VA makes little headway in fight to shorten waits for care

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By DAVID B. CARUSO

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A year after Americans recoiled at new revelations that sick veterans were getting sicker while languishing on waiting lists — and months after the Department of Veterans Affairs instituted major reforms — government data shows that the number of patients facing long waits at VA facilities has not dropped at all.

No one expected that the VA mess could be fixed overnight. But The Associated Press has found that since the summer, the number of medical appointments delayed 30 to 90 days has largely stayed flat. The number of appointments that take longer than 90 days to complete has nearly doubled.

Nearly 894,000 appointments completed at VA medical facilities from Aug. 1 to Feb. 28 failed to meet the health system's timeliness goal, which calls for patients to be seen within 30 days.

That means roughly one in 36 patient visits involved a delay of at least a month. Nearly 232,000 of those appointments involved a delay of longer than 60 days.

FULL story at link.



In this March 13, 2015 photo, U.S. Marine Corps veteran Rosie Noel holds a box containing mementos from her service in her home in Sneads Ferry, N.C. Noel, a retired Marine gunnery sergeant, was awarded the Purple Heart in Iraq after rocket shrapnel slashed open her cheek and broke her jaw. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20150409/us--veterans-health_care-abridged-7805216bdb.html

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Stop spending so much and war and spend it on the VET's!!!

[MannyGoldstein]

1. But it's being done by a private-sector guy

Because the government hack couldn't hack it.

(What a tragedy this all is for our veterans!)

[ananda]

2. Well, that's a mercy...

At least somebody is getting something out of it.

[jtuck004]

3. The military ought to take a day to protest like the French - see if that motivates some change. n/t

[Plucketeer]

4. After 50 years have passed

I recently initiated a quest to claim some benefits regarding some things I suffered in Vietnam. When I applied for these bennies at the beginning of 2015, I was told to expect a 12-to-18 month wait for a resolution. Yet last week, I got my first check. Having been prepped for low expectations, I was floored to see anything, let alone a check! There's still a few additional facets of my claims that haven't been addressed, but they've sent me to a contract medical firm to expedite things. Various examinations are what's involved here - no surgery or rehabilitation work is involved, so I'm in and out of each examination in an hour or less.
I know my experience with the VA is just one - and a fairly easy one at that. So while I'm not gonna say this institution is on the mend already - I do feel like I was (overall) treated promptly and properly. My only regret is not having filed a claim 30 years ago. I had legitimate reason to do so, but didn't. I had that "I ain't no cripple." attitude. And filing a claim would have been tantamount to saying I was such. They only "reward" you back to the time you filed a claim - this even tho I have medical records to prove that I've had my condition(s) for decades.
I WILL say.... along the way to my first bit of compensation, I had a question about some correspondence I got from the VA. I called the number of a "Help Line" that shown on that letter. The ignorant, insensitive RUBE that answered my call was ASTONISHINGLY rude to me - and I have thick skin. I could elaborate about how our conversation went, but I don't feel like doing the keystrokes over it. Suffice it to say, when the call was done, I felt I just might have experienced a taste of what drives so many veterans to take their own lives! And I'm not saying that in ANY lighthearted fashion.
The fella I talked to that day did NOT have ANY business dealing with folks who needed help of ANY sort. Just recalling it now, has my blood pressure going up. Others I've dealt with from the VA have been pleasant and helpful. Here's hoping the VA pulls itself out of the mire and gives our service folks that that they've earned.

[rwsanders]

5. I could relate some of my own stories after working elsewhere in the government, but the truth is...

Everytime there is a call for "more accountability" in government (not that it is a bad idea in theory), but the end result is more paperwork for the people trying to do work (forms, reports, and more people diverted to create and process those forms and reports).
So I asked some friends (both work for the VA) if this call for reform would reduce or increase the paperwork for their job. Unanimous agreement was for an increase. One is an accountant and he says it is unbelievable what it takes to get travel approved (due to a past scandal).