Anyone Out There Desire To Change The Process?

[PayBack]

Hi,

I realize that you all must be laughing hysterically at this post. Thinking that this guy must be joking or extremely naive. Well, I'm not joking, just disgusted. As I browse the internet seeking assistance about veterans issues, I'm really appalled by the injustices that many of us face in our pursuit of benefits. I've decided that I'm going to dedicate a major portion of my time and limited resources to ensuring that this stops. There is NO reason that this process takes so long. Call it apathy or lethargy, take your pick. I call it an " American Tragedy". Our elected officials have the power to change this and with everbodies help, I think we can get them to change it. As long as THEY are creating more disabled veterans every day, they're accountable. We have so many compelling stories, and it's time we informed the world of this treatment. There is no logical reason that any claim can't be completed with 365 days (including appeals). I've been inside VA buildings, they must work smarter and perhaps harder (limiting breaks, internet browsing, chit chat etc...). If there goal were redefined for them and officials held accountable, perhaps we could affect positive outcome. Imposing real disciplinary action on neglectful officials would be a key component in affecting this change. Something as simple as three strikes and your gone. Do away with REMANDing? It wastes time. Simply overrule the previous findings. If a VA official has an original decision or a DRO has their rulings changed 3 times, they gotta go. This may make the actually read the evidence that's before them. We would simply want those involved in the process "Do the Right Thing". No more, No less. If you want to help let me know. I'm very serious. If I have to do it alone, I'll work it till I die. I heard the stories, but until it happened to me, it never hit home. I apologize to all for not taking up the fight sooner. I swear by all that is sacred to me that I will not rest until this issue is resolved. We have an election coming in 2008, if we organize and work smart, perhaps we could use this to our advantage and affect positive change by then. Media, print, internet, we'll need to pool the resources and get real EXPOSURE. I'm very serious, and I hope you are too.

GOD Bless

[john999]

I think the VA keeps the rating process mysterious so that no one knows how sloppy and inefficient they are, and no one can hold them accountable. If no one knows what is going on then no one can point the finger at raters who don't have the smarts of a 5th grader. The VA needs to be broken into the way a bulldozer smashes into a house. It is a rotten system full of people who are there for the sake of their pensions and coffee breaks. It took me 30 years to get a decent rating and I am still not sure how I did it except by persistence. It took 3 months to get SSDI from start to finish. SSA is a lot bigger than VA and yet they get it done. I know there are horror stories about SSA but no one waits 30 years.

[allan]

>I think the OIG web site has investigation of one or two VARO employees whio were involved in a claims scam.

Hello Berta,

I know they get busted for cheating the DVA.

But, I've never heard of even "one" in all these dacades going to jail for the federal crimes of "obstruction of Justice" for falsely denying a veterans claim with fraudulant statements. I'm not talking about minor errors, I mean outright lies, conceiling evidence and the old favorite, refusing to reconize obvious favorable evidence, like IMO's.

ALL Veterans should have equal rights to justice and to be represented by a legal attorney from the very begining. Rating specialists need to be subject to prosecution and a rope. They sure as hell don't mind killing us. Better yet, hang them all & let God sort them out.

Sorry, i'm feeling a little bitter today. I realize hanging is somewhat out of the question with so many animal rights activests in the country.

Lethal Injection?

"Has anyone ever heard of a rating specialist, DRO etc going to jail for illegally cheating disabled Veterans out of their benefits?"

I think the OIG web site has investigation of one or two VARO employees whio were involved in a claims scam.

Also I remember the days in the late 1980s- when some lawyers at the BVA stuffed dozens of claims into the bottoms of old file cabinets so they would not have to work on them.

They were caught.I forget if this was a federal crime or not- it should be.

[ruby]

If I had the time and money I would do the following--

Start my own private Commission on the VA, all aspects health care, rating, time, what the problems are in the eyes of the Vet.

I would approach this like any other type of petition to get something on a ballot.

I would get a petition started in all states - stating the purpose of the commission and the changes necessary to fix the flawed system. I would have those that are eligible to sign this petition (electronically) sign the petition and then I would have 50 rep's one from each state with the signed petitions travel to DC and visit all thier wonderful senators and congressman/women and say we want this introduced as a bill---

I would also consider doing a March on DC at the same time. This will all take time, time is more than year possibly 2 years to organize anything meaningful. At this same time your getting national media attention.

Enough signatures on any piece of paper will get others to act. Thier livelihood depends on our votes.

Bottom line without the signatures, nothing will change. Until a politican's family member gets screwed by the system.

This is all possible by the internet, you would have sites linked to this site, you would get all the service organizations to post something somewhere for Vet's to go to this site and sign it. Of course you would have word of mouth.

That's the easy part, you now have to figure out what is the most economical way to fix the problems. Without a solution to solving the problems, you'll get no where, we will all be dead and gone by the time anything changes.

Can you sue someone for putting your claim somewhere it shouldn't be, NO! can they get fired and never be employed by the government or any affilate of the government in any way Yes!

Let's face it that employee, hasn't got a pot to dodo in so suing them is not reasonable, however, if the company that employ's them is allowing this then you sue the company.

Does anyone remember HCA being sued for ripping off the govt for medicare fraud. Same priniciple and no you shouldn't need an act of congress to sue the government. Any time you have a very large work force you will have people who don't give a petunia, doesn't mean the company should be sued unless they encouraged this behavior.

A possible solution to the bonus money is; the employee is not given any money until all appeals are exhausted and the Vet loses, if the vet wins the employee gets nada. Which is saying learn your job and learn it well.

Many companies that pay bonuses on sales do not give the bonus money until the sale is final and payment has been recieved. Also if that product is returned the money is deducted.

To ensure that they don't just award everyone then you have to have another check and balance to prevent the exact opposite that is happen now.

The system is designed to error on the side of the gov't, reverse that process.

What check and balances would fix the years of denial's and waiting games in the most economical manner.

Could you not ask for donations like 1.00-5.00 from vets to help send a delegate to DC with your petition for change.

Find ways to improve the system, write that up as petition, then get delegates to go to DC and set a March on DC at the say time. Numbers get noticed.

IMHO thats a start.

[timetowinarace]

I've writen to my elected officials, all in my state, whether in my district or not. I've written to the president, clinton and bush. I've written to every member on the VA commitee's in both house and senate. I've written to my local paper and news stations. I've written to several national news agencies. I did get replies from most of the elected officials. ("i'll look into it" paraphrased)

In the end, I should have written all those letters to Santa Clause. In the end, my goal should have been world peace.

The information on veterans issues, (horror stories) is out there. It has been getting national attention. If people do not now know, their mountain cabins are snowed in and Big Ben the bear is soundly hibernating. Most people personally know someone that has had problems with the VA.

I'm sorry, but writting letters to elected officials to tell them what they already know is useless. THEY ALREADY KNOW. The same goes for the majority of the puplic.

If we don't quit pecking and march in force there will not be change. We will have the public behind us. Who, during this time, is going to say soldiers and veterans do not deserve to be taken care of? Very few if any. Marching works. It has worked for veterans before.

A drawn out fight over the VA is not to our advantage. Put whatever term you prefer to it. "Shock and Awe", "Blitz", "Surge", "Spearhead", a one time decisive "Show of Force" (without physical force of course).

Again, this is my not so humble opinion.

It is not my intent to discourage anyone from using the tools many of us have been using for years. Service organizations have been using them for years also. I only believe the results are minimal. Worse, many burn out fighting the system when there is little to show for it in the end.

Time

[Guest morgan]

I'm sickened by the platitudes and form letters disbursed to "deal with" our complaints, to "get it off the desk" ... and the to-do list. Time, you're right, pecking is all we're doing, and you're also right about the burnout. Lord knows I've tried all I can think of, but I haven't accomplished much. I have no answer for how we can do better. I do, however, have confidence that with the Internet, we have a better chance of locking arms than when we were without a quick communication system. We just need good leaders to put this together. (Where better to find such leaders than among a ton of military-trained people!)

Obviously, the VA is broken for the veteran, but I believe it's working perfectly for VA supervisors and other employees. Sending sloppy decisions into the claims backlog doesn't bother them; in fact, it helps pad their pockets. I'm involved with a senate and OIG investigation right now and I have very unusual--irrefutable--evidence of VA's deliberate noncompliance with VA law, solely to achieve "End Product." Of course, because of the OIG investigation policy, I will never know whether complaining has done any good.

Reportedly, the VA denies the existence of performance quotas tied to personal bonuses, but with this evidence, it can no longer deny (legitimately) what's going on. To compound the problem, mishandling claims actually helps meet quotas for personal monetary bonuses just the same as properly handling a claim. And there's no skin off their noses when VA employees willfully break the law to achieve End Products. We all know, and so do they, that there's no accountability, no matter how incompetent, inaccurate, or illegal the rating decision. For them, criminal conduct holds no risk. Remands don't matter either; they just provide End Products multiple times. (Before anyone starts to tar and feather me, let me say that I know dedicated and competent people work at the VA, too, and many of them are veterans, and they would like to see the system fixed; but TO ME, those who participate in this End Product sham are guilty of robbing veterans as surely as if they held a gun to their heads and took their wallets.)

These bonuses are a huge conflict of interest and should cause a riot if American taxpayers, particularly veterans and their families, find out the magnitude of the problem and its part in the huge claims backlog. Some do know, but, alone, they are paralyzed as far as doing anything about it. I have provocative evidence of the injustice, I just don't know how to get the most bang for the buck in releasing it. I'm following every trail I can find to see how I best can draw attention to this. I don't expect much from the senate or the OIG investigation, but I'll just wait and see. I could be surprised. Ron Abrams told me he would personally take this evidence to Congress, but I haven't heard anything else from him. Sad to say, my effort so far surely seems akin to beating a dead horse, or as Time says, pecking. I'm a doer, I don't like pecking!

To help unite and keep us motivated, let's not forget that many VA employees enjoy annual cash bonuses while many veterans, with asinine rating decisions in hand, are forced to wait years in appeals to get rightfully-deserved compensation benefits. These VA employees buy homes and cars and support their family, while far too many disabled veterans lose theirs. It's a shame. Veterans deserve better.

Although it hasn't meant much so far, I will fight for veterans until I die. Thank you for your service!

(I've attached a document with further explanation of this End Product issue.)_2Steve_SmithsonEND_PRODUCT.doc

Edited January 11, 2008 by morgan

[Ricky]

You know the VA compensation and disability system did not get this screwed up by accident. They behave just like an insurance company. Hold onto the money as long as possible any way possible.

I agree with this part of John's post. As I have said in many of my prior post the VA was not designed to assist veterans. One must remember, that when you file a VA claim you are filing a claim AGAINST THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT. Its not a simple process of give me what you told me I could have or what you owe me. It is basically a insurance claim aginist the government. Once again I repeat AGAINST THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT. It is a one-sided legal system and not a simple administrative system.

I also agree with the fact that no change will come until all citizens of the U.S. become involved. They will not. When they realize that supporting veterans means higher taxes for them they take this screw you mentality until the next time their way of freedom is challenged. Then its the yellow ribbions and we really love you attitude that comes out. If you had the time to plot a chart with citizen Joe support of veterans you would see that it runs at nearly zero unitl a war is in progess at which point it spikes to a nearly 100 percentile. As Berta always says "sameo sameo". No matter the party affilation it is same o bull cause I assure you the elite of this country (political idiots) could care less.