by Deborah Miller, PhD, HSPP - owner and lead psychologist at VetNexusLetter.com If you are a veteran filing for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) secondary to PTSD, depression, anxiety, or another service-connected mental health condition, there is one thing that can make or break the claim: A strong medical nexus opinion. A sleep study may prove you have sleep apnea. Your VA rating may prove you have PTSD or another mental health condition. But for a secondary claim, VA still needs medical...

by Deborah Miller, PhD, HSPP - owner and lead psychologist at vetnexusletter.com I've been hearing from many veterans who are receiving VA letters stating that their service-connected insomnia is being combined, merged, or folded into the rating for the primary physical condition that caused it. For example, a veteran may have been service connected for tinnitus at 10%, and insomnia secondary to tinnitus at 50%, but the VA is now calling it "tinnitus with insomnia" as one condition, and...

by Deborah Miller, PhD, HSPP - Owner and Lead Psychologist for vetnexusletter.com Every day, I work with veterans who have mental health symptoms due to stressful and traumatic events that occurred during service, but have never sought mental health treatment. This is very common due to military culture, which encourages self-reliance and creates stigma around mental health disorders. This leaves veterans in a difficult situation when they finally reach the point where they can't deny...