More "Double-talk" from VA Secretary Principi!

[Gimpy]

The VA Secretary has been involved in more DOUBLE-TALK; VA Secretary Principi, has been making the rounds claiming to have the VA
claims backlog under control, but as always this is just smoke and mirrors (See recent Washington Post article below wherein Principi
is saying the claims backlog is under control).

However, the GAO (General Accounting Office) has reported that much of this claims backlog clean-up is, and I quote:
"Officials at some of the regional offices we visited said they were having
difficulty reaching their production targets. Some offices were "cherry
picking, completing easier cases in order to meet production goals.
Meanwhile, older claims were not being worked."

(See page 10 of the report which you may download it as a pdf file from the GAO
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d02645t.pdf )


If your claim has been delayed for years, expect it to get more delays while the VA cherry picks the easiest cases to improve the figures; another
ENRON Cook-The-Books tactic. Anything but true reform.

Gimpy

####### Washington Post Article #####

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
##### END ####


Like I said before---if you want the TRUE picture---go to the GAO web site and dowload the file I've mentioned above.