Citation Nr: 21025494
Decision Date: 04/28/21	Archive Date: 04/28/21

DOCKET NO. 17-63 930
DATE: April 28, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to non-service-connected pension benefits is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Navy from March 1945 to July 1946.  Unfortunately, he died in December 2018, while the present appeal was pending.  The appellant is his surviving spouse, who has been substituted for the Veteran for purposes of processing his claim to completion.  See May 2020 VA notification letter; 38 U.S.C. § 5121A.

This matter comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a November 2016 determination by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Pension Management Center (PMC) in St. Paul, Minnesota.

In January 2019, the Board remanded the issue currently on appeal to the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) for additional development.  After taking further action, the AOJ confirmed and continued the prior denial and returned the case to the Board.  See March 2021 supplemental statement of the case (SSOC).

Entitlement to non-service-connected pension benefits is remanded.

The January 2019 Board remand requested that the AOJ obtain information pertaining to the Veteran’s unreimbursed medical expenses during the period at issue and prepare an audit of the medical expenses used to reduce the Veteran’s countable income.  

In a January 2021 letter, the AOJ requested that the appellant complete a VA Form 21P-8416 (Medical Expense Report) for the periods from July 2016 to December 2016, from January 2017 to July 2017, from August 2017 to December 2017, and from January 2018 to December 2018.  In a March 2021 SSOC, the AOJ continued the denial of the Veteran’s claim.  However, it did so without considering a list of medical expenses reportedly incurred by the Veteran in 2018, which was submitted by the appellant in December 2019.  See VA Form 9 dated in December 2019.  A remand is required to have the AOJ consider those expenses in the first instance.

In March 2021, after issuance of the SSOC, the appellant indicated that she was prepared to file new evidence with respect to the Veteran’s income and medical expenses for 2017 and 2018.  She should do so as soon as possible to ensure that the evidence is fully considered by the AOJ while the case is in remand status.

This matter is REMANDED for the following action:

1. Ask the appellant to provide any additional evidence she may have pertaining to unreimbursed medical expenses incurred by her and the Veteran from July 2016 to December 2018.

2. Prepare an audit of the medical expenses used to reduce countable income in determining whether the Veteran’s household income exceeded the relevant maximum allowable pension rate (MAPR) for special monthly pension benefits for a Veteran with one dependent at the aid and attendance rate for the period on appeal.  In preparing this audit, the AOJ should consider the 2018 medical expenses submitted by the appellant in December 2019.

3. After completing the above, and any other development deemed necessary, the issue on appeal should be readjudicated based on the entirety of the evidence.  If any benefit sought remains denied, the appellant should be issued a SSOC.  An appropriate period of time should be allowed for response.

 

 

DAVID A. BRENNINGMEYER

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	J. Ragheb, Counsel

The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.