SMC

OIFMedicPolarBear

PEB Forum Regular Member
Registered Member
Hello,

I am new and first time posting.

I have been awarded with 100% P&T for, "PTSD, with unspecified schizophrenia and other psychotic disorder and unspecified depressive disorder (also claimed as bipolar disorder, adjustment disorder, anxiety, and insomnia)" I am thankful to have gotten this new rating at my first evaluation from TDRL 90% to this 100% P&T effective June of 2016, and not had to fight it and fight it. Stress in general exacerbates my symptoms. I believe that I should have been considered for some level of SMC. I am living with a friend now and she is like a care taker for me. I am aware of the Care Taker program but I cannot even imagine having the VA so involved in my daily life. My symptoms would be through the roof. I am aware of Aid and Assistance through SMC but I am not sure which letter it is. The thing is I really need the 100% P&T and I am afraid to submit a request for SMC and have my case "reopened." What are your thoughts on this? Recently the friend who helps me quit her job because I was very depressed and feeling suicidal. So, I am taking care of the bills that we were mostly splitting 50/50 and her individual car and insurance. I became suicidal when my doctor informed me two months ago I am about to be diabetic, have a fatty liver and just developed hypothyroidism. My medications make me very lethargic and I have gained a lot of weight. As far as the diabetes and hypothyroidism, liver I would be afraid of adding any "new" diagnoses for the reason above. I don't even know if the VA would see those as secondary to my PTSD and Sleep Apnea. Which are the two things I am rated for.
Thank you for any input!
 
Hello,

I am new and first time posting.

I have been awarded with 100% P&T for, "PTSD, with unspecified schizophrenia and other psychotic disorder and unspecified depressive disorder (also claimed as bipolar disorder, adjustment disorder, anxiety, and insomnia)" I am thankful to have gotten this new rating at my first evaluation from TDRL 90% to this 100% P&T effective June of 2016, and not had to fight it and fight it. Stress in general exacerbates my symptoms. I believe that I should have been considered for some level of SMC. I am living with a friend now and she is like a care taker for me. I am aware of the Care Taker program but I cannot even imagine having the VA so involved in my daily life. My symptoms would be through the roof. I am aware of Aid and Assistance through SMC but I am not sure which letter it is. The thing is I really need the 100% P&T and I am afraid to submit a request for SMC and have my case "reopened." What are your thoughts on this? Recently the friend who helps me quit her job because I was very depressed and feeling suicidal. So, I am taking care of the bills that we were mostly splitting 50/50 and her individual car and insurance. I became suicidal when my doctor informed me two months ago I am about to be diabetic, have a fatty liver and just developed hypothyroidism. My medications make me very lethargic and I have gained a lot of weight. As far as the diabetes and hypothyroidism, liver I would be afraid of adding any "new" diagnoses for the reason above. I don't even know if the VA would see those as secondary to my PTSD and Sleep Apnea. Which are the two things I am rated for.
Thank you for any input!
Hello,
I see that you were rated 100 P&T for PTSD and bipolar. I am also going through the PEB process for those diagnosis. Did you have any hospitalizations in your record? What did they rate your mental health as. Sorry to ask personal questions; I just cant find good information to support my questions. Thanks in advance.
 
Hello,

I am new and first time posting.

I have been awarded with 100% P&T for, "PTSD, with unspecified schizophrenia and other psychotic disorder and unspecified depressive disorder (also claimed as bipolar disorder, adjustment disorder, anxiety, and insomnia)" I am thankful to have gotten this new rating at my first evaluation from TDRL 90% to this 100% P&T effective June of 2016, and not had to fight it and fight it. Stress in general exacerbates my symptoms. I believe that I should have been considered for some level of SMC. I am living with a friend now and she is like a care taker for me. I am aware of the Care Taker program but I cannot even imagine having the VA so involved in my daily life. My symptoms would be through the roof. I am aware of Aid and Assistance through SMC but I am not sure which letter it is. The thing is I really need the 100% P&T and I am afraid to submit a request for SMC and have my case "reopened." What are your thoughts on this? Recently the friend who helps me quit her job because I was very depressed and feeling suicidal. So, I am taking care of the bills that we were mostly splitting 50/50 and her individual car and insurance. I became suicidal when my doctor informed me two months ago I am about to be diabetic, have a fatty liver and just developed hypothyroidism. My medications make me very lethargic and I have gained a lot of weight. As far as the diabetes and hypothyroidism, liver I would be afraid of adding any "new" diagnoses for the reason above. I don't even know if the VA would see those as secondary to my PTSD and Sleep Apnea. Which are the two things I am rated for.
Thank you for any input!
To be rated for Special Compensation S you have to have one rating of !00% (check) and the rest amounting to 60%. You have a rating for PTSD !00%, but typically OSA is 50%, so you are 10% short of special compensation S.
 
Thank you for your reply, sir. I was referring to the SMC Aid and Attendance though. Which is hard to find and when you look up information on it, a lot of people confuse it with Aid and Attendance Pension or something but that is not the SMC AA. SMC has a AA category. Thank you for your time sir.
 
Hello,
I see that you were rated 100 P&T for PTSD and bipolar. I am also going through the PEB process for those diagnosis. Did you have any hospitalizations in your record? What did they rate your mental health as. Sorry to ask personal questions; I just cant find good information to support my questions. Thanks in advance.

Yes sir, I was hospitalized a total of three separate times before my final retirement date. Even then I was rated at a total of 90%, 70 ptsd and 50 SA. However, at my first evaluation I was bumped to the 100%.

My diagnosis to me seems like they just threw the kitchen sink in and we’re not sure what it really is. Several years later now it is more likely schizophrenia and I do not take any lithium any more. I take other strong antipsychotics.
 
Aid and attendance is for people on VA pension.

"Veterans and survivors who are eligible for a VA pension and require the aid and attendance of another person, or are housebound, may be eligible for additional monetary payment. These benefits are paid in addition to monthly pension, and they are not paid without eligibility to Pension."

"Pension benefits are needs-based and your "countable" family income must fall below the yearly limit set by law."

3786


Given you are 100 P&T you should exceed the allowable income for a VA pension. You might want to consider the Caregiver

Caregiver Eligibility Check - Health Benefits
 
The following is added to chaplaincharlie’s excellent description of SMC-S (i.e.,
“To be rated for Special Compensation S you have to have one rating of !00% (check) and the rest amounting to 60%. You have a rating for PTSD !00%, but typically OSA is 50%, so you are 10% short of special compensation S.”

Ratings under SMC(S) are also available if the veteran is permanently housebound. The VA defines "permanently housebound" as being substantially (as opposed to completely) confined to a dwelling as the result of service-connected disability and it is reasonably certain that that such disability will continue throughout the veteran's lifetime.

Qualification Summary for SMC-S:
—One VA rating at 100% plus others totaling 60% as chaplaincharlie mentioned. I have SMC-S under those circumstances.
OR
—Determined to be permanently housebound.

The applicable law:
38 CFR § 3.350 - Special monthly compensation ratings. <—-LINK

Selected Excerpt:
“Has additional service-connected disability or disabilities independently ratable at 60 percent, separate and distinct from the 100 percent service-connected disability and involving different anatomical segments or bodily systems, or
(2) Is permanently housebound by reason of service-connected disability or disabilities. This requirement is met when the veteran is substantially confined as a direct result of service-connected disabilities to his or her dwelling and the immediate premises or, if institutionalized, to the ward or clinical areas, and it is reasonably certain that the disability or disabilities and resultant confinement will continue throughout his or her lifetime.”

Ron
 
The following is added to chaplaincharlie’s excellent description of SMC-S (i.e.,
“To be rated for Special Compensation S you have to have one rating of !00% (check) and the rest amounting to 60%. You have a rating for PTSD !00%, but typically OSA is 50%, so you are 10% short of special compensation S.”

Ratings under SMC(S) are also available if the veteran is permanently housebound. The VA defines "permanently housebound" as being substantially (as opposed to completely) confined to a dwelling as the result of service-connected disability and it is reasonably certain that that such disability will continue throughout the veteran's lifetime.

Qualification Summary for SMC-S:
—One VA rating at 100% plus others totaling 60% as chaplaincharlie mentioned. I have SMC-S under those circumstances.
OR
—Determined to be permanently housebound.

The applicable law:
38 CFR § 3.350 - Special monthly compensation ratings. <—-LINK

Selected Excerpt:
“Has additional service-connected disability or disabilities independently ratable at 60 percent, separate and distinct from the 100 percent service-connected disability and involving different anatomical segments or bodily systems, or
(2) Is permanently housebound by reason of service-connected disability or disabilities. This requirement is met when the veteran is substantially confined as a direct result of service-connected disabilities to his or her dwelling and the immediate premises or, if institutionalized, to the ward or clinical areas, and it is reasonably certain that the disability or disabilities and resultant confinement will continue throughout his or her lifetime.”

Ron
Thank you for your information
 
Thank you for your information
You're welcome. The info/criteria provided by chaplaincharlie is the most common basis for SMC-S or so it seems (to me).

Regards,
Ron
 
@RonG

Thanks for the catch.
 
I do not believe I meet the housebound criteria at this time. I barely get out of the house but I am not bed ridden. That’s more of what comes to mind. I am currently attempting to get out of the house through a therapeutic drawing class.

update: I am fully diabetic now. Also, my mental diagnosis has been updated by my psychiatrist and I believe it is very accurate. Not that paragraph listed above.

It is PTSD, Major Depression and schizoaffective disorder. As per DSM V
 
Housebound, other than 100% + 60% (see earlier posts):

A veteran is considered to be housebound when:
  • Veteran is substantially confined to his/her dwelling as a direct result of service-connected disabilities
  • It is reasonably certain that the disability will persist throughout his/her lifetime
===
I assume medical evidence supporting the claim would be required.

Ron
 
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