Tonight - Cbs - 60 Minutes

[carlie]

In Florida's Tampa Bay Area it's on Chanel 10 - CBS at 7:00 pm.

carlie

[Stretch]

The transcript for the program is here for those that didn't get to see it. I agree with every statement in this post so far. This transcript will probably be dumped pretty soon.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/01/...ain;contentBody

[broncovet]

Thank you for the transcript. I saved a copy on my computer so if the VA quashes it, then I still have it. I hope people are outraged.

[Teac]

Thank you for the transcript. I saved a copy on my computer so if the VA quashes it, then I still have it. I hope people are outraged.

No reason for the va to quash it .. nothing was said that wasn't already common knowledge...

[Chuck75]

The Vault door has a crack-- Lets see if it can be pried open!

Michael Walcoff told Pitts there is no incentive to deny claims. "And there's no pressure from anybody to deny a claim. And I can't say it any simpler than that."

My response to this statement would be to ask some additional questions --

Are "bonus" or "performance" points given for a denied claim? (Expected Answer Yes)

Does it take less time to deny a claim or award a claim at the "RO" level? (Expected Answer less time to deny)

Is the review process more lengthy for an awarded claim or a denied claim? (Expected Answer Awarded Claim)

Is the review process the same for an awarded claim as it is for a denied claim? (Expected Answer No, the approval process requires a more stringent review according to the award amount.)

When senior management is awarded a bonus, it's assumed that reducing costs are a often a factor in justifying the bonus.

Is there any direct or indirect relationship between "reducing costs" and the number or amount of approved claims? (The answer should be interesting!)

Are denied claims included in any formula that is used to determine an administrative cost reduction? (Expected Answer Yes)

I.E. Total Claims processed VS. administrative hours used to process claims.

The transcript for the program is here for those that didn't get to see it. I agree with every statement in this post so far. This transcript will probably be dumped pretty soon.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/01/...ain;contentBody

[dannydad]

No reason for the va to quash it .. nothing was said that wasn't already common knowledge...

teac,i agree with you and papa nothing was presented by 60 min that would help relieve the situation. however, being a student of how people react,the VA should stop all ALL ALL bonuses until the problem is solved (cut down on the claims by 75%)not by not accepting or cancelling them.resolve them. clear 75% of them,then they can have their cake .what i have never figured out why are they giving out the bonus anyway. IF you stop ALL bonuses even the janitor will feel as part of the TEAM to get the paperwork moving. the 60 min crew informed the uninformed what the "FACTS" were.SO now we vets can keep quiet-----they solved the problem..BS,BS,BS over and over again.

[Papa]

While the agency that I work for is far from perfect, I can assure you that if we ran it like the VA, we would have been goose-stepping years ago :P . BTW, does any one know the percentage of our VA paperwork is computerized? Why a claim has to be 23 pages long? Why the VA can have a claim for years, and look and look for a medical issue that the Veterans claims happened while in the military, but they can never find it in your records. You get a copy of your records, and within 5 minutes you find it. :D Why is it we have to prove over and over that we where in Vietnam, we were in a AO area, how many copies of my DD214 do they need?!! I'm going to pissd them off and live forever :D

Papa