Nearly 900,000 veterans have pending health care requests, watchdog says. How is this OK and when do you think it will get fixed?

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 04:45:25 -0400

Nearly 900,000 military veterans have officially pending applications for health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs, the department's inspector general said Wednesday, but "serious" problems with enrollment data make it impossible to determine how many veterans were actively seeking VA health care.

About one-third of the 867,000 veterans with pending applications are likely deceased, the report says, adding that "data limitations" prevent investigators from determining how many now-deceased veterans applied for health care benefits or when. The applications go back nearly two decades, and officials said some applicants may have died years ago.

More than half the applications listed as pending as of last year do not have application dates, and investigators "could not reliably determine how many records were associated with actual applications for enrollment" in VA health care, the report said.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/09/03/nearly-00000-veterans-have-pending-health-care-requests-watchdog-says/

Response by PO1 John Miller made Sep 3 at 2015 4:52 AM

PO1 John Miller — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 04:52:21 -0400

Thanks for sharing.

Frigging VA. We know you have problems. What we want to hear is what you're doing to fix them.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Sep 3 at 2015 4:53 AM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 04:53:03 -0400

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/1f2ac8952beb4bf69a1a23bb02df2704/watchdog-900000-vets-have-pending-health-care-applications

Response by SGT Forrest Stewart made Sep 3 at 2015 7:12 AM

SGT Forrest Stewart — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 07:12:26 -0400

Go figure...

Response by Col Joseph Lenertz made Sep 3 at 2015 8:09 AM

Col Joseph Lenertz — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 08:09:10 -0400

It isn't OK, and it won't be fixed for years. I'm disgusted with the VA. There are great people working for the VA, yet it represents what is worst in large government bureaucracies. I have two disability claims open...one of them just passed three years. We veterans are not a large voting block, at 1%. Short of a new President who has served, I do not see this getting better.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 3 at 2015 8:11 AM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 08:11:57 -0400

That is very sad they are waiting for us to DIE so that they want have to pay our claims!!!

Response by SSgt Terry P. made Sep 3 at 2015 8:14 AM

SSgt Terry P. — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 08:14:51 -0400

It is definitely not "OK",maybe a new administration will do more than "investigate" and get some type of organized plan to relieve it.I am skeptical.

Response by LTC Bink Romanick made Sep 3 at 2015 8:20 AM

LTC Bink Romanick — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 08:20:30 -0400

1SG Private RallyPoint Member Not sure that I believe these numbers. Have you fact checked these?

Response by PO3 Steven Sherrill made Sep 3 at 2015 10:32 AM

PO3 Steven Sherrill — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 10:32:46 -0400

Sadly 1SG Private RallyPoint Member this won't get fixed until there is a complete and total revamp of the VA system from the top down.

Response by SSG Warren Swan made Sep 3 at 2015 11:28 AM

SSG Warren Swan — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 11:28:30 -0400

Sounds about right. I applied for CSRC with the Army and DFAS processes it in "short" (about 6months total time) order. Then it had to go to VA for them to do theirs....STILL WAITING 8 months later for their decision even though they with the Army and DFAS approved me.

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Sep 3 at 2015 11:33 AM

CPT Jack Durish — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 11:33:11 -0400

The first step, the very first step in fixing the VA problem is for someone to step up and take responsibility for it. However, don't expect that to happen under this Administration. Our Fearless Leader is infamous for ducking responsibility and like all leaders, he has set the tone for his subordinates. Yes, bureaucracies historically duck responsibility. That's why we need a Chief Administrative Officer (that's the President for those of you who don't understand the hierarchy in the District of Calamity) who will take responsibility. Thus, don't expect anything to happen until there is a change in Administration (and even then the outcome is doubtful given the state of American politics)...

Response by SGT Thomas Lucken made Sep 3 at 2015 8:21 PM

SGT Thomas Lucken — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 20:21:59 -0400

Enrolled for medical care wasn't a issue! My Disability Claim is another story, today makes exactly 18 months since I put my current claim in and I finally got my first of many C&P exams coming up on Sept 24th. Also, 18 months into the Claim and VA can not for m Service Medical Records?

By the way MSG Radar, love the Stetson! :-)

"Garry Owen"

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 4 at 2015 3:43 AM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 03:43:54 -0400

It'll get fixed when the backlog is cleared due to us not being in wars. Self-eliminating.

Response by SFC Andrew Miller made May 3 at 2016 10:43 AM

SFC Andrew Miller — Tue, 03 May 2016 10:43:44 -0400

I'm going to preface this by saying that I am not addressing quality of care or how long or short it takes to get an appointment. I'm also not addressing the enrollment offices in individual facilities that have their own backlog that has nothing to do with the overall VA process. I'm merely taking about the enrollment process as a whole. There are different things that have contributed to this list.

1) Every veteran who files a claim and has a comp and pen exam has an "application" created in the VA Health Care system. If they never complete a VA Form 10-10EZ, then their enrollment is never completed. The VA sends out the forms to any who fall into this category and receive about 10% back.

2) Many veterans who do submit the application either have something filled out incorrectly or did not provide proof of service or something else that requires additional information prior to their enrollment. The VA sends them an RFI for whatever is still needed. A lot of the time, the VA receives nothing in return. I meet with veterans all the time that say, "It is too much work, so I'm not going to bother." If the VA never receives the requested information, it stays pending.

3) What I deal with commonly are the veterans who wait until after retirement to apply and are looking to supplement their Medicare. I have had a few veterans die days after assisting them with applications for either health care, compensation, or pension. If I don't let the VA know, then no one else does.

I know they've identified the problem, but I don't know if they are working on a fix to number 1. Number 2 and 3 really fall back on the veterans, though. In addition, as I stated in the first paragraph, there are enrollment offices at some VAMCs who have their own internal issues and those are the real culprits who should have their feet held to the fire.

Also as an FYI, that picture is of a regional office when everyone's claims were still all paper files. Most files have been electronic for more than a few years now.

Response by MCPO Roger Collins made May 3 at 2016 10:54 AM

MCPO Roger Collins — Tue, 03 May 2016 10:54:09 -0400

How many of these claims would be adjudicated quickly, if they used the information available in the DD-214, rather than going through the entire investigation process? All my information was available from me in the form of MEB and reason for discharge (along with normal 20+ years) noted, some stamped as official copies. It is understandable that some vets do not apply in a timely manner and that the claim needs verification, but a simplification of the process would narrow down the time frame. I would like to see something to validate the nearly 1/3 likely deceased. If we know that we would remove them from the pending files, wouldn't we?