Any advice on forming a rebuttal to DODMERB - ROTC scholarship has been offered, on the DODMERB a waiver has been submitted for scoliosis of 31 degrees. Disqualification is at 30 degrees. Nothing holding this candidate back - AMI and MRI submitted. Scoliosis is in check and growth has been completed. Thank you.
DODMERB - rebuttal of disqualification
- Thread starter katneb
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My understanding is that a rebuttal is when DoDMERB made a mistake and disqualified you for something you don't have/had. If you are technically disqualified for something you do have/had then best you can do is submit records, letters, etc. to DoDMERB to strengthen your case for a waiver, then hurry up and wait :/ But, unless i read it wrong, you already have a waiver so you're already through that part. I am in no way qualified to answer this, just been dealing with DoDMERB for a couple months after they disqualified me for something I never had, and I've learned a bit about the rebuttal process along the way. But congrats on the ROTC scholarship and good luck!
Can you explain your rebuttal process and how to convince them you were misdiagnosed?
Long story short, I contacted the help desk, explained that I believe I was misdiagnosed and attached a letter from my doctor as well as some relevant medical information. They told me basically to hurry up and wait, but I kept emailing the help desk about once a week with new information or simply asking how it was going. Eventually, the help desk said I was disqualified due to the regulations set by DoD Instruction 6130.03. I googled DoD Instruction 6130.03, and found out in my case what I had was only disqualifying if I had certain symptoms for 3 months, when in fact I had none of the symptoms period. After contacting Mr. Larry Mullen, he notified me that my file will be reviewed again, and any new documents I had sent to the help desk would be uploaded immediately instead of the usual 1 month wait. It's still on a first come first served basis with being reviewed, so I am still waiting to hear back.
The best advice I can give is check DoD Instruction 6130.03, make sure that you were actually misdiagnosed, and then be persistent with contacting DoDMERB. Don't let up until they tell you they are going to review your file again. Hope this helps!
Thanks for all of the info! So taking initiative on your own seems to be the common success factor in all of these stories...good to know
Impulsive
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Word of caution....you only want to ask for a rebuttal if you catch it before the waiver process begins. Since your file supposedly goes to the waiver authority upon submission of the waiver request, trying to rebut at that point is taking a chance since DoDMERB will have to bring your file back to Colorado and the WA will not be able to start on the waiver. So, if your SA or ROTC program tells you that they think you will get the waiver or are actually working on it, asking DoDMERB to review in a rebuttal may actually slow things down. A more likely scenario is if you catch the misdiagnosis in the remedial process then DoDMERB still has your file and can look at it, and it does not slow anything down.
The other scenario is that the waiver is NOT granted...then there is no loss asking DoDMERB to review any misdiagnosis you think occurred. If it was you physician who mentioned something, it is best to get that physician to write a treatment note or letter stating that he used those terms for insurance purposes or that DoDMERB misinterpreted his notes. A statement by yourself or a family member (who is not a doctor) usually means nothing in the review process. Key buzzwords used in treatment notes often trigger misdiagnoses because the physicians know what they have to say to the insurance companies to get paid and list it as a reason for your visit or a diagnosis. But there are instances (our DS is one) where the physician used a certain term (pain) in the notes saying why my DS was there to begin with, but never used it in the actual exam or diagnosis, but DoDMERB triggered a DQ on the reason for the visit for insurance purposes. If the waiver is NOT granted, we have two treatment notes that refute the original notes and an explanation by the first physician of why he had to use the word "pain". But my DS's RC asked us not to submit the additional info yet as his review is actually in process, and sending in documents not requested by the WA would delay everything.
The other scenario is that the waiver is NOT granted...then there is no loss asking DoDMERB to review any misdiagnosis you think occurred. If it was you physician who mentioned something, it is best to get that physician to write a treatment note or letter stating that he used those terms for insurance purposes or that DoDMERB misinterpreted his notes. A statement by yourself or a family member (who is not a doctor) usually means nothing in the review process. Key buzzwords used in treatment notes often trigger misdiagnoses because the physicians know what they have to say to the insurance companies to get paid and list it as a reason for your visit or a diagnosis. But there are instances (our DS is one) where the physician used a certain term (pain) in the notes saying why my DS was there to begin with, but never used it in the actual exam or diagnosis, but DoDMERB triggered a DQ on the reason for the visit for insurance purposes. If the waiver is NOT granted, we have two treatment notes that refute the original notes and an explanation by the first physician of why he had to use the word "pain". But my DS's RC asked us not to submit the additional info yet as his review is actually in process, and sending in documents not requested by the WA would delay everything.
In my case right now the USMMA is in the process of requesting a waiver for me, but they let me know that if DoDMERB changed my DQ to qualified then they would just drop the whole waiver thing because then I'd already be qualified. They didn't mention anything taking longer because DoDMERB is reviewing my file again, instead they said it will take 60 days (which is the usaul amount of time according to them). I could be wrong though
Impulsive
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I don't have a clue what USMMA does as far as waivers. I do know USMA requests your file from DoDMERB for their staff to review. Normally if they need an exam or more info the particular WA will notify you. You handle indicates USNA so I was offering advice on them, I understand the Army, Navy, and AF all basically do the same thing, get your complete file from DoDMERB, review it, if they can grant the waiver they do, if they need more info they will request it thru DoDMERB. Sometimes it is good to submit medical evidence that allows DoDMERB to change it's decision, but it better be enough to convince the WA they don't need to review anyway.