Report: Vets' disability claims ended up in shred bins. What is wrong with this picture?

2015-07-15T17:33:55-04:00

Key paperwork for finalizing veteran disability claims end up in shred bins and the VA claims it's not an issue. Are we surprised that the VA is yet again failing to accept responsibility?

http://www.navytimes.com/story/veterans/2015/07/15/ig-report-la-shred-bins-disability-claims-va-veterans-affairs-los-angeles/30197103/

A pair of California lawmakers want to know why paperwork required to finalize veterans' disability claims ended up in a Los Angeles shredding bin.

The latest embarrassing episode for the Veterans Affairs Department comes alongside questions surrounding 240,000 deceased veterans on agency medical waiting lists and worries from Senators that physician credentialing problems in Arizona may stop cancer treatments for veterans there.

Staffers for Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Calif., said officials from the VA's Inspector General's Office confirmed they found key pieces of paperwork from veterans' claims files "inappropriately placed in shred bins" at the department's Los Angeles Regional Office.

VA officials said only 10 files were misplaced in the bins, and the items would have been subject to additional review before being destroyed. They downplayed the problem as a one-time mistake from a small number of workers, not "malicious intent."

Full details of the findings won't be released for several more weeks, and the exact number of cases affected has not yet been released by the VA Inspector General's Office.

But Brownley and Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., have called for hearings and an immediate review of how the regional office handles documents.

"Such misconduct could have a devastating impact on the affected veterans and their families, resulting in the loss of critical information and adversely affecting the adjudication of veteran claims," the two lawmakers wrote in a letter to VA Secretary Bob McDonald. "Simply put, this is unacceptable."

Seven years ago, after similar allegations of improper document shredding hit the department, the Inspector General recommended a host of new controls to ensure critical paperwork was not being lost in the system.

Brownley and Ruiz questioned whether those suggestions have been properly implemented and whether new rules are needed.

VA officials insist these particular problems were corrected back in the spring, and added that all relevant personnel in the regional office have been retrained.

Loss of paperwork has long been a problem in the VA claims and medical processes, with veterans advocates recommending that individuals keep multiple copies of all critical paperwork because of commonplace loss within agency offices.

VA leaders in recent years have placed extra emphasis on digitizing those records, in part to prevent that kind of loss.

The lawmakers did not say how many veterans may have been affected by the latest problem. The regional office handles claims for more than 700,000 veterans in California.

The VA Inspector General also is expected to issue a second report in August discussing leadership and training problems at the Los Angeles office.

VA officials in recent weeks have touted a dramatic drop in the disability claims backlog since it peaked at more than 600,000 cases in March 2013. As of this week, the total stands at less than 125,000 cases.

But outside critics have questioned whether that decline is the result of better processing or careless handling of pending requests.

House Veterans Affairs Committee officials said this week that they are looking into hearings on the issue of veterans who died while waiting for determinations on whether they were eligible for VA health care, and the timeliness of department record-keeping. VA officials have said they cannot delete the names from their lists, even though some are decades old, due to existing regulations.

On Wednesday, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., also asked Congress and the VA to look into the cancer credentialing problem, saying at least 20 patients may have their care halted this month because of recent rule changes.

Report: Vets' disability claims ended up in shred bins

Lawmakers want officials from the Los Angeles Regional Office to explain why the paperwork wasn't handled properly.

Response by SSG Trevor S. made Jul 15 at 2015 5:48 PM

2015-07-15T17:48:22-04:00

I'm past the point of allowing these issues to be chalked up to incompetence and mistakes. It is past time to solve part of the Veteran unemployment problem by replacing a huge percentage of the VA's employees with Veterans. Even if that means replacing some VA employed Vets who have lost their way.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Jul 15 at 2015 6:21 PM

2015-07-15T18:21:51-04:00

The Department of Veterans Affairs is what is wrong with the Picture. The rest is just details within the picture.

Response by COL Charles Williams made Jul 15 at 2015 8:22 PM

2015-07-15T20:22:51-04:00

PO1 John Miller I have had good luck and experience with the VA. But, the VA is a mess - largest federal organization aside from DOD. I hope my appeal did not end up there...

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Jul 15 at 2015 9:38 PM

2015-07-15T21:38:47-04:00

Nothing, if you are a VA executive. Just another day at the office according to the VA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDAmPIq29ro

Animal House - All Is Well!

Hilarious Kevin Bacon scene from the end of 'National Lampoon's Animal House' [Note: I do not own this in any way. No copyright infringement intended.]

Response by LTC John Shaw made Jul 15 at 2015 9:52 PM

2015-07-15T21:52:57-04:00

PO1 John Miller So painful to read this...people need to be Fired!

Response by SPC George Rudenko made Jul 15 at 2015 9:59 PM

2015-07-15T21:59:06-04:00

A similar case happened whenIRS contracted to have returns processed prior to e file. The private company shreded as many as one million returns.

Response by SGT Christopher Combs made Jul 12 at 2018 6:16 PM

2018-07-12T18:16:02-04:00

The more they deny claims the bigger bonus the people in claims at the VA get. Sad but true

Response by 1SG Kenneth Talkington Sr made Apr 11 at 2019 5:35 PM

2019-04-11T17:35:26-04:00

Nothing will happen to the people who are responsible for these type actions. The powers that be are afraid to take on these people. They are fearful of lawsuits and the employee unions. Nothing will change until actions is take on these two entities.

Response by Sgt Randall Nesbitt made May 9 at 2019 9:46 AM

2019-05-09T09:46:43-04:00

Does this surprise anyone?

Response by SSG Michael Doolittle made May 9 at 2019 7:17 PM

2019-05-09T19:17:30-04:00

Why does any of this surprise you.... After the Walter Reed scandal, The Phoenix Arizona Scandal, but the tip of the ICEBERG..... Hilo Hawai'i has some of the longest wait times in the entire Nation... America does not have the will to support its Veterans, the VA will never be funded enough to handle the problems Wars Create... Example... East Hawai'i County does not have a permanent VA Facility, its been bounced around, and now bounced again in temporary facilities... My group HIVM Inc. has a property for their CVC / CBOC to build a permanent facility, SHOVEL READY / COUNTY & STATE supported with permits and all approvals, pre engineered 21,000 sq ft with ample parking, for FREE just build it, they have in their capital construction budget set aside 10M $ for this project, but they are now retro fitting another Temp Facility.... STUPID TO THE MAX http://www.hawaiiislandveterans.org