PDA

View Full Version : Disability backlog tops 1 million; thousands die on waitlist



Dr. Who
09-17-2017, 12:33 PM
WASHINGTON -- More than 1 million Americans await a hearing to see whether they qualify for disability benefits from Social Security (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/social-security-trust-fund-depleted-in-2034/), with the average wait nearly two years -- longer than some of them will live.
All have been denied benefits at least once, as most applications are initially rejected. But in a system where the outcome of a case often depends on who decides it, most people who complete the appeals process will eventually win benefits. The numbers come from data compiled by the Social Security Administration.
About 10.5 million people get disability benefits from Social Security. An additional 8 million get disability benefits from Supplemental Security Income, the disability program for poor people who don't qualify for Social Security. The disability programs are much smaller than Social Security's giant retirement program. Still, the agency paid out $197 billion in disability payments last year.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/social-security-disability-backlog-tops-1-million-thousands-die-on-waitlist/

You would think that some of these people should be eligible for Worker's Compensation since some are suffering from job-related injuries or infirmities.

resister
09-17-2017, 12:37 PM
I think they deny all initial applications to see if you may not have the gumption to persue it any further.

The Xl
09-17-2017, 01:57 PM
Good to see that we prioritize illegals and push for refugees when we have our own poor, disabled, and elderly having issues.

jimmyz
09-17-2017, 02:33 PM
How much of the system is riddled with frauds that are not really disabled and are gaming the system. I know a guy that gets disability and plays Frisbee golf every week. He is not a friend. I have only disdain for him.

waltky
10-20-2017, 07:18 AM
Politicians Outraged Over Vet's Death at VA Hospital...
http://www.politicalwrinkles.com/images/smilies/eek.gif
Politicians Share Outrage Over Vet's Death at VA Hospital
19 Oct 2017 | A nurse's aide was playing video games on her computer when she should have checked in on the patient.


Members of the Bay State congressional delegation expressed outrage after a Vietnam veteran who required round-the-clock care died at the Bedford VA Medical Center. The Boston Globe reported Tuesday that Bill Nutter, who had lost both legs to diabetes and had a condition in which his heart could stop, died at the veterans' hospital in July 2016 after a night-shift aide failed to check on him. U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark said in an emailed statement: "When families trust the well-being of their loved ones to the VA, they deserve the peace of mind that comes with quality, compassionate care. That any veteran is subject to the treatment described today is unconscionable, and we must use every available resource to not only get to the bottom of what happened at the Bedford VA, but also to make sure it never happens again."


http://images05.military.com/media/global/newscred/katherine-clark-1800-19-oct-2017-ts600.jpeg
U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA) (C) speaks as (L-R) Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD), Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) listen during a news conference at the Capitol April 27, 2017 in Washington, DC.

Matt Corridoni, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, said Moulton was expected to have a phone conversation with Veteran Affairs Secretary David Shulkin Wednesday to discuss Nutter's death. The Globe reported Shulkin's office suspended the nurse's aide with pay. The aide was supposed to make hourly checks on Nutter. The aide was playing video games on her computer when she should have checked in on Nutter, the report said. The VA inspector general is investigating the allegations against the aide with assistance from the FBI and U.S. Attorney General's Office, the report said.

Michael Hartigan, a spokesman for U.S. Rep Niki Tsongas, said in a statement: "A primary concern of hers has been that the Bedford VA has been without a permanent director for so long. She has repeatedly requested that VA and Administration officials update her directly with regard to actions they are taking to address complaints raised not only in these articles, but also by veterans who have reached out to our office directly." U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren tweeted: "This is a disgrace. Our veterans deserve better. I'll be demanding answers and accountability from @DeptVetAffairs."

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/10/19/politicians-share-outrage-vet-death-va-hospital.html

See also:

Training on Veteran Suicides Set at Nevada Prisons
19 Oct 2017 — Four months after he enlisted in the Army, John Morse IV was in Iraq. Last year, he hanged himself in a Nevada prison.


Four months after he enlisted in the U.S. Army at 18, John Morse IV was on the front lines in Iraq training the sights of laser range finders on combat targets to be shelled. For the next four years, the fire-support specialist watched dozens of people in his unit die, saw missile fire kill civilians and witnessed the aftermath of a mass beheading. Last year, the 27-year-old who had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder hanged himself in a Nevada prison. His family was awarded a $93,000 settlement last week in a wrongful death suit accusing the Nevada Department of Corrections, a state psychiatrist and state psychologist of ignoring Morse's mental illness.

More important than the money, his family says, is the state's commitment to launch a new suicide training protocol for prison workers intended to help jailed combat veterans like their son — a decorated war hero they say deserved better. "He entered the war a healthy, happy teenager and returned a devastated shell, emotionally ravaged and physically scarred," according to the lawsuit filed in April by his widow, Stephanie Morse, and parents Debbie and John Morse III. They had sought $800,000 in damages. "Nothing can replace my son, but I'm satisfied," the father said. The state initially offered $25,000 then agreed to the settlement in U.S. District Court in Reno — $92,500 for the family, $500 for a plaque or memorial.


http://images03.military.com/media/global/newscred/john-morse-iv-1800-19-oct-2017-ts600.jpeg
John Morse IV poses in Reno, Nev. The state of Nevada has agreed to pay $93,000 to settle a wrongful death suit filed by the family of the 27-year-old U.S. Army veteran.

John Morse IV earned a half-dozen medals, including the Iraq Campaign medal, before he returned to his family in 2009. He briefly worked as a casino security guard and in a fast-food restaurant but was soon unable to work or function in society, the lawsuit said. He "became preoccupied with religious delusion, space aliens, suicide and the unrelenting death and devastation he witnessed," the lawsuit said. He gave away his money and lived under a bridge. His father remembers the day his son telephoned from Iraq to tell him about "walking into a room and seeing a bunch of women beheaded." "My heart literally broke," his father said. "I knew he'd never be the same again. ... But I had no idea how badly John was hurt inside. It's hard to tell when there are no physical, visual impairments."

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs concluded in a report last year that 20 veterans a day commit suicide. An updated study released last month found the national suicide rate among veterans was more than double the rate for the general population. It said Montana, Utah, Nevada and New Mexico had the highest rates of veteran suicide as of 2014 — at least 60 for every 100,000 veterans. VA doctors diagnosed Morse with PTSD and paranoid schizophrenia in 2010. He went to prison in 2015 after attempting suicide and threatening to kill his girlfriend in a bizarre "blood covenant," but he received no medication, counseling or treatment behind bars and was placed in the general population, the lawsuit stated. Based on his pre-sentencing report, prison officials should have known Morse was a potentially suicidal PTSD victim who experienced flashbacks and had been prescribed medications for paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar disease, according to the lawsuit filed by Reno lawyers Terri Keyser-Cooper and Luke Busby.

They said Morse should have been monitored and treated inside one of two psychiatric units at the prison in Carson City. "If he had been placed in either ... he would be alive today," Keyser-Cooper said. State lawyers said in July that all three defendants in the case denied the allegations and had considerable evidence to support their defense. They later agreed to the settlement and new training in consultation with suicide prevention experts. It's not clear when that training will begin. Monica Moazez, a spokeswoman for state Attorney General Adam Laxalt, referred requests for comment to the Department of Corrections. The agency has "implemented a number of veteran integration programs which are quite successful and (is) always considering incorporating more evidence based programs in support of incarcerated veterans," department spokeswoman Brooke Keast said in an email.

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/10/19/training-veteran-suicides-set-nevada-prisons.html

waltky
12-14-2017, 12:27 AM
Faster Veteran Disability Claim Processing Times...
:cool2:
VA, DoD Report Faster Disability Claim Processing Times
13 Dec 2017 - The Department of Veterans Affairs and Defense Department have improved disability claims processing time for troops leaving the military -- but there is still more to be done, officials told lawmakers Wednesday.


Officials with the VA, DoD and the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) testified Wednesday at a House Veterans Affairs subcommittee hearing on the agencies' pre-discharge claims programs. "The most important element that we've seen in making improvements is, in fact, better coordination between the DoD and VA," said Elizabeth Etsy, a Democrat from Connecticut and ranking member on the disability assistance and memorial affairs subcommittee. "That's not easy to do, but it's essential if we're going to continue to make progress." The VA and DoD's Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES), which rolled out in 2009, is designed to streamline the medical discharge or retirement and ratings process for service members. Instead of duplicating many appointments and paperwork, IDES is meant to push troops through with one set of appointments while processing their claim simultaneously.

In 2007, the disability process took an average 540 days from start to finish for the VA to deliver benefits. But in 2017, that timeline dropped to an average of 250 days, Terry Adirim, a deputy assistant secretary of defense for health policy, told lawmakers. And once claims enter the system, the VA is processing them in an average of 81 days -- 102 days faster than in May 2014, when the subcommittee last examined the topic, said Willie Clark, the VA's deputy under secretary for field operations. The VA early this fall shut down a claims process known as "quick start" that allowed troops with 59 days or fewer left in service, considered a late start, to begin the VA disability claims process.


https://images03.military.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/2017-12/disability-evaluation-1800.jpg?itok=Y8tiNP4b

Daniel Barnes, physical evaluation board liaison officer lead at the Integrated Disability Evaluation System Center, Fort Bliss, Texas[/center]

A new program known as Decision Ready Claims was put in place to allow current troops to work with veteran service organizations, such as the American Legion or VFW, to build a claim that can be submitted as soon as they are off active duty and, in theory, processed within 30 days. While an official with the American Legion said his organization has not heard consistently negative feedback, an official with the VFW told the committee that eliminating the quick start program is forcing many veterans to wait to start a claim until after they get out.

In the past, he said, up to half of the claims the VFW helped process were in the quick start category. And while the new Decision Ready process appears to be valuable, he said, the VA needs to provide a pre-discharge solution for those who do not meet that 60 day cutoff. "It troubles us that VA is telling service members it will no longer work on up to 50 percent of pre-discharge claims until they officially leave the military," said Ryan Gallucci, the VFW's director for its national veterans service. Lawmakers said they plan to hold additional hearings on the disability process. "I'm hoping we can find out ways that DoD and VA can make all of the pre-discharge processes more efficient for our nation's service members," said Rep. Mike Bost, an Illinois Republican who chairs the subcommittee.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/12/13/va-dod-report-faster-disability-claim-processing-times.html

See also:

VA Urges Congress to Approve Funding or See 'Dramatic Impact' on Vets
13 Dec 2017 | WASHINGTON -- Veterans' health care will be dramatically affected if Congress finishes out the week without funding a program that permits many veterans to receive private-sector medical care, Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin warned Tuesday.


The Veterans Choice program will be depleted of funds within three to five weeks, Shulkin wrote in a notice to Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. Without more money, the VA will soon stop referring patients to their private-sector doctors, he said. Shulkin warned it could lead to diminished access to health care for veterans. The Choice program was established in 2014 to improve VA wait times and allow veterans to receive treatment closer to their homes. Since it was implemented, 1.9 million veterans have used the program at some point, and about one-third of VA medical appointments are completed in the private sector, according to the VA. "VA's other community care programs will not have the capacity to handle all of the patients who will transition from [the Choice program], and the wait time for appointments at VA facilities will rise if large numbers of veterans return to VA to seek care," Shulkin wrote. "Taking these actions would have a number of negative consequences, including decreased access to care, damaged community partnerships and interrupted care continuity for veterans."

The VA was in the same position just four months ago. The Choice program nearly ran out of money in mid-August before Congress passed a bill providing $2.1 billion in emergency funding to keep it going. In the time since, lawmakers have negotiated legislation to reform the Choice program. Three bills now exist in Congress to provide temporary funding for Choice and create a new system for private-sector care, but lawmakers haven't come to an agreement on one of them. In the past few months, Shulkin shared his own proposal for overhauling community care programs and has urged Congress repeatedly to approve reform legislation before the end of the year. The House is expected to recess Thursday, followed by the Senate on Friday.

In response to the letter, Isakson issued a statement Tuesday asking Senate leadership to schedule a vote on the Caring for Our Veterans Act -- a Choice reform bill that his committee sent to the Senate floor Nov. 29. The legislation, totaling $54 billion, would provide $3 billion to the Choice program and phase it out after one year. "It is critical that we pass this bipartisan legislation before the end of the year to ensure veterans continue to have access to efficient, timely and quality health care," Isakson said in the written statement. "I urge the Senate to quickly pass this bipartisan legislation without delay."

In a statement last week, Shulkin pleaded with Congress to pass another emergency funding bill for the Choice program before the end of the year, and then come back in 2018 to discuss major reforms. With only days remaining before the holiday recess, that option was looking more likely Tuesday. Shulkin wrote the VA spends between $200 million to $400 million each month on appointments made through the Choice program. As of Dec. 7, there was $490 million remaining, but much of that had already been spent in December.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/12/13/va-urges-congress-approve-funding-or-see-dramatic-impact-vets.html

Hal Jordan
12-14-2017, 01:15 AM
I think they deny all initial applications to see if you may not have the gumption to persue it any further.
Not all, but most. Also, it is impossible for an illegal alien to receive disability. Not a single one can. I could probably qualify for disability, thanks to my serious gout issues, but I refuse to try for it. If I can get by with what work I can get, that's good enough for me.