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VA Develops New Scheme to Defraud Veterans
VA Finds New Way to Deny Disabled Veterans
by RL Anchors, OpEdNews
Some might remember the last tactic the VA used in their fight not to pay benefits claims: the second signature required to approve a PTSD claim. (Although no second signature was required if they denied your claim!)
Since that process was brought to light and supposedly scrapped by the VA they had to develop a new scheme to defraud veterans. Now multiple reviews are required against claims that are 8 years old (or older) or claims which if paid would result in a lump payment of over $250,000.
Isn’t it ironic that if the VA did its job correctly there wouldn’t be any claims that old or that would require a lump sum payout of $250,000. (Can someone remind me of why top VA personnel got bonuses of up to $33,000?)
However, it apparently wasn’t sufficient to make these vets wait 8 years for a VA Regional Office to award the claim but now the claim will have to have to be signed off on another 3 times…
Here’s a little look at the new scam:
The Fast Letter actually proscribes three levels of review for these EEDs and awards over $250,000. First, the rating officer makes a decision. If the decision involves a grant of an effective date ‘retroactive eight or more years"’or results in a lump-sum payment of $250,000 or more, then it will be reviewed by the ‘Post-Determination team’ at the RO. Then it will be reviewed by the RO’s Veterans Service Center Manager and finally by the C&P Service in Washington. At any stage of the review process the original decision could be changed.
So if the first rater find’s that he/she does have a conscious after all, and finally approves the claim then the VA now has 3 more chances to shoot the claim down. This is the moral equivalent of a DA taking someone to court multiple times until they get the verdict they like.
Can someone please tell me how anyone can do this and still be able to sleep at night?
If there are claims over 8 years old – shouldn’t those be the claims that are "fast tracked" instead of creating even further delays?
Oh, wait a minute that’s right. If a veteran dies before the claim is resolved the spouse is only entitled to 2 years worth of payments owed to the deceased vet (if he/she qualifies). That’s a saving’s to the VA of roughly $180,000 per dead vet. You can bet the bean counters in Washington D.C. must be partying over this. They finally discovered the "efficiencies" that they claimed would lower the cost to the government when creating the 2006 VA budget.
Considering Admiral Cooper testified before Congress that most of the 400,000+ claims backlog was not "new" claims that means most are in some stage of the appeals process.
So the question becomes: How many of these 400,000 cases will get automatically thrown into this ungodly process and how many more vets will die while waiting?
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Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=2495
Posted by Veterans Today on Oct 15 2007, With 0 Reads, Filed under Vet News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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Now I know the real reason why the V A is dragging their feet in approving my claim for Lymphoma cancer related to agent orange.
Only tow years compensation to my spouse.. That is a box of Tom cat droppings.
Daniel
After the inquiries I have made regarding my dav husband and I, it seems the VA gives very little to the spouse for anything. I was told the comp is for the vet. My husband is 100% and the va gives me less than 200.00 a month comp. Thats absurd to me. I am his full time caregiver. I feel spouses should have their separate comp.
I CAMEDOWN WITH DIABETES TYPE 2 IN 1973, ORAL MEDICATION UNTIL 1975 ADMITTED TO VA HOSPITAL AS ADULT ONSET TYPE 2 DIABETES OUT PATIENT CARE FOR ABOUT A YEAR INSULIN AND THE NORMAL ROUTINE. TOLD I WOULD HAVE TO RETURN TO PRIVATE DOCTOR AS VA WOULD NO OLONGER CARE FOR ME.
MARCH 2001 FILED CLAIM FOR COMPENSATION DUE3 TO EXPOSURE TO AGENT ORANGE. DENIED, REMANDED IN 2005, STILL WAITING MAY 2009.
TWO YEARS COMP FOR MY SPOUSE WOULD SURE BEAT 34 YEARS BACK PAY FOR 40% DISABILITY.
ROY
Please read the U.S. court of appeals for the Federal Circuit 2008-2076 ORDER OF THE PURPLE HEART AND THE NATIONAL VETERANS LEGAL SERVICES PROGRAM v. SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. This case was decided September 10, 2009 and it threw out V.A.’s secret rules on awards which were over $250,000 or where the effective date of the award was more than 8 years ago. These rules had permitted the Compensation and Pension Director to review these awards and reduce the award without the knowledge of the claimant or the claimant’s representative. This was a crooky, creepy practice that allowed V.A. to cheat veterans and their families. Claimants with the V.A. leave their Constitutional rights to due process at the door when they enter V.A.