Reporter Explains ‘Complete Dysfunctionality’ Of Veterans Affairs Disability Backlog

[pacmanx1]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/03/31/reporter-explains-complete-dysfunctionality-of-veterans-affairs-disability-backlog/

During an appearance on MSNBC, Aaron Glantz of the Center for Investigative Reporting explained why the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs was failing to process so many disability benefits claims.

“The central problem facing the VA is that they’re not able to deal with this flood of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans coming home at the same time that a lot of Vietnam veterans are finally being allowed to claim illnesses caused by Agent Orange,” he said. “This is a paperwork problem. You know, they have so much paperwork that they just simply can’t put it through.”

Glantz reported earlier this month that the number of veterans waiting more than a year for their benefits increased more than 2,000 percent from 2009 to 2012. There are currently about 900,000 veterans waiting to receive their benefits.

[meghp0405]

I think thats BS! make them do their jobs or replace the bastards!

[Stretch]

They are only doing what they are told and are paid for. Firing them would mean that they are incompetent. There are very few of us left that believe that this is because of incompetence. This is and has always been deliberate. These delays are caused from the top not the bottom.

[justrluk]

First, a paper-based system requires humans to scan through documents, make connections to claimed issues, summarize and decide. The next person in line has to do the same thing when reviewing the decision. So what you have are people reading the same information over and over again, for more and more claims. This is a black hole process. If the information were digitized, informatics would allow those responsible for making decisions to scan for key words and phrases, dates, etc. and summarize then decides and store the decision and connections within the files. They would still have the problem of a human reviewer either missing or dismissing what's in the files, but at least the next person reviewing the claim wouldn't have to duplicate the effort of the first person PLUS add his or her own comments and decisions. Imagine having to do your taxes paper-based, then having your spouse review your paper-based stuff, then having the IRS review your paper-based stuff. So much high-touch, low-tech going on that human inefficiency alone bogs the process down.

I think the VA's approach to having at least a scanned system with OCR built in at least helps reduce the search and verify portion of the rating process. It would also hopefully scan for co-morbid conditions that the veteran may not realize exist but are presented in previous claims and medical records. A cross-check between the two VA systems (VAROs and VAMCs) might well add claims for veterans resulting in a better overall claim/health picture. I know, I'm dreaming, but what if????

[broncovet]

This is not true. The IRAQ/Afghanastan Wars involve a mere fraction of the Veterans involved in Vietnam. I get so tired of the VA blaming the wars for their ineptness. They blame anything and everything, including Veterans for applying for too many benefits. The VA is the one that made this a complex nightmare.

approx Casualties in Vietnam 67,000

approx Casualties in Iraq 4000

The problem is not the wars, its an inept and corrupt VA. There were far, far more troops serving in Vietnam than there were in IRAQ Afghanastan combined.

[indyman]

I agree with you pete992, the VA can not keep up with all the paperwork that they have created. It seems like they create a form and create another form to cancell the first one. The 21-526 is way to long, confusing and I can see a recently discharged veteran trying to figure it out. And I agree with the other posts that it all comes from the top, not the bottom. I still believe they are guarding the money.

[broncovet]

By blaming wars, Veterans, regulations, paperwork, etc for the backlog, this absolves the VA responsibility to fix it. They can just point to someone else and say, "The backlog is the fault of Veterans, for submitting too many claims, or for joining up in the war, and then asking for benefits."

When we buy into the VA's "blame game" they are fixing the blame when they should be fixing the problem. It never works. They have to own their mistakes and then fix them. Its the only way that works. The blame game fails every time.

It is like an alcoholic blaming his spouse, his parents, his boss, his kids, his background, or his race for his alcoholism. Until/unless he owns up to it, the problem wont be fixed.

Edited April 4, 2013 by broncovet