Veterans Affairs pays $142 million in bonuses amid scandals

[pacmanx1]

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs doled out more than $142 million in bonuses to executives and employees for performance in 2014 even as scandals over veterans' health care and other issues racked the agency.

Among the recipients were claims processors in a Philadelphia benefits office that investigators dubbed the worst in the country last year. They received $300 to $900 each. Managers in Tomah, Wis., got $1,000 to $4,000, even though they oversaw the over-prescription of opiates to veterans – one of whom died.

The VA also rewarded executives who managed construction of a facility in Denver, a disastrous project years overdue and more than $1 billion over budget. They took home $4,000 to $8,000 each. And in St. Cloud, Minn., where an internal investigation report last year outlined mismanagement that led to mass resignations of health care providers, the chief of staff cited by investigators received a performance bonus of almost $4,000.

As one of his final acts last year before resigning, then-VA secretary Eric Shinseki announced he was suspending bonuses in the wake of revelations that VA employees falsified wait lists to meet wait-time targets — ostensibly as part of efforts to secure the extra pay. But he only curtailed them for a sliver of VA executives -- those in senior levels of the Veterans Health Administration, which oversees health care.

The agency has continued to pay performance-based bonuses to nearly half of agency employees, including in health administration, according to data provided to USA TODAY by the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. In all, some 156,000 executives, managers and employees received them for 2014 performance.

OK ,I wanted to give a site for others to check it out. Also you can check to see who got a bonus, all you have to do is click on your state and it will come up.   The average bonus was about $3,000.00 or more. So tell me how in the heck can a Hospital Houskeeping Officer get a $3000.00 bonus.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/11/11/veterans-affairs-pays-142-million-bonuses-amid-scandals/75537586/

[Carl the Engineer]

No cost of living increase for you, but bonus for meeeeeee,

Sorry son's a bitch's,,

Hamslice

 

[Vync]

Maybe the Hospital Housekeeping Enlisted only got $300 bonuses...

Edited November 12, 2015 by Vync

[Vync]

No cost of living increase for you, but bonus for meeeeeee,

Sorry son's a bitch's,,

Hamslice

You are so right!

[green]

Doing the math, $142M / 280k employees = average of $507 per employee.

[USMC_VET]

So i finally sat down and crunched some numbers.  I have always though the cost to build new hosptials, maintain old ones, hire and retain physicians/nurses etc was not cost effective for veterans care.  I crunched some numbers if we just added vets to the existing federal government health care network.  A new regime of regulations based on ratings could come into effect.

I couldnt find numbers of vets based on rating only a 10-60% and 70%+

so i just pulled everyone together from 10-100% which is a very liberal figure of the total cost.................\

here it is....................

 

Currently for a individual with dependents the government pays $437.69 while the employee pays 197.23 for the standard option for BCBS for a total of $634.92 per month which equals 7619.04 in premiums per year.

Given that 30% rating will give you “free” no cost to you healthcare at VA facilities we will approach this from a no cost to vet.

Currently as of 2013 there were 2,208,186 vets with 10-60% rating and 965,943 with over 70% rating.  Combined that is 3,174,129 total vets from 10% to 100%.  In terms of healthcare only those with 30% or more qualify for that “free healthcare”  to be liberal with it.. lets consider all vets in that number 30% or more.

The VA submitted a budget this year for  1.675 billion for construction.  Removing the grants for state extended care facilities and cemetary work we are looking at 1.55 billion for major and minor construction. 51 Billion is being spent yearly on Medical Programs that does not include joint DOD funds and VET choice act.

A total of 52.55 Billion is spent on health care and construction of new facilities as well as maintenance of other ones.

Now back to FED HEALTH insurance coverage, this is based off the pamphlets for a Blue cross fed health plan..

Medications (10) per month: 1200 yearly

Mental Health Apt (4) per month: 1200 yearly

Inpatient Admission (2) per month: 6000 yearly

Ambulance (5) yearly: 500 yearly

non generic RX: 600 yearly

Sleep Study: $90 one time

 

That means to include the premium this vet would have paid $8512 that would nominally now be paid for by the VA. Adding in the premium cost that is now $16,131.04 per year.

So now we have by multiplying 16131.04 by 3,174,129 vets over 10% we come up with 51,202,001,864.16

For roughly less that the total spent on health care and construction for next year we could pay for every vet over 10% to have a standard BCBS plan,  be brought inpatient 2x a month, weekly mental health counseling, ambulanced 5x a year, 10 generic prescriptions per month and a sleep study .

 

 

i have always thought it would be cheaper and better for everyone (but the VA union) to just close down the hospitals, offer severance (one time large cost) for the medical staff (plus the uptick in need for care at local facilities would necessitate hiring in the local areas where the hospitals already were, the best ones would get jobs right away) and just put everyone onto FED employee plans.

 

This is separate from the above as far as discussion purposes.

My thoughts would be a revamping of the rating medical care criteria.  I know this isnt popular maybe, but i will say what i feel.  not everyone who is 30% needs no cost health care.  i have 30% for my feet.  they hurt they make it impossible to run any long distance, standing too long causes alot of pain, but it isnt the same as someone who is experiencing migrains so bad that they have to leave work and spend days in bed because of splitting migraines (i have those two, but if i had to choose i would take 2x the pain in the feet i have now to get rid of those headaches).

I think that medical care could be rated as well alongside rating for compensation based on your loss of ability to work to make up for it.  Anything that is directly SC would be covered 100% but anything else NOT SC would be inverse of the comp rating you have from 70% to 30%

If you are 70%+ you are covered 100%

If you are say 50% the inverse from 100% is 50% so you pay 50% of the premiums/co pays as set for federal employees

If you  are 30% your inverse from 100% is 70% so you pay 70% of the premium.  If you have a claim that bumps you to 70% and a EED date going back 2 years you are not only retro'd for that comp but also the health costs.

It would need more details and like i said some peoples 30% is much worse than others and that should be taken into account. 

Its not perfect but i think most vets would rather have that and go to the doctor and facility of their choice than have to drive to a VA hospital.

 

Edited November 12, 2015 by USMC_VET