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April 2024
Department of Veterans Affairs: Veteran Townhall Broadcast & Claims Clinic
In partnership with the U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart, the Pittsburgh VBA Regional Office is proud to host a Veteran Townhall Broadcast & Claims Clinic. If you live within traveling distance of the USAG in Stuttgart, Germany, please join us on base for our very first hybrid outreach event.
Date: April 30, 2024
Time: 0830 to 1600
Location: Swabian Special Event Center (Patch Barrack)
What to Expect: The Pittsburgh VBA Regional Office, the office that handles all compensation claims for Veterans living in Germany, will present a live interactive Townhall with speakers from the following offices and agencies:
- Pittsburgh VBA Regional Office
- VA’s Medical Disability Examination Office
- Foreign Medical Program
- Internal Revenue Service
- U.S. Department of State Federal Benefits Unit
- Defense Finance & Accounting Service
The Townhall will be presented in a virtual platform to in-person attendees only beginning at 1400. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions of the presenters. You are encouraged to submit your non-claim specific question(s) ahead of time in case research is required before providing a response.
To Ask the Presenters your questions:
- Submit your non-claim specific questions here by April 10, 2024.
- If you have a question specific to your own claim, please make an appointment to meet with one of our representatives during the Claims Clinic prior to the Townhall. See below for more details.
- If you are unable to attend the event in person, you may still submit a question.
- Responses to all questions submitted will be posted on the Retirement Services Office Garrison website after the event.
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Claims Clinic: There will be an in-person Claims Clinic conducted by VA representatives prior to the Townhall, beginning at 0830 with the last appointment scheduled for 1330.
- Limited pre- scheduled appointments are available. To schedule, visit Stuttgart Claims Clinic appointment before April 25th.
- Walk-in appointments may not be available the day of the event. You are encouraged to pre-schedule an appointment. If you are unable to do so and there is no walk-in availability the day of the event, you will have the option of meeting by phone with a Pittsburgh VBA Regional Office benefits counselor.
Do we have your physical address?
It is very important that you provide VA with your physical address, even if you utilize a separate mailing address.
- If a VA Exam is warranted for your claim, we use your address to determine which VA Exam location is closest to you for scheduling purposes.
- Providing only your mailing address will cause us to schedule your VA Exam at an inappropriate location, which may result in a denial or delay of your claim.
You can provide your physical address by completing VA Form 21-4138 (Statement in Support of Claim) and including it with your claim. Additionally, you should provide your most current contact information (telephone number and e-mail address) as we will utilize multiple means to notify you of your exam date, time, and location.
You may find more information at:
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Foreign Language Translations
You do not need to have records translated into English prior to submitting them to VA. VA will ensure records submitted in support of a claim are translated and reviewed prior to a decision being reached. Normally, it will take only 5 business days to receive the translated evidence.
Last year we translated more than 4,000 documents.
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VA Examinations
VA examinations are an important part of the VA claims process. It may be the last piece of evidence needed to grant your claim. When we determine that your claim requires an examination, it is extremely important that you attend that exam, or exams, but we know that there are many factors involved in attending an exam, especially for Veterans that reside outside the U.S. You may need to have your exam rescheduled for various reasons, or you would rather have your VA exam conducted by your local private treatment provider. Please see below how you can help yourself in either situation.
Reschedule VA Exam: If, for some reason, you miss your scheduled VA Examination or did not receive timely notification of your examination, please submit a request to have that examination, or examinations rescheduled at AskVA. Please include your identifying information and the reason you need your exam to be rescheduled. We’ll do the rest.
Private Provider Exam: We understand that sometimes travel issues may make it difficult to attend a scheduled VA Examination. Additionally, if you live in an area where we do not have contracted VA Examination providers, the wait for your VA claim to be completed can seem endless. VA contract examiners follow a Disability Benefit Questionnaire (DBQ) when completing VA Examinations. This document includes all the pertinent information that must be included by the examiner for them to properly assess your disability(ies) for VA purposes. DBQs can be completed by private medical providers and submitted by you in association with your VA claim. If you are interested in obtaining your VA Examination by your local private medical provider, we are able to translate the DBQ documents associated with your claim into the local language. You may submit a request for translated documents at AskVA. Please include your identifying information and the language to which you want the documents translated.
How Can Veterans Reach VA?
VA has many avenues in place to help Veterans and their family members residing OCONUS. For Veterans or other VA claimants residing outside of the US, you can contact VA by phone to get a status of your claim or answer general benefits inquiry at 1-800-827-1000 or 412-395-6272.
Overseas Military Service Coordinators
VA Overseas Military Coordinators (OMSCs) are available to assist transitioning Service Members, U.S. Veterans living or working overseas, and their families and dependents with all VA Benefits.
For contact information for the OMSCs, please visit:
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 Review your claim or appeal easily using the VA Health and Benefits mobile app. Find out how with this instructional video:
Dependency Claims
You may be eligible for additional disability compensation for a qualified spouse, child, and/or parent if you're eligible for VA disability compensation and have a combined disability rating of at least 30%.
To submit a claim, you are encouraged to utilize VA.Gov or submit VA Form 21-686c.
For Veterans who reside overseas:
If you reside overseas, you must submit additional evidence to validate the relationship with your dependents. This may include:
- marriage certificates
- birth certificates
- divorce decrees
- death certificates
Additional benefits cannot be awarded without this evidence.
Submit your dependency claim within one year of event to receive benefits from that date.
You may be entitled to an automobile
allowance
You may be eligible for VA automobile allowance if you have a disability that’s related to your service (called a service-connected disability) and at least one of the following applies to you:
- You have loss, or permanent loss of use, of one or both feet, or
- You have loss, or permanent loss of use, of one or both hands, or
- You have permanent decreased vision in both eyes: 20/200 vision or less in your better eye with glasses, or greater than 20/200 vision but with a visual field defect that has reduced your peripheral vision to 20 degrees or less in your better eye, or
- You have a severe burn injury, or
- You have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or
- You have ankylosis in one or both knees or hips (this qualifies you only for an adaptive-equipment grant)
For Veterans Residing Overseas:
- The dealership must be willing to accept a US Treasury Check in US dollars.
For more information on this benefit, visit:
Applying for VR&E Services
Veteran Readiness & Employment (VR&E) is designed to assist Veterans with service-connected disabilities with employment services. Allow one of our skilled Veteran Rehabilitation Counselors (VRCs) to help you reach your goals if found entitled by applying for services today.
To apply for VR&E services, complete and return VA Form 28-1900. See below for various ways to submit correspondence to VA.
View the the following short videos for more information about the VRE program and how to apply:
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Communicating with your VRC while overseas
As the VR&E program continues to work with Veterans overseas, communication can be barrier due to non-USA phone numbers and time zone differences.
Effective ways to maintain communication:
- Email
- Virtual Appointment
- Telephone
- If you maintain a USA phone number, you can also correspond with your VRC via text.
How to submit VA correspondence
Documents may be submitted by mail, in person at a VA regional office or electronically. However, submitting correspondence electronically is the fastest method of receipt.
VA provides several tools to assist in electronic submission:
Mailing address:
Department of Veterans Affairs Evidence Intake Center
PO Box 4444
Janesville, WI 54537-4444
Foreign Medical Program (FMP)
The Foreign Medical Program (FMP) is a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care reimbursement program for U.S. Veterans living or traveling abroad who have VA-rated, service-connected disabilities. Under FMP, VA provides reimbursement for health care services, medications, and Durable Medical Equipment (DME) for service-connected conditions. FMP only covers treatment for service-connected conditions, even for 100% permanent and total service-connected disabled Veterans. However, VA may also authorize foreign medical services for any condition for Veterans participating in the VA Veterans Readiness and Employment Program (38 U.S.C. 31).
You must register for the program prior to filing a claim, and will receive an FMP benefits authorization letter and handbook after the application is processed. Applications can be downloaded from here FMP Application and submitted by e-mail to hac.fmp@va.gov, fax to 303-331-7803, or mailed to:
VHA Office of Integrated Veteran Care
ATTN: FMP
PO Box 469061
Denver, CO 80246-9061
You have two (2) years to submit a claim for payment from the date of service or date of discharge from the hospital for covered treatment. Your FMP claim may not be processed if you are not registered for the program. FMP cannot authorize reimbursement for medications that are not FDA approved. Durable Medical Equipment (DME) claims must include a doctor’s prescription with a statement of the medical need and the estimated length of time the equipment will be needed. Drugs, supplies, treatments, and descriptions of services performed must clearly show a diagnosis that is linked to one or more of your service-connected disabilities.
For more information, please visit the following websites:
Veteran Health Identification Cards (VHIC)
Veterans may now obtain a Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC) online.
You can sign in to AccessVA to request your VHIC. You’ll need a Login.gov, ID.me, DS Logon, My HealtheVet, or Department of Defense Common Access Card (CAC) account. Please note, if you live outside the U.S. and you do not have one of the aforementioned accounts, you'll need to create an ID.me account to verify your identify.
For additional information and instructions, visit:
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Feedback Requested
We’d love to hear your feedback regarding the VA OCONUS Connection! We want to provide the information you need - please tell us what topics you would like addressed in the future.
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Upcoming Virtual Events
VA regularly participates in virtual outreach events . Visit the link below to view the full list of virtual offerings:
Help Us Serve You!
If you are interested in having a VA representative from the Pittsburgh RO attend an upcoming virtual event, participate in a virtual speaking engagement, or provide a benefits briefing to your group, please let us know!
Stay Connected
Please encourage Veterans and separating Service Members that you know residing outside of the US to visit the Pittsburgh VA Regional Office website to sign up to receive this quarterly newsletter, The OCONUS Connection, in which we share information pertinent to Veterans living overseas. Veterans and Service Members can subscribe to this publication by submitting their email address through the link provided on our website.
VA Welcome Kit
Whether you’re just getting out of the service or you’ve been a civilian for years now, the VA Welcome Kit can help guide you to the benefits and services you’ve earned.
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The Veterans Benefits Guide highlights VA benefits and services available for transitioning Service members and their families. |
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If you’re a Veteran having thoughts of suicide or concerned about one, reach 24/7 crisis support through the new Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) number: Dial 988, then Press 1.
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The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Veterans Affairs of the linked web sites, or the information, products or services contained therein. For other than authorized VA activities, the Department does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. All links are provided with the intent of meeting the mission of the Department. Please let us know about existing external links which you believe are inappropriate
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