Appeals backlog and waiting times

[Vetsforvets]

What is the Governments exuse for the appeals backlog and waiting times for decisions?  What do YOU really think is behind it?

[Guest]

What is the Governments exuse for the appeals backlog and waiting times for decisions?  What do YOU really think is behind it?

Over the past year VA has focused on trying to eliminate the backlog of new pending claims that are older than 125 days.  In that effort of granting or denying claims the appeals backlog has swelled, and I really mean swelled like a big fat balloon.  

[Gastone]

I haven't seen any recent VA Claim Decision Accuracy Rate Stats, have you. All things being equal, completing "NEW" Rating Decisions at Warp Speed could not have decreased the "Decision Error Rate," which as I recall has always been relatively poor.

Faster "NEW" Claims Decisions may look good Stat-wise but at what cost. Think DRO & BVA Appeals increase. What does your VARO's Monday Morning Report look like. Have Appeals increased markedly?

Semper Fi

[broncovet]

If you add up the number of days in the 2014 Chairmans' Report (BVA), it totals about 4-5 years, once you factor in the fact the BVA Chairman admits 

that there will be about 30 percent more appeals in 2015, than 2014.    However, the chairman points out that a lot of this is from the VARO and AMC 

hanging onto the appeal for more than half of that.  In other words, it takes the VARO 2 years to certify your claim to the Board, which should take about 20 minutes.    The sad part is that the BVA isnt sitting around idle, so it would still take 4 years for your appeal even if the RO certified it in 20 minutes, because the BVA is running at full speed, so more appeals submitted wont be processed faster, it will just make a longer waiting line, moving the line from the RO to the BVA.  VA does this, as a manipulation, because claims decided but waiting their 2 years to be certified by the RO "dont count" toward RO production numbers.    Its a numbers manipulation, pure and simple.  Claims are being denied en masse, and sent to the board, to make the claims backlog look smaller.    

Edited September 17, 2015 by broncovet

[FormerMember]

Call me Bob (Big Mac) recently attributed to all us Vietnam Vets with our whining and over-the-top propensity to file claims suddenly. Yeppers. Blame it on Vietnam Vets-the 855,000 who are still alive and somehow managed to survive this long. 

[Buck52]

Ain't that the truth asknod!