Posted on Jun 7, 2016
The Big News in Military Disability: VA Reduces Claims Backlog
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waiting to be processed. A claim is considered “backlogged” if it has been pending for more than 125 days.
Well, we are happy to report that progress has been made!
We know, shocker!
According to a recent report, the VA has reduced the backlog from a high of 611,000 claims in March 2013 to less than 200,000 as of last week, a drop of 67%. The VA’s goal is to completely eliminate the backlog by the end of this year.
As we reported last April, many things can result in a claim being backlogged: it can sometimes take awhile for the VA to get all of the documentation it needs; the training of new claims processors can take a really long time (up to 2 years); standardized forms weren’t required until a couple of weeks ago, and that made it more difficult and time consuming for the VA to compile all of the needed paperwork (in recent years, claims processors handled over 5,000 tons of paper each year!); and more.
In the last 2 years, the VA has taken several steps to streamline the claims process to make it easier and faster for a veteran to receive benefits. Probably the most significant change has been the development of the online benefits portal, http://www.ebenefits.va.gov. Veterans are strongly encouraged to use the ebenefits portal to submit their application, upload any documentation and/or supporting evidence, and check their claim status. Once their claim is processed, the ebenefits portal can also be used to deliver their benefits.
In addition to the online programs, countless claims processors have worked nights and weekends to help reduce the backlog. The VA has improved their training and quality assurance programs, which has steadily improved not only the speed but also the accuracy of the decisions.
We are excited to hear that the VA is actually making progress, and we hope that it will continue so that our vets can get the benefits they need.
Well, we are happy to report that progress has been made!
We know, shocker!
According to a recent report, the VA has reduced the backlog from a high of 611,000 claims in March 2013 to less than 200,000 as of last week, a drop of 67%. The VA’s goal is to completely eliminate the backlog by the end of this year.
As we reported last April, many things can result in a claim being backlogged: it can sometimes take awhile for the VA to get all of the documentation it needs; the training of new claims processors can take a really long time (up to 2 years); standardized forms weren’t required until a couple of weeks ago, and that made it more difficult and time consuming for the VA to compile all of the needed paperwork (in recent years, claims processors handled over 5,000 tons of paper each year!); and more.
In the last 2 years, the VA has taken several steps to streamline the claims process to make it easier and faster for a veteran to receive benefits. Probably the most significant change has been the development of the online benefits portal, http://www.ebenefits.va.gov. Veterans are strongly encouraged to use the ebenefits portal to submit their application, upload any documentation and/or supporting evidence, and check their claim status. Once their claim is processed, the ebenefits portal can also be used to deliver their benefits.
In addition to the online programs, countless claims processors have worked nights and weekends to help reduce the backlog. The VA has improved their training and quality assurance programs, which has steadily improved not only the speed but also the accuracy of the decisions.
We are excited to hear that the VA is actually making progress, and we hope that it will continue so that our vets can get the benefits they need.
The Big News in Military Disability: VA Reduces Claims Backlog
Posted from news.militarydisabilitymadeeasy.comPosted in these groups: 
Disabled Veterans
Disability
Disabled Veterans Disability
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 5
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How many have been thrown in the dumpster or not otherwise processed? SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
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This is too funny and wow... Talk about stretching the truth. What is not pointed out is this is probably for NEW claims, not appeals or secondary claims, which make up most of the claims!!! Talking about skewing the numbers!!!!
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CPT (Join to see)
Exactly! They may be making some improvements, but many claims are being denied initially. They are merely kicking the can down the road to make the numbers look better. I've seen data that indicates that secondary (appeal) claims are WAY up.
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MSgt Gloria Vance
It's like how the unemployment percentage is skewed.... They drop the long term unemployed out of it... The VA skews their number by releasing only the new claims decided number. If they released the actual number of ALL CASES not completed and gave them the ACTUAL timelines... People would better understand the Vet's frustration and King O would be seriously embarrassed.... So, nope they won't do that!!
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Well I will believe it when I see my claim from last summer processed SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL. I certainly hope that the process is working towards reducing the backlog for all VA disabled claims.
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SSgt Jim Gilmore
Don't hold your breath. I have friends whose claims have been in the mill for over 5 years living up to the mantra, Deny, Deny, Deny until you all die...
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