More lies & deception from VA Secretary Principi

[Gimpy]

Below is a Congressional press release stating that the VA Secretary
and VA have been pulling ENRON cook-
the-books accounting. The VA has mislead News media, in saying that
the Claims backlog was reduced by
more than 200,000 claims; and later admitting the true figures are
about 12,000
claims (as of June 2002). See Press Release below (over reported by
about 188,000 claims).

Also notice that just days before the truth coming out on the backlog
of claims going nowhere, the VA received
an award for honesty, see:
http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/Pres...rnet.cfm?id=458

VA Secretary Principi in an interview with the Associated Press claimed
that the claims backlog had been
reduced by more than 200,000 claims (from 600,000 down to 394,000), and
the TIGER teams had decided
28,000 older veterans claims. (see associated press report below the
Congressional press release).

This shows how much the Bush/Principi administration cares about truth
and honesty in reporting. Only 12,000
of the backlog claims had been decided and yet the Administration is
claiming 28,000 older veterans
backlogged claims are decided.

##### START #####

NEWS FROM.

CONGRESSMAN LANE EVANS
RANKING DEMOCRATIC MEMBER
COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FOR RELEASE: June 7, 2002

VA ACKNOWLEDGES CLAIMS BACKLOG REDUCTION REPORT GROSSLY INACCURATE

EVANS URGES COMPLIANCE WITH LAW MANDATING EXPEDITED TREATMENT OF
REMANDED VA
CLAIMS

Washington, DC -- Congressman Lane Evans, the senior Democratic member
of the House Committee on
Veterans Affairs, who had criticized
the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for releasing inaccurate
numbers concerning the extent of the VA's
reduction in the backlog of
pending claims welcomed VA's acknowledgement that the widely reported
numbers are incorrect. Although VA
appears to have turned the
corner in slowly reducing the pending backlog, the widely reported
"200,000" claims reduction was grossly
overstated. As VA officials testifying
before the Subcommittee on Benefits of the House Committee on Veterans
Affairs acknowledged, the
reduction is closer to 12,000 than the
previously reported 200,000.

The Subcommittee also heard testimony from a number of witnesses who
raised concerns that VA regional
offices may be paying more
attention to meeting office quotas than providing quality services to
veterans. Evans, a Vietnam era veteran
has consistently urged VA to "get it
right the first time." He was particularly disturbed to hear reports
that remanded claims which are required by
law to receive "expedited
treatment" are being ignored or neglected in order to meet production
quotas. Evans had previously written to
Secretary Principi concerning the
13,805 claims which had been in remand status for over 17 months as of
February 27, 2002.

Admiral Cooper, VA's Under Secretary for Benefits has been quoted as
saying, "you get what you inspect, not
what you expect." Evans urged
the Secretary to start inspecting regional offices handling of remanded
claims.

press release located at:
http://veterans.house.gov/democrati...-7-02claims.htm

****************

Below is the AP report that was filled with the LIES & DECEPTION from Secretary Principi.

##### Associated Press Report #####

Veterans Affairs Department Takes Aim at Backlog of Claims
Agency's Drive Reduces Number by More Than 200,000

By Laurie Kellman

Associated Press
Monday, May 27, 2002; Page A21

The Department of Veterans Affairs has doubled the number of claims it
decides each month and reduced a
mountainous backlog of benefit requests dating back years, Secretary
Anthony J. Principi said.

That backlog generated widespread concern on Capitol Hill and among
veterans groups as it ballooned during
the 1990s. But it has been cut from 600,000 to 394,000 claims in recent
months.

"We decided to really declare war on that backlog and took some rather
bold steps to address it," Principi said
in an interview. "We're really getting this backlog under control, and
we did it through sheer focus and
discipline, performance measurements and production goals."

VA claims managers now resolve about 70,000 claims a month, more than
double last year's monthly rate of
29,000, he said.

In addition, the department has established a "tiger team" of managers
in Cleveland. It ruled on claims for
about 28,000 veterans over the age of 70 who had waited more than a
year for an answer, he said.

Veterans hailed Principi's commitment to the issue but said it remains
to be seen whether the agency is
properly deciding claims.

"We have seen the figures where VA has been increasing their
production. I believe Secretary Principi is
seriously concerned about the state of the VA backlog and the
adjudication process," said Joe Violante,
national legislative director for Disabled American Veterans.

"Our concern, however, is that while they are increasing their
production, if they are not getting them right the
first time they are no better off than if they weren't processing those
cases," he said.

Principi said he did not have exact figures, but added that most of the
processed claims approve benefits for
the veterans requesting them.

"It's a case study that things can, in fact, turn around -- not only in
private-sector corporations but in
government bureaucracy as well," said Principi, a U.S. Naval Academy
graduate and Vietnam War veteran.

The VA, the second-largest government agency with 220,000 people, has
been besieged with caseload
problems. Last year, Congress blasted the department for training
problems that resulted in inaccurate
decisions on 4 of every 10 claims for veterans' disability payments.

Newly confirmed by the Senate last year, Principi told Congress and the
General Accounting Office, its
investigative branch, that fixing those problems would be one of his
top priorities.

He implemented GAO recommendations to set up a system to track the
outcome of video conferencing and
other state-of-the-art training methods.

Looking forward, Principi said he has set up "triage" teams in various
regions -- Texas, Florida, Washington, for
example -- to handle massive amounts of claims and prevent future
backlogs.

He said the department is not favoring speed over accuracy.

"It's not that we're just rushing these decisions and forgetting about
the quality aspect of it," Principi said.
"We've focused on both time lines and quality."

? 2002 The Washington Post Company

***********************

Now we REALLY see what type of individual Principi is! This guy is WORSE than all his predecesors ever THOUGHT of being!

##### END #####

[judyvillecco]

This is real scarey! I know of several VA cases here in Florida that are being denied on first review all with pat answers. Sound familiar? They all are PTSD claims. One person was getting benefits and was suicidal and they reduced services to once a month against doctors orders with no explaination!

[theoddz]

I think that punctuates the VA claims process as it continues to take a lot of heat from Congress and the vet groups. The backlogs have been so tremendous that these adjudicators are now rubber stamping ("rejected") a lot of the claims to save time so that they will get their "quota" and be able to pat themselves on the back for such "timely" performance. Oh, and did I mention that it is likely/probable that some VA supervisor/administrator will be getting a hefty BONUS for such "outstanding performace in service to our nation's veterans".

The system makes me sick. It needs an overhaul.

Peace.

[dsrabvrocpro]

From my perspective (county veterans services office in Oregon), most of our cases that have been sent from the Portland VA Regional Office to the "Secretary's Tiger Team" have been disallowed. The decision makers on the Tiger Team are more conservative than their counterparts in Portland, and Portland has the reputation of being a conservative office.

[bbeil]

When dealing with the VA-document,document,document everything and every incident while getting C&P exam or getting ready for appeal or anything else regarding your case. Do not send mail without it being registered with return receipt required, do not send anything you don't keep a copy of. Expect and prepare for ineffiency and apathetic response to your needs and when you receive -document , document, document.
In most cases there is someone who cares about you and your claim or situation , you will need everything in writting and that will make the difference in your case everytime.

[theoddz]

If you have private health insurance, you may want to get a statement of your condition by a private physician. I did this on 2 separate occasions and I'm really convinced that this is what finally got me my 100%+, permanent and total. Title 38 specifically says that the VA has to take into consideration the opinions of your private physicians.

The best tactic to take, in my opinion, is to get as much information and as many statements (in writing and on official letterheads) from as many physicians as you can get!! Push the VA into a corner where they cannot possibly deny you.

Good luck!!!

Peace.