Injured Iraq war vets sue VA over delays

CNN.com ^ | 23 July 2007 | AP

[Tulsa Ramjet]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Frustrated by delays in health care, a coalition of injured Iraq war veterans is accusing VA Secretary Jim Nicholson of breaking the law by denying them disability pay and mental health treatment.

VA Secretary Jim Nicholson announced last week he's returning to the private sector.

The class-action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, filed Monday in federal court in San Francisco, seeks broad change in the agency as it struggles to meet growing demands from veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

[Tulsa Ramjet]

"Today, the VA's backlog of disability payments is now between 400,000 and 600,000, with delays of up to 177 days to process an initial claim and an average of 657 days to process an appeal."

Wonder what is was like prior to 9/11?

[voiceinthewind]

According to the house Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, in 2000,there was a backlog of about 250,000 claims,and an error rate of 60% of claims appealed.It took 205 days to process a new claim in 1999.
Too many vets have died with claims pending or on appeal.

[flintsilver7]

But of course, socialized medicine will save us all.

The VA is a prime example of why the single-payer system is so unbelievably bad. It’s a crime that our veterans are the ones forced to suffer under it.