Chair Of The House Veterans Committee Calls For The Director Of The Veterans Benefits Adminstration To Step Down.

[Capt.]

Hello All,,,,,,,Well Finally , we have someone ,,,,,Mr. Jeff Miller , Chair of the HVAC has demanded the resignation of the biggest enemy of all Veterans, Undersecretary Allison Hickey to STEP DOWN. Not since the incompetent James Nicholson was Secretary of the VA nearly 10 years ago have we seen a total collaspe of the entire Veterans Benefits System.. This should have been done a long time ago and General Shenseki should follow as well.

Anybody to replace one or both of them will be a sign of a positive move because both of these leaders have been operating in negative territory for many years. I believe Congressman Bob Filner , though no longer on the HVAC should be doing backflips with this positive step at the VA.

I believe that all Veterans should be watching closely and praying for some replacements with LEADERSHIP and able to get the ball moving again. I see a small ray of hope that each one of us must try to hold on to. NEVER GIVE UP. God Bless, C.C.

http://cironline.org/reports/house-committee-leader-calls-head-va-benefits-resign-4302

Edited March 20, 2013 by Capt.Contaminate

[Capt.]

Please.......

[stillhere]

Since the American Legion went to bat for the VA and Ms Hickey, does anyone recall a guy who works for the American Legion and his last name is Hickey. He has articles in the Am Leg magazine quite often. Since I no longer belong to the American Legion I do not get a copy of the paper they put out and wonder if there is a nexus between these two Hickeys? Anyone got a past issue of the American Legion papers and could check this out? It would be interesting to know. The American Legion Hickey usually does comments on the claims processing procedures and claims results.

Indy man, it is the VFW that is going to bat for Hickey not the AL?

[Jumpmaster]

PROVISIONAL COMPENSATION FOR VA CLAIM

After several years of butt-chewing sessions by members of Congress. And one month after Mr. Miller, Chair of the HVAC called for Undersecretary Allison Hickey resignation. Ms. Hickey went to sleep Thursday night April 18, 2013 and fantasized about her poor VBA management, adjudication skills, and thousands of deceased, and waiting frustrated veterans within the massive backlog of VA claims. Well she woke up Friday morning, feeling so refreshed to deliver another proposal agreeing to award provisional veteran compensation!!!

All claims older than one year should be resolved in about six months, she said. In the meantime, she said, the new focus on these older claims will mean the average number of days it takes to complete one – now 286 days – will go up. But as more of the older, paper-based claims are resolved, and more come in electronically, the average will shrink significantly, she said. It will accelerate delivery of compensation benefits to those eligible veterans who have waited the longest, some over two years,"

Absent the violin music…It’s clear she’s still blowing smoke just to keep her job until 2016. Jumpmaster

VA Offers Provisional Compensation for Claims

Apr 19, 2013

Military.com| by Bryant Jordan

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The Department of Veterans Affairs announced a plan Friday to tackle its disability claims backlog by awarding provisional compensation to tens of thousands of veterans whose claims have languished in the VA's system.

"This is an important initiative because it will accelerate delivery of compensation benefits to those eligible veterans who have waited the longest, some over two years," VA Under Secretary for Benefits Allison Hickey told reporters Friday morning. "Veterans whose claims are granted will begin receiving compensation immediately after a provisional rating decision." All claims older than one year should be resolved in about six months, she said.

In the meantime, she said, the new focus on these older claims will mean the average number of days it takes to complete one – now 286 days – will go up. But as more of the older, paper-based claims are resolved, and more come in electronically, the average will shrink significantly, she said. "It [the average] will spike, and then it will start coming down," Hickey said.

The new program does not change the claims status of select groups of veterans, such as former prisoners of war, Medal of Honor recipients, the homeless and terminally ill. These veterans will continue to have expedited claims processing, Hickey said. The VA's claims backlog has been estimated to be as high as 600,000, with some dating back more than two years. Depending on where a veteran lives in the country, he or she can expect to wait more than 600 days to have a claim acted on.

Hickey said the department did not have an estimate for what it will cost to carry out the provisional claims program. The VA and Hickey in particular, have come under increasing criticism from Congress. Lawmakers are showing increasing frustration and impatience with the time it is taking for veterans to have their claims processed. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, has publicly called for Hickey's resignation. He said someone new is needed to get the VA's benefits system in order. In a statement released several hours after Hickey announced the new plan, Miller said the approach "sounds promising, [but] we will be monitoring it closely to make sure it's good policy rather than just good PR.” Miller noted that VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, Hickey and other VA officials have testified before the House Veterans Affairs Committee several times in recent weeks but never mentioned the plan until Friday.

Miller cautioned that the VA must not shift resources and manpower away from processing new claims just to clear out old ones. "Every veteran deserves a thorough, fair and timely evaluation of their claim, regardless of when it was filed. This policy should not interfere with that concept," he said. The idea of awarding disability compensation on a provisional basis has been recommended by some veterans' organizations in the past. Hickey said this morning the VA is able to move on the idea now because the workforce it had been dedicating to Agent Orange claims from the Vietnam War – about 37 percent of its specialists – have completed that job and are available again to work on more current claims.

She said the ratings specialist will start with the oldest of the claims from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and work their way forward. A disability rating will be based on what is in the file and any compensation retroactive to the date of the claim application.

Veterans also will have one year from the date of the provisional awarding to provide additional evidence – or have the VA request new evidence – to change the rating. If no additional information is provided in that time, the disability rating is ruled permanent, though the veteran retains the right to appeal that decision, Hickey said.

One exception to the available evidence provision will be claims for post-traumatic stress disorder. PTSD claims will require evaluation from VA doctors, Hickey said. But she said these would also be ordered immediately under the new plan.

Garry J. Augustine, national service director for the Disabled American Veterans, said the organization is pleased to see the VA taking the initiative to try and resolve its older cases. The DAV and other veterans' service organizations were briefed on the plan more than a week ago.

"The bottom line for us is this, anything they can do to try to get these older cases resolved will be positive, as long as they don't jeopardize veterans' rights," he said.

The DAV wanted to make sure vets had some options under the VA's provisional claims plan, and the department seemed to respond to the group's concerns, Augustine said.

"I like the fact that [veterans] can accept the provisional award or choose not to," he said. "But we're being cautious to make sure the implementation is as intended."

Related Topics

VA Disability Benefits Department of Veteran Affairs

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[broncovet]

Hickey has no clue what she is doing.

By working the oldest claims first, the numbers will go down, not spike up, as she said. The "averages" are worsened by the very old claims. She does not get it.

Also, Alison Hickey did not dream this up. Professor Linda Bilmes spoke on this, about four years ago.

This being said, Hickey is not the one who deserves to be canned.
She is your classic clueless bimbo. Fortunately, she actually accomplishes more by procrastinating, saving a lot of useless work.

The management, senior Shinseki, is the one needing canned. Him and the "entrenched VA management" that he cant seem to overcome. Its a culture of denial.

[Slowlane]

All this time I thought it was tinnitus but the ringing was the same old noise.

Believe me, Nothing will change

[deanbrt]

I thought Bob Filner was a huge loss....