Skip to main content

OVER 100 MILLION IN BACKPAY COLLECTED FOR VETERANS

Episode 24: Understanding The Appeals Modernization Act

Episode 24 of The Veterans Voice podcast is the one to listen to if you’re looking to understand the Appeals Modernization Act! 

Amanda L. Mineer is joined, yet again, by Star Borseth. She is a former U.S. Air force service member, who has been through the appeal process firsthand, and now works as a paralegal for Veterans Law Group. Together, our hosts start this episode with the objective of exploring the appeals process that many veterans are facing. They dive in, going over the different levels of appeals.

As Veterans Law Group works solely in the Court of Appeals. Amanda and Star, along with the others here, are uniquely positioned to provide a thorough explanation of the process. Amanda starts, “If you reach the appeals process and have come to VLG, you have already received one of two decisions:

  • Decision one – Saying that yes, you are service-connected with a percentage rating.
  • Decision two– Saying no, you are not service-connected. 

After more explanation, Amanda shares some of her experiences with veterans expressing their troubles with the complicated VA appeal process– something that has grown more and more common. And Star gives her opinion, “[…] They definitely made it more complicated than the way they previously had it.” 

Amanda says that “The Appeals Modernization Act, we call it the AMA, passed in 2017-2018[…]” may have something to do with the confusion. 

With that realization encouraging her, Amanda explains the Appeals Modernization Act and its changes from the previous appeal process. Furthermore, she warns us that many veterans may misunderstand and believe that the AMA is larger than it truly is. That talk is worth checking out if you have wonders regarding the AMA.

Further on in the episode, our hosts take a call from Don, a fellow veteran. 

He tells our hosts about his experience submitting a claim for sleep apnea. Don says that he did so with the acknowledgment of a VA doctor saying his sleep apnea was service-connected. But unfortunately, he says that even with that, he is still experiencing difficulty getting his claim approved. Don asks, “Should I go to the higher level of board appeal?” 

Finally, after answering Don’s questions and more, our hosts wrap up this episode with a few more discussion points that are undoubtedly essential listening topics if you or a veteran you know have ever wondered about the VA appeal process– specifically, how to get the benefits that you deserve. 

If you still have some questions floating around, please schedule your free consultation with Veterans Law Group. https://www.veteranslaw.com/consultation-request/