Hey veterans.
My name is Travis Studdard, veterans disability attorney.
I'm back here today to talk to you about another change in VA's sleep apnea rules that you
need to be aware of.
You may have seen my other video talking about one of the bad changes that's come about recently
in sleep apnea claims.
Today I want to talk to you and give you some good news, a good change that VA is trying
to implement at this point.
It's good news because it expands potentially the group of veterans who will be eligible
for a 50% disability rating for their sleep apnea claim.
To get a 50% rating for sleep apnea the ratings criteria say that the condition must require
the use of a breathing assistance device such as a CPAP machine.
If you have sleep apnea then you're aware that a CPAP is one of the ways, but not the
only way, to treat your sleep apnea.
You have CPAPs, you have BiPAP, you have APAP, also becoming more popular are oral appliances,
basically devices that you put in your mouth at night that reposition your jaw and tongue.
You have nasal disks which regulate the airflow as you breath in and out through your nose.
You also have more radical treatments such surgery to create a new airway or to remove
tissue or to implant stimulation devices.
All those are ways to do it, but the bad news has been in the past that many veterans were
denied for a 50% rating if they were not using a CPAP device.
That put them in the dilemma of choosing do I go with the treatment that my doctor and
I feel is most appropriate or do I go with the CPAP which is going to allow me to get
that 50% rating which many times they may need that money and have to make that difficult
choice.
Again, this has been the problem and there's been some changes in the manual that VA uses
in deciding claims.
I won't get into that here.
I discuss it some in the video on bad changes to sleep apnea.
I'll do another one later on more specifically about that manual.
In that manual they say that a CPAP is listed as an example, which is true because, again,
the ratings criteria use the words such as CPAP.
It doesn't say you must use a CPAP.
Again, they say that the CPAP is an example and they list some of these other treatment
options that I just discussed with you a moment ago, and say that those two should qualify
for a 50% rating if those had been prescribed by your doctor, which brings me to my last
point, which is again, there has been another change in VA sleep apnea law, or actually
not the law but the manual by which they decide claims.
You need to checkout that video, and even if you use one of these other treatment options
you need evidence that it is actually required to treat your condition otherwise you may
still get a denial at the 50% level.
Again, keep that in mind.
Also keep in mind that while this is the instructions that VA has given to their employees, they
may not follow that in deciding your claim.
If you use one of these other devices or options and you don't get it, don't get 50% because
they say you don't use a CPAP, you need to file an NOD on that and you can contact us
if you need assistance with doing so.
If you found this video helpful give it a thumbs up.
You can checkout any of our others on our YouTube page or read more on our website,
especially that one about the bad changes to sleep apnea law.
Thanks for watching and take care.