Veterans' Benefits: Effective Interaction Needed Within VA to Address Appeals Backlog
HEHS-95-190
Published: Sep 27, 1995. Publicly Released: Sep 27, 1995.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined the need for organizations within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that are involved in processing claims to increase cooperation and coordination so that impediments to processing appeals can be identified and resolved.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Veterans Affairs | The Secretary of Veterans Affairs should designate a Department-level official to monitor actions by the Board of Veterans Appeals, Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), and Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to identify and resolve intra-agency impediments to efficient claims and appeals processing. This individual should be charged with making recommendations to the Secretary, if necessary, to ensure resolution of problems. The recently established permanent working group could serve as the focus of these monitoring efforts and the designated official could report to the Secretary and make recommendations about problems that the working group is unable to effectively resolve. A first priority of this official should be monitoring the progress of the organizations in implementing the recommendations of the VBA study of recently certified appeals and ensuring that VBA and VHA policies and practices are consistent with the Court of Veterans Appeals and Board decisions. These efforts should be ongoing to ensure such consistency, obtaining General Counsel opinions where needed and to ensure that any resource or organizational difficulties are identified and resolved. |
Closed – Implemented
VA designated the Deputy Secretary as the Department-level official responsible for monitoring actions by the Board of Veterans Appeals, VBA, and VHA.
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Topics
Administrative hearingsAppellate procedureAppeals processClaims adjudicatorsClaims processingClaims settlementInteragency relationsInternal controlsMilitary benefits claimsPension claimsVeterans benefits