The Ugly, Nasty, Disgusting Truth About The V.A. Scandal.

[Vigilante]

 

[Care4all]

I just put this in a new thread...

SNIP:
May 29, 2014 11:15 AM
While Vets Wait, VA Employees Do Union Work
Millions of dollars are spent on paying health professionals to do full-time work for their unions.

By Jillian Kay Melchior

In 2012, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs paid at least $11.4 million to 174 nurses, mental-health specialists, therapists, and other health-care professionals who, instead of caring for veterans, worked full-time doing union business.

The list of these taxpayer-funded union representatives at VA offices around the nation and their salaries was obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by Georgia representative Phil Gingrey’s staff and provided to National Review Online.





“So many health-care providers were on that list — nurses or physical therapists or whatever they may be — when so many veterans are falling through the cracks,” a Gingrey aide tells me. “It’s kind of shocking that these paid employees wouldn’t be fully dedicated to patient care.”

In total, the VA spent at least $13.77 million on 251 salaried employees performing full-time union work. Others, who were not included on the list provided by the VA, work part-time for unions at the taxpayer expense. In fiscal year 2011, the latest on record, the VA used 998,483 hours of this “official time,” costing taxpayers more than $42 million.

The newly released records show that in Baltimore, which has the nation’s longest wait times for veterans’ claims, taxpayers covered $372,674 in salary costs in 2012 for a clinical dietetic technician, a patient-services assistant, a health technician, a medical-support assistant, and two nurses to spend all their time at work on union issues and none of it working with veterans.

In Columbia, S.C., the VA pays one health technician a $40,706 salary to work for the American Federation of Government Employees.

ALL of it here
While Vets Wait, VA Employees Do Union Work | National Review Online

I don't believe one single word in that article other than what they quoted from CNN....

Where are these so called reports they got through the freedom of information act so we can analyze them ourselves....

Why would there be anyone working for the union full time and being paid through taxes when unions collect dues from their members to pay those that work for them?

It just sounds like pure utter, unsubstantiated bull crud to me....

 

[Politico]

Not just steadily. Their budget is at an all time high. FFS you Leftytoons and your definitions. Not increasing something more is not a cut.

Has it increased enough to cover the 15 fold increase in disabled veterans?

What makes you claim more money isn't needed for more doctors and facilities to handle the huge increase? Just because Democrats already increased the VA budget? Doesn't mean it is funded adequately yet imo.....and never has been funded adequately.....

And here you go again....not supporting the increased funding for the VA to cover the increased demand.....sheesh Politico.....

Where did you get the "15 fold" increase number?

And why I am I not surprised at the typical progressive response, "throw money at the problem" even though there is already a ton of money being thrown into it.

Seriously right? They don't have actual facts so they just talk out their asses. Not only has the VA budget gone up 325% over the last 12 years, the overall number of veterans has dropped by 4.3 million during that same time. A lot of those were Vietnam., WWII and Korean vets dying.

Just looking at these four years)since it's Bush's fault ya know)

The number of military veterans in the United States in 2008 - 23.2 million
The number of military veterans in the United States in 2012 - 21.2 million

Number of veterans with a service-connected disability rating in 2008 - 3.4 million
Number of veterans with a service-connected disability rating in 2012 -3.6 million

Yeah I'd love to see where that 45 million 15 fold increase came from. Maybe that's the problem at the VA. All those ghost soldiers.

 

[JoeB131]

To the Dumbass OP.

The VA Budget has more than doubled in the past decade.

Yes, when you add 1.7 million NEW veterans combined with Vietnam Veterans retiring from their jobs and no longer having access to medical insurance, you are going to have more demands on the system.

You know, the VA does more than just run hospitals, right? And after a war that drags on for 13 years, (longer than any war we've fought in our history) you are going to have more demand on it.

 

[Sallow]

Republicans block Senate bill to boost veterans' benefits - CSMonitor.com.

Senate Republicans BLOCKED $24 Billion Dollar Spend Bill for Veteran's Health Care and Education on February 27, 2014. The vote was 54 Democrats in favor, 41 Republicans opposed. Even with a majority vote the bill was defeated by the Republicans.

41 Republicans refused to vote for money that would benefit the Health Care and Education of our Veterans.

Next.

The fact that if there had been no Illegal, Immoral and Unconstitutional War(s) in Afghanistan and Iraq, there would be no scandal in Veteran's Administration.

But because the shrub and dead-eye dick(less) lied this country into those wars, with strong ConJob, NeoNut, RePug and TeaHadist support.

Every fucking Conservative at this forum wanted these wars and supported these wars.

Do not blame Secretary Shinseki for YOUR blind absolute, unconditional support for two wars that should never have been fought. If those wars had not been fought, the current crisis would not be happening.

You people wanted those fucking wars.

The blame is in fact yours.

The sad part?

This is a real problem. It's not made up or conflated.

Vets NEED help.

They NEED action NOW.

What they don't need is months and months of investigation and partisan bickering.

 

[Sallow]

Has it increased enough to cover the 15 fold increase in disabled veterans?

What makes you claim more money isn't needed for more doctors and facilities to handle the huge increase? Just because Democrats already increased the VA budget? Doesn't mean it is funded adequately yet imo.....and never has been funded adequately.....

And here you go again....not supporting the increased funding for the VA to cover the increased demand.....sheesh Politico.....

Where did you get the "15 fold" increase number?

And why I am I not surprised at the typical progressive response, "throw money at the problem" even though there is already a ton of money being thrown into it.

Seriously right? They don't have actual facts so they just talk out their asses. Not only has the VA budget gone up 325% over the last 12 years, the overall number of veterans has dropped by 4.3 million during that same time. A lot of those were Vietnam., WWII and Korean vets dying.

Just looking at these four years)since it's Bush's fault ya know)

The number of military veterans in the United States in 2008 - 23.2 million
The number of military veterans in the United States in 2012 - 21.2 million

Number of veterans with a service-connected disability rating in 2008 - 3.4 million
Number of veterans with a service-connected disability rating in 2012 -3.6 million

Yeah I'd love to see where that 45 million 15 fold increase came from. Maybe that's the problem at the VA. All those ghost soldiers.

Wait, what?

"Ghost" Soldiers?

Several things you seem to miss.

The Obama administration broadened the scope of illness which are treated.
The wars started by the Bush administration were coming to an end during the Obama administration.
Vietnam vets are aging.

That's why you are seeing a huge raise in those needing services.

And the only people that seem to want to provision for that are folks in the Obama administration.

You can't have more people needing help and cut funding.

Doesn't work like that.

 

[JoeB131]

Shinseki should be met with all deliberate force and removed from his position at once. The VA administration needs to be overhauled. It is a shining (or rather bleak) example of what will happen under Obamacare.

Any questions?

I love when a fat slug who can't put down the video game controller has the balls to criticize a man who served this country for 40 years, who lost a foot in combat but still went on to reach the pinnacle of his profession.

It is to laugh.

Hey, how's that job hunt going, TK?

 

[S.J.]

Shinseki should be met with all deliberate force and removed from his position at once. The VA administration needs to be overhauled. It is a shining (or rather bleak) example of what will happen under Obamacare.

Any questions?

I love when a fat slug who can't put down the video game controller has the balls to criticize a man who served this country for 40 years, who lost a foot in combat but still went on to reach the pinnacle of his profession.

It is to laugh.

Hey, how's that job hunt going, TK?

Is that supposed to give him a free pass or something?

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Bush's fault.

Obama's only President, he's powerless

 

[JoeB131]

Shinseki should be met with all deliberate force and removed from his position at once. The VA administration needs to be overhauled. It is a shining (or rather bleak) example of what will happen under Obamacare.

Any questions?

I love when a fat slug who can't put down the video game controller has the balls to criticize a man who served this country for 40 years, who lost a foot in combat but still went on to reach the pinnacle of his profession.

It is to laugh.

Hey, how's that job hunt going, TK?

Is that supposed to give him a free pass or something?

If you present me with evidence that Shinseki knew about the low-level abuses at Phoenix and did nothing about them, I'll be the first one calling for his resignation.

The record seems to be exactly the opposite, though. That he diligently went into the VA and cut the backlog in half.

 

[S.J.]

I love when a fat slug who can't put down the video game controller has the balls to criticize a man who served this country for 40 years, who lost a foot in combat but still went on to reach the pinnacle of his profession.

It is to laugh.

Hey, how's that job hunt going, TK?

Is that supposed to give him a free pass or something?

If you present me with evidence that Shinseki knew about the low-level abuses at Phoenix and did nothing about them, I'll be the first one calling for his resignation.

The record seems to be exactly the opposite, though. That he diligently went into the VA and cut the backlog in half.

I'm sure everyone believes that.

 

[Vigilante]

 

[Care4all]

Has it increased enough to cover the 15 fold increase in disabled veterans?

What makes you claim more money isn't needed for more doctors and facilities to handle the huge increase? Just because Democrats already increased the VA budget? Doesn't mean it is funded adequately yet imo.....and never has been funded adequately.....

And here you go again....not supporting the increased funding for the VA to cover the increased demand.....sheesh Politico.....

Where did you get the "15 fold" increase number?

And why I am I not surprised at the typical progressive response, "throw money at the problem" even though there is already a ton of money being thrown into it.

Seriously right? They don't have actual facts so they just talk out their asses. Not only has the VA budget gone up 325% over the last 12 years, the overall number of veterans has dropped by 4.3 million during that same time. A lot of those were Vietnam., WWII and Korean vets dying.

Just looking at these four years)since it's Bush's fault ya know)

The number of military veterans in the United States in 2008 - 23.2 million
The number of military veterans in the United States in 2012 - 21.2 million

Number of veterans with a service-connected disability rating in 2008 - 3.4 million
Number of veterans with a service-connected disability rating in 2012 -3.6 million

Yeah I'd love to see where that 45 million 15 fold increase came from. Maybe that's the problem at the VA. All those ghost soldiers.

I was wrong in using the term disabled vets and should have used the term Vets....

See below:

I should not have used the term disabled vets Marty, I should have said Veterans.....

In a recent change, we are allowing all Veterans from the Iraq war and the Afghanistan war, Use the VA for 5 years after their return....

Obamacare came in to effect requiring all citizens to have health insurance....notices were sent to all Veterans telling them that they can use the VA as their insurance and will not be penalized for not having private health insurance....

We just got a note in the mail from the VA requesting that Matt register with the VA system if he is going to be using it, just this past week, with a website to register....he is already registered with them because he is a Disabled vet and has been using the VA medical system so it seemed weird that we would get this notification from the VA....but it looks like this was a mass mailing to all VEts, not just those who have used the system already, but so that these people can get some sort of exemption code or something so that they will not be fined for not having health insurance if they don't have it? I dunno?

They could be trying to get a handle on how many iraq and afghan vets are going to be using the system as their health care provider under Obamacare....

THIS is why I KNOW, there is not enough money...because these Vets that are not disabled, will be using the VA as their form of health care if they do not have private insurance.....

Anyway, this will take away the Docs and nurses away from those vets who are disabled once these folks hit the system....it is in anticipation of this, the foresight to acknowledge this, that needs to be taken in to consideration when funding the VA....

And also, the fact that injuries from war are so much more costly than one would expect....

THIS DOES NOT NEGATE or excuse the pieces of crud people that doctored their waiting lists to cover their lacking response times in medical help...the admins part of these schemes should be fired and then tried for neglect of their responsibilities... causing the death of other human beings. And we need to look for a VISIONAIRY to run the VA, that can foersee future problems, and can figure out a way to improve the efficiency of the VA and their handling of patients.

We also need to consider paying Doctors more money who work for the VA, so more can be recruited or held on to...retained.

We also need to get Vets returning from war, working again, in the Private sector, with private health care insurance coverage so they won't stress the VA even more than what is necessary...

http://www.usmessageboard.com/9177231-post29.html

 

[longknife]

Republicans block Senate bill to boost veterans' benefits - CSMonitor.com.

Senate Republicans BLOCKED $24 Billion Dollar Spend Bill for Veteran's Health Care and Education on February 27, 2014. The vote was 54 Democrats in favor, 41 Republicans opposed. Even with a majority vote the bill was defeated by the Republicans.

41 Republicans refused to vote for money that would benefit the Health Care and Education of our Veterans.

Next.

The fact that if there had been no Illegal, Immoral and Unconstitutional War(s) in Afghanistan and Iraq, there would be no scandal in Veteran's Administration.

But because the shrub and dead-eye dick(less) lied this country into those wars, with strong ConJob, NeoNut, RePug and TeaHadist support.

Every fucking Conservative at this forum wanted these wars and supported these wars.

Do not blame Secretary Shinseki for YOUR blind absolute, unconditional support for two wars that should never have been fought. If those wars had not been fought, the current crisis would not be happening.

You people wanted those fucking wars.

The blame is in fact yours.

You are so full of vitriolic, unreasoned hatred that you appear to be completely unable to deal with the truth of the matter!

The current VA problems date from a DEMOCRAT president and has continued due to a Democrat Congress and blockage by the Democrat Senate Majority Leader.

I truly feel sorry for you and your blind obedience to the party line.

 

[Politico]

Where did you get the "15 fold" increase number?

And why I am I not surprised at the typical progressive response, "throw money at the problem" even though there is already a ton of money being thrown into it.

Seriously right? They don't have actual facts so they just talk out their asses. Not only has the VA budget gone up 325% over the last 12 years, the overall number of veterans has dropped by 4.3 million during that same time. A lot of those were Vietnam., WWII and Korean vets dying.

Just looking at these four years)since it's Bush's fault ya know)

The number of military veterans in the United States in 2008 - 23.2 million
The number of military veterans in the United States in 2012 - 21.2 million

Number of veterans with a service-connected disability rating in 2008 - 3.4 million
Number of veterans with a service-connected disability rating in 2012 -3.6 million

Yeah I'd love to see where that 45 million 15 fold increase came from. Maybe that's the problem at the VA. All those ghost soldiers.

Wait, what?

"Ghost" Soldiers?

Several things you seem to miss.

The Obama administration broadened the scope of illness which are treated.
The wars started by the Bush administration were coming to an end during the Obama administration.
Vietnam vets are aging.

That's why you are seeing a huge raise in those needing services.

And the only people that seem to want to provision for that are folks in the Obama administration.

You can't have more people needing help and cut funding.

Doesn't work like that.

Holy Leftytoon Batman! Speaking of wait what. Again not increasing spending even more is not a freaking cut. I could quote stats all day. But stats are political tools for lazy tools who are trying to spin a point. The problem here is not numbers. It is corruption within a system going back 60 years.

Any President who gave a shit could take of this easily.