JOB OPENING FOR MANAGER WITH MEDICAL ADMIN BACKGROUND
November 23, 2009 by Robert L. Hanafin · 4 Comments
Not only is this a Federal Job Opening, but this article is a follow-up to Brother Higgins post, Troubled V.A. Agency Will Get a New Chief and the comments in response to the resignation of Bush political appointee Patrick W. Dunne, Under Secretary For Benefits, Veterans Benefits Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs.
We have come to the realization that the Obama Administration most likely will recruits yet another UNQUALIFIED CANDIDATE for this plaqued bureaucracy who had neither a medical degress background as in MD nor even a Medical Administrative background that requires at a miminum a PhD plus half decent experience dealing with claims of anykind, but preferably Veterans claims.
It is now up to the collective WE to put pressure on both Congress and the Administration to not find and hire a recruit that is the most politically feasible and charming, but QUALIFIED to fix the VA system facing a brick wall of opposition and foot dragging from within the VA itself.
That said, if Congress and the administration can find someone withing the VA upper management (GOOD LUCK) who is attuned to being more VETERAN SAVING and a lot less COST SAVING, that would make the best candidate.
I personally know of at least one Veterans and Military Family advocate who is qualified to manage a broken VA bureaucracy despite not having a medical degree, his administration of Fisher House is all I need to know, if he would only take the job. I also know that he would be more interested in VET SAVING than COST SAVING at the VA. I nominate without consultation with anyone Medal of Honor recipient Paul “Buddy” Bucha. If need be let’s draft Buddy for the job.
ROBERT L. HANAFIN
Major, U.S. Air Force-Retired
GS-14, U.S. Civil Service-Retired
Veterans Today News Network &
Our Troops News Ladder
Regardless, if the recruit is long time Veteran and Military Family activists or if he/she comes from inside the VA, one thing is perfectly clear that nominee must place the care and concern for all America’s Veterans, including future Veterans and our families above all else, above cost savings, above political oriention, above political party, and so on. That Under Secretary must be first a Veterans’ advocate, secondly a fair and honest manager, and their lowest qualification need be a politician.
Feedback we get at Veterans Today is that America’s Veterans are way past time having UNQUALIFIED political appointees who care more about partisan party loyalities and COST SAVINGS than the Veterans he/she is suppose to be serving.
I humbly nominated Paul Buddy Bucha for this job because I personally know that Buddy fills every square of the below job description and opening. In fact, in all honestly Brother Bucha does not share all of my aggressive political views nor should he or any other QUALIFIED candidate for this appointment, which in my eyes makes him an even more qualified candidate.
If you fit the bill or know of someone who does by all means encourage them to apply for the job via Congressional and administration contacts. Once again political affiliation must be left outside the gates of every VA facility nation-wide or mark my words the collective WE will NEVER fix the VA.
Frankly, this story is not about Paul Buddy Bucha, in fact it is not even about Medal of Honor recipients, it is about demanding a senior manager at VA who is more into saving Veterans than saving money at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Thus, I will say no more on nominating or drafting Paul Bucha for the job, the ball is in the Obama administration’s courts.
Department of Veterans Affairs, Under Secretary for Benefits
Department/Agency: Department of Veterans Affairs
Position: Under Secretary for Benefits
Executive Schedule: Executive Level III – Presidential Appointment with Senate Confirmation
[Note: I may stand corrected, but I believe Executive Level III would amount to something like a Senior Executive Service Level III or SES 3, equivalent in the Armed Forces to a Major or Four Star General. VT. Ed]
Responsibilities: Administer compensation, pension, education, home loan, vocational rehabilitation and life insurance benefits for veterans
- Manage a $45 billion budget and staff of 15,000, with Veterans Benefits Administration offices in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines
- Run the Montgomery GI Bill educational program and VA home loan guarantees
[Sidenote, I believe that VT and other Veterans Activists organizations, including VSOs must demand equity in the GI Bill for all America's Veterans not only those who Uncle Sam needs to recruit for Iraq and Afghanistan. In light of the 21st Century GI Bill young Veterans receive today another look needs to be taken at the Montgomery GI Bill and other water downed educational programs to compare equity with the new GI Bill championed by Senator Jim Webb. We believe that Veterans who fell through the cracks between the Vietnam Era GI Bill and 21st Century GI Bill have been short changed in left behind in our zeal to recruit 21st Century troops and veterans for war. VT.Ed]
- Provide regular benefits and help to 4 million veterans and survivors
Key Competencies and Preferred Qualifications:
- Military service
- High-level executive experience in public or private sector
- Understanding of health and welfare benefits administration
[Note: A track record of all previous high-level executives who have held this position confirms that precious few have met the third qualification above that frankly must be key instead of nice to have: UNDERSTANDING OF HEALTH AND WELFARE BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION. That said, the collective we as Veterans should take issue with the emphasis placed on WELFARE and change that qualification to: Understanding of health and earned Veterans benefits administration (not WELFARE or anyother socialized medical terminology) VT. Ed.]
Insight:
On the organization chart for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the two largest portfolios are held by the Under Secretary for Health, who runs all the VA hospitals and clinics, and the Under Secretary for Benefits, who administers all the major benefit programs outside the health arena, including pension and disability benefits, GI Bill benefits for college, home loan guarantees, life insurance and more. It is a job that requires someone with extensive experience managing complex programs in military or civilian life.
President George W. Bush chose retired Navy admirals to tackle the job of leading the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) during his two terms. [Note: to the point neither of these political appointees had any "Understanding of health and welfare benefits administration," let's face it fellow Veterans regardless of our own political orientations, these Admirals were selected for three things and three qualities only:
1. They both had military service beyond a doubt, but being a career military retiree regardless of rank does not make one sensitive to the needs of the average Veteran. The tendency to look down upon Veterans as a welfare system is greater among military retirees. Hell, the higher the rank the more a military retiree (or Lifer if I may) cannot relate to the vast majority of US Veterans.
2. They both had no doubt high-level executive experience in public or private sector or they never would have made Admiral.
3. However, the priority reason they were selected was for their partisan political orientation and views that closely fit with the party controlling Congress and administration appointing them. THIS IS WHAT NEEDS TO BE FIXED AND REGARDLESS OF PARTY. If Obama appoints someone based on PC my fellow Veterans PC is not in our better interests - a passion for saving Veterans damn the cost savings is what we need in the individual nominated and selected for this position - political views be damned!
The Under Secretary and the VBA serve 4 million veterans, their families and survivors. [Sadly that is what 4 million out of how many total Veterans by US Census? Apolgists for a politicized VA will say the vast majority of Vets don't need the charity or welfare hand outs of the VA, but no, no, no the vast majority of America's Veterans are administratively, bureaucratically, and sociologically shut out of the VA system and the collective WE have left them behind.
Most of its $42 billion budget is spent on benefits, including monthly payments for disabled veterans, pensions for low-income veterans who served in wartime, educational programs (veterans get three years of help with college tuition and other training costs, and have 10 years after leaving military service to use their entitlement),
[Note: this 10 year limit after leaving the Armed Forces also needs to have another look for equity with the 21st century GI Bill. I'm talking about Vietnam Veterans who for various reasons many beyond their control such as illness or wrong choices could not take advantage of their GI Bill. Now when they are in their prime or nearing retirement, job losses and an economic downturn does not limit itself to harming the employment chances or American Dream for Veterans under the age of 50, but ALL America's Veterans. Simply put there should be NO TIME LIMITS on when a Veteran can use OUR EARNED BENEFITS none at all. VT. Ed]
The 42 billion also includes the VA’s partial guarantee of home loans (allowing many veterans to take out mortgages without a down payment), group life insurance at low cost, and vocational rehabilitation.
[As evident but the recent bill submitted to the Senate by Senator Daniel K. Akaka, the Veterans Rehabilitation and Training Improvements Act of 2009, vocational rehabilitation is another area that the incoming Under Secretary must get equity for us Veterans. Yes, despite our passionate support for Jim Webb's 21st Century GI Bill when it comes to VR&E programs we have once again left too many elder Veterans behind in our zeal to ensure wartime Veterans are fairly treated and military recruitment is sustained. Having sufficient bodies to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan must not be on the backs of or leaving behind those Veterans who have gone before. We have a very sad tradition in America of pitting one generation of Veterans against another that must end now! VT.Ed]
The new generation of service men and women returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has tested the system. Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) led the congressional effort to enhance benefits for these newest veterans. He spearheaded the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act to provide World War II-level education benefits. "After six and a half years of service, our nation’s men and women in uniform deserve a GI Bill that rewards their service and invests in their future," Webb argued. "I see the educational benefits in this bill as crucial to a service member’s readjustment to civilian life and as a cost of war that should receive the same priority that funding the war has received the last five years."
[However, Senator Webb's gallant and thoughful efforts hopefully and unintentionally left another generation or two of Veterans behind by not grand-fathering this new GI Bill that favors younger Veterans over older Vets. Another look at the Post-9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act and programs needs to be taken so that such insults as the water downed Montgomery GI Bill that our troops had to pay into, plus inequity between current VR& E programs are addressed and solutions found that favor ALL AMERICA'S VETERANS!
Patrick Dunne, who became under secretary for benefits in October 2008 after two years as the VBA's policy and planning chief, opposed and resisted the 21st Century GI Bill, and he warned that the new GI Bill will be extremely complex to administer. Payments, which go both to individual students and to institutions, depend on how much each state charges for public tuition and can even vary by zip code. The VA had proposed outsourcing the task to a private contractor, but a lack of bids forced the VA to run the program in-house. Now, another Bush appointee who place COST SAVINGS over VETERANS SAVING is no more. However, the point remains that regardless which administration nominates a candidate for Admiral Dunne's job, and what party in Congress controls the selection process, that candidate must fill that last criteria in his/her job description that Congress and Presidents ignore in lieu of political views. The candidate must have an understanding of health and EARNED benefits administration
While expanding benefits is one priority, streamlining the paperwork to apply for and claim benefits is another top goal. The VA's regional benefits offices recently found themselves facing sharp scrutiny for improper processing of veterans' paperwork. "The issue first surfaced when audits by the VA's Office of Inspector General found records erroneously placed in shredder bins in the VA office in Detroit," according to U.S. News and World Report. Subsequent reviews found the problems were not confined to the Detroit office.
Dunne promised to retrain employees and require a two-person review of documents destined for the shredder. "We can't tolerate even one veteran's piece of paper being missing," he said. "We're taking action to make sure it doesn't happen again."
[Note: We contend that if Admiral Dunne had been qualified for the job in the first place, he would have been able to implement the rhetoric above instead of being forced to resign most likely because he could not deliver on ensuring shredding would not happen again. VT. Ed]
The next under secretary for benefits must be a forceful advocate for Veterans new and old. Managing a simplified, transparent claims process and supporting policies to enhance veterans’ benefits are critical tasks at a time when more men and women are returning from combat zones.
ROBERT L. HANAFIN
Major, U.S. Air Force-Retired
Editorial Board
Veterans Today News Network &
Our Troops News Ladder
As acting under secretary, Admiral Dunne and Under Secretary for Health Michael Kussman, M.D., appeared before the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs on June 4, 2008, to answer Senators’ questions about how well the VA was handling those suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD).
The hearing, called by Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI), the chairman, focused on both medical treatment and compensation issues.
"The number of troops suffering from PTSD continues to mount. The numbers are staggering," said Akaka, citing a recent RAND study that nearly one in five Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are exhibiting symptoms of PTSD or major depression. Akaka raised concerns about an email sent by a lower-level VA manager "who appears to have linked the increase in veterans seeking compensation for PTSD with a desire to assign a lesser diagnosis of adjustment disorder, an action that alarmed many veterans and others," he said. "One question that was raised repeatedly about this email was, ‘Why would a clinician be so concerned about the compensation rolls?’" He also expressed alarm about another email by a VA official "that appeared to deliberately conceal data on suicides…. As an oversight body, we must know whether the actions of these VA employees point to a systemic indifference to invisible wounds." Akaka added, "We must ensure that veterans receive compensation for diseases or conditions related to their military service. Indeed, compensation is the gateway to many critical VA benefits, such as health care and vocational rehabilitation."
Dunne told the Senate panel that, "The number of veterans submitting claims for PTSD has grown dramatically," from 120,000 in 1999 to 329,000 today. Most are veterans from the Vietnam era, but their ranks include 59,000 from the Gulf War era and 37,460 from the current wars.
"When evidence for combat status is not readily apparent or where the claimed stressor is not directly related to combat, VBA is obligated to search for evidence to corroborate the combat status or the non-combat stressor before the claim can go forward," said Dunne. This can include additional military records and "buddy statements" of individuals who served with the veteran. "In addition, VBA personnel have access to thousands of declassified military unit reports and histories from all periods of war on the Compensation and Pension Service Intranet website," Dunne testified. "These reports and histories document unit combat actions and can serve to corroborate a stressor when the veteran’s records show assignment to a particular unit at the time covered in the report or history.
When VBA personnel cannot find sufficient credible evidence to support a claimed stressor, the case information is forwarded to the Army’s Joint Services Records Research Center for further research. The veteran is "given the benefit of doubt" in all cases where there is an approximate balance of evidence for and against occurrence" of the stress that may have caused the problem, he said.
These difficult benefit judgments will go on for years, facing not just President-elect Obama, Veterans Affairs Secretary-designate Eric Shinseki and whoever is chosen as the next under secretary for benefits, but also their successors in future administrations. Obama, announcing the appointment of Shinseki (a retired four-star Army general and a wounded Vietnam veteran) in an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, said, "When I reflect on the sacrifices that have been made by our veterans and I think about how so many veterans around the country are struggling even more than those who have served — higher unemployment rates, higher homeless rates, higher substance-abuse rates, medical care that is inadequate — it breaks my heart, and I think that General Shinseki is exactly the right person who is going to be able to make sure that we honor our troops when they come home."
The next under secretary for benefits must be a forceful advocate for veterans new and old. Managing a simplified, transparent claims process and supporting policies to enhance veterans’ benefits are critical tasks at a time when more men and women are returning from combat zones.
Key Relationships – Within the Department or Agency:
Deputy Secretary
Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration
Key Relationships – Within the Government:
Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, U.S. Department of Defense
Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner, Social Security Administration
Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Administrator,Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, HHS
Key Relationships – Outside the Government:
Veterans Service Organizations
State Veterans Affairs Offices
Nomination Referred to:
Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs
Current Position Profile:
1. Patrick W. Dunne, M.S. (Confirmed 2008) Retired Navy rear admiral. Served as assistant secretary for policy and planning from 2006 to 2008. Former president of the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA. Commanded USS Baltimore and USS Frank Cable.
Recent Position Profiles:
2.Daniel L. Cooper, M.A. (2002 – 2008). Retired Navy vice admiral. Longest serving under secretary for benefits. Thirty-three year naval career. Former submarine fleet commander, top budget officer for Navy and assistant chief of Naval Operations for undersea warfare. Former vice president and general manager of nuclear services at Gilbert Commonwealth Inc.
3. Joseph Thompson, M.PA. (1997 – 2002). Career VA civil servant. Director of New York regional office, where he began his career as a claims examiner. Air Force veteran who served in Vietnam.
National Academy of Public Administration
900 7th Street NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20001
Phone: (202) 347-3190 | Fax: (202) 393-0993
VSO Apologist Cover for Rear Adm. Patrick Dunne Who Opposed the Post 9/11 GI Bill
Since taking over the Veterans Benefits Association in October 2008, retired Rear Adm. Dunne has had his hands full with the generous new post-9/11 GI Bill. Although he may not stick around the current administration too much longer, his work on the education package has received strong reviews from vets. "People are fairly pleased that he’s staying in place as undersecretary of benefits," said Doug Vollmer, the associate executive director for government relations at the Paralyzed Veterans of America. "Every two weeks or so, [Dunne] has had either a teleconference or a face-to-face meeting with the [veterans service organizations] about the status of the implementation." Dunne, 59, was previously assistant secretary of policy and planning at Veterans Affairs and president of the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif. Born in Washington and raised in Troy, N.Y., Dunne graduated from the Naval Academy and has a master’s in mathematics from the Naval Postgraduate School.
Don’t think I would jump to the norm of conclusions on this: “”will recruit yet another UNQUALIFIED CANDIDATE for this plaqued bureaucracy”".
But it is a good idea to put out a few reminders and sending them to the right eyes. I’m not seeing what once was the regular DC game, for all agencies, happening now in the VA. I’ve been literally amazed at what’s been going on in the VA these last months, Especially in correcting what should have been already taken care of as the previous congresses and administration, under the same label but not ideology of, had ignored while beating the drums of war and occupation and rubber stamping the funding for. I’m not only seeing the actions and quickly trying to push the agency into the 21st century, where it already should have been technology wise, not playing the same game of catch up, which if it had already been correctly funded all these years would be running smoother and cheaper, I’m seeing, as your username suggests “indythinkers”, from Shinseki and those he’s bringing into his administration.
It seems for now at least the Politics and Political Networking have been replaced at least at the VA, lets hope it continues and becomes the norm, and then spreads to the other agencies. But trying to clean out the political hacks embedded from the previous extremely incompetent administration and slaker congresses is still going to be a huge task, they should get the message, stop throwing political crap into the works and start doing the jobs, Shape Up Or Ship Out!!
"It seems for now at least the Politics and Political Networking have been replaced at least at the VA, lets hope it continues and becomes the norm, and then spreads to the other agencies. But trying to clean out the political hacks embedded from the previous extremely incompetent administration and slaker congresses is still going to be a huge task, they should get the message, stop throwing political crap into the works and start doing the jobs, Shape Up Or Ship Out!"
Your comment above is the most reasonable yet still as you know what you say remains tied to politics.
That there are indythinkers coming into the VA could be undenable but this is based moreso on change of political regime than any systemic reform. I believe you realize that all the hard work done by Shinseki or anyone else to reform the VA and bring it into the 21 century kicking and screaming could be unraveled quickly by yet another change in political regime that places Veterans on even a lower list of things to do.
"Trying to clean out the political hacks embedded from the previous extremely incompetent administration and slaker congresses is still going to be a huge task."
Point well made here too and historically accurate. When Max Cleland was selected to be the youngest VA Administrator in the VAs short history, despite good and passionate intentions Cleland was not able to accomplish all expected of him by Vietnam Veteran activists back in the day due to the entrenchment of American Legion and VFW chronies then controlling the stagnation or the VA in favor of an older generation over our younger one.
That said, I’ve been receiving and reviewing feedback on the Post 9/11 GI Bill and I’m finding equity issues that favor younger Veterans over older Veterans because not only is it wartime per se, but also because Uncle Sam requires more cannon fodder for the war(s).
One comes to mind is in the realm of education. I’ve been reminded that there is a lack of equity between the older Veterans Rehabilitation and Training Act and the younger Post 9/11 GI Bill than again favors younger Vets, but in the long run harms all Veterans regardless of age unless coverage and compensation for both programs is balanced. More on that later as I do more research on it with Veterans advocates pushing for equity regardless of a Veterans age or war(s) we served in.
Point: is that I realize how hard it is to change the COST SAVINGS over VET SAVING attitude at the VA, but what concerns me is that fixing this goes far beyond cleaning house or a purge of VA employees at all levels with the COST SAVINGS attitude.
Example: Congressman Steve Buyer of Indiana, the God Father of Cost Savings at the VA and Lord of Veterans as Charity Cases is still on the House Veterans Affairs Committee and is returned to office in Indiana by Veterans who ironically feel this way until they need the VA due to job loss or income loss.
Reforms need to built into the systemic changes at the VA so that should Buyer once again become the Chair of the House Veterans Affairs Committee he and like thinkers tied to the pharmicutical and medical HMO industries desiring to see the VA outsourced into extinction cannot quickly or easily replace VETERAN SAVING once again with the Lord of Cost Savings in order to pay for future war(s).
Caution: If (no when) Obana is brow beat into sending more troops to Afghanistan (and he will be despite good intentions), his administration still needs to pay for that escalation. Where is the money going to come from once our debt to China runs out or they ask for payment of debt? It is going to come from the same place it has been off the backs of America’s Veterans.
Sorry but change in Regime from Republican to Democrat is change in degrees only, and most sadly that change is only temporary and based on political ideology and how the political pendulum swings.
That said, if Obama should be doomed to a one term Jimmy Carter Presidency then it is up to the collective we Veterans Activists to ensure he and his VA Secretary make as many Veteran Savings reforms before the COST CUTTERS return to power.
Bobby Hanafin
The Mustang Major
BRAVO for the article. We can say the same for Obama rather than Shinseki announcing
Dr. Robert (Randy) Petzel as new Under Secretary of Health for the VA. He has 35 years with the VA and no good background other than the good old boy network who has done the same thing for 35 years. It’s more of the same and tragic.Petzel for Top Doc at VA By Bob Brewin 10/13/09 [One Month Ago]
By default, it sure looks like Dr. Robert (Randy) Petzel, director of the Veterans Affairs Department’s Midwest Health Care Network, has all but landed the job as VA’s new undersecretary for health.
The department had eyed three candidates for the job, Petzel; St. Louis hospital executive William Schoenhard; and Dr. John R. Feussner, chairman of the Medicine Department at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.
As I reported on Oct. 2, VA tapped Schoenhard to serve as deputy undersecretary for health for operations and management, and on Oct. 9, Dr. John R. Feussner the only candidate outside the VA good old boy network sent VA Secretary Eric Shinseki a letter saying he was no longer interested in the top doc job.
In that letter, Feussner asked he not be considered for the job because during the past few years Veterans Health Administration management functions — such as information technology facilities planning and management and human resources — have become centralized in the secretary’s office.
Feussner told Shinseki he had concerns about this "apparent uncoupling of the authority and responsibility" at VHA and "there seems to be little reason for remaining active in the USH [under secretary of health] selection process."
That left VA insider Petzel the last man standing.
VT Editor’s comment/question: Readers what are your thoughts, (1) would bringing in a renowned physcian from outside the VA’s good ole boy network benefit the Department and moreso the Veterans that it serves? (2) Would decentralizing Veterans Health Administration functions such as information technology facilities, planning, and management, and human resources outside of the VA Secretaries office not only cut down on manning needs but provide autonomy to each VA region to control their own IT, planning, and human resources commitments?
Maybe Dr. Feussner was onto something when he expressed concern about "apparent uncoupling of the authority and responsibility" at VHA. Put another way Dr. Feussner’s (who apparently has no ties or loyalties to VA’s ole boy network) saw the apparent uncoupling of the authority and responsiblity of VHA having but one result – VHA gave up any and all aspects of ACCOUNTABILITY. Centralizing these functions at Washington, DC level places all accountablity of failure or success at VHA decentralized levels in the hands of VA officials in DC, who have consistently been in the DEFENSIVE mode for what two decades?
Solution: If Secretary Shinseki no shit understook where Dr. Feussner was coming from and was in a position to ensure Dr. Feussner DC Central Office backing and authority to run VHA anyway Dr. Feussner saw fit, General Shinseki could have worked harded to convince Dr. Feussner to take the job if at all possible. This is not to point fingers at Shinseki or anyone else but just to say that administration officials like Eric Shinseki need to work harder to get qualified people into upper management postions at the VA, especially those most reluctant to take the job.
Ironically, it is usually those most reluctant to take on the systemic problems at the VA who are most likely the most QUALIFIED to do so.
ROBERT L. HANAFIN
Major, U.S. Air Force-Retired