Tuesday, August 20, 2013

VA progress on claims backlog is a statistical illusion, vets groups say

President Obama's claim that the Department of Veterans Affairs is "turning the tide" on backlogged disability claims is premature because the costly push to bring the numbers down is unsustainable and could doom those seeking benefits to years-long waits in appeals, according to veterans' advocates.

Drops in both the number and percentage of disability claims considered backlogged because they are more than 125 days old are real. But they have come at a high price in mandatory overtime and accuracy, representatives of veterans groups say.

There also are worries that the VA is using statistical or administrative tricks to bring down the numbers by changing what is counted and shifting staff from other critical areas such as appeals.

"They really are struggling to try and make it seem like they're making progress, and I think they are making some progress," said Jerry Manar, deputy director for national veterans' services at the VFW.
  
"They're going to claim victory at some point, but there's still going to be a whole lot of veterans out there waiting for some or all of their benefits," Manar said.

The backlog was defined by VA Secretary Eric Shinseki shortly after he took office in 2009. He vowed that all claims tied to military service would be processed within 125 days with 98 percent accuracy by 2015.

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