2021 Veterans Day Q&A with U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Denis McDonough

I second that opinion. In my case my wife and I live overseas in the Philippines and I am on FMP when there. There is no VAMC/VA Hospital where we live and the only qualified caregiver is my wife who was a licenses CNA in California. She has the skills and is my caregiver unrecognized by the VA. Please change the rule that makes a spouse ineligible to be a Veteran Caregiver.

We know it can be frustrating, when someone we care about does not meet eligibility for the Caregiver Support Program's Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC). This Program has specific eligibility criteria, including the moderate or significant need for personal care services provided by a Family Caregiver. In order to standardize PCAFC nationally, we published a Final Rule in July 2020 that created uniform processes and criteria. We also implemented Centralized Eligibility and Appeals Teams at each of the eighteen regions, nationally, to standardize the eligibility determinations being made across VA.

There is another program within the Caregiver Support Program that can offer your wife support. The Program of General Caregiver Support Services is available to caregivers of Veterans of all eras who are enrolled in VA healthcare and need assistance from a caregiver with Activities or Daily Living or supervision or protection. The program provides coaching, skills training, one-on-one and group support, peer support mentoring, as well as connection to resources both at VA and in the community. There are PGCSS staff at every VA, and we encourage your wife to reach out to your local VA CSP team to learn more. VA values caregivers and recognizes the important role they play in the lives and in the care of Veterans and we, at VA, remain steadfast in our support of these caregivers across the care continuum.

Veterans have several options for appointment scheduling with community providers.  Depending on the type of care the Veteran needs, a VA staff member will work with the Veteran to determine the best option available. The methods for scheduling appointments includes:
- Veteran Directly Schedules Appointment
- Veteran may use VA online scheduling
- VA staff members schedule the appointment
- VA Third Party Administrators (TPAs) may provide optional scheduling support for specific VA medical centers, when needed by VA, to assist with the volume of referrals to community providers
- For more information on scheduling, the VA provides a Fact Sheet online at https://www.va.gov/communitycare/docs/pubfiles/factsheets/VA-FS_Getting_Care.pdf

I have had legimate travel claims denied. I went to the apointment and they say that i didn't. I only get 10 bucks which dosen't even pay for gas at todays rate so i just ignore it but some vets who travel great dstanves are really getting screwed.

2. As an enterprise, VA has made significant improvements in decreasing the length of time required to process travel claims. The majority of facilities processing claims take less than 10 days to process claims. Despite improvements to claims processing since the rollout of the online claims system, there are individual medical centers that have experienced claims processing delays, due to issues such as a high rate of employee turnover and vacancies in claims processing positions.
The new Beneficiary Travel Self Service System (BTSSS) transitioned the Veteran's travel claims from a manual process to an automated online program. The new program allows Veterans to enter their claims electronically 24/7. When fully functional, the new system will allow Veteran travel claims to be processed automatically and paid much faster. Unfortunately, the majority of claims entered into the new system cannot be automatically adjudicated and require additional VA staff time to process, which created a significant backlog of claims. VA Puget Sound is adding additional staffing to the program and is working overtime to catch up the backlogged claims. We have also set up PCs at our main campuses and are expanding those to our community based clinics to provide training for Veterans so they can enter claims in the new system that do not require additional VA staff time to process.

Restoration can be granted if you have paid off your prior VA loan and disposed of the property. Also, on a one-time only basis, you may have your eligibility restored if your prior VA loan has been paid in full, but you still own the property.

https://www.benefits.va.gov/BENEFITS/benefits-summary/SummaryofVAHomeLoanGuarantyBenefits.pdf

The VA is working diligently to ensure that all Veterans have access to non-recalled, brand new PAP machines as quickly as possible. Reprocessing ("reissuing") used PAP machines is not permitted in the VA per VHA Infectious Disease guidance.  Due to the severe shortage of PAP devices caused by the recall and supply chain issues, Sleep Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) are researching possible reprocessing standards and procedures.  VHA Infectious Disease and VHA Quality and Safety will be included in this review to help the SMEs determine if there is sufficient research to show that reprocessing is safe for our Veterans. 

The Veteran Benefits Administration (VBA) is staffed and resourced seperately from the Board of Veterans' Appeals (The Board) and provides a separate function. The Board must follow docket order (the order in which the appeal was received) and undertakes a full legal analysis and a decision signed by a Veteran Law Judge (VLJ). If you are facing any hardships that meet the criteria for Advance on the Docket (AOD) (38 U.S.C. § 7107(a) and 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c), you should work with your representative or VSO to file a motion to expedite your appeal.

VA is committed to ensuring timely access to benefits and services for all Veterans. To assist with the backlog, VA is hiring and training 2,000 new employees to assist in claims processing, leveraging authority to transfer CARES funding to VBA and utilize the American Rescue Plan to fund overtime to ensure timely claims processing. VA is also deploying Fiscal Year 2022 budget resources for general Compensation and Pension claims processing.

if you call the white house VA hotline they will take your complaiint and you will hear back from your local VA about your situation and problem. it is a toll free number and they are good to talk to . have had to call them 4 times in past couple of years. local VA calls me about my problem normally within 3 days time, but hot line will give you a claim number and tell you up to 14 days. never has taken 14 days so good
luck

Thank you for your feedback; we are saddened to hear that your experiences in VA facilities and with VA services have been disappointing. We would be happy to address your specific concerns and situation if identifying information is provided.