VA exam results "moderate obstructive sleep apnea" but no rating or mention of it at all?

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TallTree

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I was MEB'd for "bipolar ii disorder (also claimed as insomnia)" with a 70% rating. (70% DOD permanently retired, 90% VA). One of my claimed conditions was sleep apnea, and QTC conducted the exam and found that I have "moderate obstructive sleep apnea". The exam results were in my MEB package, but my MEB package never mentioned sleep apnea, or any other sleep disorders (except for the insomnia as part of bipolar), and didn't even give my a 0% rating. It just wasn't included at all.

I figured I'd wait till I was out and got my finalized VA rating letter, but it's the same thing. There's no line item for sleep apnea. For my wife's sake, I absolutely need a CPAP or some sort of tongue depressor mouth guard, and brought it up with my first appointment with my VA doc. The next sleep study available is in five months.

Do I need to file a supplemental claim, or a higher-level review? Is there anything I can do to get a rating ASAP, even if it's 0%? I already did the exam and got the results, but I know I need another exam with a CPAP to actually get a CPAP.

But I saw that the VA has proposed changing the rating schedule for sleep apnea, making it almost impossible to get more the 0% even with a machine, so I want to get on this now.

Any insight?
 
Is this your post retirement decision letter? If so, sounds like a missed issue. Unless it was previously denied, then not addressing would be correct, and you'd have to file a Supplemental Claim. I'd recommend calling 1-800-827-1000 to see if the claim is closed, if so it was missed. Request they correct the error.
 
Yes, my post retirement decision letter didn’t mention it at all. It was not previously denied.
 
So wait—does that mean I need to file a supplemental claim because I never received any decision/rating, or a higher level review because they missed it?
 
Higher Level Reviews are generally faster and additional evidence cannot be accepted.
 
Disregard all. I requested a sleep study/QTC exam, but I never actually made a claim for it during my MEB process. Whoops. I've got an appt scheduled with the VSO to get me the rest of the way.
 
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