Rheumatoid Arthritis Rating

[Nelson68w]

I’ll be facing a referral for an MEB due to RA and have a question regarding what it will be rated under.

I know it could be rated as an active process under 5002, and I clearly meet the criteria for a 40% rating, and probably even 60% under that code. Or it could be rated under 5003 based on residuals/my limitation of motion/pain with motion for each individual joint. I know the VA will rate me using the code that is most beneficial to me. I have pain with motion in almost every joint in my body so as for the VA percentage, 5003 would get me the higher rating. (I would have like twenty 10% ratings with a couple of 20’s and a lot of bilateral factors thrown in.)

The issue: I’ve read here and other places that the Army is notoriously bad at rating RA, and really does not like making unfit findings based on pain with motion. If my ratings come back with a bunch of 10’s for pain with motion, do I have reason to be worried about the process screwing me here? If so, is there anything I could do to help my case? Am I worrying for nothing?

 

[Provis]

I’ll be facing a referral for an MEB due to RA and have a question regarding what it will be rated under.

I know it could be rated as an active process under 5002, and I clearly meet the criteria for a 40% rating, and probably even 60% under that code. Or it could be rated under 5003 based on residuals/my limitation of motion/pain with motion for each individual joint. I know the VA will rate me using the code that is most beneficial to me. I have pain with motion in almost every joint in my body so as for the VA percentage, 5003 would get me the higher rating. (I would have like twenty 10% ratings with a couple of 20’s and a lot of bilateral factors thrown in.)

The issue: I’ve read here and other places that the Army is notoriously bad at rating RA, and really does not like making unfit findings based on pain with motion. If my ratings come back with a bunch of 10’s for pain with motion, do I have reason to be worried about the process screwing me here? If so, is there anything I could do to help my case? Am I worrying for nothing?

The military doesn't rate the conditions anymore. In IDES the VA rates all conditions The military uses those ratings to calculate your DOD%. Your DOD % is the total unfitting conditions using VA match.

 

[ArmyDDS]

The military doesn't rate the conditions anymore. In IDES the VA rates all conditions The military uses those ratings to calculate your DOD%. Your DOD % is the total unfitting conditions using VA match.

Hey Provis, does the DoD still follow same pyramiding rules as VA? Ie all 4 of my conditions that don’t meet medical standards were associated with my back

 

[Nelson68w]

The military doesn't rate the conditions anymore. In IDES the VA rates all conditions The military uses those ratings to calculate your DOD%. Your DOD % is the total unfitting conditions using VA match.

So I guess the question is if they find the RA is unfitting and send it to the VA for ratings and they come back with a bunch of 10% for joints rather than __% for RA as an active process, I’ll still be good? They have to take what the VA says is the rating, correct?

 

[Tayak]

So I guess the question is if they find the RA is unfitting and send it to the VA for ratings and they come back with a bunch of 10% for joints rather than __% for RA as an active process, I’ll still be good? They have to take what the VA says is the rating, correct?

Basically yes. The DOD will my its own decision of fit or unfit, but if it decides unfit than the VA decides the %.