VA Expands Outreach to Women Veterans

Department of Veterans Affairs Hosts 5^th National Summit in D.C.

WASHINGTON – Over 700 participants attended the Fifth National Summit on Women Veterans’ Issues July 16-17 at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki gave remarks to open the summit which focused on expanding outreach to women Veterans and increasing awareness of the enhanced VA benefits and services available to them.

“With more women serving in our armed forces than ever before, this summit is an opportunity to exchange ideas and focus attention on the issues and concerns unique to women Veterans,” Shinseki said. “Today, there are over 1.8 million women Veterans of all eras and one of VA’s highest priorities is to continue to expand our services and outreach to ensure they receive the care and benefits they have earned.”

This is the first time VA will provide targeted training, education, and collaborative cross training for its staff responsible for providing services and benefits specifically to women Veterans and their families. Participants include: women Veterans, women Veteran advocates from across the nation, active duty women service members (to include those in the Reserves and National Guard) VA employees who provide care to women Veterans, and representatives from a multitude of Veterans service organizations and nonprofit agencies. VA Medical Centers employ women Veterans program managers; community-based outpatient clinics employ a women’s liaison; and VA regional offices employ a women Veterans coordinator.

"The number of women Veterans using VA health care has doubled in the last decade,” said Patricia Hayes, chief consultant of VA’s Women Veterans Health Strategic Health Care Group. “This training, coupled with direct feedback from women Veterans, will enable VA to continue to enhance health care and services to meet their needs.”

Today, over 200,000 women are serving in the armed forces. About 11 percent of the U.S. forces currently serving in Afghanistan and Iraq are women. Recognizing the valor, service and sacrifice of America’s 1.7 million women Veterans, VA has stepped up its outreach efforts to women Veterans to increase their awareness of the comprehensive array of VA benefits and programs. Women Veterans are entitled to the same benefits and medical care as their male counterparts, including health care, disability compensation, education assistance, work-study allowance, vocational rehabilitation, employment and counseling services, insurance, home loan benefits, nursing home care, survivor benefits and various burial benefits.

In addition, VA also has a multitude of gender specific services and programs that respond to the unique needs of women Veterans, including pap smears, mammography, general reproductive health care, counseling for substance abuse, sexual trauma, depression, and evaluation and treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). For more information about VA visit the website at www.va.gov and its Center for Women Veterans at http://www.va.gov/womenvet.

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For assistance with your Veterans Disability compensation or pension claim, call Florida VA Disability Lawyer John Tucker at (866) 282-5260.

What is a Life Insurance Waiver of Premium Based on Disability?

If you have a life insurance plan through your employer and you become disabled, you may be able to keep your life insurance without paying premiums. How? Something called a premium waiver due to disability.

Some group life insurance plans - including many covered by the federal ERISA law that governs employee benefits - have a provision that allows disabled employees to keep their life insurance coverage. Some refer to these provisions as Life Insurance Waiver of Premium (shorthand: LIWOP). Many people know about their Long Term Disability (LTD) insurance coverage. However, you may also have a waiver of premium provision in your life insurance policy that kicks in based on your disability. Even if you do not have LTD coverage, you may be able to file an application with your life insurance benefits plan administrator asking that your coverage be continued. If you have have LTD coverage, you probably still have to file a separate application with the life plan administrator. Sometimes that will be the insurer, but you can ask your employer or the sponsor of your group life plan for the application for benefits.

Why is a Life Insurance Premium Waiver valuable coverage? Because it means you get free life insurance if you can prove that you are disabled under the plan's definition of disability. There is no standard definition. You have to read the life insurance policy to determine what you have to prove to show that you are disabled. If you have LTD coverage, the definition of disability in your LTD plan may be different than the definition of disability in your Life Insurance policy.

It is strongly recommended that you hire an ERISA Disability Attorney if you think you may hav a Life Insurance Waiver of Premium claim. Hiring an attorney before you file your claim may save you time and let you keep thousands of dollars of life insurance coverage....for free.



Copyright (c) 2011 by John V. Tucker and Tucker & Ludin, P.A. All rights reserved. For assistance with your Long Term Disability claim, ERISA Disability benefit claim, Florida ERISA claim, or Life Insurance Disability Premium Waiver claim, call Disability Lawyer John Tucker at (866) 282-5260.

Former VA Bay Pines Nurse Accused of Sexual Battery on Patient

According to the St. Petersburg Times, "A 48-year-old former nurse at Bay Pines VA Medical Center was arrested Tuesday, accused of sexually battery on a male patient he was supposed to be caring for in the mental health ward."

Jeffrey Harris was arrested on charges of sexual battery. To the credit of VA Bay Pines Medical Center, they took immediate steps to bar him from patient contact when the allegations first surfaced. According to the paper, a report was released which indicated that Harris may harmed others.

For the full Times story, click here.

For assistance with your Veterans service connected compensation, secondary service connection, Section 1151, or pension claim, call Florida Veterans Disability Lawyer John Tucker at (866) 282-5260.

New Commanding Officer at Marine Corps Blount Island Command

On Friday, July 15, 2011, I had the opportunity to attend the Change of Command Ceremony at the U.S. Marine Corps Blount Island Command in Jacksonville, Florida. The new commanding officer is Colonel Christopher Michelsen, a Marine I have the honor of calling a lifelong friend. Col. Michelsen is a distinguished Marine who will take Blount Island to the next level in his tour of duty at the Command.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Blount Island Command, 100 Marines and about 900 civilian contractors do an amazing job moving the Marine Corps' east coast equipment and firepower into position in a short period of time. Following the ceremony last Friday, we we treated to a tour of the installation narrated by Master Gunnery Sgt. Duckworth, a Marine who clearly knows his stuff. He explained how Blount Island plans, coordinates and executes the logistics efforts in support of the Maritime Prepositioning Force program and the Marine Corps Prepositioning Program with a fleet of 15 ships. I never cease to be impressed by the commitment and performance of the men and women that serve our country in the armed forces.


I wish the best to Col. Michelsen as he embarks on his tour in charge of the Blount Island Command and hope for a successful mission for all of the Marines under his command.



Copyright (c) 2011 by John V. Tucker and Tucker & Ludin, P.A. All rights reserved. For assistance with your Veterans service connected compensation or pension claim, call Florida VA Disability Attorney John Tucker at (866) 282-5260.

Fibromyalgia - Some Internet Resources to Understand Your Disability

As a disability benefits attorney, many of my clients suffer from a very common condition called fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia can cause many restrictions and limitations that keep someone from working.

Knowledge about your condition is very important. Use the following list of online resources to understand your condition and keep up with current treatment options for fibromyalgia.

What is fibromyalgia?
MedlinePlus on Fibromyalgia
PubMed on Fibromyalgia
Mayo Clinic on Fibromyalgia
WebMD on Fibromyalgia
Medicine.net on Fibromyalgia

National Fibromyalgia Association

Fibroymalgia.com

Tests and treatment for Fibromyalgia:
Mayo Clinic

Fibromyalgia Tender Points Diagram (tenderness in these points is an indicator of fibromyalgia):





Copyright (c) 2011 by John V. Tucker and Tucker & Ludin, P.A. All rights reserved. For assistance with your fibromyalgia disability claim related to your Long Term Disability benefits, ERISA Disability benefits, Social Security Disability, or Veterans Disability compensation or pension, call Florida Fibromyalgia Disability Attorney John Tucker at (866) 282-5260.