EX-VA CHIEF'S COMPANY SAID TO SEEK

EX-VA CHIEF'S COMPANY SAID TO SEEK G.I. BILL BENEFITS CONTRACT

QTC Management is

headed by former VA Secretary Anthony J. Principi.

Current Secretary James Peake was top executive at firm.









Story below:



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Yesterday we reported that the VA is going to outsource management of G.I. Bill benefits. That story here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/n
fAUG08/nf081808-1.htm
That move would cost VA jobs ... and cost the taxpayers a load of money. And, some private company would end up with a huge contract to perform the services already being done by VA employees.

Now, a number of sources in the VA have told me that one of the companies seeking this contract is QTC Management, Inc. This has been discussed in a number of management-level VA meetings.

QTC is headed by former VA Secretary Anthony J. Principi. Current VA Secretary James Peake was a top executive at QTC. I think you see where this all could lead.

QTC currently has a contract with the VA to perform Compensation & Pension (C&P) examinations. This contract could bring in over a billion dollars. QTC web site is here...
http://www.qtcm.com/

One source has told me that they feel the QTC / G.I. Bill contract is a done deal.

We'll have to wait and see on that.

But, if it happens, we will have to question the influence of former Secretary Principi and the integrity of current Secretary Peake.

More to come on this............

For more about QTC and Principi, use the VA Watchdog search engine ... click here ...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/sessearch
.php?q=qtc+principi&op=and

For more about QTC and Peake, use the VA Watchdog search engine ... click here ...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/sessearc
h.php?q=qtc+peake&op=and

For more about QTC without the individual associations, use the VA Watchdog search engine ... click here ...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/sessearc
h.php?q=qtc&op=and

-------------------------

posted by Larry Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

That large sucking sound you hear is QTC pulling more money out of your grand dhildrens future to administer the new G.I. Bill, they already have a renewable contract to do C&P exams on veterans that make claims to the Veteran Administration for medical problems related to military service, due to incomplete exams or full instructions from the VA Regional Office's some of these C&P exams have to be done over and over again, myself I just had my 5th C&P since 2003 on my cardiovascular problems that should be secondary to my 100% P&T service connected PTSD. They have used non cardiac doctors to write opinions, nurse practitioners, and doctors with other specialties other than cardiovascular backgrounds and these doctors refuse to even look at the VA Center for PTSD National Center for PTSD a VA owned and operated web site.

this simple search on their "PILOTS" system shows 37 research papers under the term "PTSD and cardiovascular" yet the South Carolina Regional Office and the C&P doctors from QTC keep stating there is no research that shows a relationship between PTSD and veterans with cardiovascular problems. Say what? Am I stupid or are they?PTSD and Cardiovascular problems.

Database PILOTS Database

Title A prospective study of PTSD and early-age heart disease mortality among Vietnam veterans: implications for surveillance and prevention

Author Boscarino, Joseph A

Affiliation Center for Health Research, Geisinger Clinic, Danville PA, USA ; Department of Medicine and Department of Pediatrics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York NY, USA

ISSN 0033-3174




Descriptors PTSD (DSM-III) Veterans Vietnam War Middle Aged Americans Cardiovascular Symptoms Epidemiology Mortality Depressive Disorders Comorbidity Alcohol Abuse Antisocial Personality Disorder Nicotine Abuse Obesity

New Search Using Marked Terms: Use AND to narrow Use OR to broaden
Add to Current Search: Use AND to narrow Use OR to broaden






Abstract OBJECTIVE: To examine prospectively early-age heart disease (HD) among a national random sample of 4328 male Vietnam veterans, who did not have HD at baseline in 1985. Studies have suggested that PTSD may result in cardiovascular disease. However, many past studies had important methodological limitations to their designs.METHOD: Using Cox regressions, we assessed PTSD, age, race, intelligence, family history, obesity, smoking, alcohol abuse, antisocial personality, and depression in predicting HD mortality at follow-up in December 31, 2000. The men were < 65 years old at follow-up. RESULTS: Using two PTSD measures, a DSM-III measure (D-PTSD) and one developed by Keane (K-PTSD), we found that among Vietnam theater and era veterans combined (era veterans had no Vietnam service), having PTSD was associated with HD mortality for D-PTSD (hazard ratio (HR) = 2.25, p = .045) and approached significance for K-PTSD (HR = 2.16, p = .066). However, having higher PTSD symptoms on either scale was associated with mortality, with a 5-point increase associated with approximately 20% increase in mortality risk (all p < .05). Controlling for lifetime depression only slightly altered the results. The effects for theater veterans alone were stronger (D-PTSD: HR = 2.58, p = .025; K-PTSD: HR = 2.73, p = .022). Among theater veterans, controlling for lifetime depression or combat exposure made little difference. CONCLUSION: PTSD was prospectively associated with HD mortality among veterans free of HD at baseline. This study suggests that early-age HD may be an outcome after military service among PTSD-positive veterans. [Author Abstract]

Resource Location http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0b013e31817bccaf

Notes A version of this paper was presented at the American Psychosomatic Society Annual Meeting, Baltimore, Maryland, March 2008.

Language English

Publication Year 2008

Publication Type Journl Article

Update 20080801

Accession Number 31053

Test and Measures Minnesota Code Manual of Electrocardiographic Findings ; NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule (Robins et al) ; PTSD Checklist (Kulka and Schlesinger) ; MMPI-PTSD Subscale (Keane et al)

Doctor Boscarino's PTSD and cardiovascular studies have been accepted by the Board of Veteran Appeals (BVA) for at least the past 3 years, and it also led Secretary Principi to make cardiovascular problems presumptive for all POWs. Yet, VA doctors and QTC doctors continue to claim there is no research available to show the nexus between PTSD and heart disease.

My claim was filed in November 2002 and is still currently on appeal, eventually I am going to find someone at the VA Regional Office or the BVA that can read.

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