False Dates on VA Claims

[unhappycamper]

False Dates on VA Claims
March 03, 2009
Albany Herald

In a newly released report, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs concluded that management at the New York City regional office had, for years, directed employees to backdate veterans' benefit claims to appear as if they were being processed faster than they really were.

An investigation by the VA's Office of the Inspector General found that the widespread backdating of claims at the office in Manhattan was not repeated at other offices around the country. But the report recommended safeguards to ensure the backdating wouldn't happen elsewhere.

Director of Veterans Affairs Joseph Collorafi who commuted to the office by train from his Guilderland home was one of six administrators placed on paid leave last year after the backdating was discovered. However, local vets said they received since then paperwork stamped with Collorafi's signature.

An August review of a sample of 390 veterans claims at the New York office found 220, or 56 percent, were purposely altered. The inquiry also discovered more than 700 pieces of unopened mail requiring immediate attention.

The New York office serves more than 800,000 veterans in 31 counties across the state, including the Capital Region.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/news/article/false-dates-on-va-claims.html?col=1186032310810