Improving Claims Process

• VA continues to face long-standing problems with large pending claims inventories, lengthy processing times, and concerns about decision accuracy and consistency.


• Factors that contribute to this situation include significant growth in the number of disability claims filed, an increase in the number of conditions per claim, legislation that has increased eligibility.


• VA's claims-processing staff is increasing rapidly, which could pose human capital challenges.


• VA has expanded its practice of redistributing disability workloads and implemented initiatives to improve timeliness, but VA has not collected data to evaluate the effect of its workload distribution efforts and initiatives.


• VA and DOD are piloting a joint disability evaluation process, which could provide some veterans with more timely VA disability benefits, but the agencies face challenges in implementing any joint process on a large scale.

^ Back to topWhat Needs to Be Done

• DOD and VA need to develop complete plans and criteria, including appropriate performance measures, to evaluate the joint DOD/VA disability evaluation pilot's success and guide potential large-scale expansion decisions. DOD and VA also need to sustain collaborative executive focus on the pilot and retain knowledgeable staff to ensure that the pilot evaluation and any expansion are done successfully.

  Highlights of GAO-08-1137 (PDF)

• Increased productivity will be key to addressing the growing number of veterans awaiting a decision on VA claims and appeals, underscoring the need to address human capital challenges associated with training and integrating VA's new staff—a growing and significant portion of all of its claims processors &ndashand the need to track and monitor performance data for major initiatives in order to ensure that they are functioning as designed and achieving optimal returns on investment.

  Highlights of GAO-09-910T (PDF)

• VA needs to collect data on redistributed disability claims and appellate work to help assess the timeliness and accuracy of the resource centers’ output and the effectiveness of work redistribution. VA also needs to establish evaluation plans for assessing its pilot programs designed to expedite claims processing

  Highlights of GAO-10-213 (PDF)

^ Back to topKey Reports

Veterans' Disability Benefits

Veterans' Disability Benefits

Military Disability System

Veterans' Disability Benefits

Veterans' Benefits

More Reports