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The Sec Bob Mcdonald Really Cares About Veterans!

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Jeffersonrl68

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I have been fighting the VA since 76, with little to no help. I remember going to a library to look up Federal Laws for claims. Things you can now do in minutes online. It's been tuff, but the tuff keep going. The VA system is sad, but from where I saw it in 1976, it

came a long way, and still has a long way to go, to give proper care to our Veterans.

My memory is not the best, but I don't remember any VA Secretary in the resent past actually trying to help Veterans, or even throwing us a bone, by answering emails and phone calls to help Vets. The replies received from this VA Secretary have helped several Veterans, including myself, on this site and others I have heard on the Hadit Podcasts. For me it was a few small things, but it saved months or years of waiting for the VA process. Does it make the VA a great place to be or be treated. No, but there maybe some hope, even a smallbit of hope is better than where we are.

The VA system has been corrupt and incompetent for years, and may never be fixed by this VA Secretary, or the next. I don't understand why the VA won't get Veterans a medical card to be treated outside the system either. The new temporary law they passed, Veterans

Access, Choice, and Accountability Act, (VACAA), on 7 Nov. 2014 is misleading as well. One of the requirements are, if The Veteran’s

current residence is more than 40 miles from the closest VA health care facility. You may be eligible for a card. My problem with this is, the Clinic that is within the 40 miles of my residence cannot treat my specialty care needs. So I end up driving 140 miles round

trip to be seen at a VA Hospital. I hope they work out some of these issues. This was another question I sent the VA Secretary, but

still have not received a reply. I guess Congress has to make the change, when and if.

Happy New Years to All

Sadly, you are not alone, due to the way that the 40 mile limit is currently being used. On the other hand, since you are more than 40 miles from a VA facility that can provide the needed specialty care,

Your area VAMC "Fee Paid" scheme should "kick in", and set up care from a local outside VA provider. Your clinic PCP must make the basic request. Sometimes, they will with a phone call. Other times the PCP may want to see you first. (I just went through this bag of worms and resulting delays) Currently the VAMC administrative personnel may not be properly trained on how to apply the new law, and this can result in un-needed hassles.

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63SIERRA,

I have stated on many ocassions the inability of the veteran being able to communicate with the RO is the cause of claim delays, claims backlog, claim errors, etc. Give the vets direct access to the VA rep handling their claim and this will prevent misunderstandings and solve most claim problems in a timely manner. The veteran would be better served and the VA employees involved in claims processing would also be able to do their jobs faster and better. We should all email this suggestion to Secretary MacDonald.

VA officials who say direct communication between claimants and rating officials will slow the system down should take a look at SSA. They have had this system for years and I am sure they handle more claims and have a higher accuracy rate. JMO

If the govt ran DOD like they run the Va we would never win a war. I feel like they used my young ,. strong, intelligent gullable, star spangled youth for thier agendas to do the fighting for this country, and now that its over, they just want to throw me away like a worn out shoe.

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if the ADMIN of this site ok inviting the VA sec to this site, I would be happy to email him.

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That is definitely what is wrong with processing claims. The veteran is misinformed and ends up sending too much information or too little. When I am processing claims I see that a lot. The veteran will say he/she was seen at a VAMC during a certain time period and then we go out to the clinic for the dates listed only to find that there aren't any in for those dates. There is a 30 day suspense put on a claim when requesting federal records. Okay so when 30 days is up then there is a follow up for another fifteen days along with a phone call to vet and the clinic only to find out neither party has records. The problem is you have wasted 45 days when an exam could have been scheduled. Many times a veteran will guess at the dates instead of knowing for sure what the dates are. So it is wise to do your homework before submitting claims. I am a veteran who works at VA benefits so am only telling you the truth on some of the hold ups. Good luck on your claims everyone.

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Hello

I took the leap and sent Secretary McDonald an email, guess what, he replied. I asked him to look over the site to see first hand how

Veterans are having issues with the VA and their claims. I hope this will give him a fresh look at Veteran needs and open a door for

some Vets to receive real help.

Thank you ALL for your service.

From: Robert.A.McDonald@va.gov

To: .com

Date: Sat, 3 Jan 2015 20:03:09 -0500

Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] Veteran's web site

Thanks, XXXXXXX, I will have a look. Bob

Edited by foreveryoung
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