I thank everyone who has sent me a Veterans Day "Comment" (words, graphics, etc.), as I'm a vet and I believe that on this day (and on all days), we should give pause to reflect on the service and sacrifices made by our veterans. Veterans should be honored and treated with dignity, propriety, and respect. Unfortunately, that's not the case in our great country. Please read a headline (today) story below ... but first, allow me to share an experience I had with the Veterans Administration only a couple days ago (Sunday).
Sunday (Nov. 9, 2008) I called the VA's Southern California 24 hr "Telecare" line (877-252-4866) for a good friend, a veteran who is 75 years old. He did not require "emergency" attention, but he needed to make an "appointment" and get urgent medical advice. He had tried several times to call, but he was too sick (with ulcerative colitis - he has had Cancers to his colon, throat and brain, also) and too weak to remain on telephone "hold" for a long time. I told him that I would call for him from my house. I had his name and "last-4 of his Social Security number). I was on hold for over a half hour ... and when a woman finally answered the call, I told her that I had waited a long time. I had expected a reception person to answer my call, take information and have a nurse call back, but my call was actually answered by a nurse. This nurse was a really friendly, caring and concerned person. She said she was sorry it took so long to answer, but she was the ONLY person answering .... for 5 VA hospitals. She told me that several days prior, the (regional) VA phone system broke down, and she was returning urgent calls to veterans with her own cell phone. Something is shamefully wrong with this picture? It's disgraceful, and unacceptable. I've dealt with the VA for 40 years after my Army discharge, and have had a staggering number of horrific personal experiences, but have heard of many, many more from other vets. The VA is a mess. If enlistees knew the kind of treatment and service they can expect when (or if) they ever make it through the military and truly needed care ... I doubt they'd enlist. Do some veterans get good service from the VA? Yes, some do, but not nearly enough. I am proactive, and a member of several veterans groups (including VVA). If you are truly interested in our veterans, I encourage you to advocate for their fair treatment. I wrote to 5 major news media yesterday, and I continue to fight for veterans rights. Happy Veterans Day!!
John
Veterans groups sue VA over claims delays
seattlepi.com - November 11, 2008
Two powerful veterans groups that span generations, the Vietnam Veterans of America and the more recent Veterans of Modern Warfare, announced Monday that they are suing the Department of Veterans Affairs over "unacceptable delays" in veterans claims.
The lawsuit demands that the VA provide an initial decision on every veteran's claim for disability benefits within 90 days and resolve appeals within 180 days, and seeks relief to provide a lifeline of interim benefits if the VA delays last beyond the limit.
According to a VMA press statement, "The VA acknowledges that it takes an average of at least six months to reach an initial decision on an average benefits claim; the actual delay is closer to a year. Appeals of these initial decisions, which are reversed more than 50 percent of the time, take, on average, more than four years,with some stretching 10 years or more. In contrast, private healthcare plans - which process more than 30 billion claims a year - process claims and related appeals in less than three months."
The VVA, whose motto is "never again will one generation of veterans abandon another," adopted the VMW as their legacy group. VMW focuses upon helping veterans who have served since the 1991 Persian Gulf War, including Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.
"We're hoping or a lot of success with this lawsuit," said VMW president Julie Mock, of Woodinville north of Seattle.
Mock, a 1991 Gulf War veteran who developed service-connected multiple sclerosis, said "we have many, many Gulf War veterans who still have not been service-connected for their illnesses. They have been waiting all this time and fighting the system for 16 years for illnesses that are clearly Gulf War related."
Mock said she also hopes to convince the Obama administration to name a woman veteran to head the Department of Veterans Affairs, which would be a first, as women have served in increasingly numbers. In keeping with the VVA motto, she said the growing needs of women veterans cannot be abandoned but must be included more in VA considerations.
By the way, if there is any confusion over differing VMW Web sites, the organization is in the process of updating and changing its online page from www.modernveterans.com to www.vmwusa.org.
******** *
Tags: Veterans Veterans-Groups VA Sue Lawsuit Claims VA-Delays
Favorites
Digg
Del.icio.us
Furl
Magnolia
StumbleUpon
Google
Yahoo MyWeb
by 
