working with in my dealings with the VA.  The guy at TAPS was fully engaged in meeting new veterans and helping get their claims processes started.  Once the veterans were in the DAV system they (including me!) would be working with representatives at their regional office located in San Diego.

So I called that number.  Unfortunately their offices were closed for the holidays, so I called back once the holidays were over.  I finally linked up with a live person and after speaking to a very nice lady who took down some basic information were instructed to wait for a representative to call me back.

After a day or two of swapping voicemails because of missed calls the DAV representative and I finally linked up on the phone.  I explained my dilemma to him, and he patiently explained what needed to happen next.

“What you have,” he said,” is a partially completed claim.  At this point there really isn’t anything the DAV can do for you because our process begins when the initial VA claim is settled.”

Sensing my frustration, he continued.

“What you need to do is to contact the VA and set up an appointment to get the ball rolling yourself.  You need to do this quickly because if you don’t follow up on the listed conditions they may be disallowed because you are not showing that they are still a problem.”  He then gave me the appropriate phone number for the closest VA office and we said our goodbyes.

Hmm… So I need to get my sore knees and bad back looked at again?  I had signed up for TRICARE Prime, so I could go to the doctor, but my decades of “sucking it up” had precluded me from making an appointment for something that did not involve broken bones or arterial bleeding.

So I called the VA the next day.  After a similar game of telephone and voicemail tag I spoke with a very helpful gentleman who understood exactly what my dilemma was.  He checked his calendar and squeezed me into an appointment this coming Wednesday, where he promised to get my ship sailing in the right direction.

And I promise to tell you how it goes…

__________

Lessons Learned:

1.  Contact your VSO immediately after you receive your VA claim settlement letter.  I lost about five months as I waited for the VA to contact me before I finally got on the ball and started engaging the system.

2.  The VA is buried in claims and the best thing to do is to take charge of your case.  Waiting just means that others who are being proactive are jumping in line ahead of you.

3.  Your VSO can explain the intricacies of the settlement letter in a phone call, but you have to contact them to initiate the conversation.

4.  The next call you make after the VSO should be your local VA office in order to initiate the next steps in the evaluation process.  If your claim is settled, then you need to contact them to be registered in their computer system so that you can access healthcare providers.  If your claim is not fully settled, then you need to get registered and schedule appointments with the appropriate professionals in order to finish up your claim.