Veterans Die Waiting For Benefits As VA Claims Backlog Builds

A VA internal report shows that the computerized system intended to fix the benefits backlog problem is adding to it.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/02/09/veterans-die-waiting-for-benefits-as-va-claims-backlog-builds.html 

Despite Secretary Eric Shinseki’s oft-repeated pledge to fix the Department of Veteran Affairs broken disabilities claim system by 2015, the problems have gotten worse, according to a scathing new internal report.

Claims now take an average of 272 days to be processed—an increase of nearly 40 percent from 2011—with some lingering for as long as a year. The error rate now hovers around 14 percent, and the mountainous backlog stands at nearly 900,000, as 53 veterans reportedly die each day waiting for their benefits, according to the Center for Investigative Reporting.

The VA's disability claims crisis has only been made worse by the department's high-tech new computerized system intended to streamline the benefits process, according to the strongly worded report (PDF) from the department’s Office of the Inspector General. The $500 million computerized Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS) has no implementation plan and is riddled with problems, including disorganized electronic claims folders and improper management of hard-copy claims.
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