![]() ![]() Fully Developed Claims (FDC) identify the claim-specific information and evidence needed to substantiate a claim at the time of application, and allow Veterans to certify that there is nothing further to give VA regarding the claim, preventing VA from undertaking a lengthy search for any missing information or evidence.More than 70 DBQs are available today for use by private medical physicians. Disability Benefits Questionnaires (DBQ) are designed to capture all the needed medical information relevant to a specific condition and give Veterans the option of having their private physician provide this information to VA, minimizing the need for a VA exam.eBenefits is a joint VA-DoD client services portal with over 45 self-service options that allows users to file benefits claims online in an easy-to-use, prompt-based system, upload supporting claims information that feeds into VA’s paperless claims process, check the status of claims or appeals, review VA payment history, obtain military documents, and perform numerous other benefit actions.In this challenging environment, there are several new initiatives – as part of the VA Transformation Plan – that Veterans and Veteran service representatives can take advantage of today to help VA process their claim as quickly as possible: In 2012 alone, VA provided $58.6 billion in disability compensation to 4.3 million Veterans and survivors. Despite this, VA has completed a record-breaking 1 million claims per year the last three fiscal years, and completed 4.1 million claims the past four years. Over the last 4 years, over 940,000 Veterans were added to the compensation rolls - more Veterans than are on Active Duty in the Army and Navy combined today.Ī tough economy and increased outreach efforts by VA to encourage Veterans to apply for earned benefits have also made our effort to tackle the backlog more challenging. We also liberalized the rules for connecting PTSD to service, as well as adding nine diseases associated with service in the Gulf War to the list of presumptive conditions – again, long overdue. In fact, Vietnam-era Veterans represent the largest group in the current claims inventory at 37%. This grew the backlog, but it was the right decision to make for our Vietnam Veterans who, in some cases, were waiting over 40 years. The decision to expand the number of illnesses presumed to be linked with Agent Orange exposure redirected over one third of VBA’s workforce to process 260,000 Agent Orange claims. ![]() ![]() These decisions to do right by Veterans were long overdue, and have dramatically increased access for many Veterans who would not otherwise been able to file for benefits. Last year, that number had grown to over 4 million.Īt the same time, Veterans of previous wars are living longer and many have the opportunity to file for benefits for the first time, thanks to decisions made by Secretary Shinseki. To put this in perspective, in 2009 (the year Secretary Shinseki assumed office), VA processed claims for 2.7 million individual medical conditions. Improved battlefield medicine has meant that more of our younger Veterans are coming home to their families, but with very complex injuries.Ĭlaims submitted by Post-9/11 Veterans include more than double the number of conditions claimed by Veterans of the Vietnam era. After ten years at war, the volume and complexity of claims is increasing as more servicemembers leave the military. The backlog didn’t happen overnight, and it won’t end overnight. This new system will be installed in all 56 of our regional offices by the end of this year. VA is aggressively building a strong foundation for a paperless, digital disability claims system – a lasting solution that will transform how we operate and eliminate the backlog. Secretary Shinseki has set the goal: no claim over 125 days with 98% accuracy by the end of 2015. All of us at VA agree this is unacceptable, and this is why we have been busy implementing a robust plan to fix the problem and end our reliance on paper-based claims. The fact is our average days-to-complete a claim currently sits at 273 days. We at VA – many of us Veterans ourselves – know that Veterans, their families and survivors wait too long for the benefits they have earned and deserve. There has been a lot of discussion recently about the compensation claims backlog and what the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is doing about it. As we mark the 10th anniversary of the start of the Iraq war, people want to know how VA is taking care of our Veterans.
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