Report: 8,763 vets died waiting for benefits

[unhappycamper]

Report: 8,763 vets died waiting for benefits
By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jul 15, 2008 20:03:07 EDT

The title of the House committee report sums up what happened: “Die or Give Up Trying: How Poor Contractor Performance, Government Mismanagement and the Erosion of Quality Controls Denied Thousands of Disabled Veterans Timely and Accurate Retroactive Retired Pay Awards.”

The report by the majority staff of the House Oversight and Government Reform domestic policy panel, released Tuesday, concluded that at least 28,283 disabled retirees were denied retroactive pay awards because rushed efforts to clear a huge backlog of claims led program administrators to stop doing quality assurance checks on the claims decisions.

And of the original 133,057 potentially eligible veterans, 8,763 died before their cases could be reviewed for retroactive payments, according to the report.

At issue are the Concurrent Retirement and Disability Payments and Combat-Related Special Compensation programs, approved by Congress in 2003 and 2004 to allow large numbers of disabled retirees to receive full concurrent military retirement pay and veteran’s disability compensation.

For more than a century before those programs were enacted, disabled retirees were forced to forfeit a dollar of military retirement pay for every dollar they received in veterans’ disability payments.


Rest of aticle at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/07/military_concurrent_receipt_071508/

[flashl]

1. Every excuse, contractor performance or poor quality control, but the real answer, planned denials.

[annabanana]

5. Dead vets are MUCH cheaper than sick ones you know.

"priorities" people . . .

[SmileyRose]

2. It's not just the VA

doubly (or triple) worse when we do this to our disabled vets but even SS disability is "delay, deny, hope they die". They don't bat an eyelash when it comes to taking our money for these programs but when it comes to putting the money in the hands of the neediest amongst us or in the hands of the uber rich with no bid contracts then guess who wins.

[SpiralHawk]

3. Why do republicon chickenhawks HATE our honorable veterans?

Is it because the republicon chickenhawk 'leadership' is ashamed of themselves?

[Thothmes]

4. How many were vets from the current war?

The legislation is retroactive. It would include vets from WWII (in their 80s), Korea (in their 70s), Vietnam (in their 60s)and all retires from the time periods in between these wars up to today.

[pleah]

6. K&R

:mad:

[tinymontgomery]

7. Not all Vets

receive concurrent receipt. If it isn't combat related disability or over 50% you don't receive it. They also have a crazy way of computing it. I'm rated at 60% but the way they figure the money I'm only 40% so there for no concurrent receipt. My retainer (it's not really a retirement check until you hit 30 years) check gets reduced by the VA amount.

[lonestarnot]

8. Son of a bitch this makes me sick to my stomach!