Pst 9/11 GI Bill Experiences

[Basket Weaver]

I know...let's have the same government that manages the VA take over health care...that will make it much better....

[Gary]

Can't make it any worse. We are held hostage by the healthcare industry and now insurance companies threaten us with the beatdown. They dominate most markets and that is a recipe for disaster. Matter of fact, look what their promising for dessert.

[Basket Weaver]

Can't make it any worse.

Oh yes, it can get much much worse. While I'm not happy with all aspects of health care, we currently have the best health care in the world. I have lived in these other countries with socialized medicine, it looks better on paper but the care itself is lacking compared to what we now enjoy. Anyone who thinks that the government....OF ANY ELECTED PARTY...can do better is kidding themselves. I'm sure the illegals will enjoy getting their free medicine though...oh wait...they get that now don't they!

[tmporter68]

I tried to log onto the website to see if I am eligible but it said nothing has changed with my status. Once I have been certified as eligible will the website let me know or do I just wait for a letter in the mail?

My school told me that once I received my letter of eligibility I should then complete form 22-1990E and send it to them. Is that the same process everyone else followed?

I have been waiting 8 weeks so far.

Thanks

[JanusthePhoenix]

I tried to log onto the website to see if I am eligible but it said nothing has changed with my status. Once I have been certified as eligible will the website let me know or do I just wait for a letter in the mail?

My school told me that once I received my letter of eligibility I should then complete form 22-1990E and send it to them. Is that the same process everyone else followed?

I have been waiting 8 weeks so far.

Thanks

They want you to wait for the letter. I advise that you call the GI bill hotline on a regular basis for updates. Ask them what you can do to help the process along. Ask them (politely) why exactly it is taking so long. You will get a different person every time you call, so you will likely get a slightly different answer every time. If you are lucky, someone may give you an answer that is helpful. I don't know what regional office you are going through, but if it is the Buffalo office (Excelsior's) be prepared to wait much longer.

Edit: 28OCT09 I have noticed that it is harder to get on hold these days. Instead they just tell you to call back later, "all operators are busy, blah blah" and then they drop your call. Keep trying. Call back 10 minutes later and hit 1, then 0. If they drop you again, do it again 10 minutes later. I got through after the second try this morning. I have no idea what their hold/drop criterion is. The girl that eventually picked up was little more useful than the recording. She stuck to the 6-8 weeks script like somebody had a gun to her head, but at least they received my enrollment certification. (9 days after Excelsior "got right on it". Wonder who was dragging...)

[JanusthePhoenix]

I know I'm kind of hijacking this thread at this point...but I finally got my LOE!! :eek:

It took 2 (two!) days after the VA received my cert of enrollment from EC, after waiting about 16 weeks otherwise. (hint hint, people) I am calling EC in the morning to figure out what to do from here. I imagine I wait 6 more weeks.

[Gary]

J.D. Power called last night doing a survey (GI Bill) on how we can be served better. There's no sense asking them anything, they don't really have any answers. They are merely gathering data. They read from a prepared text, ask a few questions and ask what changes I would like to see them make. More help sorting claims was my response. The GI Bill (Chap 33) is an awesome opportunity so I don't want to bash them. We are being given a major gift!

[Gary]

BTW, yrs ago I had problems w/the Buffalo regional office with Vietnam Era GI Bill. Out of the blue, on two occasions, they started garnishing my wages (military). It took a lot of phone calls and correspondence to get things righted. To this day I've saved all that paperwork just in case. Yes, my gov't can fail me, make my life miserable. That was the water cooler people handling my paperwork. Let's get rid of the water coolers, that'll save on aggravation, and help balance the budget. There's my suggestion.

[Gary]

Oh, and please turn off the big talker radio station in those federal offices. Smerconish is OK, he's actually on point. But the other ones make our federal servants lose focus. But give Smerconish a listen, he's actually intelligent and covers very relevant matter.

[JanusthePhoenix]

Holy sh*t! I got paid today!! :eek:

Unfortunately EC for whatever reason only requested reimbursement for my one course and not all the other ECEs and enrollment fees and such, but with a >one week wait time, I don't suppose it matters! hilarious

I am giddy.