The leader of The American Legion says the huge backlog of veterans claims faced by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) can be best addressed by emphasizing a “quality over quantity” approach.
“Doing it right the first time will naturally speed up the processing of claims,” said Clarence E. Hill, national commander of the nation’s largest veterans’ service organization. “It’s only logical.”
Hill was responding to a just-released VA Office of Inspector General (VAOIG) report stating that an audit of a VA regional office revealed that, a year ago, 11,000 veterans had claims pending more than 365 days with many delays due to reprocessing of originally mishandled cases.
Commander Hill pointed to the existing work credits program practiced by the VA as being problematical. “Right now, a case worker is given credit for running a claim through quickly or, in the VA’s vernacular, in a timely manner,” he said. “This can result in inaccurate or incomplete reviews of claims, thus making them likely to be returned for further review at a later date. That’s a waste of time and resources that could be avoided by a careful and thorough review at the outset,” continued Hill. “Unfortunately, the VAOIG is recommending perpetuation of what it calls a ‘Linking VSC (Veterans Service Center) Staff Production Credits to Timeliness Goals’ practice. Instead, The American Legion favors the much-practiced ‘Workload Management Plan’ (WLM) approach, which emphasizes critical thinking and analysis rather than sheer speed to promote productivity,” said Hill.
“That said,” he continued, “we applaud the energetic and conscientious efforts the VA is making to address the claims backlog problem. The American Legion stands ready to help,” concluded Hill.
Commander Hill made similar remarks recently when he testified before a joint session of the U.S. House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees.
With a current membership of 2.5-million wartime veterans, The American Legion was founded in 1919 on the four pillars of a strong national security, veterans affairs, Americanism, and youth programs. Legionnaires work for the betterment of their communities through more than 14,000 posts across the nation.
Contacts:
The American Legion
Media:
Craig Roberts, 202-263-2982
Cell:
202-406-0887
or
Joe March, 317-630-1253
Cell: 317-748-1926
