The veteran's unauthorized medical treatment from September 30 to October 2, 2001 was paid by Medicare and there is no balance due. Therefore, the claim for payment or reimbursement of this cost is denied.
The deciding factor: The veteran sought reimbursement for unauthorized medical expenses incurred at a private facility, but his account had already been settled through Medicare, leaving no outstanding balance to be reimbursed.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, residuals of frozen feet (right and left), degenerative joint disease of the cervical spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 5, 2005
- Citation
- 0521257
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0521257.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's lumbar spine arthritis is aggravated by his service-connected bilateral knee disabilities, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development of records and will provide a supplemental statement of the case if necessary.
- Granted
The Veteran's low back disability was rated at 40% prior to September 28, 2018. From that date, the rating was increased to 50%. The earlier effective date for TDIU is denied.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for a higher level of SMC was denied as he does not meet the criteria for any additional levels of SMC based on his service-connected disabilities.
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