Will Allison Hickey's resignation improve benefit processing?

2015-10-16T18:07:38-04:00

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story/veterans/2015/10/16/va-benefits-hickey-resigns/74063888/

VA benefits chief Allison Hickey resigns

VA benefits chief Allison Hickey, arguably the most polarizing figure in the VA leadership, has stepped down amid both praise and criticism.

Response by SFC Wade W. made Oct 16 at 2015 6:10 PM

2015-10-16T18:10:11-04:00

The problem is systemic. The whole VA administration is at fault. Not one person.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 16 at 2015 6:11 PM

2015-10-16T18:11:01-04:00

Hopefully this helps.

Response by SSgt Alex Robinson made Oct 16 at 2015 6:33 PM

2015-10-16T18:33:02-04:00

The problem is the system. Not any single person

Response by 1stSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 16 at 2015 7:09 PM

2015-10-16T19:09:02-04:00

I'm having a tough time throwing her under the bus for what has been a systemic failure for a very long time dating back to pre-Obama.

Response by Capt Mark Strobl made Oct 16 at 2015 7:16 PM

2015-10-16T19:16:08-04:00

She'll simply be replaced by another bureaucrat... unfortunately.

Response by SGT Tracey "Tra" Cooper-Harris made Oct 17 at 2015 12:39 PM

2015-10-17T12:39:28-04:00

Right now, the VBA is reporting that it has made significant progress in decreasing the claims backlog. But the amount of appeals has gone up exponentially. It's just shifting one pile into another, and the problem isn't fixed. I saw this with my last claim in 2010 where my attorney informed the VA that we needed more time to present evidence (mind you, this evidence is what the VHA lost & had to obtain new samples and paperwork for). THE VBA ignored that request and denied my claim for lack of evidence.

A year later, this was corrected and my claim was approved. But since this was not the original claim, it was shown as a decision was provided in 8 months.

Make the system for filing claims more user friendly, have the VBA actually READ the information and correspondence provided, and hire more employees who are trained to know what is needed for making those decisions. Having these employees work mandatory Saturdays 2-3 times a month in addition to their 40hr work week and focus on quantity instead of quality is just going to burn folks out and leave less people to decide claims.