From: Eitutis, Matthew, HRC
Sent: Wednesday, December 28, 2016 4:02 PM
To: Shulkin, David J., MD; Gibson, Sloan
Cc: Young, Steven W.; Wright, Vivieca (Simpson); Jacobs, Joshua D.; Heiman, Ryan, MS; Field, Annette
Subject: Heads Up: 365 Day Equitable Relief Letters

Good day leadership.
I wanted to give you a heads up on an important issue I just discovered today.
In March 2016, 365 Day Equitable Relief letters were mailed by the HEC, which, were authorized by the
SECVA to afford all pending applicants (545,000) a fresh year of a response period to complete their
open application. This relief was put into place as a result of poor record keeping from previous HEC
leadership over roughly a 10 year period.
In September 2016, a VA employee sent an email to HEC leadership (Acting HEC Director, Acting
Associate Director, & another senior member of the HEC) that stated the effort was flawed. The
employee stated there were two codes that were transposed on the letter that notified the Veterans
that they needed the opposite category of information necessary to complete their application: (650)
military information and (651) financial disclosure.
No action was taken by any of the leaders that were notified in the email from September.
Most recently, December 2016, the same employee raised the issue again, however, this time she
included my new permanent HEC Director and a few other staff who immediately began to research the
issues. My HEC Director brought it to my attention today.
What this means:
1.We did indeed send 545,000 letters to the pending Veterans in Spring 2016 as planned
2.However, 440,410 of those 545,000 letters instructed Veterans that we needed means test
information when they really needed to provide military information and vice versa.
We have a discussion scheduled for tomorrow morning with Jessica Tanner (OGC) to discuss sending
new letters to ensure we have the authority to do so without pursuing SECVA’s approval for a new 365
day authority. If approved, we will begin sending out letters ASAP.
We filed a self-disclosure with the OIG this afternoon.
I have also initiated an AIB/Fact Finding that is being assembled right now that will take place next week
in Atlanta, Georgia. Pending the findings, I will ensure any necessary action is taken.
My apologies for the error. Comments and questions please.
Matt
Matthew Eitutis
Acting Director, VHA Member Services