Va Employees Enjoy Millions In Bonuses

[broncovet]

ADD these up:

1. Veterans copayments went up.

2. No COLA for Veterans 2 years in a row.

3. VA employees rake in millions in bonuses: http://www.vawatchdogtoday.org/

Who is this a good deal for? Not for Veterans!

[carlie]

Most press releases are usually just public relations BS

in an attempt to show how well veterans are being (not) taken care

of in timely fashion.

and I find stats are usually flawed to sway in favor of whoever is

footing the bill to pay for the stats.

Bonus and COLA issues have nothing to do with taking money

or keeping money (SC grants) away from disabled veterans.

[jbasser]

Please allow me to clear this one up.

Watchdog article is a good article but this one needs to be explained.

1: The Va is broken down into subcategories and all bonuses are appropriated at the start of the fiscal year. (Oct 1st)

2: The Va hospitals are assigned to VISN's and are completely separated from the other entity. This is solely based on Patient care.

3: The Veterans Benefit administration or VBA includes the following; VBA employees like the Regional offices, Board of Veterans appeals (all employees including administrative Law Judges). Claims and Pension department personnel located at VA hospitals including the clerical staff.

Now I for one have had amazing treatment by the VA hospital staff and really admire the job they do. These folks deserve every bonus they get and I know from experience that it is based on performance. They do not hand out exceptional performance appraisals very often. The ones that do get a small percentage of the already appropriated money. The real winners at the VA hospital level are the Doctors who can get some big bonuses.

The other entity that handles veterans claims are the ones to be scrutinized. Do they deserve bonuses?

You folks be the judge of that one but I strongly support the Hostitals and so should you.

Jbasser

[chr49]

ADD these up:

1. Veterans copayments went up.

2. No COLA for Veterans 2 years in a row.

3. VA employees rake in millions in bonuses: http://www.vawatchdogtoday.org/

Who is this a good deal for? Not for Veterans!

Hey Broncovet,

I don't know much about the co-payment situation but I understand your frustration with the lack of COLA's. As explained, the VA has no control over them so we can be angry all we want but it won't do us any good. The lack of COLA's has hurt many people, not just veterans. I'm very concerned about my 80+ yr. old in-laws who receive very small checks each month and simply can't afford the increases in medical costs and the cost of living. We help them all we can but they live far from us and we don't have much to give. My heart goes out to them as they work to save every penny they can just to survive.

Bonuses can go either way. I know there are abuses, by the companies using them and the employees earning them. I worked 23 years for a company that kept their hourly wages much lower than the norm and provided bonuses for those that earned them. It was their way of controlling each employee's income. They could discontinue the bonuses whenever they wanted to and did so 3 times (for 1-3 years duration) during my employment. When they were discontinued, it left those employees that worked hard for their company, with poor hourly wages to live on. The bonuses I received were never huge but I worked hard to earn each and every one I ever received. All in all, I think most employees are honest hard working people that deserve the bonuses they receive. I really don't have a problem with VA employees receiving bonuses as long as they were honestly earned.

[Chu Lai69]

I get a kick out of Broncovet's posts. If I wanted to read post after post on how wonderful the VA is and how great they handle claims I would go the the VA Website and read their press releases.

I for one, again have to state that my VAMAC and VARO have been very good to me. I have no complaints on the VA medical care I get from the St. Louis Cochran Division. I have a very good and Vet friendly PCP and a great Pysc (Vet Center) also vet friendly. Do both have faults? Of course they do. So does many private care providers also. But I am not one to bash the hand that feeds me every time I read something or hear something negative. People, it is what it is. You can either make easy on yourself or you can beat your self up with things that are not in your control. I for one don't need the extra stress of being or acting negative so I try as hard as I can to stay positive which makes things a little easier on me. I learned that from one of the great elders here LOL. Just my 2 cents

[Testvet]

some will never be happy it's that simple I like many here have been getting GREAT health care from the VA medical system do I like the way the Regional offices handle the claims process hell no it only took me 7 years to get the benefits I had earned despite the overwhelming evidence to approve the claim from the get go, the RO made it feel like a never ending night mare and it took a BVA Judge to finally end the nightmare yes there needs to be changes in the system but I don't blame every person at the VA because of it and believe it or not some people deserve the bonuses so more power to them the ones who get them based on friend ships not so much but no system is perfect and life is what it is like my mother used to say life is like a rose bush it has thorns in it deal with them some times you get the flower and some times you get stuck by the thorns

like most of you I got tore up by the thorns before I ever saw the flowers now I stay here to try and help others vets find their own flowers without getting stuck so much by the thorns

[Pete53]

I guess its perspective. Milk costs me 99 cents a gallon down over 3 bucks, Eggs are 49 cents down a buck. Bread 99 cents down a buck 50. Gas up 10 bucks a tank. I drive less. Because electric rates have gone down my electric bill is down over 100 bucks a month (its still to damn high).

I have not finished my annual review but I think my expenses are down.

Lots of stuff is much higher. No COLA's will eventually bite us in ass and I expect our new Congress to cut costs by reducing COLA's even more.We will see soon they have to have a plan by March.

I guess the point is the VA has nothing to do with COLA's and Hadit would like to quit beating a dead horse so to speak.

I have been getting COLA's since 1991 and to my knowledge they never did keep up with inflation. I don't expect that to happen in my lifetime.

Next year my auto insurance will go up as one of my holiday gifts was my son wrecked our pickup and in Texas that means higher insurance or they drop you.