| GAO ISSUES LUKEWARM
REPORT ON VA'S DISABILITY CLAIMS HANDLING
"VA's disability claims and appeals
processing has improved in some aspects and worsened in others."
by
Larry Scott, VA Watchdog dot Org
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Veterans'
Disability Benefits: Further
Evaluation of Ongoing Initiatives Could Help Identify Effective
Approaches for Improving Claims Processing
GAO-10-213, January 29, 2010
Summary
(HTML) Highlights
Page (PDF) Full
Report (PDF, 43 pages)
There is not much new here ...
except that GAO seems to indicate that Expedited Claims
Adjudication (ECA) appears to work and has told VBA and the Board
to figure out if it should be more "widely implemented."
We have an excellent article on
ECA written by Jim Strickland and attorney Katrina Eagle ... here
...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfdec08/nf120208-1.htm
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VETERANS’ DISABILITY BENEFITS
Further Evaluation of Ongoing
Initiatives Could Help Identify Effective Approaches for Improving
Claims Processing
Why GAO Did This Study
For years, the disability
compensation claims process has been the subject of concern and
attention by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Congress,
and veteran service organizations (VSO), due in part to long waits
for decisions and the large number of claims pending a decision.
As GAO and other organizations have reported over the last decade,
VA has also faced challenges in improving the accuracy and
consistency of
 disability
decisions. GAO was asked to examine (1) trends in VA’s disability
compensation claims processing at the initial claims and appeals
levels and (2) actions that VA has taken to improve its disability
claims process. To do this, GAO reviewed and analyzed VA
performance data, budget submissions, program documents, and
external studies and interviewed VA officials and VSO
representatives.
What GAO Found
VA’s disability claims and
appeals processing has improved in some aspects and worsened in
others. In recent years, the number of claims completed annually
by VA has increased but not by enough to keep pace with the
increasing number of compensation claims received, resulting in
more claims awaiting a decision. In addition, the average days
that VA took to complete a claim—196 days in fiscal year 2008—has
varied over time, but was about the same in fiscal years 2000 and
2008. Several factors have challenged claims processing
improvements, such as the increase in the number and complexity of
claims submitted to VA, laws, and regulatory changes. VA has
reduced the number of pending appeals and improved the accuracy of
some appellate work, but the time that it takes to resolve appeals
has worsened in recent years. For example, in fiscal year 2008, VA
took on average 776 days to process appeals; 78 days longer than
in fiscal year 2004. One factor that has contributed to worsening
appeals timeliness is the increase in the number of appeals
received by VA.
(SEE CHART IN LINK ABOVE)
VA has taken several steps to
improve claims and appeals processing, but their impact is not yet
known. VA has hired a significant number of disability claims
staff to process disability workloads. VA’s Veterans Benefits
Administration (VBA) has also expanded its practice of workload
redistribution, which could improve the timeliness and quality of
its decisions. VA is also testing new claims processing
approaches—such as shortening response periods for certain claims
and appeals through Expedited Claims Adjudication (ECA) and
reorganizing its claims processing units. However, VBA has not
established plans to evaluate the effect of some initiatives. In
addition, VA has taken other steps to improve claims and appeals
processing, such as expanding its quality assurance program;
upgrading claims processing software; and moving toward paperless
processing, which remains elusive in part due to technical
challenges.
What GAO Recommends
GAO recommends that the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs direct (1) VBA to collect data on
redistributed claims to help assess the effect of workload
redistribution, (2) VBA and the Board of Veterans’ Appeals to
establish a plan with criteria for assessing whether ECA should be
widely implemented, and (3) VBA to develop a plan with criteria
for assessing whether its pilot reorganization of claims
processors should be expanded. VA agreed with the recommendations,
and noted plans to address them.
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