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Web Extra: A Four Year Wait?

January 3, 2010 5:30 PM

Paul Sullivan is executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, an advocacy group that works on behalf of veterans' issues.

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by hallmarkb January 10, 2010 12:56 PM EST
what a joke. we should fire them all. get vets in there that will do the job right. i spent 21 years in the navy i am glade that i don't have to use the va.some that works at the va said i should put a app in just in case after this what a no way. i do go with my vva group to the va hospial to talk to the vet there. it is really sad.
robert hallmark usnr (retired)
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by DDEEBBIIEE January 9, 2010 9:09 PM EST
I was extremely interested in the report on the VA as I have been trying for over 2 years to assist my father in receiving a benefit that the VA has already claimed he is eligible to receive.

It?s a ?CATCH 22? scenario that was not even mentioned on your program!!!
This is known as the ?Aid and Attendance Benefit? for veterans needing some type of assisted living program. Again, you must meet the VA Qualifications. If you qualify and are entitled to this benefit, you must first move into the facility before they will even start the claim process. If you do not move in first, the claim will be denied as your living expenses do not reflect this additional cost.
But, there is no way to know if you can afford the facility not knowing how much the benefit will be, making moving in quite impossible!!

After finding my father twice on the floor while living alone, the family decided to share the expense of his assisted living home with the thought that some day soon, the VA would assist with this additional financial dependence.

It has been over 1 year and 2 month since we moved my father into the facility and 2 years since we filed the initial claim. And still NO FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE!!!
They are now threatening to evict him as our family is unable to pay this additional expense in it?s entirety every month!!

All the VA keep saying is ?IT?s IN PROCESS?
It became QUITE OBVIOUS there were delay tactics being applied when I received a letter requesting what he expected to receive as interest for his SS benefit and $700.00 which he had in his savings prior to my paying his bills for that particular month. I responded with ?LESS THAN $5.00?!!!
Also, they keep changing his address back to his old address even after I?ve gone through to assure all his information is being sent to the right location to keep things moving forward. It?s INCREDIBLE!!!
There were so many other road-blocks along the way that I am not confident that it really is ?IN PROCESS?
For me to even get an update on the claim, I have to take a day off of work as the number of phone calls it takes and the time spent while on hold would disrupt my being able to be productive while at work.

My father was in the Navy for 10 years. He served in active duty in WWII and in the Korean War.
During times of peace, he actively served as an instructor, teaching men to operate and shoot the guns on battleships. He?s probably fired more rounds of ammunition than could ever be counted.

He is 86 years young, has approximately 70 to 80% hearing loss and is legally blind with limited mobility.

He?s very loyal to his Navy service and to the VA.
He?s not aware of many of the struggles I have had with VA as I want him to still be proud of what he has done for our country and proud to be a Veteran.

The only thing I feel for the VA is the ?Delay, Deny and Hope That I Die?
I?m watching my father live it!!

DJ
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by otoegirl January 9, 2010 12:29 PM EST
The saddest part of this story was that this segment was aired and nothing will change. It will take years for changes. Business as usual......
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by theturthbetold January 9, 2010 11:52 AM EST
The problem with the VA is that no one really knows what is going on. Have you ever played the telephone game. You know, where one person tells the next person a story, then that person is suppose to pass the same story to the next person, by the time you get to the end, the whole story is different. Well, that is the VA. Unorganized in every way, poor management and lack of communication at all ends. And who suffers at the cost..the Veterans. I am currently an employee with the VA. I can honestly say there have been many many days I scratch my head at the lack of organization that goes on. Some examples would be?if your state has 3-4 VA?s?none of them operate with the same procedures. One does it this way, one does it another way. You can call another VA and ask them, ?hey are you completing this task this way?? and they reply ?No?. When asked why?they say ?that?s the way we do it here.?. How does this affect the Veterans? When those VA?s complete their tasks, it goes to the next step up..which those people in the next level do the same thing and the system breaks down. By the time it reaches any one with the authority to make things right?so much time has gone by. The process is rejected and made to start over. Another example?every month our office receives a stack of reports?when asked what we do with the reports, the reply is?"throw them out". Why? Because no one knows what to do with them?so the solution?throw them out. Every month mind you?for years. No one even knows who sends the reports out. Although these reports do not apply directly to the Veterans??it still shows how the VA is run. By the time a policy is created and has made its way through the levels to the employees, no one has a clue what to do. I have worked on projects for over a month, only to be told, we are doing it wrong. Having to wait another month to find out how to do it right. There is no structure to the VA. Although on paper there may appear to be. Once on the front lines, you see there is just total confusion. How can an organization so large operate like this? It can?t. The effects lead to frustrated employee?s, and lack of care for Veterans. What you read on past comments about the wait is true. Yes, I do feel it is fair for the VA to insure it?s funds do in fact go to those who deserve it. The problem is, the process to allow that. The reason why this has become such an issue and allowed those Veterans in need to feel so frustrated is the fact that the procedure has broken down. If there were to be better structure and better organization to the process, then this procedure may not seem so bad.
In this world, there are people who abuse the system. That is unfair to all of us. And in this case, it is unfair to the Veterans. There are in fact those who have put in claims that are false. I am sad to say, I have personally seen those claims myself. Again, there needs to be better ways to enforce this without costing those who in fact are truthful and have fought bravely for our country.
My opinion, where does the VA need to start? Again, down on the front lines. Pull us common employees in?ask us. Make mandatory training classes that insures all of us in all VA?s are on the same page. Have some kind of go to dept. One that will be able to give out answers to questions, build better communication. Make sure ALL VA?s follow the same policies.
Its sad it has gotten to this point. It will cost the tax payers money to fix this problem. But there does in fact need to be an overhaul to this system. The Veterans deserve better. After what they have done for our county?why would we even question not having a better system?
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by disgustedvet January 8, 2010 3:44 PM EST
I am one of the vets they are discussing...that is, I have applied for benefits due to exposure to Agent Orange in Thailand in the summer of 1968. My initial application was filed on November 27, 2007 and was denied on May 8, 2009...but I expected to be denied because the VA Rep who assisted me with the application said, "Your claim will be denied because every first claim gets denied automatically, and then you can file an appeal." Sure smells like a rubber stamp to me! It is now January of 2010 and I have had to hire an attorney to assist me the appeal process. Still, no further response from the VA. It looks like I'm on the 4 year plan. The problem is that the average GI exposed to Agent Orange is dead by the age of 65 and I am now 62. Looks more like another deny and delay until I'm dead (so sorry if I hurt your feelings Mr. VA Deputy Under Secretary for Benefits Michael Walcoff) and then the VA can just dispose of my appeals. FYI, I have written to my Congressman and both of my Senators seeking assistance. Only one Senator (Mark Udall) replied basically said he was too busy to be bothered supporting a veteran; He was too busy trying to get the country to heal. We need more coverage from 60 Minutes, CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, CSN and we need it now! The vets of the Vietnam era are dying literally while the leadership of the VA remains incompetent, incapable of any common sense, refuses eye-witness testimony, and is willing to let Veterans die! Ask me in the next 3 years and I?ll tell you all I know! Times-a-ticken.
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by BattleBuddiesFounder January 7, 2010 2:52 AM EST
This as a subject that is long overdue, and needs several hours to really get a true sense of the wrong that is being done to all of our veterans!
I am an OEF/OIF Combat Medic veteran. I have been getting treatment for Severe Chronic PTSD; Panic Attacks; Traumatic Brain Injury; Post Concussion Syndrome; Cervical, Thoracic, and Lumbar back strains; Unresolved/ Difficult-to-Diagnose Recurring Skin Rash and a whole slew of other things that I just do not have the time to get into.
I am only being compensated for the PTSD and the Back problems even though I have medical records of being treated for syncopal episodes that coincide with one of the times I was ?blown up?. Not to mention the fact that being a Medic can be your own down fall after everything is over. We would usually treat ourselves, or just get one of our own to treat us so that we could do the most good for the most amount of soldiers. That means that the amount of ?medical records? are few and far between. And when the rounds are flyin, and the metal is rainin?a paper trail or making sure you have proof, are the last of your worries.
I understand that they have to protect themselves from fraud, but if they just do not have enough people to do the job?.then hey?.there are tens of thousands of people that need jobs at this very moment! Just hire the amount that you need?and maybe you can help the economy too!
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by DKJohns1958 January 4, 2010 5:54 PM EST
I am so glad that 60 minutes is covering this important issue with the VBA. I am a 12 year veteran who is so sick of the VBA and the federal gov't hiding the issue. Interview me and I can give you a story regarding the VBA. It is all out of control by my view.
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