Veterans' Benefits: Promising Claims-Processing Practices Need to Be Evaluated
HEHS-00-65
Published: Apr 07, 2000. Publicly Released: May 08, 2000.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Veterans Benefits Administration's (VBA) claims processing procedures, focusing on: (1) practices that individual regional offices believe have helped them improve the accuracy of their disability decisions and remand rates; and (2) VBA's efforts to evaluate and disseminate information on individual regional office practices that hold promise for improving accuracy and remand rates of regional offices nationwide.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Veterans Affairs | To help ensure that VBA proceeds expeditiously, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should direct the Under Secretary for Benefits to establish timeframes for development and implementation of a formal plan for evaluating and disseminating information on practices that hold promise for improving the claims-processing performance of regional offices nationwide. The Secretary should also consider including information on goals for and results of disseminating information on promising practices in the annual reports submitted under the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993. |
Closed – Not Implemented
During fiscal year 2001, VBA developed a draft process for regional office staff to submit promising practices to VBA headquarters for review and possible dissemination to other regions. At the end of the fiscal year, VBA was still reviewing the draft. VBA is developing an associated evaluation process for locally-developed practices that demonstrate improvements. In September 2002, VBA stated that it had reorganized its field offices into four areas. This reorganization was part of its implementation of the Claims Processing Task Force's recommendations. VBA believes this area structure is ideally suited for identifying and evaluating best practices. However, this does not address GAO's recommendation that VBA establish time frames for development and implementation of a formal plan for evaluating and disseminating information on practices that hold promise for improving the claims processing performance of regional offices. VBA plans no further action.
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Topics
Claims processingMilitary benefits claimsPerformance measuresPrivate sector practicesVeterans benefitsVeterans disability compensationBest practicesVeteransAppealsDisabilities