MEB and PTSD

[Army Medic Dad]

Sorry for double posting. Posted this in the Army section, then saw this Forum.

Posting this question for my son.

First, he is active duty Army with a WTU. Diagnosed with PTSD. His packet was sent to Fort Lewis. Came back with 10% disability. Son opted for severance package. He is now awaiting orders.

He just found out yesterday from his case manager that the Army (and/or DoD) is now giving 50% disability for PTSD.

His case manager is checking on this, but I just wanted to see if anyone knew how this would possibly affect my son. Would his packet have to be re-submitted for a new determination? I would assume that the difference between 10% and 50% disability is huge.

Thanks in advance.

[xeno]

Hi,

I suspect that he will have to do a post discharge appeal. But it is really hard since he accepted it initially and he will/has been discharged. I'm sure if Jason has any more info he will pop in.

X

[maparker]

The PEB's inital rating was in error. They are required by law to rate PTSD @ 50% if it is severe enough to require removal from active duty. The PEB is doing nothing more than fixing their mistake. He will be place on the temporary reitement list and paid 50% of his base pay. He is required to be reevaluated at least every 18 month by the MEB/PEB up to 5 years total.



Mike

[xeno]

If that is factual, then acting fast would be essential.

X

[Jason]

It is factual. I will be making an announcement regarding this in the next few days (there are some details still being worked out). This is a major development for PTSD cases.

[Army Medic Dad]

Originally Posted by Jason

It is factual. I will be making an announcement regarding this in the next few days (there are some details still being worked out). This is a major development for PTSD cases.

Thanks for that update. Can't wait for your announcement so I can pass it along to my son, especially if he can possibly get his packet re-evaluated.

One other question about disability vs severance package.

My son is of the opinion (because some of his fellow Soldiers got screwed???) that it was better for him to take the severance package than the 10% disability. He said that even if he were to get upgraded to the 50% it wouldn't be as good because of the inevitability of the percentage being downgraded when the review comes up (or even going to 0%). He is being told that a Soldier usually gets more $$$ in the severance package than with the disability percentage.

Is my son getting the wrong advice?

[californiasurfboy]

Originally Posted by Army Medic Dad

Thanks for that update. Can't wait for your announcement so I can pass it along to my son, especially if he can possibly get his packet re-evaluated.

One other question about disability vs severance package.

My son is of the opinion (because some of his fellow Soldiers got screwed???) that it was better for him to take the severance package than the 10% disability. He said that even if he were to get upgraded to the 50% it wouldn't be as good because of the inevitability of the percentage being downgraded when the review comes up (or even going to 0%). He is being told that a Soldier usually gets more $$$ in the severance package than with the disability percentage.

Is my son getting the wrong advice?

Hello,

I am going through the MEB due to numerous reasons with the main one being PTSD. This is what I have found out so far since this process is confusing as hell....

If your son is rated 0%, 10%, or 20% he collects a severance check from the military. The amount is the same no matter what his rating is between 0% to 20%. It is affected by his years of service. There is a calcuation which I believe is 2 months times base pay times years of service with another calculation figured out if, I believe, the soldier has less then three years. He gets a lump sump payment and, in return, the military washes their hands of your son.

If your son is rated 30% or higher, he is not granted a severance pay but is medically retired by the branch of service he belongs to. He collects a percentage of his pay from that branch and has access to retiree benefits from the military i.e tricare, px benefits, etc. He is not given a severance check but will collect a retirement check from that branch of service for the rest of his life. The percentage again is a calculation which I am told is your disability rating times the average pay of your past 36 months.

When your son goes to the VA, his disability check is affected by his percentage rating. The higher the rating, the higher the paycheck. To begin collecting his check, though, if he received a severance check from the military he first has to pay the amount back before he gets the full amount of disability compensation from the VA.

There are a lot of calculations to compute pay. If the VA, which is tax free, is higher then the military, you want to collect the VA check. Also, if your sons PTSD is due to combat, he can apply for CRSC, etc. Most of this will be better covered by someone more familiar and the VA/DRO/Finance when that time comes.

Your son is on the TDRL list. He is automatically given 50% but it is temporary. He will be re-evaluated after 18 months and will not be on that list for longer then 5 years. At the re-evaluation they will determine if your son is doing better or worse, is his condition stable or unstable, and is he fit or unfit for duty. They will look at many things i.e. medications, hospitalizations, employment, school, etc. This can affect his rating; it can stay the same, go higher or go lower. It is not inevitable that it will go down as your son has been told.

To sum it up though, your son is in a good position. The TDRL status is good to have and hopefully will one day become PDRL with at least 30% because it gives him the medical retiree benefits. The severance check looks great and helps out some individuals right off the bat i.e. those with oustanding bills, settlement costs, etc. but usually it is not in the best interest of most individuals. Most rather have those retiree benefits from their respective military branch or would like to start collecting their monthly check right off the bat.

Also, the PEB/MEB process is full of misconceptions or “he said, she said” information. Your son should write down a lot of these questions and have discussions with his PEBLO or moderators on this board that are more informed because those questions are great to have at this time. I know I listened to a lot of individuals who, in the end, I found out were blowing a lot of smoke out their rear ends. =) Its best to find out what is going on straight from the camels mouth.

Edit:

The laws changed recently where the military services are to go by the VA ratings. A lot of soldiers got out on 0 or 10% disability ratings for mental disorders (PTSD being one of them) but then were given a higher rating by the VA. (there are many other conditions where this was a problem i.e. sleep apnea, etc but I am using your sons PTSD for example)

The VA felt that if a soldier was medically discharged due to a mental disorder, he demonstrated such an impairment socially or occupational to determine a 50% rating with re-evaluation after 6 months. It makes sense. With a 10% rating, the military determined (based on what a description of 10% for mental disorder is) your son only exhibit signs under sever stress but is fine otherwise and / or is controlled with medications.

Basically he is fine but yet, at the same time, is not fit to be a soldier? You know how many individuals that I currently serve with that are on medications or exhibit symptoms under stress but seem fine otherwise? You know how many are worse off then this and fit the other rating catagories but are still serving? If, going by your sons percentage rating, a large majority of the army right now is unfit and so we should all be discharged. I felt your sons original 10% is really unjust and should of fought it. I am happy to hear that they went back and corrected it to 50%

[Jason]

Originally Posted by Army Medic Dad

Thanks for that update. Can't wait for your announcement so I can pass it along to my son, especially if he can possibly get his packet re-evaluated.

I will be posting a lengthier post describing the details of this, but I just spoke with the US Army Physical Disability Agency (APDA) Policy Officer and Legal Advisor to confirm the details. The Army is now applying the VASRD Section 4.129, which grants a minimum rating of 50% and placement on the TDRL for a minimum of 6 months to all those separated due to a condition that resulted from exposure to a stressful event.

All cases where the member has not already separated are being "frozen" while the APDA reviews them and makes corrections. Those who have already separated will be sent a letter explaining the options. I do not have the details on what those options are yet, I have a follow-up phone meeting to find out the exact way these cases will be handled.

One other question about disability vs severance package.

My son is of the opinion (because some of his fellow Soldiers got screwed???) that it was better for him to take the severance package than the 10% disability. He said that even if he were to get upgraded to the 50% it wouldn't be as good because of the inevitability of the percentage being downgraded when the review comes up (or even going to 0%). He is being told that a Soldier usually gets more $$$ in the severance package than with the disability percentage.

Is my son getting the wrong advice?

Retirement is always better, in my opinion. Severance pay is a short term benefit that is dwarfed by the value of TriCare health coverage (for the member and eligible dependents) and the lifetime of monthly retirement compensation.

Best of luck to your son!

[Army Medic Dad]

Thanks everyone for the info. My son should find out further details today from his case manager. I'm really interested to see how this ends up.

[RikersIsland1]

Jason,

Any new developments on the PTSD?