Lord help those veterans who are seriously in need of benefits from the Veterans Administration.
Luckily, while I have filed a claim for VA benefits, I am not in the desperate situation that many of our veterans find themselves.
Sure, I have a military service connected medical condition, But at the moment I have been able to deal with it myself. Fortunately that's the case, because if not I would not likely be around to write this piece.
Unfortunately many veterans cannot deal with their service connected medical problems and are left to suffer without recourse because of the VA's incompetence, overwork, or whatever reason.
We have all read the headlines about horror stories. Politicians are outraged...or so they say. Yet nothing changes.
I filed my claim last year. I had the help of a Veterans Service Officer at the VA in Crown Point, IN.
She helped me gather all the documents, including my military and civilian service medical records, and other paperwork. She assured me this would go through the Indianapolis AMVETS office and be processed. "Don't worry, this is a good claim and we have everything," she told me.
Of course she's not the one who decides about the claim. Nor does AMVETS. They send it off to the VA for processing and a final decision.
There is an online website to monitor the status of your claim. That took about two months to even get posted that I had a claim. That was several months ago. It read "Gathering evidence."
That's fine. I get it. They will probably need military records, etc. Of course, anticipating they would need my military personnel records I requested them from the National Personnel Records Center myself shortly after filing my VA claim.
Periodically checking the status of my claim, I read in February a new note. "Requested evidence is past due." What? I had no idea what that was about.
I called my VSO in Crown Point. She was of no help and told me to call AMVETS in Indianapolis. I did, and left a message. No response or return call.
I decided to call the VA. Ha. That's a joke. Try getting through to the VA about benefits claims. "We're sorry for the delay. Due to high call volume your wait time is 50 minutes," is a recorded message I heard.
I saw there was a LiveChat option. I tried it and after 15 minutes or so I got a VA rep. I told her the issue and she said "let me research it. Please give me a moment." So I did.
She came back online and told me the VA had requested my military medical and personnel records in January from the National Personnel Records Center and were waiting for them. I told her I also had requested them months ago and had yet to receive them. But I said "okay."
Then I sent a status update request to the National Personnel Records Center on or about February 2, 2015. I received an email reply that they were still processing my request and it was due to be completed 3/2/2015 .... but to allow 5-7 days mailing time. Okay.
By March 11 I still had not received them. So I called the Records Center in St. Louis. Again a lengthy wait, but I finally spoke to a representative. She researched and said my request was still in process and she would try to expedite it. I asked about the request made by the VA in January. She said there was a request made in January, "But it was cancelled." What? Why? No explanation. No nothing.
So I hung up and called the VA. This time I waited. I wanted to speak to someone. Finally I did. The polite woman called my claim up and said, "we're waiting for your personnel records because we need them to process your claim." I said I just spoke to the records center and they told me the VA request was cancelled.
Well, we need those records. I said "I know you do, but you'll never get them because the request was cancelled. By whom I don't know."
She started to have an edge in her voice and told me, "whoever is handling your case has many files and when they get back to yours they will see the records haven't been received and send a second request. And they have a lot of files."
Oh My God! How long before whomever gets to my file to even see my records haven't been received. And when they do they'll send a second request. Another who knows how many months. And that's even before they consider my case.
I told the woman would you please at least put a note in my file that I called and said the request for my records had been cancelled according to the records center. She said she would. And she confirmed a second request would delay my claim by several months .... before it's even considered.
In frustration I told her "I just would like my claim to be considered before I die."
A very good friend of mine also has a pending VA claim, which is going on four -- yes four -- years.
But the real tragedy is who knows how many deserving veterans did not survive to see their VA benefit claims processed due to the extraordinary delays.
So despite the rhetoric about a national disgrace concerning the VA, nothing appears to have changed. And frankly I doubt it will.
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