Top VA Benefits Official Overseeing Claims Backlog Resigns Amid Criticism Reports VA Attorney David Magann
Dec 22, 2015
Tampa, FL (Law Firm Newswire) December 22, 2015 – Allison Hickey, undersecretary for benefits at the Department of Veterans Affairs, resigned on Oct. 16 after the department’s internal watchdog discovered flaws in the oversight of promotions involving senior executives.
The VA Inspector General (IG) found that around 24 senior executives were promoted or given new positions within the department. However, many of their salary raises did not “consistently reflect changes in the positions’ scope of responsibility,” according to an IG statement. Hickey was facing a congressional inquiry into the accusations.
Hickey stepped down despite the department’s 88 percent drop in pending veterans’ benefits claims. The IG has released reports suggesting that the department is hasty in processing some claims. The office also questioned the reliability of reports indicating a shrinking backlog.
“The benefits department of the VA needs a leader who focuses on veterans rather than its bureaucrats. Reports of abuse within the department make any progress seem less credible. The claims backlog should not be reduced at the expense of accuracy in processing,” said David Magann, a Florida veterans attorney.
Officials have credited Hickey’s efforts to transition from paperwork to a digital system as contributing to reducing the backlog of disability claims at the VA. Although her VA colleagues lauded her leadership and efforts to modernize the agency, some veterans groups blamed her for management failings in the VA benefits arm and demanded her removal.
Since assuming the benefits undersecretary position in 2011, Hickey has overseen the department’s 20,000 workers and the distribution of benefits to over 12 million veterans and their families. The backlog in pending benefits claims has steadily declined each month from 611,000 in March 2013 to under 74,000 cases in October.
VA leaders emphasized that Hickey’s decision to resign was her own. It was reluctantly accepted by VA Secretary Robert McDonald. Her resignation follows those of former VA Secretary Eric Shinseki and the agency’s health undersecretary Dr. Robert Petzel after scandals regarding lengthy patient wait times in 2014.
Learn more at http://www.tampaveteranslawyer.com/
David W. Magann, P.A.
Main Office:
156 W. Robertson St.
Brandon, FL 33511
Call: (813) 657-9175
Tampa Office:
4012 Gunn Highway #165
Tampa, Florida 33618
- PTSD, "Post" Means After And At Any Time
Government analysis finds Veterans with PTSD can suffer for decades before acknowledging the disorder. The year 2014 marks the 100th-year anniversary of the beginning of World War I, the so-called war to end all wars. And in a bit of irony, a study was released on August 8 that has found that, like the consequences of the “Great War,” the after-effects of combat stress among veterans, just like the after-effects of old wars upon conflicts years later, seems to linger for decades. The study, which was commissioned by the Department of Veterans Affairs, tracked veterans from as far back as the Vietnam […] - Attorney Fees in VA Compensation are Contingent Upon You Winning
Attorney fees in VA Compensation claims are contingent upon winning benefits. The VA’s General Counsel office and regional offices must approve of all fee agreements, which allows 20% of the veteran’s BACK benefits, not future benefits, to be withheld to pay the representative. The attorney does not collect the fee directly from the veteran, but reasonable costs may be collected directly from the veteran claimant. By law, an individual must be accredited by VA as an agent, attorney, or representative of a VA-recognized veterans service organization to assist in the preparation, presentation, and prosecution of a claim for VA benefits. […] - Camp Lejeune Tainted Water Claim? New Rules You Can Use: Justice Delayed
For decades there has been medical complications statistically abnormal for those who were based in Camp Lejeune. Recently there has been considerable media and Congressional attention to the past contamination of the water supply at Camp Lejeune. From 1953 to 1987, the water supply was contaminated with TCE, PCE, benzene, vinyl chloride and “other compounds.” see https://clnr.hqi.usmc.mil/clwater/Site/background_information.html. Because of legislation passed in 2012, the VA now recognizes the medical problems caused by the Camp LeJeune water contamination. There are two areas that a Veteran may be awarded benefits listed below: (1) VA health care benefits may be available. These are […]
