23 Percent Of Va Claims Processed Incorrectly

[jbasser]

I just bumped into this article. On behalf of our friends over at Military.com.

Link: http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/05/va-audit-23-percent-of-disability-claims-incorrectly-processed/#idc-cover

Basser

[Papa]

Pete,

I agree with you on an overall sense, but there are diseases out their that a person could not work if they wanted to. I just do not think Parkinson's, for example, is a fractional disease. Most people with Parkinson's are old farts like me.

Papa

PaPa

VA offers fractional benefits. Social Security offers all or nothing. For the Veterans who are rated and still able to work would get nothing if VA did same as social security.

[Bigred122]

sry took so long to reply.

Bigred...yes, I'm a par tof the system, but i cant change it,. I'm just a rater. Those "programs for money saving ideas" are a crock of shit....you submit an idea & it gets "voted on", then the ones with the most votes go on to get voted on again elsewhere...it's a friggin popularity contest. If i have a great idea but no one likes me, there goes the idea. And believe me, i have written/called/posted/circulated etc my ideas till i'm blue in the face. Maybe 1 out of the 45 I've come up with have been listened. to, & most of the time I'm labelled a troublemaker fro ricking the boat. Congress is the only one who can change our laws, & right now a bunch of "geniuses" in Central Office" are getting pressure from Congress to output out put output, so they keeo coming up with idea after idea for us to implement without ever asking our inout...they've never worked a claim in their life, yet think they know how we should do our job. I'm drowned out. But veterans, together, can annoy the living hell out of their senators/reps & get change. maybe if you take away our outdated points system, ppl won't be so worried about the cases and actually do them right, regardless of how many issues. The production/point system is a MAJOR impediment to your claims getting done. If it were up to me, every honorably discharged vet would receive 2000 upon leaving, regardless of whether you lost a limb or stubbed a toe. It would actually b cheaper for the govt'. Sure, I'd be out of a job, but gods, wouldn't it be easier on everyone? For every vet to know that no matter what they will b taken care of, and that u don't have to go to myriad exams, deal with form after form etc.? Maybe a sticking point to take up with your congressperson as well.

Papa, I'm not too good on SSA stuff, but i hope the others answered your question,. Not ignoring u, just dunno.

WE LOVE YA!!! And we do appreciate what information you share with us. I personally hope that you don't take Our bitches personal. This place is like a sounding board for us Old Vets/Farts! My Senator or Representatives don't listen to me either.( How do they know I didn't vote for them.I thought that stuff was private) I've now contacted 5 of them and not one answered me back.

Here you go a Freebie Idea.When Vets get out of sevice and file a claim an UPC is created that has their basic information (name, address,family status and military medical record stateing whether they are wounded, amputtee,TBI or burned from explosion. Those obvious things. For the first two years they have a Priority one rating. Within 30 days they are to start getting disability payments for the obvious injuries.( Other injuries like PTSD and other disabilities that have to be evaluated and take time will be added at a later date within two years with back pay.But we must first get them financially started.If they have families and they need housing or something else that is also high priority and needs to be addressed within 60 days. Their medical needs must be addressed immediately also by the assigning them to a VAMC within 30 days. I believe that if these things are addressed quickly without delay, we can save some Vets lives from suicide. They will see that they are appreciated from their country. The rest of their needs that are hidden or need treating before a rating can be given must be addressed within that two year time period.No more holding up Everything for one or two medical disabilities. This handles all of the most current Veterans. Then the other veterans can be assigned a lower priority (not forgotten) and the same thing don't hold up 10 disabilities for just one. Approve the easy stuff and assign a Experienced Rater for the difficult cases. I truly believe this will speed up the process and get the help to our most current War Veterans. Being d Old Vet, I have no problem with Our War time Veterans getting top priority. they and their families deserve to be at the front of the line. I think the system needs to punish those who try to commit fraud on the system. Any Veteran knowingly files a false claim should have all benefits suspended (financial and medical) until their file can be looked at with a fine tooth comb. If they find deliberate fraud, jail time is mandatory.The system already has enough to do without spending years on these idiots. And any Lawyer/Doctor who knowingly assist these veterans in their frauds should be banned from ever helping a veteran for life. Since many of the lawyers are getting paid for their services by the government, They are part of the reason these claims take so long. The longer it takes the more money in their pockets. So here are some of my ideas that you are more than welcome to use as you wish. I'm tired of screwing with them. Thank You again for Helping Us!! I dated a New Yorker for about a year. You New Yorker women have spunk and fire!! Mike

[Veldrina]

LOL, awwww ty! Nah, i don't take offense, takes more than that to irk me ;) Besides, i know this is you guys' stomping grounds & I'm not exactly part of the club (mom wouldnt lemme join army OR become a mortician...grrr) I just share the common "wanting to bash head into wall" feeling you all have, just from this side of the wall!

I had thought basic info like that was already on the cards you are issued t the VA hospitals? At least they were supposed to have all that fun stuff so they could just swipe your card & see your info. The problem with the the idea is that vets are going to file for whatever it is they have at all point in time, & we can't (legally) hold up certain claims just because of a burn vs PTSD...you are then running into the "which wounds have more prevalence" argument, and someone's arthritic knee might be causing them to lose their job while someone's IU claim doesn't matter because they're already at 90%. Right know things like ALS/multiple sclerosis and homeless cases (whether you stubbed your toe or re claiming an increase) are the biggies, and it doesn't look like that will change.

WE LOVE YA!!! And we do appreciate what information you share with us. I personally hope that you don't take Our bitches personal. This place is like a sounding board for us Old Vets/Farts! My Senator or Representatives don't listen to me either.( How do they know I didn't vote for them.I thought that stuff was private) I've now contacted 5 of them and not one answered me back.

Here you go a Freebie Idea.When Vets get out of sevice and file a claim an UPC is created that has their basic information (name, address,family status and military medical record stateing whether they are wounded, amputtee,TBI or burned from explosion. Those obvious things. For the first two years they have a Priority one rating. Within 30 days they are to start getting disability payments for the obvious injuries.( Other injuries like PTSD and other disabilities that have to be evaluated and take time will be added at a later date within two years with back pay.But we must first get them financially started.If they have families and they need housing or something else that is also high priority and needs to be addressed within 60 days. Their medical needs must be addressed immediately also by the assigning them to a VAMC within 30 days. I believe that if these things are addressed quickly without delay, we can save some Vets lives from suicide. They will see that they are appreciated from their country. The rest of their needs that are hidden or need treating before a rating can be given must be addressed within that two year time period.No more holding up Everything for one or two medical disabilities. This handles all of the most current Veterans. Then the other veterans can be assigned a lower priority (not forgotten) and the same thing don't hold up 10 disabilities for just one. Approve the easy stuff and assign a Experienced Rater for the difficult cases. I truly believe this will speed up the process and get the help to our most current War Veterans. Being d Old Vet, I have no problem with Our War time Veterans getting top priority. they and their families deserve to be at the front of the line. I think the system needs to punish those who try to commit fraud on the system. Any Veteran knowingly files a false claim should have all benefits suspended (financial and medical) until their file can be looked at with a fine tooth comb. If they find deliberate fraud, jail time is mandatory.The system already has enough to do without spending years on these idiots. And any Lawyer/Doctor who knowingly assist these veterans in their frauds should be banned from ever helping a veteran for life. Since many of the lawyers are getting paid for their services by the government, They are part of the reason these claims take so long. The longer it takes the more money in their pockets. So here are some of my ideas that you are more than welcome to use as you wish. I'm tired of screwing with them. Thank You again for Helping Us!! I dated a New Yorker for about a year. You New Yorker women have spunk and fire!! Mike

[Vync]

Hey Veldrina,

We definitely appreciate your help! I know I certainly do. I think you are part of the solution to the VA's problems because you take the time to think outside of the box. Other raters probably do their job, go home, and completely unplug from their work. You care enough to realize something is seriously wrong with the VA system and look at things from both sides and provide us with insight to the VA we can't get elsewhere.

The VA issues us 'service connected' ID cards with the inconspicuous magnetic strip on the back. I use it more often to get into the VA patient parking deck and pick up meds at the pharmacy than anything else. Most of the time, clinics ask me for my last name and last four. When I hand them my ID, they hand it back and again ask me for my last name and last four.

One more thing... Way down in this topic you mentioned claims with deferred items being placed in what I call 'VA limbo'. Last year, I actually had a good experience relating to claim deferrals. I had several claims in the system, but had asked for an increase on one of them. Luckily, it was a condition where the VA can rate the veteran either by C&P or from specific evidence in medical treatments records. In that case, I matched up my records to the rating table and spoon fed exactly what the rating table mentioned. About a month later, I received a decision letter saying I won my increase, but all of the other claims were 'deferred'. I eventually had C&P exams was sent another decision letter. I won a few of the claims, but most of them had an incorrect low rating. Go figure!

[Chuck75]

VA Mistakes aside, they are really supposed to look at your claim, evidence, and military records, and also consider potential claims based upon the record.

This can be a two edged sword, in that a real problem may exist in the records, yet not have enough in the rater's mind to award a claim. This can make a veteran spend

time and effort on something that may not really amount to much when it comes to compensation.

I will say I was ecstatic about my inital VA award. I received it only 1 month after retirement, by using the pre-seperation claim and going my on my own. I got TDIU with Chapter 35 and all that.

What I would add is that when I called the first time to check and see if my medical records had been received by the VARO, the call rep asked what I was claiming, and I toild her, and she asked if I had any other medical issues, well of course I do, I have an immune disorder so she listed every body part that I told her hurt. I was not aware of this until my 4th C&P exam and the doc started asking me all the questions about my wrists, and shoulders and ankles. I told her I did not want to claim these things. She made a note and told me to write a letter, which I did, withdrawing these other multiple claims. I had no idea they were actually creating new claims to the ones I had filed for.

2x now since then I have had them add claims that I did not ask for. They actually sent me a denial letter for some medical conditions that I had never claimed. I guess they were in my VA medical record, so they automatically opened up a claim for 3 conditions I never asked for.

That, and the multiple mistakes that have been made since then make me very aware of why the VA has a hard time breaking through the backlog. I filed a claim for an undiagnosable inflammatory arthritis condition within the 1 year presumptive, sent a complete package of medical records, highlighted the most significant parts, gave the names, addresses and phone numbers of the doctors, and wrote a short memo giving the chronological date of treatments including in service dates, records where the information was found and the new info. They denied the claim because they said there was no supporting evidence??? The records were there so apparently someone decided it was too easy to deny it, or they were looking at a different file. The did list the letter I wrote that was in the packet as evidence, and a release of info. but they did not list the medical records that were included, and they made no attempt to contact either medical examiner I listed on the claim. Common sense would dictate that this problem is probably nationwide.

I realize they get a huge number of claims, but if your employees are going to increase their burden, and deny claims that are relatively easy to approve and rate, the backlog is never going to go away, it will only get worse, especially when more and more Veterans are finding these sites and finding out that the VA should have provided them more benefits from the get go.

Nothing personal against VA employees, but after 2 1/2 years in the system, I have a full understanding why so many Veterans have negative attitudes about the VA

[jbasser]

Veldrina, welcome to the club.

Basser