VA Provides Implementation Update on New
Law to Improve the Veterans Disability Claims Process
On February 3, John Hall (D-NY), Chairman of the
Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs,
convened a hearing to assess the progress of implementing
the Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act, P.L. 110-389. An
omnibus measure, the law is primarily intended to modernize
the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability claims
processing system to ensure the accurate and timely delivery
of benefits to veterans, their families, and survivors, and
to transform the VBA into a 21st Century institution.
In response to many of the provisions of P.L. 110-389,
the concerns of stakeholders, and directives from the
Administration, VBA has undertaken a new information
technology strategy to improve business processes targeted
at reducing the average days to complete rating claims and
improving consistency and accuracy. According to VA, the
core of the new strategy is the Veterans Benefits Management
System (VBMS), which will require the design of robust and
agile technology and software. The VBMS initiative is being
implemented under smaller original projects to transition to
a paperless claims processing
environment, update the mail intake process, perform
end-to-end claims processing in an electronic
environment, and enhance communication with
veterans. |
Chairman Hall stated, “The concerns
raised by the veteran advocates here today have been
repeated time and time again. Although concerns
remain about the timeline of the implementation of
P.L. 110-389, I am pleased at the strides taken
since the bill’s passage.
Testimony during that hearing by VVA Executive
Director for Policy and Government Affairs Rick
Weidman quite eloquently and accurately stated:
Before commenting on the situation to date, VVA
notes that almost everything that is mandated to be
tried in the pilot programs is just plain common
sense, and most of the elements of the pilot
probably could have been done by the Veterans
Benefits Administration (VBA) under already existing
authorities, if they had the motivation and the
drive to do so. The statute was written after
extensive hearings in the Spring of 2008 in response
to frustration legitimately expressed by veterans
and their advocates about the inordinate delays in
the processing of even relatively straightforward
claims before the Compensation & Pension system.
Further, the delays were compounded by a lack of
information as to the status of the claim, whether
additional information was needed to make an
accurate decision, and if so what information in
what form from what source would move the process
forward. Many veterans, and their advocates, often
felt that submitting a claim was like entering into
a maze of a process that would rival anything that
Franz Kafka might have dreamed up in one of his
stories.
Akaka and Shinseki Agree on Need
to Reform VA Claims System
At a hearing today on the VA budget, U.S. Senator
Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) and Veterans Affairs
Secretary Eric K. Shinseki agreed that reforming the
VA disability claims system must be a top priority.
See
Need to reform
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Chapter 120 member Joe Hachey and his wife Joanne set up a
Vietnam Veterans of America exhibit in the Manchester Town
Hall in December. 
