VA IG finds errors in processing ITF claims

[Berta]

"What the Review Found

VBA staff did not always assign correct effective dates for compensation benefits with receipt of  ITFs. The OIG estimated that 22,600 of 137,000 cases (17 percent) completed from  March 24, 2015, through September 30, 2017, resulted in $72.5 million in improper benefits  payments.3 These improper payments (most were underpayments to veterans) represent missed  payments that should have been made between the correct effective date and the one assigned.  Most of the errors occurred from March 24, 2015, through July 21, 2016, during the first  16 months of VBA’s implementation of the ITF concept. Thereafter, significant improvement  was shown with the assignment of effective dates with ITF submissions.  "

 

https://www.va.gov/oig/pubs/VAOIG-17-04919-210.pdf