VA bonuses add up to $16.9M over 5 years
The Washington Examiner reports that the VA has given out about $16.9 million in bonuses to senior executives over the past five years.
There appears to be little correlation between pay and performance. For instance, one of the worst-performing regional offices is in Phoenix, where the average wait time for a veteran to get a disability rating is almost 470 days — more than 15 months.
Sandra Flint has been director of the Phoenix regional office for about eight years. Since 2007, she has received at least $53,109 in bonuses, including more than $21,000 in merit bonuses, according to the records obtained by The Washington Examiner. Her 2011 salary was $165,300.
Since 2009, the backlog of claims in Phoenix has more than doubled and now stands at just under 80 percent. Flint did not return telephone calls seeking comment.
Another long-time regional director who has reaped big bonuses is Carl Hawkins, the top executive in the Columbia, S.C., office since about 1998. Hawkins was paid $79,275 in performance bonuses over five years, the third-highest among current regional office directors. His pay in 2011 was $165,300.
Since 2009, the backlog of disability claims in Columbia has grown from 32.5 percent to 71.2 percent. It now takes an average of 308 days to rate a claim in Columbia.
The VA has been taking a beating from the media on the backlog, bonuses and other waste – such as expensive employee conferences, but there has been only the same response from the leadership for the passt several years – ‘we’ll fix it.’
The time for excuses is over. There is a complete leadership failure at the VA and leaders need to be held accountable. It is long past time for Eric Shinseki and his immediate subordinate directors to be relieved and replaced. Their failures are an absolute disgrace, and they are ultimately responsible.
Shinskei, you’re a failure – it’s time to accept your responsibility and get someone in there who can actually fix something.
Cross posted from After the Army.
Category: Veterans' Affairs Department
Like John Stewart said.. “We should hire unemployed veterans to run and work for the VA and they can start by processing their own claims and then move on to others.”
I find it curious that Phoenix is called “one of the worst performing” VAROs due apparently solely because of processing time for claims. A plausible alternative explanation is that the Phoenix VARO actually looks at claims critically (which takes longer) and has a very heavy workload to begin with (lots of vets retire to Arizona). I’ve dealt with the Phoenix VARO (many years ago now). My impression was the latter is the case.
This is a pet peeve of mine. A long time to process a claim does not automatically equate to incompetence on the part of the VA office involved. It may instead mean that the office involved is actually looking at claims critically, or is so inundated with claims (deserving plus fake) that they cannot keep up. Or a combination of both.
We also can’t have it both ways. We want claims processed quickly, but we also want the VA to do a good job in screening out bogus claims. If we want the VA to do a good job of screening out bogus claims, we have to accept some degree of delay in claims processing. Both simultaneously just ain’t possible.
The VA could indeed clear their backlog overnight by taking every claim at face value and approving it “no questions asked”. Somehow, given the amount of fakery we already know is out there I just can’t see that as a good idea.
Well Eric couldn’t give them berets so he had to give them bonuses instead
All right Hondo, your turn:
My contribution to fixing:
1. All employees are classified as ‘At Will,’ and above GS-09, also classified as ‘Exempt.’
2. Bonuses at all grades tied to specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely (SMART) goals. e.g. reform business process that reduces record wait time. Wait is defined as the amount of time a vet’s record waits for the next step.
3. The VA’s and DoD’s IT is dispersed (along with the power to manage it). Use the POTUS directives to reduce data centers and use Federal CIO standards for data, tech and so on to bring a comprehensive, cohesive system. Hardest part is being the pipe to handle 10+ Terabytes/second transmissions.
4. Introduce free market competition: if a civilian consortium can bring all this to us in 3 years, they get a 10 year contract to manage the VA and all its subsidiaries.
Agree: using Industrial Age time-motion studies to measure success is BS.
There are number of tools out there that could automate the review process, and integrated with NARA and other sites, could tell human analysts who’s genuine and who isn’t.
Medical dictionaries, diseases, common [mis]treatments (i.e. Ranger Candy for torn ligaments) and such to help the RN and MD making the assessments for initial medical evals.
Boost the IG to conduct audits, review logs, and turn over fraud to IRS and HHS (SSA) for recouping money.
Hondo, it’s true that we can’t just stamp the claims approved, but there is much more to the issue than just validating for fraud.
The problems range from everything still being on paper – and the phsyical record keeping related to that; the failure of the VA and DoD to implement a working joint electronic record system; and the inconsistency of claims processors – e.g. some will deny legit claims while others just approve anything.
It is a crapshoot – and that’s the problem. While it will never be perfect, the leadership has basically sat back and shrugged their shoulders while doing nothing to fix anything.
DaveO:
My initial thoughts:
1. We’ve tried “at will” employment for Federal employees before; it was called the “spoils system”. No thanks – “cure” would be worse than the malady.
2. Exempt under FLSA doesn’t mean much any more now that all GS are technically hourly vice salaried.
3. No issue with bonuses tied to specific objectives.
4. Combining VA and DoD IT is a non-starter. VA has no need for most systems DoD possesses. Excessive dispersion also carries some significant IA baggage.
5. Contracting out the entire VA medical system could be done. Contracting out claims adjudication can only be done to a limited extent, as many of those functions are inherently governmental. Ditto many of the DVA’s functions relating dispersal of funds to individuals.
One of the few things the Reagan administration got wrong IMO was to go overboard in “contracting out” functions. Some functions are inherently governmental and by law must be performed by government employees. And private industry is often NOT more efficient or cost effective. I’ve seen cases where the same job performed by a contractor vice a government employee with the same skills and expertise cost 33% to 50% more – AFTER including benefits for the govt employee.
IMO, the primary problem with the VA is that it is set up for failure. It tries to be all things to all people. It does not have well defined core mission areas (what’s #1 – medical care? handing out cash? educational assistance? pensions? are we more concerned with processing claims quickly or with preventing waste/fraud/abuse?) Until it figures those out, defines/clarifies it’s long-term goals and strategy, and gets better leadership, IMO it won’t change. IMO it won’t because under those conditions, it can’t. There are too many competing demands to be “fixed”.
Once the VA does the above, the leadership at the VA can change it. But that will take time. I’d guess about 5 years.
Rob: no issue with anything you said. My only issue was with the “they’re slow, so they’re bad” phrase you quoted from another source. My disagreement is with them, not you.
Absent other information, that’s a worse than worthless metric. It tells you little of value and can actually obscure the truth.
Yes, the VA and DoD need to share medical information better. But there are short-term interim solutions for that. Two quick-and-dirty ones: (1) scan/generate an individual’s freaking med records to PDF, digitally sign them, burn to CD/DVD, and give 2 copies to the soldier while outprocessing. Then give selected folks at VAROs and VAMCs CAC cards and access to HRC’s on-line military records for the purpose of service validation. Signed records on CD/DVD and VA personnel with CACs means the records can be validated on arrival and imported into the VA system. And access to HRC’s on-line personnel records lets the VA actually verify service (vice depending on easily-forged paper) for anyone who’s left the service since about 2000 (or earlier, for USAR). Similar would work for service records for USN, USMC, and USAF as well.
Unfortunately, no one seems to want to hear this kind of short-term stuff. It seems both DoD and DVA would each prefer to argue over a long-term plan to “solve world hunger” while trying to preserve their own way of doing business and making the other change to their way of doing things.
Kinda sad, really. The short term stuff is IMO feasible and could be done fairly quickly. Couple that with a small liaison staff from the VA at NPRC (for old records) and the requirement that any vet applying for VA anything signs an SF180, and we’re IMO at at least the 60% solution PDQ.
So, we have many VARO’s that experience a higher number of claims than others who because of population do not see the same workload.
Question is of course, is every VARO equally staffed or are they staffed dependent on the workload for their area of coverage?
We have also seen complaints in the past when things were not simply backlogged as now(and even still), that there is a great disparity in how claims are treated and rated from one region to the next. Some denying an exorbitant amount or low balling claims compared to other VARO’s. Where others the process goes faster and with less need for appeals.
There is no uniformity. There is no uniformity in the VA whether it is on the VA Claims side or the VA Health Care System side. It goes so deep in the system, that we are just now seeing it break down because of all the crap built into it over decades of neglect and nepotism. Inequality of care across the board is the end result, and that leads to dead veterans and claims being granted that should not be, and ones that should taking far too long to get through the system. When I hear of Korean War Veterans still having claims issues, my head spins.
How to fix it? Clean house from the top down. Uniformity across the board, redistribute workload where feasible, and make your employment performance based… Let me tell you, that is tricky right there in larger organizations where you have such incestuous hiring practices that have taken place over the decades, to the point you have VA Hospitals where everyone has extended family working somewhere in the system. (I can only speak to first hand observation of that in a Hospital, though I find it hard to believe that would not have occurred in the regional offices as well.)
Rob Strain: the VA isn’t a crapshoot. It is designed to be this way.
Hondo,
So what is the core competency? Agree that it is post-service social welfare.
Another way of looking at it:
Reduce it to just a version of the VBA. Coordinate with HHS (SSA), for the services HHS provides.
As for the rest of the VA, there is nothing in the VA that can’t be done better out on the economy.
As to your points on the VA employees: the HR system is already a de facto spoils system.
I have said it all along that they need to shit-can the majority of the supervisory staff and replace them with current and former military admin. Not the higher ranks, but the NCOs and the junior officers who know how to work. Then, let them clean house. If you can’t do your job, we’ll replace you with someone who can.
DaveO: um, no. The VA appears to be a large bureaucracy with a large dose of nepotism vice any form of “spoils system”. If it were a “spoils system”, you’d see huge turnover after every Presidential election – not only in leadership, but in rank-and-file as well. Hiring would be based on partisan politics vice (at least theoretically) on merit.
The reaction to this practice (1830s to 1880s) gave rise to the current “merit system” used by the Federal government to fill most Federal jobs. Though the newer “merit system” has it’s faults and abusers, it’s imminently preferable to allowing wholescale turnover in Federal jobs based on partisan politics every time we have a Presidential election.
As to the rest of your proposal: theoretically, the DVA could be disbanded and it’s functions either contracted out, moved to other agencies (HHS), with maybe a few remaining “dogs and cats” handled by a MUCH smaller Federal agency. Politically, that’s a non-starter. Every VSOs (AmLegion, DVA, etc . . . ) would scream bloody murder. So would most vets and (probably) DoD. Neither political party would support it because of our “debt to veterans”. Just ain’t gonna happen.
@Hondo, to your point about scanning records and CAC cards for select individuals at VARO’s and VAMC’s. That is much easier than you can even imagine, we already use the same type of ID as a CAC card, so having them synced with DoD Records should not be a huge issue beyond insuring only those who need access obtain it.
Honestly though, while information could be transferred faster and more efficiently via digital records. I never had an issue with VA not having my Med Records from the Army, it was what they did once they had them that was the problem. They just “missed” documented injuries, etc.. that were staring them right in the face and denied claims. I see the whole “Med records” issue as a red herring when it comes to the real problems here at the VA.
executive bonuses? I’m in the wrong career field.
This is a pet peeve of mine. A long time to process a claim does not automatically equate to incompetence on the part of the VA office involved. It may instead mean that the office involved is actually looking at claims critically, or is so inundated with claims (deserving plus fake) that they cannot keep up. Or a combination of both.
You’re right. On an individual file-by-file basis, a “time to serve” measurement isn’t necessarily a good standard.
But for a regional office, with thousands and 10s of thousands of files processed a month, it all evens out. On a regional level, files per person per month is a reasonable standard of measurement, especially when comparing region to region, unless there’s some weird phenomenon where all the difficult cases congregate in one region and all the easy ones congregate somewhere else.
#13 rb325th: if the records are still in digits, they can be searched and those injuries, illnesses, mistreatments can be picked up.
Hondo, I will concede the historical definition of the Spoils System. The HR system for the VA is wretchedly corrupt however you name it.
Nik: you’re mixing apples and oranges. By itself, average processing time is not a meaningful rate statistic. Without additional additional information, you cannot use it to derive a meaningful rate statistic.
In contrast, files processed per person per month is a meaningful statistic. However, though better even that is insufficient to tell you if you have a problem or not.
Here’s why: for simplicity, say you have one person processing claims at a given office. Also say that individual reviews and processes on average one claim per hour. For a 22 workday month, that works out to 264 claims per person per month.
If the office receives more than an average of 264 claims daily, you’ll begin to develop a backlog. The backlog will continue to grow until (1) you add more claims processors, (2) figure out how to process more quickly, or (3) see a downturn in the average number of claims received per day.
Let’s assume that an average of 1 claim per hour is the “sweet spot” balance between error and speed, and can’t effectively be improved without risking waste. That rules out (2). Let’s also assume (3) ain’t gonna happen any time soon. That leaves (1). Now assume you don’t get more people.
That means the backlog will continue to grow. Since the backlog will continue to grow, the average processing time will start to grow – even if the employee continues to work at the same daily rate. At some point, the time to process a claim will reach 100, 200, or however many days you want – with all but one hour of that being time waiting “in queue” and the last hour the actual time spent processing the claim.
Bottom line: until you analyze specifics of what’s going on, you can’t be sure that things will ever “even out”. Over time, it might. Or the office might simply be so understaffed (or so inefficient) that it will never catch up unless serious changes are made.
DaveO: I’ll agree the VA has issues with it’s personnel system. All Federal agencies do.
But I’ll be damned if I know how to fix them. There just ain’t no such thing as a perfect system. Any system that can be used can be abused.
And if a system can be abused – someone will try to do exactly that.
@17
That’s why I was saying to compare the regions against each other. And no, by itself files per person per month isn’t ideal, but in conjunction with other things, it can be a valuable diagnostic.
If all the regions are processing around 264 claims per person per month, yet two of the 12 regions are increasing in their backlog, that’s a good indicator that those two regions need more people.
But, if one region is processing 204 per person per month where the others are processing 264-ish, and that region’s backlog is increasing, that’s an indicator of performance issues. Whereas if they’re doing 204 per person per month and they have no backlog, maybe they have too many people.
Now if a unit is doing 310 per person per month, which is dramatically better than the 264 figured, it’s time to visit that place, do an audit and if they have a clean inspection, learn what they’re doing to teach the other units. If they come up with piss-poor performance to pad their stats, time to hammer them.