02-24-2022, 10:43 PM
VA OIG Reports Many ‘Inaccurate Decisions’
A sampling of thousands of VA claims filed primarily by veterans who served in the waters off
Vietnam showed about 46% were inaccurate, resulting in over- or underpayments to a group
familiarly known as Blue Water Navy veterans. Of the 4,600-claim sample highlighted in a 43-
page report by the VA’s Office of Inspector General 2,100 veterans “had inaccurate decisions,”
the report states. This resulted in $25.2 million in overpayments and $12 million in underpayments.
The bulk of the errors – 95% – “involved [Veterans Benefits Administration] employees not
following general rating policies, such as inaccurately assigning retroactive effective dates for
evaluations.”
The report’s authors recommended the VA clarify portions of its Blue Water Navy claims
process, including how staffers should address potential discrepancies in data generated by the
department’s Ship Locator Tool, which uses digitized deck logs to help determine a veteran’s
benefit eligibility. Servicemembers aboard vessels operating as far as 12 nautical miles from the
Vietnam coast, as well as those who served in the Korean Demilitarized Zone, are presumed to
have been exposed to herbicides and may be eligible for benefits connected to conditions related
to that exposure.
VA officials also said staffers underwent additional training on the claims process. That training
wrapped up in the spring of 2021, after the report’s authors analyzed the sample cases. Veterans
with improperly processed claims will receive notification from the VA. Underpaid veterans can
expect a letter stating they’ll receive retroactive payments via the same method they receive their
regular VA compensation. Overpaid veterans will get a letter explaining the error and giving them
60 days to reach out to the VA’s Debt Management Center to arrange a repayment plan. If the
center doesn’t hear from the veteran in 60 days, it will send a letter notifying the veteran of plans
to recoup the funds.
The report also found the VA had “met the outreach requirements” of the 2019 law, doing so
via radio and television ads, letters, social media messaging, and other lines of communication.
The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 was signed into law in June 2019 after failing
to clear Congress in previous sessions. A January 2019 Federal Circuit court ruling granted
presumptive exposure to Blue Water Navy veterans; the bill further codified and expanded the
presumption.
For more information about claiming benefits under the 2019 law, go to
https://www.moaa.org/content/publication...er-new-law.
For a general overview of the VA claims process go to https://www.moaa.org/content/benefits-an...ms-process
A sampling of thousands of VA claims filed primarily by veterans who served in the waters off
Vietnam showed about 46% were inaccurate, resulting in over- or underpayments to a group
familiarly known as Blue Water Navy veterans. Of the 4,600-claim sample highlighted in a 43-
page report by the VA’s Office of Inspector General 2,100 veterans “had inaccurate decisions,”
the report states. This resulted in $25.2 million in overpayments and $12 million in underpayments.
The bulk of the errors – 95% – “involved [Veterans Benefits Administration] employees not
following general rating policies, such as inaccurately assigning retroactive effective dates for
evaluations.”
The report’s authors recommended the VA clarify portions of its Blue Water Navy claims
process, including how staffers should address potential discrepancies in data generated by the
department’s Ship Locator Tool, which uses digitized deck logs to help determine a veteran’s
benefit eligibility. Servicemembers aboard vessels operating as far as 12 nautical miles from the
Vietnam coast, as well as those who served in the Korean Demilitarized Zone, are presumed to
have been exposed to herbicides and may be eligible for benefits connected to conditions related
to that exposure.
VA officials also said staffers underwent additional training on the claims process. That training
wrapped up in the spring of 2021, after the report’s authors analyzed the sample cases. Veterans
with improperly processed claims will receive notification from the VA. Underpaid veterans can
expect a letter stating they’ll receive retroactive payments via the same method they receive their
regular VA compensation. Overpaid veterans will get a letter explaining the error and giving them
60 days to reach out to the VA’s Debt Management Center to arrange a repayment plan. If the
center doesn’t hear from the veteran in 60 days, it will send a letter notifying the veteran of plans
to recoup the funds.
The report also found the VA had “met the outreach requirements” of the 2019 law, doing so
via radio and television ads, letters, social media messaging, and other lines of communication.
The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 was signed into law in June 2019 after failing
to clear Congress in previous sessions. A January 2019 Federal Circuit court ruling granted
presumptive exposure to Blue Water Navy veterans; the bill further codified and expanded the
presumption.
For more information about claiming benefits under the 2019 law, go to
https://www.moaa.org/content/publication...er-new-law.
For a general overview of the VA claims process go to https://www.moaa.org/content/benefits-an...ms-process