Wednesday, October 29, 2014

FW: End of year report


Belinda Morse, Executive Director/Chairman HFSN
BelindaM@HonorFlightSouthernNevada.org
702-749-5912




Richard,

Great. Thank you.
We are having a pancake breakfast on Nov 8th from 8:30 to 11:30 at Red Rock Harley again.  Channel 3 is coming to MC (?) the event and will do some promo pieces beforehand.  Should be a good event.


Mine for the year would be 80.  I have a check for you from MOPH.  Unfortunately it is made out to NVF with NFSN in the memo line.  I'll see Len on Saturday and get it straightened out.


Team,
I have to submit a report to Honor Flight National for this year.  I need you to please submit to me your volunteer hours.
Deborah if you can send me hours for the volunteers you have coordinated please.
Judy, I would need hours you have coordinated too please.
I do ask that everyone submit something as soon as they can.
Thanks,

Belinda Morse, Executive Director/Chairman HFSN
BelindaM@HonorFlightSouthernNevada.org
702-749-5912





  :

I'll put the word out.  Got a flyer?


Richard,

Great. Thank you.
We are having a pancake breakfast on Nov 8th from 8:30 to 11:30 at Red Rock Harley again.  Channel 3 is coming to MC (?) the event and will do some promo pieces beforehand.  Should be a good event.


Mine for the year would be 80.  I have a check for you from MOPH.  Unfortunately it is made out to NVF with NFSN in the memo line.  I'll see Len on Saturday and get it straightened out.


Team,
I have to submit a report to Honor Flight National for this year.  I need you to please submit to me your volunteer hours.
Deborah if you can send me hours for the volunteers you have coordinated please.
Judy, I would need hours you have coordinated too please.
I do ask that everyone submit something as soon as they can.
Thanks,

Belinda Morse, Executive Director/Chairman HFSN
BelindaM@HonorFlightSouthernNevada.org
702-749-5912





____________________________________________________________
Map Your Flood Risk
Find Floodplan Maps, Facts, FAQs, Your Flood Risk Profile and More!
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Tuesday, October 28, 2014

FW: Thursday mission 30 October 14



Thank You
Robert Serge
VVA 17 Member
Blog Master
To all my fellow veterans friends and family my we all remember 


> From: akan01@centurylink.net
> To: akan01@centurylink.net
> Subject: Thursday mission 30 October 14
> Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2014 16:17:08 -0700
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bob Donaghy [mailto:bobdonaghy@me.com]
> Sent: Monday, October 27, 2014 3:28 PM
> To: Undisclosed recipients:
> Subject: Thursday mission
>
> Hi Everyone
>
> This Thursday, Nov 30th, the following funerals are scheduled for 8:40 AM at
> the Southern Nevada Veteran's Memorial Cemetery, 1900 Veteran's Memorial
> Drive, Boulder City, 89005. These interments are for Nevada's fallen
> veterans who are without family, homeless, indigent or just forgotten by
> family and friends and remain unclaimed.
>
> This week's interments are:
>
> Army veteran(s): Robert Beyloos
> Navy veteran(s): John Nicholson
> USAF veteran(s): Richard Robinson and Robert Davis
>
> For anyone interested in riding over together, some of us meet for breakfast
> at the IHOP ( 4860 Boulder Hwy ) diagonally across the street from Sam's
> Town at around 6:50 AM. It will be KSU at 7:50 AM.
>
> Thank you Bob Donaghy=
>

Friday, October 24, 2014

FW: VVA Web Weekly - What's New on vva.org: October 23, 2014




Subject: VVA Web Weekly - What's New on vva.org: October 23, 2014
From: achaney@vva.org
To: vva17nv@outlook.com
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 12:50:34 +0000

VVA's Web Weekly - What's New on vva.org






This email was sent to vva17nv@outlook.com
why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences
Vietnam Veterans of America · 8719 Colesville Road · Suite 100 · Silver Spring, MD 20910 · USA

Having trouble viewing this message? Click here to view the web version.
In This Issue October 23, 2014

Latest Afghan Toll…

October is National Substance Abuse Prevention Month

Hep-C Testing and Medicare
VA Wants to Change When Veterans Can View Results of Disability Exam Online
TBI Rehab Program Extended
Report on Phoenix VA Wait Times Kept Secret for Years
Phoenix VA Fails Outside Review
VA Expands Scholarship Fund to Spouses of Servicemembers Who Died on Active Duty after September 10, 2001

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Veterans Crisis Line
VA Caregiver Hotline
As Reported by Fox News
Donate to VVA
ADVERTISEMENT

Armed Forces Vacation Club Ad

Action Alert

Support Senate Bill S.2738 and House Bill H.R. 5484

Latest Afghan Toll…

According to an October 21 Associated Press story reported by Fox News, as of Tuesday, Oct 21, 2014, at least 2,207 members of the U.S. military have died in Afghanistan as a result of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001.
Read complete story here
From the Veterans Health Council

October is National Substance Abuse Prevention Month


According to the National Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 25 million Americans, aged 12 and older, used illicit drugs in 2013. Additionally, 17 million Americans were classified with alcohol dependence. To learn about VVA's Veterans Against Drugs and Violence program go to http://www.vva.org/TaskForce/VAD/vad2.html

To learn ways to prevent substance abuse in the workplace and at home, visit the SAMHSA website for resources and tools at: SAMHSA Website
From the Veterans Health Council

Hep-C Testing and Medicare

Hep C Screening
On June 2, 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that Medicare will cover Hepatitis C testing at no cost to beneficiaries whom the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends be screened. Specifically, Medicare will cover a one-time test for beneficiaries who were born from 1945 through 1965 and ongoing tests for those who are at risk, such as Vietnam veterans. This is an important step forward in the fight against the Hepatitis C epidemic and in identifying the 50% -75% of people who don't know they have Hepatitis C. Medicare has updated its website to include information about this new benefit. The test will be covered only if it is ordered by a primary care doctor. The VVA Veterans Health Council recommends that all Medicare beneficiaries who don't know their Hepatitis C status ask their doctor for a test.
As Reported in the National Journal

VA Wants to Change When Veterans Can View Results of Disability Exam Online

Information from the exam would be available online after a disability decision has been made.(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
According to an October 21 National Journal article by Jordain Carney, VA officials want to change when veterans can view some of their medical records online, fearing that some could become violent if they see negative comments and think their disability claims will be denied.
Read complete story here
As Reported by Army Times

TBI Rehab Program Extended

According to an October 21 Army Times article by Patricia Kime, the VA is broadening a small program designed to help veterans with moderate to severe brain injuries live their lives to their fullest.
Read complete story here
As Reported by The Washington Examiner Watchdog

Report on Phoenix VA Wait Times Kept Secret for Years

According to an October 22 article by Mark Flatten in the Washington Examiner Watchdog, deliberate falsification of patient wait times was confirmed at the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Phoenix in 2008, but the agency's inspector general kept its findings secret, a report obtained by the Washington Examiner shows. 
Read complete story here
ADVERTISEMENT
Armed Forces Vacation Club Ad
As Reported by USA Today

Phoenix VA Fails Outside Review

(Photo: Michael Chow/The Republic)
According to an October 21 USA Today article by Dennis Wagner, the VA's health care system in Phoenix does not comply with U.S. standards for safety, patient care, and management, according to a non-profit organization that reviews medical facilities nationwide.
Read complete story here
VA Press Release

VA Expands Scholarship Fund to Spouses of Servicemembers Who Died on Active Duty after September 10, 2001

In an October 20 press release, the VA announced it will begin accepting applications by mail on November 3, 2014, for the Fry Scholarship under newly expanded eligibility criteria, to include surviving spouses. The expanded criteria for the Fry Scholarship is the latest in a series of VA actions to implement provisions of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 ("Choice Act"). Specifically, Section 701 of the Choice Act expands the Fry Scholarship to include the surviving spouses of Servicemembers who died in the line of duty after September 10, 2001. Prior to this expansion, only children of those who died in the line of duty were eligible for this benefit.
To Read more
Copyright © Vietnam Veterans of America. All Rights Reserved. 8719 Colesville Road, Suite 100, Silver Spring, MD 20910
If you wish to cancel your subscription to this newsletter or update your e-mail preferences click here

FW: JOIN US - 2014 VETERANS WEEK EVENTS!



Thank You
Robert Serge
VVA 17 Member
Blog Master
To all my fellow veterans friends and family my we all remember 



From: richardandshirley@netzero.net
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 16:21:56 +0000
To: rserge1@outlook.com
Subject: Fw: JOIN US - 2014 VETERANS WEEK EVENTS!

R  In case I didn't.  And here is the quote:
Marine Corps League Detachment 901 has members from throughout Pinal County and belongs to the people it serves and the communities in which it thrives.  


Please note: forwarded message attached

From: Susan Stockmar <ssuwvc@gmail.com>
To: Susan Stockmar <ssuwvc@gmail.com>
Subject: JOIN US - 2014 VETERANS WEEK EVENTS!
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 10:47:18 -0400

Dear Veterans, Patriots, & Friends:
Veterans Day, Tuesday, November 11, 2014 is fast approaching.  The United War Veterans Council, producers of the annual Veterans Day Parade - 'America's Parade', is also producing a series of patriotic events [leading up to the Parade] entitled "Veterans Week."
Attached to this email you will find several event invitations intended for specific audiences.
Please RSVP promptly [as space is limited] to the event(s) most suitable to you, i.e., Vietnam veterans, Women veterans, etc. You may also share this with other veterans to whom this may apply.
If this does not pertain to you, but you know of others for whom it may apply, please pass this along. Your help is needed to promote these events to others for a successful attendance; thank you.
The events/invitations attached include:
§  Salute to Women Who Served and Are Serving Forum -Thursday, November 6    
§  Star Spangled Banner Salute -Military & Veterans Legacy of our 5 Boroughs-Friday, November 7
§  "Salute to our Korean War Veterans"-Saturday, November 8
§  Veterans Church Service-Sunday, November 9
§  Welcome Home-Vietnam War Veterans-Sunday,  November 9
§  Saluting Our Veterans  Resource Fair  & US Navy Band North East Performance
o    Monday, November 10
§  America's Parade-NYC Veterans Day Parade-Tuesday, November 11
If you would only like to pass on one specific event, as opposed to all the attachments in this email, you can also click each individual invite (example: Star Spangled Banner), then download and save that invite on your computer. Then attach the invite in a separate email of your own.
We look forward to seeing you at upcoming events that are applicable to you and/or others you may know and invited on our behalf. We appreciate your assistance in promoting these events. 
Join us on Tuesday, November 11, 2014 for the Veterans Day Parade, a spectacular, world-class event!
Forever Grateful for your service and dedication,
Susan Stockmar
US Navy Veteran
United War Veterans Council
346 Broadway
New York, NY 10013


____________________________________________________________
Map Your Flood Risk
Find Floodplan Maps, Facts, FAQs, Your Flood Risk Profile and More!
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Thursday, October 23, 2014

FW: VA Demonstrates New Telehealth Scheduling System to Veteran Service Organizations



Thank You
Robert Serge
VVA 17 Member
Blog Master
To all my fellow veterans friends and family my we all remember 



Subject: VA Demonstrates New Telehealth Scheduling System to Veteran Service Organizations
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 12:26:13 -0500
To: grumpiebob@gmail.com
From: veteransaffairs@public.govdelivery.com

VA Demonstrates New Telehealth Scheduling System to Veteran Service Organizations
You are subscribed to Media Distribution List for U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. This information has recently been updated, and is now available.
10/23/2014 02:17 PM EDT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 23, 2014                                

VA Demonstrates New Telehealth Scheduling System to Veteran Service Organizations
New software system intended to improve Veterans Access to Care
WASHINGTONRepresentatives from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) met today with Veteran Service Organizations (VSO) at the Washington VA Medical Center for a hands-on demonstration and discussion about VA's telehealth programs and services.
The hands-on demonstration included a presentation of VA's new Clinical Video Telehealth scheduling software which launched last month and is intended to improve how VA employees schedule telehealth appointments.
 "As we launch new programs and services, it is important to include our VSO partners," said VA Secretary Robert A. McDonald. "Today's demonstration is an important part of our collaborative process. We welcome our VSO's feedback.  Like us, their goal is to ensure Veterans have the access to the quality care and services they have earned."
Telehealth rapidly is becoming a popular option, particularly for Veterans who do not have a VA health care facility close to home. In fiscal year 2014, VA's national telehealth programs served over 690,000 Veterans and accounted for more than 2 million virtual visits.
For more information about VA's telehealth program, visit www.telehealth.va.gov/. 
 #   #   #
Sent to grumpiebob@gmail.com on behalf of US Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Avenue, NW · Washington, DC 20420

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs

Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs

Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act

On August 7, 2014, President Obama signed into law the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-146) (“Choice Act”).  Technical revisions to the Choice Act were made on September 26, 2014, when the President signed into law the Department of Veterans Affairs Expiring Authorities Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-175).
VA’s goal continues to be to provide timely, high-quality healthcare for Veterans. Veterans and VA employees nationwide understand the need for reform, and VA is committed to putting these reforms into place.
As this process continues to move forward, VA will work with other Departments, Congress, Veterans Service Organizations, and other stakeholders to ensure that provisions are implemented as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Fact Sheets: What is VA doing under the Choice Act to improve health care for Veterans?

REPORTS


MEDIA

For press inquiries and more information about the Choice Act, please contact the Office of Public & Intergovernmental Affairs Media Relations.

FW: October is Agent Orange Awareness Month. Take Action Now!




Subject: October is Agent Orange Awareness Month. Take Action Now!
From: achaney@vva.org
To: vva17nv@outlook.com
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 14:19:33 +0000

VVA's Web Weekly - What's New on vva.org






This email was sent to vva17nv@outlook.com
why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences
Vietnam Veterans of America · 8719 Colesville Road · Suite 100 · Silver Spring, MD 20910 · USA

Having trouble viewing this message? Click here to view the web version.
Agent Orange Poster
We need YOUR help! Here's how:

  1. Forward this e-mail to others you know!

  1. "Share" this page with others on Facebook and Twitter

  1. Contact your Representatives in Washington, D.C. and ask them to support the Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2014.

    • You can send an e-mail to your Senators and Representatives by clicking here. You can use the one we have pre-drafted here, or create your own.

    • Call your Senator and Representatives and ask them to vote "YES" on Senate Bill 2738 and House Bill H.R. 5484. If you don't know the number, call the Capitol Operator at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Senator or Representative.


Download the poster here: 8.5x11 | 11x17
Support The Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2014 Here
Copyright © Vietnam Veterans of America. All Rights Reserved. 8719 Colesville Road, Suite 100, Silver Spring, MD 20910

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

FW: Thursday mission 23 October 14



Thank You
Robert Serge
VVA 17 Member
Blog Master
To all my fellow veterans friends and family my we all remember 


> From: akan01@centurylink.net
> To: akan01@centurylink.net
> Subject: Thursday mission 23 October 14
> Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 17:05:08 -0700
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bob Donaghy [mailto:bobdonaghy@me.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2014 4:41 PM
> To: Undisclosed recipients:
> Subject: Thursday mission
>
> Hi Everyone
>
> This Thursday, Oct 23, the following funerals are scheduled for 8:40 AM at
> the Southern Nevada Veteran's Memorial Cemetery, 1900 Veteran's Memorial
> Drive, Boulder City, 89005. These interments are for Nevada's fallen
> veterans who are without family, homeless, indigent or just forgotten by
> family and friends and remain unclaimed.
>
> This week's interments are:
>
> Army veteran: Riki Sugimotoi
> Navy veteran: Kelly Freeman
> Marine veteran: Craig Specki
>
>
> For anyone interested in riding over together, some of us meet for breakfast
> at the IHOP ( 4860 Boulder Hwy ) diagonally across the street from Sam's
> Town at around 6:50 AM. It will be KSU at 7:45 AM.
>
> Thank you Bob Donaghy=
>

FW: VA Accepting Provider Applications to Extend Program for Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury



Thank You
Robert Serge
VVA 17 Member
Blog Master
To all my fellow veterans friends and family my we all remember 



Subject: VA Accepting Provider Applications to Extend Program for Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 14:27:10 -0500
To: grumpiebob@gmail.com
From: veteransaffairs@public.govdelivery.com

VA Accepting Provider Applications to Extend Program for Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury
You are subscribed to Media Distribution List for U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. This information has recently been updated, and is now available.
10/21/2014 04:21 PM EDT

VA Accepting Provider Applications to Extend Program for Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury
Veterans Choice Act Extension Offers Opportunities for Potential Providers
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced it is currently accepting proposals for the Assisted Living Pilot Program for Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury (AL-TBI). The program had been slated to sunset this year, however the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 ("Choice Act") extends the program through October 6, 2017.
"Due to the severity and complexity of their injuries, Veterans with TBI can require an extraordinary level of care and other support services," said Interim Under Secretary for Health, Dr. Carolyn Clancy. "The AL-TBI program provides specialized assisted living services to eligible Veterans with traumatic brain injury to enhance their rehabilitation, quality of life and community integration."
Under the AL-TBI program, Veterans meeting the eligibility criteria are placed in private sector TBI residential care facilities specializing in neurobehavioral rehabilitation. The program offers team-based care and assistance in areas such as speech, memory and mobility.  Approximately 187 Veterans were enrolled into the AL-TBI Pilot Program in 46 different facilities located in 22 states.  Currently, there are 94 Veterans enrolled in the pilot.
The extension of the program offers opportunities for providers wishing to participate in the program. VA is accepting proposals through November 20, 2014.  To be eligible, contractor facilities must meet Federal, State and local standards and be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) in Residential Rehabilitation/Brain Injury Program. Contracts for the extended program are expected to be awarded in February 2015.
For more information about the AL-TBI Request for Proposal, visit https://www.fbo.gov/spg/VA/VADDC791/VADDC791/VA79114R0074/listing.html. For more information about the AL-TBI program, visit www.polytrauma.va.gov.
Working with Congress, Veterans Service Organizations and other stakeholders, VA has taken steps to implement the Choice Act legislation. In addition to the AL-TBI extension, VA is: 
  • Continuing work with its newly established Program Management Office to oversee planning and implementation of the Choice Act legislation across the Department;
  • Putting in place the mechanisms to provide the authorization necessary to carry out major medical facility leases;
  • Extending the pilot program called Project ARCH (Access Received Closer to Home) through March 31, 2015, and exploring additional contracting options to execute the remaining 18 months of the pilot program;  
  • Seeking industry's input on addressing third party administrator services through VA- sponsored events such as Industry Day held on September 17, 2014;  
  • Awarding a contract to the MITRE Corporation, Alliance to Modernize Healthcare, a private not-for-profit company, to support the Independent Assessment of VA health care processes; and
  • Expanding the Fry Scholarship Program to include surviving spouses of Servicemembers killed on active duty.
###
Sent to grumpiebob@gmail.com on behalf of US Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Avenue, NW · Washington, DC 20420

VA misled public, vets on health care backlog

VA misled public, vets on health care backlog
Top officials downplayed the backlog as staff warned of misleading vets and the public.

By Brad Schrade - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution


BEN GRAYWhistleblowers across the VA have been filing record claims of retaliation this year. They have been instrumental in highlighting problems at the agency that administrators and senior leaders have tried to keep hidden. Daphne Ivery is the president of union at the national Health Eligibility Enrollment Center in Atlanta started wearing a whistle this summer to show support for those speaking out. BEN GRAY / BGRAY@AJC.COM

Senior VA officials pushed untrue and misleading information to veterans, the public and Congress to blunt a potential scandal involving a backlog of hundreds of thousands of applications for access to VA health care, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation has found.
The misinformation came from top officials at the VA’s national Health Eligibility Center (HEC) in Atlanta and senior officials in Washington, and contradicted what the VA’s staff was reporting to their superiors about the application backlog.
·                                  Document: The VA internal investigation on wait times
The officials misrepresented data to downplay the number of veterans waiting for a health enrollment decision from VA. They tried to assert that many of the veterans in the backlog had not actually applied for healthcare when internal documents showed those statements to be false.
The findings come as new VA Secretary Robert McDonald is trying to restore credibility to a beleaguered agency tarnished by long waits for veterans at VA health facilities, mismanagement and retaliation against whistleblowers. McDonald, through a spokesman, declined to be interviewed for this story.
Last month, the VA’s acting inspector general Richard Griffin testified before a Senate committee about lies told to investigators about scheduling delays and problems in the health care system. And Congress has accused the agency of repeated falsehoods.

+





In the spring and summer of 2012, analysts at the Health Eligibility Center in Atlanta discovered that as many as 47,000 ... Read More
Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Florida, who chairs the House veterans’ affairs committee, said the deceptions uncovered by the AJC fit into the broader problem at VA where agency officials try to mislead in the face of any investigation that targets the quality of their service to veterans.
“A great deal of the information that they do supply to the committee is either factually wrong or at best misleading,” Miller said. “If they will lie or mislead Congress, I can not imagine what they would do to a veteran.”
The problems with the backlog of health applications remained largely under the radar, thanks to the low-profile VA agency in Atlanta that oversees the enrollment process for a system serving 8.9 million veterans. That changed this summer after an AJC investigation exposed the extent of the backlog and the failure of an online enrollment system rolled out four years ago. The problems, largely ignored by VA leaders for more than two years, delayed veterans access to the health care that they had earned through military service.









CHRIS O'MEARA
U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald, right, speaks earlier this month as U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., Chairman of ... Read More
The backlog is also the target of separate investigations by the VA Office of Inspector General and the House veterans’ affairs committee.
By May of this year as many as 896,000 veterans health applications were stuck in an administrative limbo without an enrollment decision from the VA. Veterans cannot use VA medical care until they have been approved for eligibility. As many as 47,786 of veteransin the backlog were deceased as of 2012, raising the possibility that some veterans died before they could access care.
Following the AJC’s Aug. 17 article, VA officials posted information to a blog on the VA’s official website — under the heading “VA Fact” — that claimed the backlog contained only 216,736 applications, a quarter of what it had reported to Congress the previous month.
+




Whistleblower Scott Davis has been speaking out since the summer about problems at the national VA Health Eligibility Center in Atlanta. ... Read More
The post, targeted at veterans, claimed that only 25 percent of the pending applications were “true applications.” The claim has been repeated by VA’s senior public relations officials in Washington, including acting assistant secretary for public affairs Josh Taylor.
An internal VA analysis reviewed by the AJC contradicts the claim.
The internal analysis by the HEC staff, obtained from whistleblower Scott Davis, said the agency actually had no way to determine how many of the hundreds of thousands of pending records were not applications. It said that many in the backlog represented veterans who applied for health care and that the “bottom line is that we did have 896,237 pending as of May 2014.”
HEC employees were concerned about the misinformation from top officials and they found their statements to be misleading, according to interviews and records reviewed by the AJC.
“It was a willful attempt to deceive the nation’s veterans,” said Davis, a program specialist in the HEC. “They’ve known about this for years. They cut and pasted information to suit their purposes. The time we’ve spent covering this up we could have actually addressed the problem.”
Stephanie Mardon, the acting chief business officer for the Veterans Health Administration, said she stands by her Aug. 17 blog post, including the assertion that only 25 percent of the pending records are “true applications.”
“That’s the information and research at the time,” Mardon said. “We’re continuing to conduct additional research. But no, it’s not in any way, shape or form, in my opinion, in anything misleading. It’s an assumption we made based on the best research we had at the time and continue to have relative to what’s in a pending status.”
Data flaws
The VA has not provided the AJC with records from the studies they cite to support the assertion that the backlog is much lower than 890,000. The central argument put forth by Mardon and Deputy Chief Business Officer Lynne Harbin is that only 25 percent of the applications are “true applications” because those are the only ones that have an application date associated with them in the enrollment system.
But the internal analysis prepared in August states that the date field is not reliable to establish if an application is valid or not. Many applications lack dates because of data integrity flaws.
“Having an application date in the Enrollment System has no bearing on whether the Veteran has requested care or submitted an application,” the report said, adding that “many Veterans who have actually applied for health care do not have an application date in our systems.”
The report acknowledged that some of the 890,000 in pending status may not be applications of veterans waiting for health care. But it made clear that figure is unknown.
“Many records in a pending enrollment status represent Veterans who actually applied for health care, while some records do not,” the internal analysis said. “The inability to identify which records represent an actual application for health care makes our challenge greater.”
‘Skirt the issue’
The day after Mardon’s August VA blog post, senior leaders at the HEC in Atlanta called a series of “town hall” meetings with the agency’s 300 staff members.
HEC director Benita Miller and her management team presented slides with talking points about the application backlog and touted their efforts at transparency. She asked staff to raise their hands if they thought the agency leaders had been transparent. Only a handful of employees did, according to two people who witnessed the meetings.
“It was like a comic on stage that told a joke that fell flat,” said Daphne Ivery, the union president at the HEC, and one of the whistleblowers who has spoken to investigators about problems at the HEC. “Really? Are you serious? You really want us to buy into this again. What they need to do is come clean. Say ‘We screwed up.’ Until they acknowledge that, admit there’s a problem, they can’t fix it.”
Documents reviewed by the AJC show that the agency also hasn’t been transparent with veterans service organizations such as the American Legion.
When the American Legion requested to know how many veterans were waiting on a decision about their health care eligibility in late 2013, Harbin, who oversees the HEC, directed her staff to prepare a presentation for a meeting with veterans service groups.
A version of Harbin’s slide presentation had a glaring omission. It failed to provide the total number of applications awaiting action from the VA. The omission was intentional.
“I don’t think I want to go into the total number of pending records and will try to skirt the issue, should they try to raise it,” Harbin wrote in a December 2013 e-mail to her staff.
In an interview with the AJC, Harbin said she wanted to avoid the subject in the meeting because the total number “doesn’t tell the entire story” and that to represent them all as applications is wrong.
“I believe in the meeting we actually did talk about the total number,” Harbin said. “We also talked about the actions we’re taking to try to outreach to veterans in pending status regardless of whether or not they actually did apply.”
Roscoe Butler, an official with the American Legion who attended the meeting with Harbin, had a one-word reaction when Harbin’s email about skirting the backlog was read to him: “Wow.”
“That just suprises me, particularly with the spotlight on the VA right now,” he said.
Getting to the bottom of the backlog may require an outside audit by an independent agency, said Butler, the Legion’s deputy director for health care.
Butler and another American Legion official met again earlier this month with Harbin and her staff about the backlog. He said it’s hard to believe that so many pending records are not applications, and that the Legion wants clarification.
“We want them to be forthright regardless whatever the consequences are,” said Butler, who retired from VA’s chief business office in 2011. “They should be forthright and tell us what the issues are…That’s the only way as veterans’ services organizations we can help. If we go into meetings with them and they are not truthful with us, then we’re not able advocate for our veterans.”
‘Not backlogged’
By 2012, the backlog had become a major concern across VA’s 152 hospitals and medical centers. A flaw in a new online application rolled out in 2010 exacerbated the problem because it had no way for veterans to upload their discharge papers that prove their military service. In internal communications to enrollment coordinators across the VA, the HEC staff laid out these problems and made it clear that they were delaying veterans access to health care.
Yet, publicly, senior VA leaders can’t even bring themselves to refer to hundreds of thousands of applications in their files as “a backlog.” In response to questions from Congress, the VA in July said the applications were “not backlogged,” a position Harbin and other senior officials have reiterated in interviews with the AJC.
“As we’ve learned more about these records we know they are not backlogged,” Harbin said. “They are processed to their fullest extent and we are committed to that.”
If HEC leaders have their way, the problem may soon disappear. They are advancing a plan that would allow them to remove veterans from the backlog if they don’t respond to a letter. A separate outreach campaign begun last year has enrolled 16,692 veterans from the pending list.
The latest plan will require regulatory approval at the highest levels of VA in Washington. A decision could come as early as this month. If approved, the HEC office in Atlanta would expand the mail campaign to all veterans on the pending list. Some have been on the list for years. If the veterans don’t respond to the outreach within a year, the agency can remove them from pending status.
“Our plan is once we require a regulatory change in order to be able to move them out of a pending status,” Harbin said. “Once that occurs their status might change.”
Harbin’s own slide presentation created last December said letters are “effective, but only 8% of Veterans respond”.


HOW WE GOT THE STORY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has been the leading media outlet in the country to expose problems at the VA’s Health Eligibility Center in Atlanta, which oversees the eligibility process for veterans seeking access to the VA’s network of medical facilities. The AJC was the first to report on the backlog of health care applications from veterans, and the newspaper’s reporting helped bring forward whistleblowers who have provided information to Congress and investigators. For this story, investigative reporter Brad Schrade reviewed hundreds of pages of internal VA records and interviewed key VA leaders about his findings. The AJC will continue to investigate this national story.
Log on to MyAJC.com to read the VA’s own analysis of the backlog of pending health care applications, and letters from Congress to VA leadership critical of the agency’s transparency.