Frequently Asked Questions

Dr. Nicole is a board certified family medicine physician with over 13 years experience in clinical medicine including full gamut family medicine scope of practice to include diagnosis, treatment, and assessment. She worked for the Veteran’s Administration from 2012-2019 as a Compensation & Pension Gen Med Examiner and became well-versed in Veteran’s Disability Claims, examinations, and Nexus Opinions. She has continued to do assessments, examination and Nexus Statements for Veteran patients in her private civilian clinical practice Abundant Life Concierge Medicine, LLC. She is an expert in the field of Veteran’s Disability Claims, and Veteran’s Healthcare as a Subspecialty. She is highly sought after by Law professionals and Veterans Service Organizations for her expertise, complete medical assessments, Nexus letters, and medical rationales as she is an expert in both the medical and legal verbiage and knowledge needed to maximize Veteran’s Disability and C&P claims.

Abundant C&P is a specialty office of Abundant Life Concierge that assists Veterans in applying for Compensation and Pension benefits. We offer Consultation, education about the C&P process, Medical Records Review, DBQ & Nexus Letter Completion, Review of decision letters and appeal or remand requests, handicap placards or license plates, and more. Although DBQs can be completed by any provider with a National Provider Identifier (NPI) number, more weight is given to specialists and those specifically trained in military and compensation exams yielding more favorable results. We are NOT associated directly with the VA and cannot access VA records directly unless they are sent by the Veteran directly. We are NOT a Veteran’s Service Organization and cannot upload or file claims, however we can refer to local VSOs in you area. We are NOT a “DBQ mill” as we are a medical office that completes full assessments and examinations necessary for a through and accurate VA examination and C&P claim. We are NOT a contracted company that works directly for the VA like LHI, QTC, or VES, our requests for claims come directly from the Veteran themselves which gives us some freedom and leeway in actually helping Veterans with doing the correct claims necessary to maximize their rating.

Consultations are our initial step to obtaining Veteran’s history and information needed to guide them to filing the correct claim. Many Veterans have been denied for multiple claims because the claims were not done correctly or in the correct order. By doing the consultation, our doctor can figure out if your current ratings are correct (many times Veterans are at a rating that is not accurately describing the level of disability), and determine your eligibility for filing other claims. The doctor will go over your current ratings review (using your VA rating decision and code sheet), prior decision letter review, education about the C&P process, prior claim denial reviews to determine why the claims were denied and if you qualify to refile those claims in a manner more likely to be accepted, AND give you suggestions for other possible claims to get you the highest rating possible! Pricing will be determined based on level of complexity for your specific individual case.

Intake, Consult, DBQ and Nexus Letter Completion, decision letter review and if you are not at your maximum rating following that process, we can help with rebuttal/appeal/supplemental claim assessment letters, and after your claim has been refiled, we do another decision letter review. After you haver reached your maximum rating, we request you do a survey and testimonial to let other Veterans know about your experience going through our process!

C&P is a medical examination of a veteran’s disability, performed by a VA healthcare provider, a VA contracted provider, or an independent medical provider. C&P provides direct payments to veterans, dependents, and survivors as a result of his/her service connected disability, or because of financial need.

DBQs are Disability benefits questionnaires: a downloadable form used to speed the adjudication process for C&P benefits. They provide medical information that is directly relevant to determining a disability rating. They  ensure VA’s rating specialists have precisely the information they need to start processing the claim while providing consistency to the information the VBA receives in the form of targeted medical information to assist the raters by providing transparency into VA’s evidentiary requirements. These can be completed by any medical provider (doctor either PCP or specialist, nurse practitioner, physician assistant) through the VA contract companies or your private civilan provider. As of October 2020, the VA is eliminating in-house C&P examinations so all DBQs will be sent to contractors or will need to be completed by civilian/private sector providers. DBQs were removed from the VA public website on March 30, 2020 so unless private providers already had the DBQs, they could not download them. The Veteran’s Benefits Fairness and Transparency Act of 2202 requires the VA to restore the availability of the DBQs to the publicly available website.

Yes, abundant C&P writes Nexus detailed Nexus letters that include all the components necessary to be considered a complete statement by VA Rating Standards. This means it contains not just a Nexus statement, but also a medical rationale with supporting documentation in the form of medical journals and the latest medical information and knowledge to support the rationale. We DO NOT provide Nexus Letters alone, they are always paired with an assessment, review of record, and completion of the appropriate DBQs). Although other companies may only provide Nexus Letters or statements, this has the chance of being considered an incomplete claim, and will then need to be sent to a contract company for the DBQ to be completed in order to get the correct rating that coincides with the appropriate level of disability. We provide the entire record review, DBQ completion, and Nexus statement to ensure timely response, increased accuracy of explanation of level of disability, and to maximize VASRD ratings.

Abundant C&P is staffed by doctors who are experienced specialists in the field of Veteran’s healthcare and Disability Claims. Our services are complete and accurate, and help Veterans maximize their VA ratings. Our doctor has over 12 years’ experience completing VA assessments, DBQs, and Nexus Letters, and she has over 85% success rate in helping Veterans achieve their maximal rating. Our prices are customized for each individual client, but DBQs with Nexus Letter and Rationale completion starts at $899 each, but can vary based on your specific needs and complexity.

After we complete the medical record review, evaluation, DBQ, and Nexus Letter with Rationale, all documents will be sent to you. Because you are being seen in a doctor’s office as a patient, all records will be kept in your medical record and file for up to 3 years. Once you receive the DBQ and Nexus, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to file the claim yourself. We are not a VSO or affiliated directly with the VA and have no way of turning in the claim. We do send medical records to the VA if requested. Once the VA receives your claim, they will send it to be rated, and you will be notified of the decision through benefits and with a decision letter. We will review the decision letter if needed (pricing can be found on the website or by calling the office) and if you do not have the rating you desired, we can help with supplemental claim letters, appeals, and rebuttals.

Dr. Edwards has a very busy schedule seeing patients in the medical office, and Veterans through Abundant C&P. To speak with her directly, you will need a consultation appointment (phone, virtual, in-office). Her staff are well versed in the C&P process and can answer your questions, and if there is a question they cannot answer, they will either schedule a consultation appointment, or will get the information you are seeking back to you in a timely manner. Brief phone consultations are $125 for 15 minutes.

We require 15-minute virtual consultation to discuss one (1) DBQ you would like to complete. Oftentimes, you may already be at the max rating, or want to put in a claim that has a low likelihood of being accepted. This consultation will help us determine eligibility and formulate a plan to maximize your service connection percentage when you file. Disclaimer: No service treatment records or current medical records will be reviewed during this visit.

The top reasons for denial of claims are 1) the claim was not filed correctly using the right verbiage/wording, 2) the claim was put in the wrong order (a secondary claim cannot be granted until the primary claim is granted first), your claim didn’t have the 3 components required by the VA for claims to be granted: condition was incurred during active duty, condition is chronic and has continued to the present day, a nexus statement with medical rationale linking the current condition to the condition in active duty must be rendered by the appropriate medical provider), 3) you don’t have the medical records and documentation to corroborate or prove the claim, and 4) you haven’t been going to the doctor to get your complaints documented, diagnosed, and treated.

We will review your current rating sheet, decision/denial letters to explain reasonings for current ratings and denials, and give recommendations for other possible claims to help you get your max rating.