The VA mistakenly sent letters this month to at least 1,200 veterans informing them of disability benefits they could receive as sufferers of Lou Gehrig’s disease, according to the National Gulf War Resource Center. The VA disputes the number, saying that it sent 1,864 letters and only a “small number” were erroneous.
Jim Bunker, president of the veterans’ group, says it stands by its figures, while the VA has said it is still reviewing its files to determine how many people received the letter in error.
According to Bunker, the VA told him that a coding error was responsible. The VA uses codes to represent various diseases in patients’ files and it appears some patients had the wrong codes added to their files.
NGWRC has received numerous calls and e-mails from panicked veterans about the letter, far beyond the 10 the VA claims to have received. “Many of these veterans went to private clinicians to get a second opinion,” Bunker said in a statement on the NGWRC web site. “This second opinion outside of the VA is very expensive and can range from $1000 to $3000 or more.”
The VA has said it will personally telephone everyone who received the letter in error to explain the error and offer apologies. Veterans with concerns about the letter can contact the VA at 1-800-827-1000, according to a statement released Monday.
An Iraq war veteran once told me he thought his Veterans Administration doctor was trying to kill him. It seems the latest VA cost-saving trick is to try to frighten veterans to death. They need the money to pay for employee bonuses and nepotism, after all. Hospitals filled with mold, mice and cockroaches are no problem, veterans distressed by bureaucratic mistakes are no problem, as long as the bigwigs get paid. With your money.
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andi
Aug 25, 2009
My dad was diagnosed by a private neurologist as having ALS, the VA after thier testing told him he could not get benefits because it is an “undiagnosed nerological disease”. He has now received this joke of a letter…talk about “salt in the wound”. I will fight my children tooth and nail to NEVER EVER let them serve in this military after my dad being treated like a dog.
Venus
Aug 25, 2009
This is why I and you should continue to lobby the VA for correct of mistreatment, mishand of Gulf War Veterans.
This Committee is asking for written comments from Veterans
This Committee is allowing Vets to speak before them, during Public Coment Sessions.
This Committee is allowing Vets to Teleconferece – hearing sessions by telephone.
Silence is not an Option ! http://www.va.gov/gulfwaradvisorycommittee
VA – Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans
Department of Veterans Affairs
Office of Policy and Planning (008A1)
810 Vermont Ave, Washington, DC 20420
202-461-5758 Lelia P. Jackson, Policy Analyst ,lelia.jackson@va.gov
Highlander
Aug 25, 2009
Why do you think they want to bring back the draft?
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When the word gets out about how the ‘volunteers’ are being treated, the numbers will dwindle to near nothing.
Sep 02, 2009
Democrats’ health care pep rallies confuse, mislead - Homeland Stupidity