More VA “Good News” Stories
VA management is in the news again. And not in a good way – as if I really needed to say that last.
First, we have the highly efficient administrator of the VA Hospital in Puerto Rico. The man is amazing. He’s getting paid nearly $180k a year – but he’s worth every penny. He’s so good that he can get his job done while only showing up for work at his primary duty station about two-thirds of the time. In a one year period, he delegated authority for someone to act in his absence on about 80 days.
Did I mention that during one of his absences, at 2AM one morning he was arrested in Florida – while sitting in a car, reportedly reeking of alcohol? Or that he also reportedly refused twice to take a breathalyzer test? And was also apparently in possession of oxycodone for which he had no prescription? Well, I guess I just did.
Second, there’s that enterprising VA manager in Hawaii. He had a claims backlog problem, and HQ was wanted the processing time shortened.
His solution? Cook the books. He figured out how to bypass controls in the VA’s system that tracked the progress of claims so he could make his team’s performance look better than it really was.
Doing that also had some other effects, though. Specifically, it also delayed the actual processing and payment of valid claims for qualifying vets.
The individual no longer works for the VA, thankfully. He resigned. That’s good – because based on what we’ve seen in other cases recently, I have my doubts whether the VA would have fired him.
I’m really starting to wonder whether “raze and rebuild” isn’t a better option for the VA at this point than “repair”. It’s looking more and more like they may really be FUBAR.
Category: Veterans' Affairs Department
Hondo – “raze and rebuild” may be the only option. The culture is so toxic that any attempt to try and fix it would probably be met with resistance by people like those that you show in your write-up.
My master’s paper was based on this problem – the only solution that I recommended was to start from scratch and change the processes that are in place to terminate employees. Until that happens, we will continue to see stories like what you posted come to light.
Also, during my research, I found out that the VA has been rolling over funds every year in the billions that they could be using to improve access and the quality of care to vets.
I’m still trying to find the link but last night I read a story about the VA in Hawaii cooking the books this kind of crap is amazing
I believe raze and rebuild is a far better option, than many others I have heard tossed about. I for one firmly believe that the VA should not be privatised, as it needs Government Oversight that would be lost. However, the fact that oversight has been seriously lacking is also apparent.
They do need to at this point do a complete systems redesign, and heavily recruit well qualified and capable Veterans who can be trained in any of the required duty positions at the VA easily enough. Think of it as an “End of term in Service AIT” for those who are willing to comitt to continuing their service on the civillian side.
We need a direct connection between DoD and VA on all matters concerning Veterans Medical Records, as well as their personel records to better ensure that what is being claimed in regards to disabiltu actually matches up with a Soldiers duties/tours/deployments…
We don’t need a bunch of E-4 Mafia types though, and we do have pletny of those even in managment positions. We need a culture of accountability and integrity, and you are not going to get that with the system that is in place now. Too many obstacles to firing the right people, and preventing retaliation by corrupt managment and their lackey’s. Good ole Boy network has got to be dismantled at every level.
I wonder what he was doing in Florida?
Anybody care to venture a guess?
Yep, he had just finished the 0130 hrs APL job interview with Phildo when the cops showed up.
He’s been waiting for the call-back with “baited breath”.
Here’s AW1 Tim’s recommendations for rebuilding the VA:
1.) It becomes a government-supported corporation.
2.) Executives with actual experience running large corporations are hired to run the thing.
3.) Unions are eliminated. All positions are reviewed and individuals replaced as required. Pay & advancement based upon merit, not seniority.
4.) The “centralized bureaucracy” portion of patient care is loosened so that patients needing clinic appointments (IE, eye exams,dental, etc) may contact those clinics directly, rather than have to get an appointment with their primary care physician who then asks for a referral to that clinic.
5.) Contracts for pharmacy items, medical supplies, food services, etc, are let out to bid biannually.
That’s it for now, but just doing those basic things would be one helluva start, it seems to me.
1) Isn’t it already or are you talking about Corp’s like JP Morgan
2) Do you really want someone who is going to try and turn a profit in this type of endevor? See #1
3)So it is OK to systematically deny rights of American Citizens, or just the rights you do not like. See 2nd Amnd
4)PCP are there to stream line and diagnose, Web MD does not always work. You would have thousands of people making MRI’s for hangnails.
5)It already is contracted out, have you seen the amount of paperwork that has to be submitted for a Contract bid. It is up to th COR-CO to write proper reviews, many of the contracts have option years. Bad reviews will allow for the options not to be approved.
Umm… can you name the amendment that guarantees the right to belong to a union?
Not arguing your point per se… just your use of the 2nd to back it up.
Unions may or may not have a place, but they are not (to my knowledge) a Constitutional right.
That is all…
Look at the First Amendment which guarantees the right of the people to assemble.
Effective advocacy of both public and private points of view, particularly controversial ones, is undeniably enhanced by group association, as this Court has more than once recognized by remarking upon the close nexus between the freedoms of speech and assembly. De Jonge v. Oregon, 299 U. S. 353, 364; Thomas v. Collins, 323 U. S. 516, 530. It is beyond debate that freedom to engage in association for the advancement of beliefs and ideas is an inseparable aspect of the “liberty” assured by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which embraces freedom of speech. See Gitlow v. New York, 268 U. S. 652, 666; Palko v. Connecticut, 302 U. S. 319, 324; Cantwell v. Connecticut, 310 U. S. 296, 303; Staub v. City of Baxley, 355 U. S. 313, 321. Of course, it is immaterial whether the beliefs sought to be advanced by association pertain to political, economic, religious or cultural matters, and state action which may have the 461*461 effect of curtailing the freedom to associate is subject to the closest scrutiny.”
Source: NAACP v. Alabama ex rel. Patterson
People have the right to assemble, associate and band together for the furtherance of common beliefs, causes and actions.
Such associations can be called a “union.”
Freedom of assembly is a constitutional given. Collective bargaining, striking which impedes operations in support of a desired pay raise – not so much.
And yes, the 2nd is totally inapplicable.
I believe what CB Senior was trying to say is that when you start to pick and choose what rights you want to protect while dismissing other rights, you may not like the long term results.
If you say that people do not have the right to assemble and associate in a union, then there is a “slippery slope” threat to other amendments such as the Second Amendment.
You really do have a problem with comprehension, don’t you? Unions aren’t guaranteed in any part of the constitution.
I’d argue, and I believe quite successfully, that one of the greatest problems our federal government faces is unionized employees. That federal employees were permitted to organize is something that should be vilified by every taxpayer in this nation. NO employee whose pay is derived from tax money should ever be permitted to join and/or form a union, unless it’s unrelated to his/her job. I’d say it ought to be that way all the way down through state to county to city employees.
As to CEO’s, those guys wouldn’t be running the VA as a “for profit” corporation. It should be set up as a non-profit corporation, in the same way that the federal government has set similar ones. Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae come to mind. But the VA needs leadership and a firm hand on the till in the way that large civilian corporations are handled, with an eye towards efficiency while returning to the shareholders (in this case the taxpayers) a solid return on their investment. In this case, that solid return would be a world-class medical system for our veterans.
But of course, you can’t see that through your own biases.
And contracts are often let by the VA without any competitive bidding. It’s ripe for corruption, and little changes no matter the number of complaints. I’ve seen it first-hand. Mandating competitive bidding, and limiting contracts to a 2-year term does wonders to cut down on corruption and poor service.
Having said that, there’s also a lot to be said for the VA to NOT put so much out for bid. Rather than put the cafeteria and food services to bid, set up an in house program, with permanent employees, with preference given to veterans for all those positions.
You need to chillax and think a bit before jumping to conclusions.
You really do have a problem with comprehension, don’t you? Unions aren’t guaranteed in any part of the constitution.
The right to assemble is a part of the Constitution. That “right of assembly” was known to mean the right to associate for a common purpose and cause.
Like it or not, Unions are associations of people for a common purpose and cause.
Now if you want to go down the street that says the word “union” is not mentioned in the Constitution, feel free. You won’t like the response, but feel free.
The Constitution is a limiting document – not one that empowers or enables individuals but rather restricts the (Federal) Government. At the time of the passage of the Constitution, labor collectives, factions and unions were well known within the colonies and yet the Constitution does not seek to restrict them at all. In fact, it guarantees their existence by the First Amendment.
You would do well to research the issue a bit more, gitarcarver. Though generally previously permitted, the legal right of employees to organize into unions of choice does not appear to have been formally recognized under Federal law until the passage of the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1935.
Further: the right of free association guaranteed by the constitution does not force employers to deal with such employee associations, nor bargain with them over wages, working conditions, etc . . . . It is the NIRA which does.
Addendum: it appears that Federal employees didn’t even get the right to form a union under the NIRA and the Wagner Act (also passed in 1935). That didn’t happen for Federal employees until ExOrd 10988 in January 1962. VA employees are Federal employees.
Rights granted by the Constitution don’t require an Act of Congress or Executive Order to authorize them.
Hondo, putting a date on something does mean it is now law. Many time that also means something was wrong and this was a remedy. African Americans were treated separate but equal until Civil Rights act. Does not mean their treatment was right.
You two can run yourselves ragged with this issue. The reason for that is that while there is no express right of association, there is an implied right, recognized by the Supreme Court. And that presents other issues, inasmuch as the court has not found some blanket right of association. It is derivative of the rights actually named in the 1st Amendment but is not so clear-cut as those express rights. Worse, in trying to reach some common ground on this, is that the court’s actual holdings in certain cases regarding this derivative right of association, are quite narrow (e.g., political associations) and rife with dicta that is valueless for a conclusion regarding other associations. So, have at it, and if you guys figure it all out, post it here.
I did not shoot and run, Had Baseball Practice.
Like it or not we are all already in a Union.
See the Pre-Amble “We the Poeple…”
The Director of the VA now is the former CEO of Protor and Gamble.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were major factors in one of the largest economic meltdowns this country has ever had.
What firm hand Civilan Copr. would be your model?
Haliburton, they were really great in Iraq.
AIG who fraudulently sold 200 Billion worth of toxic subsidies then had their hand out for a Gov’t bailout?
Or maybe those Great Mortgage Co that foreclosed on thousands of people illegaly many of them Vets.
Apple, Microsoft who cannot off shore jobs fast enough?
Non-Profits are the biggest scam in the world. At the end of the year all you have to do is show zero money made. You can overpay whom ever you want.
You can pad the books with any amount of employees, with no accountability.
Bottom line fix for the VA is it needs more people who give a Fuck about the Vets. Inside the Org and Outside.
Regarding point #2, it might be better to have someone well-versed in running a large non-profit health system, as opposed to some Fortune 500 company.
Half agree with #4. A PCP doesn’t need to be directly involved with dental and opthalmic care. However, a specialist won’t see you without a referral from your PCP, or another doctor involved in your care.
Cut the VBA in half.
A 50% reduction in manpower and a 50% increase in productivity.
And add a few MD’s to the VBA while reducing JD’s.
I love when attorneys review medical records for diagnostic merit.
Hell folks, if you have a college degree, you can review patients medical records for merit.
Give ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis total and absolute authority over the VA.
Problem Solved. ;o)
WORD!
Ugh.
I consider myself lucky…no VA hospital here in Korea, so I get to use the military one.