Task force issues report on VA claims processing

Poor planning and an overall lack of accountability by the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) are partly to blame for the agency's dismal claims processing record, according to a VA task force created to study the problem. The task force, which was launched last spring and included representatives of the VA, industry and veterans organizations, submitted its final report to VA Secretary Anthony J. Principi on Wednesday. Despite VBA's efforts in recent years to improve the timeliness and accuracy of claims, the agency has failed to provide its 57 regional offices with the proper leadership, guidance and training in handling claims processing, the 14-member task force concluded. Its report included 34 recommendations for improving VA's claims process, ranging from providing better training to VBA employees to creating specialized regional offices focusing on one part of the overall claims process. Principi pledged to "study and act" on the task force's recommendations "with urgency." "This report will not sit on a shelf gathering dust," he said. The agency task force, led by Ret. Navy Vice Adm. Daniel L. Cooper, criticized VBA for failing to provide clear and uniform guidance to regional offices and keep them abreast of changes in VA policy. The confusion has resulted in an inconsistent claims process that varies widely throughout the agency. "There may be a system, but it is improperly coordinated and less effective than it must be to ensure both fairness to the veteran and efficiency in processing claims," the report said. On average, it takes VBA 194 days to process a claim, which includes requests by veterans for disability compensation, pensions, and survivors' benefits. There are more than 500,000 cases, excluding appeals, still pending in VBA's backlog. The agency hopes to eventually reduce those figures to 74 days and 250,000 cases, respectively. The VBA's claims processing system has been repeatedly criticized in recent years as slow and inefficient. The agency has tried to improve its claims processing accuracy by using case management techniques and by reorganizing its field offices into clusters meant to collaborate with one another. Despite its attempts at reform, VBA still reported errors in 41 percent of the claims it processed in fiscal 2000. The task force called on the VA to hold VBA officials at headquarters and the regional offices accountable for performance, rewarding those offices that reach their goals and cracking down on those that fail. "There must be appropriate rewards for outstanding performance and negative consequences for those who do not perform according to agreement," the report said. The task force suggested giving offices with high performance ratings more resources, including additional staff. VBA also does not provide adequate training to its employees, according to the task force. Despite new training programs for claims processors, the "VBA appears to have no fully integrated training plan and program," the report said. "We found trainers who were not certified, and employees who were not certified [at regional offices]," said Stan Sinclair, director of the VA Learning University and a member of the agency task force. The task force, which visited 12 regional offices for its study, urged VBA to immediately assess the quality of its current training, create a process to certify instructors, and establish skill requirements and training programs for each grade level in the relevant job series. According to the report, VBA also needs to develop a hiring strategy that places employees where they are needed and that allows for adequate training without sacrificing productivity. During the 1990s, VBA's workload dramatically increased, while its workforce remained the same. New laws, including one that directs the agency to provide veterans with more help in gathering the documents necessary to file a benefits claim, better serve veterans but have also created more work for VBA employees, Cooper said. To address that problem, the VA has hired more than 1,100 employees for its benefits programs this year. That is the largest increase in the VBA workforce since the Vietnam War, according to the agency. To reduce the backlog of cases in the short term, the task force recommended that the VA create teams of experienced staff to immediately deal with claims that are more than one year old, particularly those claims filed by older veterans. Each team would be responsible for a certain part of the claims process. Currently, each claims processor is responsible for every part of the claims process, from authorization to appeals. As for information technology, the task force urged VA to refrain from launching any new IT initiatives until the workload is under control. "The notion that IT is a solution to every problem is not a good one," Sinclair said. "We have to make sure that new technology will have the impact that is intended." Otherwise, introducing new technology without adequate planning and management may exacerbate existing problems, he said.