Form 21-4138: STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF CLAIM

VA Form 21-4138 is the Statement In Support Of Claims; you use this form to support your claim or claims for benefits. This form will be used to send a claim for an increased evaluation of a current disability that has worsened. You can download a copy here and complete it using as many pages as you need. You could do as I did type the first page with enough information to cover the space provided for text, leaving the last line clear where it say (continue on reverse) paste the first page in place and make a copy then copy your second page on the back, Stated another way, print the second page on the reverse side. You are welcome to complete all parts by hand if you prefer.The page you will download come in two pages, so you can insert the second page into the printer and keep the pages on separate sheets. This will make sense and will appear easy when you see the form.

VA Forms for Business, Benefits, and Burial

VA Form 21-526 is used to apply for Compensation and/or Pension, I started with this form after I made sure I was properly enrolled in the VA Medical System for all my health care need that is provided by the VA or Veterans Service Organization. The forms required to apply for medical service and drugs will be cover last although I would urge you to call VA Phone #(1-800-827-1000) and have the forms send in the mail or apply on line as soon as possible. You are not required to use a VA doctor, clinic or hospital, but once you enroll they are available to you all over the World— well wherever they are located. Locations like Korea, Japan, Germany and Italia, just to name some locations. I will cover this in another post and link to that post. Here I want to cover all the forms I used to apply for Compensation and/or Pension and Disability.
VA Form 21-526: I am glad I started with this form because it comes with seven pages of general instructions that aid you in determining and gathering all the documents and other information you will need to complete all the applications you want or need to complete. Again, in my case, I had to go back to year 1955 and work from there to the present, gathering all the doctors, clinic and hospital visits that pertained to all my ailments emanating from an injury that occurred in Korea. Once I had all that information in hand, I followed the instructions and completed the form.

Here is a “heads-up” to all veterans, well or disabled, get enrolled in the VA Medical System even if you have insurance coverage and can use civilians’ doctors and hospital facilities. Apply for everything you qualify for and if you are in doubt about your status apply and remove all doubt. I have members of my family that have spend more than a year waiting to get enough money to get medical treatments, when with their DD214 and a completed application they would have qualified for the treatment without paying a co-payment. If you need the benefits why wait to apply for them when you can get enrolled and use a private doctor or the VA medical doctors and clinic, if you wish. In other words, you are not required to use VA doctors just because you are qualified to do so. Another reason to enroll, after my treatment for cancer my private insurances increase to two-thirds of my social security check, although medicare paid 80 to 90 percent of the total cost. One day when talking to the insurance man he said you could go to the VA Medical Center for most of your medical needs. I called the VA 800 number and the man said “stay on the phone and let me get some information and I will mail you the package” Four days later I received the package and now I go to the VA Medical Center in Ohio and New Jersey or anyplace else I happen to be when I have a need for medical attention.

HAPPY NEW YEAR – 2008

First I want to wish you a happy new year and I mean all year long!

Last year I used the twelve months reading and observing the things that are good about this country and the things that should be improved or changed. This year I will spend all year making an effort to effect those changes, starting with me.