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Veterans' Benefit Frustrations

January 3, 2010 5:30 PM

Two wars and a recession have significantly increased the claims handled by the U.S. Dept. of Veteran's Affairs, slowing the large bureaucracy and frustrating many veterans. Byron Pitts reports.

Why The VA Frustrates Veterans
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by pastyears May 4, 2013 12:28 AM EDT
One last thought America and I will shut up.

If we take away the Presidents, Congresses, and the Cabinets pay checks and benefits, I bet the problems of veterans disability claims backlogs and poorly run regional offices and hospitals will be resolved in a very very very short time.....
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by pastyears March 16, 2013 3:57 PM EDT
Now it cost the VA 306$ to buy a hamburger at BG. $6 for Burger King and $300 for the VA. That is exactly what they are doing to veterans. Skimming at the Congressional level after all it is a cabinet level department, and giving less than 1% back to the veterans. Look at the salary levels. Talk about fraud look at what the execs are dining on while the veteran eats horse ****!!!!
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by pastyears August 9, 2012 4:01 PM EDT
usmcstone,

You need to find a good VSO in your area. Collect all your in service medical records. Get at least 2 private physicians that can link your condition to the military. Even though you have been told that the VA is suppose to be non adversarial they are anything but. My personal experience is they are paid to deny, delay, remand your claim anything but award it and if they should they will low ball it you can bet on it. Get all your ducks in a row have your VSO search through all the claims about your condition and see how the BVA, SSA, and the courts have dealt with them. As always best wishes for you and your family and good luck may God provide for you.
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by IschemicHeart July 26, 2012 4:07 PM EDT
An idea was presented that once again blames the Vietnam Veterans for the inefficiencies and corruption within government. I am a Vietnam Veteran and very tired of being blamed for everything that the VBA has wrong and in general, the ills of society. Here is the reality from my perspective. Those of us who have survived and have medical problems , especially the presumptive problems are what should be classified as the Known Casualties of WAR. The numbers are projected and tracked statistically by "guess who" : the United States Government. I too have seen the games that been played with claims and submitted a spreadsheet outlining some of the strategies the VBA uses to game Veterans to my Congressman. Is this going to help. Probably not when the blame game continues on to depreciate the value of Vietnam Vets contributions and their costs of aftercare. Let me clear about one thing and this message is to those who game on the veterans claims: when you hurt a Veteran , delay a claim, deny or lie about a claim, translate a claim into gibberish and send mail to the wrong address- you have aided and abetted the enemy. This is what the enemy wanted even if they lost the war, an aggregating level of societal decay based upon wartime casualties. Do you get it yet? If you do and this is what you have done, then what does that make you ? BTW: I didn't see the head of the VBA grunting it out around in uniform carrying a gun in Southeast Asia.
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by ratskc July 10, 2012 7:04 PM EDT
In your story concerning veteran's benefits, Agent Orange was a herbiced not a pesitcide!
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by pastyears June 7, 2012 6:03 AM EDT
We the people are no longer!!!! America is dominated with liars and deceivers in Congress. The leadership in this country should be ousted and the people should take steps to ensure that integrity is maintained in our government. That means do the things that are necessary under our constitution that were mandated by it's original signers. Take our country back. Remove the generals and leadership of our military and remove the judges that allow the corruption in this country to continue. The Veterans Administration has been corrupt for years it's leadership has been bought and paid for by the sweat and blood of Americans in uniform and the country turns its back on veterans that are jobless, homeless and confused by the lack of real American involvement in their plight. We have turned into nothing but pathetic onlookers and do nothing about our problems. This news media yes CBS does a commentary and then drops the ball. Why because they appear to be bought off too. If our own news groups push foreign problems like the plague well then why not keep the pressure on our own government to start performing. Get rid of them all this year cast your vote for someone local who has integrity and honesty at heart.
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by sbwag71 April 27, 2012 3:48 PM EDT
I just got my husbnads letter today. DENIED Apparently he was BORN with his neck injury and the seal tight door he was working on that FELL on his neck just aggrivated it - REALLY??? He was fine his whole life till that day. I think they spent more time trying to find a disease they could compare it to to deny him than actually seeing what was wrong. UGH!! It is some RARE thing called Klippel Feil syndrome - then if he HAD this why did you allow him to serve in the first place? Sooooo frustrated! ANY ADVICE??? He was discharged with 30% we were looking to get that started and some back pay. We have never gotten a dime.
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by WYnWn February 21, 2012 9:20 AM EST
The Gulf War, Iraq, all are just excuses. This is not a new problem. For me, it started in 1979. The Colorado Regional Office denied benefits from a medical discharge under honorable conditions because of injuries during service, despite granting severance pay, and the then current rating of disability with notation of probable permanence.

The denial was accomplished through plagiarizing a medical document that certified me as fit to enlist and intentionally concealing evidence of in-service records of injuries. Phrases were "copied and pasted" to produce a false conclusion that required a significant degree of intent and effort to create. No rational person could possibly call this an "accident" or "mistake".

Over the years, 32 to be exact, the 20% disability that I was denied has become daily pain and inability to perform even simple tasks. I can no longer effectively do the work I've done for over 30 years. My financial ability has steadily declined. My personal life has shrunk to spending the mojority of time staying at home. Household chores, once requiring hours, are now separated into days.

VA personnel have studiously avoided applying their own regulations causing three years so far of admitting one error, only to commit three or four more that now have to be challenged, only to repeat the same process over and over when regulations governing this exact situation are clearly delineated and mandated by Congress.

I agree with the gentleman who said it was a leadership problem; I would add to that the fact that there is no accountability and all the "concern" expressed by Senators,VA officials, is simply window dressing producing no results for those the VA system is supposed to help. I tested my theory by sending a letter, registered/certified to the Secretary of the VA. The result of my letter? No result at all. I did not even receive a response.
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by undefeated2012 January 31, 2012 8:08 PM EST
i just started my husband's battle with Va almost 2 years now. my husband served in the persian gulf war from 1990-1991. he returned to base in september 91 and had a very serious mva 2 weeks later. because of this mva my suffers with a tbi and a host of secondary illness. he was just diagnosed in 2010 with this tbi. va denied his claim and is in appeal still. im mad as hell. do you have any advice for me?
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by tcbatinamecom January 9, 2012 2:58 PM EST
hello CBS,

It is January 9, 2012 and I just received a decision from the Board of Veterans Appeals, a decision for which I have been waiting 10 months, Ii is in regard to a claim that I filed on March 1,1993. I have been trying to collect rightful benefits for almost twenty years. The decision "remands" my claim back to the Regional Office (RO) that has effectively caused the problem to begin with. It is "CATCH 22" all over again. I can provide you all the documentation and correspondence necessary to prove that the VA purposefully and with full intent,
illegally denies fully disabled and eligible Veterans the benefits to which they are entitled. It is unconscionable and I believe "criminal" in nature. It is clearly against stated VA policy and contravenes the laws passed by congress regarding Veterans benefits. I have the documentation to expose the constant misconduct of a segment of the VA organization that benefits (bonuses) from the denial of benefits to eligible Veterans. If you are truly a NEWS organization this conduct should be a very high priority because of the vast abuse across the
country, it affects millions of veterans and should be exposed for what it is.
CORRUPTION
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