Why I Say- Continue To Fight Them At The Varo Level

[Guest Berta]

(This is only a few positiona and their salaries-

Also-if anyone is interested the 2006 VA Budget is found at :

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2006/appendix.html

Just click on the Department of Veterans Affairs.

These federal employees are paid good money to do a job properly.

I feel that the VARos- since they have the same legal and medical criteria as BVA and CAVC -should be pressured into doing their jobs right for you all.

The reason for the backlog is due in part -in my opinion- to the fact that they continually have to re-do decisions which could have been properly prepared in the first place.

I know Terry disagrees-and that is OK-

But when you consider these VARO salaries and then add what BVA and CAVC employees get paid-

a valid claim for compensation can be as costly to the federal goverment as it can be to the vet-as the vet waits year after year incurring higher taxes and interest on loans they need to get etc- and when they do finally receive an award it is usually based on money that does not have the same value when they get it-

as it did when they first filed the claim.

Like I always say- it the VA was a business- they would be bankrupt by now.

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12/28/2005 Supervisory Veterans Service Representative (Assistant Veterans Service Center Manager)

The Assistant Veterans Service Center Manager shares responsibility with the Veterans Service Center Manager for directing and supervising the administration of work involving the development, ...[more]

Vacancy Ann.#: 06-C395-VBA-06

Who May Apply: Agency Employees Only

Pay Plan: GS-0996-14/14

Appointment Term: Permanent

Job Status: Full-Time

Opening Date: 12/8/2005

Salary: From 88,772.00 to 115,407.00 USD per year

Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration US-CA-Sacramento County 88,772.00+

12/30/2005 Veterans Service Center Manager

This announcement is open to VA Career Transition Assistance Program eligibles only. ...[more]

Vacancy Ann.#: 06-C392-VBA-06

Who May Apply: Agency Employees Only

Pay Plan: GS-0996-15/15

Appointment Term: Permanent

Opening Date: 12/15/2005

Salary: From 108,437.00 to 140,300.00 USD per year

Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration US-NY-New York City 108,437.00+

1/3/2006 Rating Veterans Service Representative

This position is open to current employees of the Veterans Benefits Administration. Please read carefully the full text announcement for complete deatils. All applications materials must be received ...[more]

Vacancy Ann.#: 2005-254-AMC

Who May Apply: Agency Employees Only

Pay Plan: GS-0996-12/13

Appointment Term: Permanent

Opening Date: 12/12/2005

Salary: From 62,886.00 to 97,213.00 USD per year

Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration US-DC-Washington 62,886.00+

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[Guest Berta]

Thanks for your input mssoup and I do agree with all you said-

Claims are handled just like the chances one takes with a VA doctor-

did they graduate near the top of their class or at the very bottom?

Do those diplomas they hang on their VA offices so high up you cant read them and are often from foreign schools- really mean they are doctors?

Are they like that Swango guy- the male nurse whose background was not checked out by the VA, they hired him, and he killed many Veterans at a VAMC or VA nursing home- forget which it was-

One of Rod's doctors had a different diagnosis every time I went to see him-

she then messed up the MRI results and apologised profusely when they finally diagnosed him right-

but that still did not alleviate the fact that she was incompetent.

"Also, if they do approve it this time, why was it not approved the first time we filed a claim and had the same identical information that we have now? Go figure"

Yeah- this is the illogical aspect of many decisions-

Two of my local vets- both who waited 12 years for service connection-asked me the same question and I prepared CUE for one and NOD for the other vet. You stated the exact way in which the VA manages to either snooker vets out of retro or stave off the proper award ,hoping they will die.

This vet should get proper retro-if not under this pending claim maybe it would call for a CUE claim- when was the decision made that denied the first claim?

Edited December 28, 2005 by Berta

[mssoup1]

Berta,

Thanks for your input. I will have to go back and check the date of his first denial. Been a long time ago. Will let you know.

Also, i think I did another posting about another C & P exam he had done and the entire exam report was totally wrong. He gave an opinion on a disorder that my husband did not even have. He stated the medication in question which was causing the ED was being given for Prostrate gland problems, not PTSD. Wrong...... My husband does not and has never had prostrate gland problems. He also stated that this medication was prescribed by a doctor in Urology. He's never been to urology and the doctor he referred to as being in urology is actually his psychiatrist. In the notes from his psychiatrist, she states that she is prescribing this for my husband for his PTSD symptoms and wrote that she talked with my husband about the ED risks of this medication. Yes, this medication can actually be prescribed for someone who has prostrate gland problems, as well as the problems his psychiatrist prescribed it for, Apparently, the C & P examiner took one look at the medication and just assumed that it was prescribed for a prostrate problem without really checking his records for the real reason for prescribing this med. Since he was claiming ED secondary to PTSD meds, this gave the C & P examiner a real out to give him what he thought a good negative opinion so his claim would be denied. I hit the ceiling. Nothing in the report was even close to being accurate. So, I didn't wait for the RO to rule on this false report and send us a denial. After having the report and reading it, I then wrote a letter disputing sentence by sentence all of the false information that the C & P examiner had used to form his opinion. He also gave my husband an exam for an increase in his SC skin condition. Even told my husband that it definitely covered more than 60 % of his body. Well, in the ED report he wrote up he stated that my husband was also there for a skin exam. End of story. Nothing else about a skin report and no report was ever written up. I also wrote a separate letter to the RO on this. I also requested that if he was scheduled for any followup C & P exams, that we did not want this doctor doing it or his associate. We took the C & P reports along with my lettrs directly to the RO and talked with a representative there. They immediately wanted to know how we managed to get a copy of his C & P exam so quick. I told them we went to Release of Information and requested it. They indicated that we should not have been given these reports until a decision was made on his claim based on these reports. Right. We are over 6 years into a couple of these claims anyway, so they now want us to wait on a denial based on incompetent C & P exams and then file a NOD and start the process all over again. Don't think so. I beat them to the draw. Now they will have to take some action on these before they can decide the claims. Saved a lot of time for us, maybe. Can't wait until we get a letter from them on these claims.

The incompetence throughout the VA system should not be acceptable. They wonder why the backlog of claims is so high. Well, take my husbands claims and multiply them by all of the other veterans going through the same thing and that should tell someone something.

I even tried to file a complaint at the VAMC concerning this incomptency. Was promised I would get a phone call back. They actually acted like they were concerned about this problem. Never heard another word from the VAMC. Does this mean that they actually don't and really didn't care about this problem? Looks like it to me.

Well, I have rambled on long enough. Hope my experiences will give a little insight to others and to the headaches involved in just getting simple claims decided honestly. They will do whatever they have to to deny, deny, deny. Then the ball is back in your court again.

Mssoup

[john999]

What I worry about is the percentage of disability and not the diagnosis. The VA has got it wrong so many times that as long as I am getting my 100% I don't care since I don't let those clowns treat me for anything more serious than a hang nail. When you go to the VAMC for treatment you take your life in your hands.

[john999]

Terry

I would love to get Fee Base outside the Tampa VAMC. How did you convince them to let you do this? They bill my insurance anyway for substandard treatment so I only go there for pills. It pisses me off that they are supposed to take care of all my medical needs but the care is rationed. I use my medicare and BC/BS and pay the co-pays etc because I don't trust VA medical staff. I know a 40% disabled vet who has had to wait one year for surgery on his elbow. We are treated like we are on medicade and welfare.

[vietnam_war_vet]

Amen, Berta! Excellent, accurate synopsis of the ongoing incompetence and malfeasance of the DVA/CAVC/VAROs, etc....and all with American tax dollars - plus costing veterans physically, emotionally, and psychologically. It's been this way for what seems like forever and I don't see any credible improvement/positive changes on the horizon. Instead with the current political dysfunctional morass in our country, I only see it getting even worse for us veterans and our families. -- Michael

(This is only a few positiona and their salaries-

Also-if anyone is interested the 2006 VA Budget is found at :

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2006/appendix.html

Just click on the Department of Veterans Affairs.

These federal employees are paid good money to do a job properly.

I feel that the VARos- since they have the same legal and medical criteria as BVA and CAVC -should be pressured into doing their jobs right for you all.

The reason for the backlog is due in part -in my opinion- to the fact that they continually have to re-do decisions which could have been properly prepared in the first place.

I know Terry disagrees-and that is OK-

But when you consider these VARO salaries and then add what BVA and CAVC employees get paid-

a valid claim for compensation can be as costly to the federal goverment as it can be to the vet-as the vet waits year after year incurring higher taxes and interest on loans they need to get etc- and when they do finally receive an award it is usually based on money that does not have the same value when they get it-

as it did when they first filed the claim.

Like I always say- it the VA was a business- they would be bankrupt by now.

Show Jobs Opening:

Last 24 hoursLast 3 daysLast 7 daysLast 14 daysLast 30 daysLast 60 daysAll Jobs Refine Search With Additional Keywords:

Save this search and email me jobs!

Jobs 1 to 3 of 3 Page: [1]

Closing Job Summary Agency Location Salary

12/28/2005 Supervisory Veterans Service Representative (Assistant Veterans Service Center Manager)

The Assistant Veterans Service Center Manager shares responsibility with the Veterans Service Center Manager for directing and supervising the administration of work involving the development, ...[more]

Vacancy Ann.#: 06-C395-VBA-06

Who May Apply: Agency Employees Only

Pay Plan: GS-0996-14/14

Appointment Term: Permanent

Job Status: Full-Time

Opening Date: 12/8/2005

Salary: From 88,772.00 to 115,407.00 USD per year

Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration US-CA-Sacramento County 88,772.00+

12/30/2005 Veterans Service Center Manager

This announcement is open to VA Career Transition Assistance Program eligibles only. ...[more]

Vacancy Ann.#: 06-C392-VBA-06

Who May Apply: Agency Employees Only

Pay Plan: GS-0996-15/15

Appointment Term: Permanent

Opening Date: 12/15/2005

Salary: From 108,437.00 to 140,300.00 USD per year

Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration US-NY-New York City 108,437.00+

1/3/2006 Rating Veterans Service Representative

This position is open to current employees of the Veterans Benefits Administration. Please read carefully the full text announcement for complete deatils. All applications materials must be received ...[more]

Vacancy Ann.#: 2005-254-AMC

Who May Apply: Agency Employees Only

Pay Plan: GS-0996-12/13

Appointment Term: Permanent

Opening Date: 12/12/2005

Salary: From 62,886.00 to 97,213.00 USD per year

Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration US-DC-Washington 62,886.00+

Jobs 1 to 3 of 3 Page: [1]

If you would like to post a resume on USAJOBS to apply online, or would like to edit your posted resume, our simple Resume Builder will help in a few short steps.

This is a United States Office of Personnel Management website. USAJOBS is the Federal Government's official one-stop source for Federal jobs and employment information.

Home | Search Jobs | My USAJOBS | Forms

FAQS | Privacy Policy | Help | Site Map

Employer Services | Contact Us | Privacy Act and Public Burden Information

[john999]

I think it will get worse since fewer and fewer people are exposed to the hazards of military life. Military members are a small minority now as opposed to the millions of vets in society after WWII. Minorities are easy to ignore by Congress and the Prez. If every mother's son or daughter had to serve in a combat zone it would be vastly different.