broncovet

Apparently, last year the VA paid Veterans about $40 billion in benefits. Their budget was about $100billion. That means that only 40cents on the dollar of the VA's budget actually goes to the Veteran. The rest goes to administrative costs. If the VA were a non profit 401 C and only paid out 40cents on the dollar to the people they were supposed to benefit, that would raise a big red flag and they would be audited...probably way too much going out on executive salaries, employee bonuses for shafting Veterans, lavish parties, etc. So, how does the VA get away with this while non profits would, at a minimum, be exposed and anger the people donating money to it. Is this not a gross waste of taxpayer funds? The VA needs to stop wasting taxpayer money and "GET MORE TO THE VET" This VA budget is supposed to be for the benefit of Veterans, and not to bonuses to employees for delaying Veterans claims. Why is this "confusing" to the VA?

I do not think Veterans should be expected to give up a well deserved bonus either because of a bad economy or bad money management by Ohio legislators, as Veterans did not cause these economic maladies. The Veterans of Ohio, already receive about $4000 per year per Veteran less than Veterans in Maine.Source: Ohio Veterans get less Haven't Ohio Veterans given up enough for a bad economy that they did not create? I say Veterans should get their bonus, but Regional Office Employees, who get bonuses for delaying Veterans claims, should have to pay back their bonus. VA employees paid bonuses for delaying Veterans claims: Source : VA employees get bonus for delays

I agree with Berta but add they always do those dumb things in their favor but rarely in the Veterans favor. CBS News, several years ago, did a report on stores scanning errors. The store argued that it was impossible to keep track of hundreds of thousands of items, and that a small percentage of errors was expected and permissible. However, they kept track of how often the scanning errors were less than the actual price and how often they were more, because, statistically, the scanned error should be less half the time and more half the time, as you are just as likely to enter a lower price than a higher price. They found out the overpriced scans outnumbered the under priced scans by 95%. In other words, only 5% of the scanner errors were lower, 95% of the time the customer was overcharged. Some groups are considering class action lawsuits over this.. In a similar way, the VA makes errors, of course, but the vast majority of the errors go against the Veteran, leading us to believe the errors, at least part of the time, were deliberate.

I think the VA limits benefits because they cant possibly pay all the claims applied for..they just dont have the money. If 100 Vets apply, and they have enough money for only 10, then they approve 5, delay 60, deny 35, knowing that of the 35 denied, only 8%, or about 3 Veterans, will appeal. They dont have to worry about the 60 they delay until next years budget, and then they keep doing that over and over again. Insurance companies do the same thing. If every one of their policy holders had a claim, they know they would go broke. But, they know that only a certain percentage will ever file a claim.

Neither the BVA, nor the CAVC can use a lay opinion to over ride a qualified medical opinion, including the opinion of a rating specialist, or even the opinion of a judge, on medical matters. That is, if your doctor opines that YOUR condition "is at least as likely as not due to military service" then ONLY other doctors can "trump" than opinion, and, even then the "other doctors" would not necessarily trump that opinion if they just saw you one time, while your doctor has seen you over the years. If your regular doctor has seen you for years, and offers the opinion that "your condition is at least as likely as not due to military service", then you can argue at appeal that the C&P "doctor", who has only seen you 20 minutes, is not as qualified to make that opinion as is your regular doctor who has a much longer history with you. Do not overlook the possibility of shredding. If you can find evidence that may have been mishandled (not considered in the decision), then you can also argue at appeal that the C and P doctor did not view the COMPLETE File, because some key evidence was missing which led the C and P doc to an inappropriate conclusion.

Yog... Another good point! If the VA employees pay back their bonus money for delaying claims, then we should probably forgive them. So far, none have offered to pay any of it back! It sounds like even the corporate executives are more credible than those people in the VA who take bonuses for delaying Veterans claims with the excuse they were confused. I remember when VA employees were also "confused" on whether or not to shred Veterans evidence. What is the difference between yesterday's Burger King wrapper and Veterans claim evidence? Answer: According to the VA, who is confused about the issue and needs further training, there is no difference. Management Bonuses should be awarded for shredding both.

Pete is right. People were inflamed after corporate executives awarded themselves large bonuses with funds taxpayers paid to bail them out. Now that VA is awarding bonuses to employees for failure, is it any wonder these employees keep on failing?

Eric The problem is that if this can happen in the Pittsburg Regional Office, it can happen in other RO's. AND If employess are paid a bonus for delaying a claim a month, how much bonus money do they get for delaying a Veterans claim for years? 12times as much for each year? The VA said it was because of "confusion"..I can see it now: VA EMPLOYEE: I am confused with this Veterans claim and dont know what to do??? VA Management: Delay the claim and collect a bonus. I dont think that Veteran will complain..after all, we collected a bonus from delaying his claim last year, and the year before, and the year before... Please note that it was also "bad training and confusion" when Detroit RO "forgot" 16,000 Veterans claims, and when 40 of 57 VARO's "accidently" shredded Vetrans evidence. Did it ever occur to anyone that Shredding Veterans Evidence = Delay for Veteran = more bonus money for VA management?

The VA OIG now says that Pittsburg RO employees delay Veterans claims to get bonus money. Are we supposed to believe that this does not happen in other Regional Offices? You can bet the VA will do one of two things: 1. Say this is an "isolated incident" and that corrective action has been taken. Or 2. Remain silent on the issue, covering it up all together and not responding to it at all. The story is here: watchdog: VA delays claims for bonuses My claim took 7 years and I lost my home during that time. I wonder how much of a bonus VA employees got by causing me to loose my home?

In case you missed it, it is posted at Youtube: This Veteran fought for our country, and now he has a new enemy: The VA www.vawatchdog.org should hear about this!

Tyler I agree with Carlie..give it another day. But, then "hit em back where it hurts". Here is ONE possibility: Carefully go through the evidence list on the decision. Then, carefully go through your evidence. If your evidence differs from the evidence list on the decision, then there is a good chance you are another victim of shredding. Then, file a special handling request, pointing out the document you think was not considered as evidence. Check your medical exam history and see if you told a doc, which he wrote down, that your episodes were MORE than once per day. If one of the docs said that in your c file, then you can complain they did not consider this critical evidence. The VA regurarly shreds evidence so they can deny the claim. Remember that if your C and P doc said, "once per day" but your REGULAR doc whom you have seen for years says "multiple times per day" you can appeal on the basis that your regular doc who has seen you for years can better judge your condition than a C&P quack who saw you for 20 minutes. Also, look for a second or third doc that also stated you had multiple episodes per day, because 2 or 3 medical opinions trump the single C&P opinion, upon appeal. Many, many Veterans are victims of VA shredding, but dont even know it. The VA isnt sending out letters to Veterans to find out if they were a victim. They keep it quiet and only respond if there is a complaint, and even then, may also shred your complaint document.

Yoggie2 Thank you for the compliment. I know I have ticked a lot of people here off, because my opinions about the VA are often very negative. However, I think most people who have lost their home while waiting 7 years for the VA to "process" his comp claim would be mad also. My "hardship" request to prevent the loss of my home was shredded, and the VA RO issued at LEAST 3 decisions which denied my benefits AFTER the BVA had already awarded me full benefits. The VA did everything in their power to make me homeless, and have indeed suceeded at making millions of other Veterans homeless by endlessly delaying and denying their comp claims. I lost my home, my truck, and even treasured possessions as a direct result of the VA's failure to follow its own regulations. I am considering going back and deleting every single post I made tho. Reason: I am convinced the VA can/will/does retaliate on Veterans by reducing, delaying or denying their benefits. Berta is at risk of this, too. It is one method the VA uses to keep it "business as usual" at the VA, so the VA can just ignore the VEt. Veterans who would dare speak out about or complain about the VA can no doubt be punished through retaliation by reducing, delaying, shredding, or denial of benefits. It is a tool the VA uses to manipulate us: FEAR of benefit reduction by complaing or speaking out. If they do retaliate on Berta by reducing her benefits, I personally will do everything in my power to stop the VA from crushing one of our own.

Personally, I recommend a lawyer for your Social Security appeal, but probably not for VA, unless your claim is particulary long and complex and you have already tried and failed. Reasons: Soc. Sec. and VA have some similarities. You can use some things you learn from your Soc. Sec. lawyer to help you win your VA case. It has been my experience that if you appeal both now, your SS will be decided way before your VA..and if you win SS, you can even use that as evidence to help you win your VA! You see, SS is processed faster than VA, because, frankly, politicians shaft Veterans because they can. Politicians pretty much always promise Veterans faster claim service, and then when they get elected fail to deliver. They cant shaft SS because it is headed up by an extremely powerfull and organized AARP lobby who will DESTROY any politician who even thinks of reducing social security. Politicians, however, know they can get away with empty promises to Veterans...all they have to do is look at the history of failed promises to Veterans. Politicians get away with shafting Veterans by pitting one generation of Vets against another. United we stand, divided we fall. By giving benefits to one generation, such as the "priority status" new Vets get over Vietnam Vets, they divide us, and we are so busy quabbling about that, the politicians know they can shaft all of us. This does not happen at Soc. Sec with AARP.

I recommend you make a decision and then stay with it, no matter what. Getting advice here before its too late is the right thing to do. Even if you are successful at changing your mind, then you will probably have to start all over again at the bottom of the pile and you will have lost your place in line..and the "line" for hearings is a very long one. If you want your claim processed quickly, changing your mind about the hearing is the wrong way to go about it and will most likely result in your claim being delayed still further and you may not even be able to change it at all. If you dont have time to do it right the first time, when are you going to have time to do it over? Hang in there..most of us have been exactly where you are at. Utilize the power of hadit and the internet..many Veterans here attribute the winning of their claim to advice they got here on hadit. You see, for the most part the advice you get here is from a Veteran helping another Veteran. We have no ulterior motive, we are not lawyers trying to get you to pay us, and we are not VSO's interested in reducing our workload.

Grent I do not recommend a hearing..either locally or in Washington My Reasons: Experienced criminal attorneys almost NEVER put their client "on the stand" in their defense because they know the prosecuting attorney will be very skilled at getting them to mess up. I went without a hearing and did just fine upon appeal. I think hearings are for people who "want to have their say". If you do need to talk to someone, that is fine..get a counselor, but the ALJ that hears your case is not one of those. Maybe someone else has the numbers, that is how many cases were won with a hearing vs without a hearing. One problem is that even if you give all the right answers, then they will think you are not disabled! I think you should elect no hearing..I think hearings are a trap for you to say something that will hurt or even destroy your case. I think you should "write your case down", that is, clearly state your reasons you think you are eligible for benefits. If you think the VA made errors in the decision, cite the regulation, and the "reasons for decision" why you think the way you do. If you need help writing this, get a VSO or other trusted friend skilled at writing to help. Ask the VSO for help. Finally, probably the most important reason is that a hearing Will delay your case, because you have to wait for a hearing officer to have time on his schedule, which could be 2 years, and you will have to wait still longer for a decision.

The VA is REQUIRED to give the Veteran 60 days notice of a rating reduction. If they dont do that, then the Veteran could surely appeal the reduction, and would likely win, as the VA is required to follow its own regulations if they get caught at it. They regularly violate regulations, but, when the Veteran catches them on it, it will usually be overturned upon appeal. Most of the time, the VA will try to see what they can get away with, since there never is any sort of penalty or accountability if the Va violates its own regs. In fact, it is the Veteran who pays a penalty when the Va violates regulations because the Veterans compensation checks will be delayed for years, and even when it is overturned upon appeal, the Veteran gets no interest on his money, even if they delay the claim for thirty years or more. It isnt fair, its the VA "fuzzy math" way.

SCIDVET That post was hilarious, and informative. WE need to let the next guy know what killed our claim. Divided we fail, united we prevail. The VA has became our new enemy, and they get to us by claiming they want to help us. "WE are with the government and are here to help you. (Trap and red flag #1) " I think the key is determining who really is there to help you and who is the enemy. Remember that Veterans have infiltrated the VA and some of them really are there to help us. Of course, the VA has many regulations preventing Veterans from helping Veterans, and to ensure that as little of the VA budget as possible actually goes to helping Veterans. Some VA docs ARE there to help Veterans. QTC quacks, however, are there to insure their profits, and the profit of QTC, at the expense of Veterans. The VA uses QTC quacks to make sure that most legitimate claims will be denied. You see, there is a conflict of interest between QTC and the VA, and that is a political hot button that the VA ferioucisly defends their position. Remember this, tho. The VA signs the C a P docs checks. No commissions..just regular pay of about $95-200k per year to the doc. QTC quacks, however, are paid on commission. They only get paid for C and P exams, but they get $500 for every one. However, if the QTC quack does not give evidence to deny the Veterans claim, then he will get very few C and P exams, and, at $500 per month, the QTC employee trying to help Veterans will starve to death. However, if the QTC quack "signs on" and gives evidence to deny the Veteran, he will get many, many $500 for twenty minute exams. He can earn many times what the VA doc earns, and the QTC quack has a much lesser degree..usually a PA or nurse practioner. The looser in this is always the Veteran. The Veteran was snared because he did not know who the enemy was. If your C and P doc does NOT TREAT Veterans, and does only exams, your "doc" is NOT there to help you.

isdwd Yes, I am a DP2 from the Navy, and also had to start over as Seaman again with hadit. Keep on posting, and you will move up in rank with hadit. As far as the disparity between ratings in the different VA RO's, them "farming out" your claim will have little effect on your ultimate rating, IMHO, unless you can figure out how to utilize this to your advantage. Reason: It has been my experience that when a RO "farms you out" they do that for development only, and your c file comes back to the AOJ for a decision. While being farmed out will delay your claim, there is nothing you can do about the delay. Here is how you can use this to your advantage. You see, your RO deems what the other RO says as being very credible, while everything the Veteran says has to be proven ten times over. To use this to your advantage, get the "farmed out" RO to make a key determination in your favor. Example: You have filed for depression and IU at the RO in C. You know that C is balking about IU and trying to weasel out of it. C farms you out to P. P asks you for verification of unemployability. The RO is doing this as a trap to snare unsuspecting Veterans. It is impossible to prove a universal negative. Is it possible for you to get verification from every employer in the world that you do NOT work there? Of course not. So, you avoid that trap by explaining to P that your doctor has stated that you are unemployable on an exam on May 14, 2006, and you were fired from ABC company two years ago due to "violent outbursts". (PTSD). ABC company will NEVER verify they fired you for "violent outbursts" unless a court has convicted you for bludgeoning a fellow employee on duty. So, you mention a truthful incident (always tell the truth..just tell truths that support your claim!) when your boss at ABC and you disagreed over ____________ and you had thoughts of wringing his neck. To repeat, dont tell lies, but since you were not told why you were fired, you can speculate that it must have gotten back to your boss that you were considering wringing his neck and he fired you out of fear for his neck! Your RO probably wouldnt buy this, and would want your boss to write a letter as to why he fired you. Your old boss wont write that letter, because he knows that would cost him his job because at least part of your dispute with him was his fault. BUT..RO P writes down in your file, "Veteran unemployable. Unable to verify employement. Employment verification sent out on 2/8/08 and 7/16/08. Received it back returned. " By asking for a copy of your C file, you can find that in there, and then use that at your appeal to win your claim. It is a long tedious process, but the VA makes it clear that Veterans MUST submit to the VA to get their claims approved (and do everything the VA way) Its a power issue for the VA. They think they are better than Veterans, rather than their purpose is to serve Veterans.

Judy IMHO you are going to need to meet this issue head on. The VA cant fix their problems, so they try to fix the blame instead. Among Federal, State, and local entities, each is going to point fingers at the other so they dont have to deal with it. It is called, "Pass the Buck" and, supposedly, the buck stops with Mr. Shinseki. But it doesnt stop there. The Secretary can blame congress, congress blames the Supreme court, and everyone blames the president. Your only defense to this endless hampster wheel is KNOWLEDGE. You have to know this is coming, be ready for it, embrace it, and even use it to your advantage. You figuring this out in advance means you already have the advantage, since many people's claims wither and die on the vine with this very issue, because they realize this far to late. I might suggest something like this: "The State of Texas has already ruled they have jurisdition over this. While I agree, this State imposed mandate upon the Federal government is contrary to regulations. In order to prevent chaos with each state telling the Federal goverment what to do, you (the federal government) are going to take action on this. You need to tell the State of TExas that the Federally imposed limit of __________, can not supersede the Texas limit of __________." Remember that ego's are involved here. The Federal thinks they can trump the states over everything and have tremendous power. The States thinks that they are much more qualified to know what is going on in their state, so the feds should leave them alone, or, better yet, use their state as an example on how to improve the system. IN summary, do your homework, and remember the 5 P's: Proper Preperation Prevents Poor Performance.

Yes. If in doubt, apply for benefits. The VA will tell you if they think you dont qualify, and they even have to give you reasons. You need a medically documented condition..it wont do any good if you are not seeing a doc for it. You need a nexus..a documented link to military service. Your doctor CAN offer an opinion, something like, "Veterans PTSD is as least as likely as not due to trauma events during the military service." You need continuing treatment. YOu need to apply.

The VA will probably award bonuses to VA employees who delay Veterans claims for long periods of time because: 1. There is a good chance the VEt will die, so the Va should award a bonus to the Va employees for saving the government money. 2. Even if the Va has to pay the claim, by delaying the claim, the VA can borrow money from the Veteran interest free, for years. 3. Procrastination saves a lot of useless work. The Veteran may give up and become homeless or win the lottery and not need the money. Employees are often rewarded for procrastination. 4. By delaying the claim, a new politician can take credit for the change, when there is a new secretary or new president. Bonus points for the employee. We need to put a stop to the incentives the VA has for delaying our claims. They should have to pay..and pay..then they will get the claims done. Right now, the Veteran paysand the VA wins the longer the claim is delayed.

You hae some options here, if I understand what you are asking. Your options are: 1. File a new claim for service connection on a new issue. You will have to have a "nexus"..a connection to military service. A doctor can supply a Nexus if he states something like: "Veterans condition of ...... at least as likely as not due to military service" 2. File a new clanim for SC secondary to another SC condition. You wont have to provide that nexus, but you will have to demonstrate that it is secondary, usually, again by a doctors stating to the effect something like: "Veterans ......... was at least as likely as not due to ........condition (SC condition 3. File for an increase. 4. Appeal your old claim by filing a Notice of Disagreement if your decision was within one year. 5. If your last decision was more than a year ago, and you feel the Va violated one or more regulations, then you can file a Clear unmistakable error claim. 6. If you have "new and material evidence" you can so state.

I really dont see that much progress. Since Obama/Shineseki took office, the number of Veterans claim s waiting processing has increased to more than 900,000. The wait time has increased also. The new administration has not dealt with either the contamination issue causing 30 some Veterans to get infectected with HIV/Hepatitis. They also have not dealt with the shredding issue, it continues to get worse. We Veterans are on course for a zero percent Cola for the next two years. They have increased the Va budget by 13%, but frankly, with a zero percent projected cola..who is getting that money? Va Medical care is not improving..C&P is getting worse..so it just means more money squandered by administrative/red tape expenses. I am sure that extra 13% will disappear the same way the stimulus package dollars disappear..the Corporate executives get millions in salaries and bonuses..while Vets MAY get $250 of the 3/4 of a trillion dollar stimulus plan. So, where is this "progress"? So far, from the point of the Veteran, there has been little "progress" that has been made, other than the VA awarding itself for having some of the best accountability of any Federal agency...and I am certainly not buying that award!

Yes..these guys are right. The VA will use any possible excuse to deny you of your rightfull benefits. Whenever someone says they are with the government and they are here to help you, watch your back. Here is what you need to combat their (future) denials: 1. Evidence You need to have your doctor write something like, "Veterans pain is most likely due to ........ suffered during military service." If your doc connects the dots, the VA will still deny you, but the BVA people can read and they will overturn it, and award your benefits eventually. Its called a nexus.. 2. Persistence Expect to be denied the first time or two or three or 4. It took me 5 RO decsions to finally get my benefits. 3 Patiience It took 7 years..get ready for a long, drawn out fight..the VA will fight you harder than the enemy. The VA is the new enemy..pretending to be your friend.

To the VA, anything less than 10 years is "expeditious" UNLESS it involves THE VA employee's paychecks. Then, if it is a day late, they are mad as a hornet. .....and they wonder why Veterans are so mad..if their paycheck was delayed a year or more, they would be mad, too.