According to AFGE, yes. Of course, I trust AFGE "just a little less" than I trust VA...which is none. However, there may be some truth to what AFGE says about this:
The claims processors, known as Veteran Service Representative (VSRs), are required to review a claim and complete all transactions within 27 minutes instead of 42. If they fail to do that, they fail the new performance standards. Why is this a problem? After all, shortening the processing time frame should speed things up, right? Not quite.
When a VSR reviews a claim, he/she goes through various steps before reaching a conclusion whether the condition is service-connected. The VSR has to review 400-500 pages of the veteran’s private medical record, service medical record, and VA hospital records to get all the information he/she needs to request an exam. He/she then orders an exam for every condition the veteran claims is service-related – hearing loss, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, etc. If the veteran claims 29 conditions, the VSR has to request 29 exams using seven different computer systems. It usually takes about 22-25 minutes to request one exam. By reducing the time for this task by over a third, this makes an already complex and nuanced assignment even more difficult, and will almost certainly both harm the quality of care for veterans and set up employees to fail.
When the VSR can’t finish the claim for whatever reasons – may it be additional information from veterans is needed or simply a lack of time to finish an exam request, the claim gets sent back into the system, or “the cloud” – a national queue – and waits there for at least 30 days before another VSR can take a look at it.
End of AFGE article quote.
Now THIS makes sense. If the employee working your claim can not complete it in 27 minutes, let's penalize the Veteran and delay his claim at least 30 more days.
It gets better. This has to promote "top sheeting" where VA does not read all your evidence and just denies it. Ok, so a 30 day delay is parlayed into 5 year delay in appeals backlog.
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broncovet
According to AFGE, yes. Of course, I trust AFGE "just a little less" than I trust VA...which is none. However, there may be some truth to what AFGE says about this:
https://www.afge.org/article/afge-rallies-to-stop-delays-in-veteran-benefits-claims/
In part:
End of AFGE article quote.
Now THIS makes sense. If the employee working your claim can not complete it in 27 minutes, let's penalize the Veteran and delay his claim at least 30 more days.
It gets better. This has to promote "top sheeting" where VA does not read all your evidence and just denies it. Ok, so a 30 day delay is parlayed into 5 year delay in appeals backlog.
Who is this good for? Certainly not Veterans.
Edited by broncovetLink to comment
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broncovet
According to AFGE, yes. Of course, I trust AFGE "just a little less" than I trust VA...which is none. However, there may be some truth to what AFGE says about this: https://www.afge.org/article
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