The Mid-Atlantic Regional Group
Blinded Veterans Association
Legislative News
June 23, 2010
Recently both the House VA Committee and Senate VA Committee released information about the growing problem of the large back log of veterans claims and efforts to make changes to fix this. Below are two press releases and veteran service organizations are making improving the claims back log system a priority this summer.
VBA Sets Goals, Lacks Plan
Congressman Hall conducts hearing to assess the state of the Veterans Benefits Administration
Washington, D.C. – On June 15, 2010, John Hall (D-NY), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, conducted a hearing to examine the state of the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
In 2009, VA received more than 1,000,000 claims for disability benefits, representing a 14 percent increase in workload from 2008. Currently VA is receiving more than 97,000 new disability claims per month. As of June 5, 2010, there are 546,387 claims pending from veterans seeking compensation and pension disability benefits, with 195,891 (36%) pending longer than 125 days. Including appeals, VA’s total claims-related inventory exceeds 1 million, which is the figure most stakeholders use when referring to the claims “backlog”.
VBA projects a 16% increase in new disability claims in 2010 and 12% increase in 2011. Approximately 200,000 veterans are expected to file claims for three presumptive conditions associated with Agent Orange exposure and potentially 100,000 for Gulf War associated illnesses and regulatory changes.
Since 2007, Congress has appropriated funding for more than 8,000 new VBA claims processors, while also passing legislation to require systematic and comprehensive reform of the claims processing system. The Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act (P.L. 110-389) was enacted in October 2008 and included provisions intended to streamline claims processing and initiate a wider culture change in service to veterans. In response to many of the provisions of P.L. 110-389, VBA has increased staff overtime, employed more retired staff to provide training and claims assistance, shifted workloads to offices with excess capacity (brokering), and established special teams to prioritize claims for aged veterans and recently discharged veterans.
“As many of you in this room recall, with your help, P.L. 110-389 established a guided roadmap for VA to get us to where we are today--encouraged by all of the reform efforts that VA is making but cautious to make sure we’re doing everything we can to help VA make meaningful reformation of its claims processing system,” said Chairman Hall. “However, we want to avoid action for the sake of action and make certain that the 30-plus pilots that the VBA has underway, translate into real change for our veterans and survivors languishing in the backlog. I think that most stakeholders believe that a comprehensive overhaul still is in order and I am encouraged that we seem to be on the right path to get there.”
Participants discussed a wide array of issues concerning the VBA compensation and pension system, including staff training requirements, interagency communication strategies, regional and national workload management challenges, accuracy goals, and targeted pilot programs. Richard Paul Cohen, Executive Director of the National Organization of Veterans’ Advocates, said he was focused on “three primary deficiencies which must be corrected by the VA, simultaneously, if the system is to be fixed. They are a lack of a well defined business model and plan, lack of adequately trained staff and administrators to carry out the plan, and lack of accurate and reliable metrics to monitor performance.”
Claims processors have daily productivity requirements which reward regional offices for the gross amount of work they report, not whether the work is done accurately or correctly. The VA Secretary Eric Shinseki has set a national goal of processing claims within 125 days with a 98% accuracy rate by 2015. It remains unclear the actions the VBA plans to take to meet this goal or how progress will be measured and reported.
On June 15, 2010, the VA announced simpler application forms for veterans seeking compensation for disabilities related to their military service. VA release here: VA Makes Filing Claims Easier and Faster for Veterans. These streamlining efforts combined with its Veterans Benefits Management and Veteran Relationship Manager Systems which focus on modernizing its IT architecture and reforming business processes are part of VA’s larger effort o break the back of the backlog by 2015. While encouraged by this progress, Congress wants a strategic plan with metrics from VA on how it plans to reach this goal.
Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Committee Bob Filner (D-CA) said, “Too often veterans perceive the VBA as a roadblock to benefits, instead struggling to navigate the archaic VBA claims system, waiting endlessly for ratings which are often inaccurate--all of which adversely affect the economic status and quality of life of America’s veterans. I am encouraged with the process changes underway at VBA and remain optimistic that under Secretary Shinseki’s leadership veterans seeking the service-connected benefits that they have earned and deserve will finally be able to see the VBA as their advocate instead of adversary. Our veterans deserve a world-class, 21st century system that ensures that they fairly and accurately receive every benefit to which they are entitled. Currently that is not the case, but we are farther along than ever. If we continue to harness these efforts, then we may finally reform the broken claims system.”
Prepared testimony and a link to the webcast are available on the internet at this link: http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/hearing.aspx?newsid=595.
End of Document