VA is seeing the error in there way with rule and stopped enforcement, it was a disastrous rule thatvwould only harm Veterans.

Maroon Dawn said:

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I simply don't understand how anyone can look at the VA and think "See what a great job they do?! Let's expand this to 400 million people!"

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Depends. The rural VA clinics are absolutely fantastic. The main hospitals not so much.

If you never took the oath and put the uniform on, quit your damn b****ing about benefits given to Veterans.
It's true that there are some veterans who take advantage of the system, but the vast majority of Veterans earned what they are given as compensation for illnesses and injuries that are a result of their time in service; especially those who served in combat

Tea Party said:

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Aggie12B said:

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If you never took the oath and put the uniform on, quit your damn b****ing about benefits given to Veterans.
It's true that there are some veterans who take advantage of the system, but the vast majority of Veterans earned what they are given as compensation for illnesses and injuries that are a result of their time in service; especially those who served in combat

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What a dumb comment.

People can say disabled veteran's deserve benefits and also say that how said tax payer funded benefits to "disabled veterans" are being handed out like candy and are being abused.

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I have a question for you? did you ever serve?

BBRex said:

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They're getting paid with taxpayer money, and the taxpayers deserve an accounting for how that money was spent and the rationale for why that money was spent (both big picture and granular). So get that trash argument out of here.

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If the government is going to put them in harm's way, the government damn should take care of them afterwards

BBRex said:

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They're getting paid with taxpayer money, and the taxpayers deserve an accounting for how that money was spent and the rationale for why that money was spent (both big picture and granular). So get that trash argument out of here.

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Then save your criticism for congress and those writing the CFR's. There's a lot of accusations of "fraud" leveled at veterans who have done nothing but claimed a medical condition that is covered by the CFR and compensable. You may not like the fact that it's covered but by law it is. For example, if you have irritable bowel disease and you served in the Middle East it's likely 30% and auto assumed service connected. Same with migraines and a few others. Again, you may not like that, but it's of no fault to the veteran. He's simply claiming what the taxpayers agreed to compensate him for by way of their elected representatives.

Aggie12B said:

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BBRex said:

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They're getting paid with taxpayer money, and the taxpayers deserve an accounting for how that money was spent and the rationale for why that money was spent (both big picture and granular). So get that trash argument out of here.

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If the government is going to put them in harm's way, the government damn should take care of them afterwards

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Who is the government in your world?
Who do you think the government works for?
How does the government get their funding?

Tea Party said:

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Aggie12B said:

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BBRex said:

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They're getting paid with taxpayer money, and the taxpayers deserve an accounting for how that money was spent and the rationale for why that money was spent (both big picture and granular). So get that trash argument out of here.

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If the government is going to put them in harm's way, the government damn should take care of them afterwards

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Who is the government in your world?
Who do you think the government works for?
How does the government get their funding?

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The government is made up of elected representatives who have decided to compensate veterans for defined conditions with set amounts based on ratings tables. The taxpayer has funded and set aside the amount to cover said ratings and still much of it goes unclaimed each year.

The veterans get this compensation because the taxpayer has overwhelmingly decided to task the VA to take care of the veteran and place that need above financial consideration, which is also why the law is written that in cases of doubt, the VA is required to find on the side of the Vereran.

That's why the taxpayer decided and that's what they got.

Exactly, he conveniently seems to pass over the "abuse" part of the phrase "waste, fraud and abuse".

EFR said:

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Exactly, he conveniently seems to pass over the "abuse" part of the phrase "waste, fraud and abuse".

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Waste fraud and abuse have specific definitions. They aren't based on feels or hunches.

Teslag said:

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BBRex said:

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They're getting paid with taxpayer money, and the taxpayers deserve an accounting for how that money was spent and the rationale for why that money was spent (both big picture and granular). So get that trash argument out of here.

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Then save your criticism for congress and those writing the CFR's. There's a lot of accusations of "fraud" leveled at veterans who have done nothing but claimed a medical condition that is covered by the CFR and compensable. You may not like the fact that it's covered but by law it is. For example, if you have irritable bowel disease and you served in the Middle East it's likely 30% and auto assumed service connected. Same with migraines and a few others. Again, you may not like that, but it's of no fault to the veteran. He's simply claiming what the taxpayers agreed to compensate him for by way of their elected representatives.

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Reading Texags often gives me irritable bowel syndrome

rwtxag83 said:

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The Air Force actually sends people leaving the service to a class to teach them how to maximize what they can get.

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This is, at best, a gross mischaracterization, if not a bald faced lie. The classes that AF (and all DoW personnel) attend are mandated by Congress. To the extent that they talk about the VA, they inform you of what your windows are for filing certain types of VA claims, the importance of requesting your medical records, and the recommendation to use a Veterans Service Officer (who is certified by the VA) to help file your claim if you need it. There is an optional class that explains some of the other VA benefits available to departing service members, such as home loans and health care, and how to apply for them.

And an accredited VSO doesn't teach you to fraudulently "maximize your claim" either. They do assist you in filing a complete claim to accurately portray what is documented in your medical records. For a claim to be approved by the VA you have to have a medical diagnosis, a clearly demonstrated impact, and it has to be directly connected to your service.

If you want to look at who does promote fraudulent behavior and "maximizing" claims with shoddy evidence, look at the for profit claims companies like VA Claims Insider, VA Claims Academy, etc. These are NOT certified my the VA, and they make money by using a network of teledocs to generate shoddy evidence to pump up claims and take a huge cut of the veteran benefits awarded. Then they leave the veteran holding the bag in a fraud investigation. The VA is actively trying to shut these places down. Ken Paxton even brought suit against VACI.

So yes, there is fraud in VA claims. But it's not taught through the services, it isn't condoned, and it's a drop in the bucket compared to Medicare or other welfare fraud. That doesn't make it right, but hopefully puts it into perspective.

Teslag said:

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BBRex said:

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They're getting paid with taxpayer money, and the taxpayers deserve an accounting for how that money was spent and the rationale for why that money was spent (both big picture and granular). So get that trash argument out of here.

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Then save your criticism for congress and those writing the CFR's. There's a lot of accusations of "fraud" leveled at veterans who have done nothing but claimed a medical condition that is covered by the CFR and compensable. You may not like the fact that it's covered but by law it is. For example, if you have irritable bowel disease and you served in the Middle East it's likely 30% and auto assumed service connected. Same with migraines and a few others. Again, you may not like that, but it's of no fault to the veteran. He's simply claiming what the taxpayers agreed to compensate him for by way of their elected representatives.

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I never said a word about fraud. My questions were, generally speaking, what are we paying for and why. And those are valid questions for taxpayers, who are funding this, to ask.

Capt. Augustus McCrae said:

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Psycho Bunny said:

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So this explains why ever other car on the freeway has DV plates. Years ago, it was a unicorn in the wild to see DV plates. Now days, family of family have them on their cars.

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They get reduced vehicle registration rates and get to park in handicap parking spots with those plates too. It always makes me laugh when I see a lifted truck in a handicap parking spot.

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You do not get to park in handicapped spots in TX with DV plates unless you have handicapped tags as well. They changed that 3-4 years ago.

Teslag said:

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Psycho Bunny said:

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So this explains why ever other car on the freeway has DV plates. Years ago, it was a unicorn in the wild to see DV plates. Now days, family of family have them on their cars.

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The main reason you see so many DV plates now is the expansion of toll roads in Texas. DV plates exempt you from the tolls.

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. Not necessarily accurate. You have to apply for it with each toll road authority, and each one is different about what roads it applies to. In Austin, for example, it doesn't apply on the southern parts of 130, on the metered lanes on MoPac, and I think some others.

BBRex said:

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Teslag said:

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BBRex said:

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They're getting paid with taxpayer money, and the taxpayers deserve an accounting for how that money was spent and the rationale for why that money was spent (both big picture and granular). So get that trash argument out of here.

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Then save your criticism for congress and those writing the CFR's. There's a lot of accusations of "fraud" leveled at veterans who have done nothing but claimed a medical condition that is covered by the CFR and compensable. You may not like the fact that it's covered but by law it is. For example, if you have irritable bowel disease and you served in the Middle East it's likely 30% and auto assumed service connected. Same with migraines and a few others. Again, you may not like that, but it's of no fault to the veteran. He's simply claiming what the taxpayers agreed to compensate him for by way of their elected representatives.

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I never said a word about fraud. My questions were, generally speaking, what are we paying for and why. And those are valid questions for taxpayers, who are funding this, to ask.

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The for and why is an easy question to get answered. For those not familiar with the VA disability process it can seem rather nebulous and full of "fraud". Especially when you get so many of the stories like "I know a guy that gets 125% because he got a tattoo off post and it got infected". The ratings and criteria are all published. I

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/chapter-I/part-4


The taxpayer can easily see what and why they pay for what they do.

And of course, on the 3rd section clear as day in the CFR....

Quote:

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It is the defined and consistently applied policy of the Department of Veterans Affairs to administer the law under a broad interpretation, consistent, however, with the facts shown in every case. When after careful consideration of all procurable and assembled data, a reasonable doubt arises regarding the degree of disability such doubt will be resolved in favor of the claimant.

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Like I said accurately (and was called "stupid" for) is that the VA is by law tasked to take care of the veteran first, taxpayer second.

Capt. Augustus McCrae said:

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Psycho Bunny said:

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So this explains why ever other car on the freeway has DV plates. Years ago, it was a unicorn in the wild to see DV plates. Now days, family of family have them on their cars.

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They get reduced vehicle registration rates and get to park in handicap parking spots with those plates too. It always makes me laugh when I see a lifted truck in a handicap parking spot.

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My neighbor lost his leg in combat and has a lifted truck with DV plates.

Lmk if you want his contact info so you can laugh at him.

For every Veteran receiving compensation for "BullS*** " conditions such as sleep apnea or whatever, there are more Veterans NOT receiving compensation for "real" conditions. A large number of Veterans end of giving up trying to get the compensation they deserve because they get frustrated by having their legitimate claims denied

Most Veterans, when they were on active duty, never got, or sought, treatment for their various injuries suffered in the line of duty for a variety of reasons. Reasons such as they didn't want to be seen as a "Sickcall Ranger" who went to the medics to get out of training. They didn't want to let their buddys down. They didn't want to leave their team, or squad, or platoon short handed. They didn't want to appear weak. They were afraid of getting diagnosed for something that would negatively affect their career, or even end their career.

Less than 1% of the population in America is CURRENTLY serving in the military. Less than 8% of the American population has ever served. According to the VA, the average age of the American Veteran is 60 years of age. World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War Veterans are dying off, whether as a result of age or from injuries and illnesses that are a result of their time on active duty. In my opinion, the US Government and the VA don't give a damn about taking care of Veterans, except when it is convenient for them to do so.

Aston04 said:

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Make substantive change to counter the frequent fraud in the va disability system and then I would be sympathetic.

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Yeah but then they wouldn't be able to gloat about how we paid for their Teslas and ski boats!

Aggie12B said:

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BBRex said:

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They're getting paid with taxpayer money, and the taxpayers deserve an accounting for how that money was spent and the rationale for why that money was spent (both big picture and granular). So get that trash argument out of here.

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If the government is going to put them in harm's way, the government damn should take care of them afterwards

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When was the draft? I was under the impression that military service, at least in the last 50+ years, was all volunteer.

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I would say the VAST majority have not earned them.

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What quantifiable research and data have you compiled to determine this?

There was very little thinking put into this rule and it shows BIG TIME!!

Ol_Ag_02 said:

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Teslag said:

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Quote:

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I would say the VAST majority have not earned them.

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What quantifiable research and data have you compiled to determine this?

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The more you post, the more we hate VA benefits. You're literally turning people against helping veterans by telling us how much you're ripping us off.

If you really cared about veterans you'd stop posting.

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The ultimate fate of the VA disability system will not hinge upon the random posts on a college football fan forum.

Something this impactful that totally effects the care of Veterans needs input from Veteran Groups, Veterans, Congress, that was not done, it was ad-hocism at best and punitive.

He doesn't have facts. He has feelings, opinions, anecdotal stories, and made up bull*****

Teslag said:

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Quote:

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I would say the VAST majority have not earned them.

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What quantifiable research and data have you compiled to determine this?

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Message board posts that justify defrauding the taxpayer as long as "I gets mine".