U.S. Military (Ret.): VA claims backlog leads to frustration - Military Retirement - Army Times

U.S. Military (Ret.): VA claims backlog leads to frustration

Despite a few glimmers of hope in the Veterans Affairs Department’s never-ending battle with its mountain of backlogged benefits claims, enough tales of disappointment and frustration still bubble up to make you think that this is simply a problem that can’t be fixed.

Kelly Dangerfield, whose husband retired from the military a little more than two years ago and is awaiting a response from VA on his disability claim, recently wrote to me with her story.

“My husband retired after 26 years of dedicated service with almost 4½ years of deployments and has been treated like a nuisance when he calls to inquire about his VA compensation,” she said.

He has written his congressman and senator, who have offered assurances that VA is doing the best it can, she said.

“He feels like now that he’s retired he no longer matters,” she said. “Each person he talks with seems to have a goal of getting him off the phone with false reassurances that his file is being processed. There is no way to officially track your package except to wait on hold for 45 minutes to an hour and then be told ‘it’s in process.’ The online system is just as bad, there’s no real update given.”

To Dangerfield, VA “has been given a lot of leeway with no consequences for their lack of action.”

There’s no getting around it; the system is slow, and it can often feel unresponsive. Even so, there is no reason that someone in the system can’t courteously return a letter or phone call and explain the process step by step.

VA has expanded its claims processing operations, yet it still takes an average of six to eight months for an initial ruling on a claim, and even longer for appeals of initial rulings.

Adding to the frustration is that some regional officers seem to be more on the ball than others; disparities in VA claims processing results has been the subject of at least one government audit recently.

We may feel temporarily better after venting, and I’m happy to have this column serve as a pressure release valve.

Ultimately, however, what we all want is a benefits claims system in which the people filing claims are made to feel they matter; and in which their complete, fully documented packages are handled through the pipeline in reasonable time with fair, sensible decisions at the other end.

That doesn’t seem like too much to ask, does it?