Do you feel currently Department Veteran Affairs (DVA) failing to give veterans timely care/service?

LCpl Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 07 Aug 2015 12:26:54 -0400

Requesting Feedback : I have been working with Department Veteran Affairs administration to give veterans timely care. But a number of veterans and their family members pointed out to me on Monday key officials haven't been helping.We can all agree historically U.S. veterans have gotten the "shaft" no matter who's in power.I continue to have faith Department Veteran Affairs (DVA) will "clean house" holding employees accountable and putting veterans first.

Response by SGT Ben Keen made Aug 7 at 2015 12:34 PM

SGT Ben Keen — Fri, 07 Aug 2015 12:34:38 -0400

Yes of course it is. They are a huge health system that is under-maned. I suggest you take a few minutes to search the forum, you'll find a lot of different threads that discuss different issues within the VA.

Response by SGT Ronald Buchtel made Jan 9 at 2018 8:12 PM

SGT Ronald Buchtel — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 20:12:10 -0500

Response by LCpl Charles Weaver made Jan 9 at 2018 8:23 PM

LCpl Charles Weaver — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 20:23:58 -0500

Yes. I'm on a waiting list for 2 months now to see my specialist for my back here in ohio

Response by LCpl Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 9 at 2018 9:41 PM

LCpl Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 21:41:45 -0500

"We need to be looking at the way we take care of soldiers"

Response by LCpl Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 11 at 2018 11:13 AM

LCpl Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 11:13:56 -0500

The AFGE Union sent a letter to Congress asking lawmakers to investigate massive fraud committed by contractors administering the Veterans Choice Program. Rampant and documented fraud has been exposed being committed by VA contractors working the system. Meanwhile, VA employees are putting veterans in the middle by not processing Veterans Choice claims in the manner required by law. VA employees were allowed to break the system without accountability, the natural backlash of which is naturally going to be a push in the direction of greater outsourcing of more services previously performed by VA employees. Yet again, veterans are the pawns between special interests of our two party fraud of a political system.

In the letter, AFGE president J. David Cox said the following. These excerpts are in no particular order:

"H.R. 4242 is a terrible piece of legislation that not only chips away at the only health care system tailored to the unique needs of veterans, but it also insulates private, for-profit providers from being accountable to veterans or taxpayers. We keep hearing from Congress and the Administration that there needs to be a greater level of accountability, but when it came down to making sure these private providers would be accountable to the men and women who served this country, party politics won out.

The questionable practices used by third party administrators (TPA) of the VA Choice Program, TriWest, and HealthNet, including double billing and improper payment rates, have directly harmed veterans and undermined the capacity of the VA health care system to provide them with the exemplary care that they have earned with their service. Therefore, AFGE respectfully requests that the House Veterans· Affairs Committee and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations conduct oversight hearings into the contractors billing practices and the VA’s ability to provide effective oversight of these contracts.

While the IG’s memo is written in bureaucratic prose, what it firmly establishes is that in a rush to ensure that Choice program contractors receive favorable treatment and fast reimbursement, the VA has overpaid both TriWest and HealthNet almost $100 million. This amounts to a 5% overpayment error rate just for the contractors’ obvious bookkeeping mistakes. Not included within the scope of the IG’s examination and memo are potentially more substantive and larger overcharging issues relating to the services being provided to veterans. Clearly, the payment error rate, not to mention the potential waste associated with Choice program, is far too high, and we respectfully request that the respective Veterans’ Affairs Committees open an inquiry into the Choice program contracting practices of both VA and its healthcare contractors, and the need for a more robust system of audit and oversight. Choice must not become another government pathway for enriching contractors at the expense of veterans".

Response by CW3 Kevin Storm made Jan 11 at 2018 4:15 PM

CW3 Kevin Storm — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 16:15:12 -0500

There are multiple sides to stories. Working at the VA, my first position was in Outreach. I heard all sorts of stories some valid, some not so valid. Documentation is everything, using someone from the VFW/DAV/American Legion to help you through the process is very beneficial. Assume every person in the VA knows nothing about what you are talking about. Far too often I heard Veterans say " well they know this stuff," No they actually don't. Incomplete documentations kills what you chance of enrollment. Two expecting that every VA provides the distinct service you need, another fallacy. Most VA do not have a Medical Surgical suite that rivals John Hopkins, get it, you may have to go somewhere for particular treatment. Next don't assume we are fully staff, because we are not, and most likely the speed of hiring (at least at my facility is slow). Don't assume everyone makes big wages, we don't, medical professionals can make more at almost any other non government facility. Many of the IT professionals and other professions can as well.

Veteran if have an appointment, show up. You just killed the chance of someone else getting in. If you think your injury during a floor buffer session in 1962 caused you have to methyl ethyl death syndrome, come in with something to support it. Don't just bemoan the system, bring hard documented facts from other providers, scientific research showing floor buffers can lead to methyl ethyl death syndrome. Witness statements, they substantiate what you need to prove that you were firebase X in 1918. With out them you making a case against what ever tis in your records, and if your records don't show you at Firebase X in 1918, and instead show you at the PX, well you got an in-substituted claim.

Also if you were less than honorable, best get your ass down tot he county office for Veterans Affairs and work to get an appeal put together to get your self upgrade to Honorable or don't expect to much support (the onus is on you for this one). Many a vet has been turned down due to their having a less than honorable.
Don't be one of the many BS artists who make claims for various things who quite frankly were no where near where the incident took place. Desk jockeys who make claims for PTSD, who were never the battlefield, has become a common claim.

One good point I will bring up: denial due to income versus time of your service and or awards. Purple Heart & POW come to mind. Defacto you should get through the system regardless of your income for these categories, but many a VA clerk has gotten as far as your last years tax returns and not read the DD-214. I have gone to bat for more than a few Vets in this lane because I knew someone who knew someone who could get it corrected (FYI, I no longer have that connection so please don't send me all the cases of the world to get fixed). These folks get overlooked and shouldn't. I am not in the realm of people who work the claims side, so I cannot speculate what they go through on a day to day basis. But I know they never have down time, I also know the VA started shipping case load from the overloaded to less overloaded to balance out the load.

Response by SSG Trevor S. made Jan 12 at 2018 1:46 PM

SSG Trevor S. — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 13:46:47 -0500

Personally, I've been waiting since August 2015 since the last action on a compensation appeal. If this level of "customer service" is any indicator of the rest of the VA system I am thankful that I do not have to depend on the VA for any level of care.

Response by Sgt Tee Organ made Jan 12 at 2018 2:18 PM

Sgt Tee Organ — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 14:18:13 -0500

Yes the system is strained due in large part to mismanagement on the top levels, also the people in power are political hacks for the most part and they don't take adequate stock in their underlings. That system is not set up to win, it's set up to make politicians look good on paper. This is unfortunate.

Response by GySgt Bill McManus made Jan 14 at 2018 5:27 PM

GySgt Bill McManus — Sun, 14 Jan 2018 17:27:06 -0500

Some are some not