Posted on 09/01/2013 7:16:43 AM PDT by Kaslin
You see news stories sometimes that upset you, but you are not sure of the facts. Fox News Special Report had a quick report about Veterans having massive amounts of paperwork to complete in order to get their services. It sounded as if they were being buried with paper to get their medical services. With all the challenges of the federal government, the last thing we can tolerate would be for those brave souls who have risked their lives to protect our freedoms to be abused by bureaucrats and their red tape. We had to delve into this further.
We turned to two experienced people to clarify the status of our veterans. Scott Hogenson, the first we spoke to, was the former Deputy Asst. Secretary of Veteran Affairs. We also spoke to Tom Bowman who was the Chief of Staff for the VA from 2005 to 2008. That means he was the person making sure everything got done while the hardworking Secretary was going to all those meeting and soirees.
Both gentlemen assured us that anyone coming off a battlefield gets taken care of with no questions ask. Hogenson spoke confidently of the medical service provided wounded Vets. Though you may have read some stories about particular problems, Bowman insisted the health care the VA provides is exceptional. When asked what Fox was referring to, Hogenson suggested that a report made by the American Action Forum (AAF) may have been the source of the claims of paperwork nightmares for veterans.
We then spoke to Sam Batkins who wrote the piece, which can be viewed at the AAF website. Batkins told us they pulled the data in the report from GAO information. The report cites there are 18 agencies within the VA, and they have 613 different forms for veterans to fill out which take 43.4 million paperwork hours at a cost of $614 million a year. Batkins said AAF had done similar reports for other departments with the purpose of highlighting the paperwork maze created by the federal government. Hogenson said there may be 613 forms for the various facets of the VA, but that has little to do with the medical benefits. Bowman stated they had tried to cut down the amount of forms and the paperwork maze, but stated he was not satisfied with the progress.
Bowman spoke of the fact the VA had tried to implement a new disability claims computer system (Veteran’s Benefits Management System) which still has not gotten to the point where Bowman believes it is properly serving the Vets. He spoke of ongoing challenges of implementation and utilization in different VA benefit offices throughout the country. Interesting the federal government constantly is coming down on the big banks. But if you open an account at Chase or Bank of America in San Diego you can access the account information in Peoria the next day. That the government can’t properly update their computers continues to fascinate.
The real issue that all are focused on (including the AAF) is the backlog of disability claims at the VA. There had been a backlog of up to 900,000 claims that have been made for Vets that have not been finalized. These claims typically determine a partial disability that grants the vet a monthly payout. The current backlog is 773,000 unprocessed claims of which 523,000 are over 125 days old. The over 125 day amount is down due to overtime granted to VA employees to administer the claims. President Obama announced in a recent speech that the VA, American Bar Association and Legal Services Corp. agreed on a program that would help unrepresented Vets with their unresolved claims.
Bowman explained the complexity of the problem, which will not be resolved by throwing attorneys at it. Many of the claims assert multiple disabilities. The problem is that the VA has to determine which of those claims are from the Vet’s time in uniform and which may have happened outside of service years. That means each claim has to have a proper review by trained medical personnel. Bowman stated he believes “Wherever the VA can rule in favor of the Veteran it does, though some believe that not to be true.” Bowman has also advocated substantially increasing the use of private contract providers to expedite the process, but the VA has been slow to do that at this point. So if the VA properly reviews each application, they are skewered by Vet supporters for delays; and, if they don’t, they would be excoriated for handing out government money in fraudulent claims. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
The challenges that face the people administering to the needs of our Vets remain immense. It is clear they need some private industry aid, but from what we see it appears to be going in the right direction. We are sure many will disagree, but most importantly we must be vigilant. Nothing our federal government does matters more. Tomorrow as you celebrate Labor Day remember those who labored the most to allow us to enjoy these holidays.
I wonder how long those fake pig farmers had to wait for their checks from the government?
In Obama’s Amerika illegals are treated better than Veterans.
Now that didn't really hurt me one way or the other, I have a job and my injuries are things I can work around. I hope that my delay is because other vets with really life changing injuries are getting priority, but I doubt it.
Of course, the answer is no. But the next question should be:
Is this regime taking care of the active duty personnel? And, the answer to that would be no! Decimating the military more than Clinton!...and, that's saying a lot!
The only thing that would make it worse in the VA is if Il Douche’ named Jane Fonda to head it.
Nothing really drastic, but when we got married (DH is a disabled vet), we had to send proof with a claim to the VA. It took almost a year to get it finished. We had to resubmit paperwork a few times. Very inefficient. Would have taken longer if I had not been such a pest. Fortunately, it was retroactive and we were not in dire need, but for those that are.....
I work with homeless people as part of the Matthew 25:35 ministry in Columbia, SC.
We have a homeless Korean War veteran who needs his disability claim approved so he can afford to get off the street. He is also in need of surgery but the VA is denying him even that. He is about 80.
I wonder how long you have to wait to get food stamps? Is it a two year wait? How about Social Security Disability? How about unemployment? They get that vote-buying money out pretty darn fast.
Nope. I have had a claim in for 15 months. It’s atrocious.
It could drive one to tipple....
When I filed my retirement paperwork and had service-connected injuries, I sewnt the paperwork to the VA.
And waited. . . .
Called after nearly a 2-yr wait and was told (after nearly an hour on hold) that if they pulled my paperwork from “the pile” they would look at it and then place it on the bottom of the stack, treating it like it arrives that day. . placing it behind all the other paperwork arriving AFTER my paperwork arrived originally.
Obviously, the incentive is to NOT have them look into the cause of a delay, as that action would double (at least) the delay you already experienced.
After 2.5 year wait, I contacted my congressman and he contacted the VA and they, the VA, sent their determination to my congressman, NOT ME. And in this determination was my complete medical file and the an assessment of my injuries. . .a total violation of HIPA.
The VA is staffed with the most incompetent, arrogant, ignorant, stupid, illiterate, brain-dead, petty, vindictive bureaucratic tyrants you ever met. . .(does one have to mention the demographic make-up of the VA “work” force?)
Oh bullshit! Decimated my arse, please provide a reference for your nonsense. I personally know there is a rather lengthy waiting list to enlist in my beloved Air Force. Matter of fact I went to the Class VI after work last nite and business was booming. I didn’t see one iota of decimation. Don’t just make shit up—provide a source to back up your BS.
The Democrats think that military people vote Republican, so they punish them. That is how children behave.
It’s because the Air Force is smaller now. The Army is smaller, too. The Marines had a law passed saying they couldn’t have less than three Divisions, but their numbers are down, too. I think the Navy has about half the ships it had 30 years ago. I don’t know how big our military needs to be, but I know the Democrats aren’t looking at how big it should be using logic and reason. They are basing the strength of our military on how much money they need to take from it to buy inner-city votes.
You are speaking from a position of ignorance. I live 5 miles from Like AFB which was just awarded the F-35. The base, local economy and real estate are booming. Your argument that the strength of our military is based on inner city votes is childishly flawed and not based in reality.
“Luke AFB” damn spell check...
No, WE ARE NOT!! I have been waiting TWO YEARS on my VA disability reopening and getting an appointment to see a VA doctor, who will do as he did last time, come in, bend my knee, squeeze my arm, and render a report on an exam that LASTED LESS THAN FOUR MINUTES and VA denied everything. I spent FIVE YEARS in the appeals and finally got some disability. I was denied for my back saying nothing was wrong with it. I have appealed that again now after TWO BACK SURGERIES that put two titanium posts in my back to stabilize the discs. So, I continue to wait. Plus, our out of pocket costs under Obama are doubled each year and cuts made. But, that’s okay. He will give illegals and muzzies free stuff. Stinking pig is what he and his DOD mob are. That includes the butt kissing brass in the Pentagon who kiss for promotions.
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