03-11-2022, 08:45 PM
The number of backlogged veterans disability claims has been cut by about 10 percent in recent weeks but
likely won’t return to pre-pandemic levels until late 2022, Veterans Affairs officials acknowledged 10 JUN.
And they warned that number could grow again if Congress passes pending legislation granting new
disability benefits to tens of thousands of veterans exposed to burn pits while serving overseas in the recent
wars. As of this week, about 191,000 disability claims were considered backlogged, meaning they have
been pending for four months or more.
That’s down from a peak of about 210,000 cases earlier this spring, but still well above the roughly
70,000 backlogged cases in early 2020, before the coronavirus pandemic began. If their claims are
eventually approved, veterans with backlogged claims will get back pay to their initial filing date. But the
months-long wait for the start of those payouts can be both frustrating and financially damaging for veterans
suffering from service-connected ailments.
The rise in the claims backlog stems in large part from pandemic related shutdowns which began in
spring 2020 at the National Personnel Records Center. Veterans Affairs claims processors use military and
personnel records from the agency to decide cases, but without staff in offices to pull the records, the new
disability filings have lingered. Earlier this year, VA officials helped vaccinate the National Archives and
Records Administration workforce against coronavirus to help their offices return to normal operations. In
addition, about 60 VA staffers have been temporarily assigned to the NPRC offices to help with records
retrieval and digitizing.
As a result, VA records requests are now being processed on average in two or three days, faster than
pre-pandemic levels, according to Kenneth Smith, assistant deputy undersecretary at the Veterans Benefits
Administration. But, clearing the backlog will still take time. The department currently has a workload of
about 500,000 cases, with nearly 40 percent pending for more than 125 days. “Our workload is dynamic,”
he said. “We’re hoping to keep our backlog to under 200,000 through the end of the fiscal year. And we’re
hoping we can reduce it to around 100,000 by the end of fiscal 2022.”
The claims backlog drew national scrutiny in 2013, when the number of overdue claims topped 610,000
cases after a host of new Agent Orange-related illnesses were added to VA’s disability lists. The issue
prompted a major overhaul and digitization of VA records, slowly driving down the case totals. Congress
is considering making a similar move in coming months, adding a host of respiratory illnesses and cancers
believed connected to burn pit exposure as well as expanded benefits for other military toxic exposure
cases. Smith did not take a stance on the legislation, but cautioned that adding those claims into the system
could lead to another backlog increase. In addition, VA is already dealing with about 60,000 cases
undergoing a court-mandated review related to past Agent Orange presumptive illnesses.
Under the American Rescue Plan approved by Congress in March, VA was given $150 million to help
digitize NPRC files to speed up future disability claims work. Smith could not give a percentage of how
many records that work would cover, but noted that “we need these records in order to process the claims.”
Earlier this week, in testimony before the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, veterans groups called the
size of the backlog worrisome for the veterans community. “While we are pleased to see the
administration’s proposed amount for [improvements at] the Veterans Benefits Administration, we are
greatly concerned about the current claims backlog,” said Shane Liermann, deputy national legislative
director at Disabled American Veterans.
Smith said officials are pleased with the progress in recent weeks but aware of the work still to be done.
“More work is being done,” he said. “But removing issues with the [NPRC] records will allow us to remove
one external obstacle from that, and allow us to expedite the decisions.”
likely won’t return to pre-pandemic levels until late 2022, Veterans Affairs officials acknowledged 10 JUN.
And they warned that number could grow again if Congress passes pending legislation granting new
disability benefits to tens of thousands of veterans exposed to burn pits while serving overseas in the recent
wars. As of this week, about 191,000 disability claims were considered backlogged, meaning they have
been pending for four months or more.
That’s down from a peak of about 210,000 cases earlier this spring, but still well above the roughly
70,000 backlogged cases in early 2020, before the coronavirus pandemic began. If their claims are
eventually approved, veterans with backlogged claims will get back pay to their initial filing date. But the
months-long wait for the start of those payouts can be both frustrating and financially damaging for veterans
suffering from service-connected ailments.
The rise in the claims backlog stems in large part from pandemic related shutdowns which began in
spring 2020 at the National Personnel Records Center. Veterans Affairs claims processors use military and
personnel records from the agency to decide cases, but without staff in offices to pull the records, the new
disability filings have lingered. Earlier this year, VA officials helped vaccinate the National Archives and
Records Administration workforce against coronavirus to help their offices return to normal operations. In
addition, about 60 VA staffers have been temporarily assigned to the NPRC offices to help with records
retrieval and digitizing.
As a result, VA records requests are now being processed on average in two or three days, faster than
pre-pandemic levels, according to Kenneth Smith, assistant deputy undersecretary at the Veterans Benefits
Administration. But, clearing the backlog will still take time. The department currently has a workload of
about 500,000 cases, with nearly 40 percent pending for more than 125 days. “Our workload is dynamic,”
he said. “We’re hoping to keep our backlog to under 200,000 through the end of the fiscal year. And we’re
hoping we can reduce it to around 100,000 by the end of fiscal 2022.”
The claims backlog drew national scrutiny in 2013, when the number of overdue claims topped 610,000
cases after a host of new Agent Orange-related illnesses were added to VA’s disability lists. The issue
prompted a major overhaul and digitization of VA records, slowly driving down the case totals. Congress
is considering making a similar move in coming months, adding a host of respiratory illnesses and cancers
believed connected to burn pit exposure as well as expanded benefits for other military toxic exposure
cases. Smith did not take a stance on the legislation, but cautioned that adding those claims into the system
could lead to another backlog increase. In addition, VA is already dealing with about 60,000 cases
undergoing a court-mandated review related to past Agent Orange presumptive illnesses.
Under the American Rescue Plan approved by Congress in March, VA was given $150 million to help
digitize NPRC files to speed up future disability claims work. Smith could not give a percentage of how
many records that work would cover, but noted that “we need these records in order to process the claims.”
Earlier this week, in testimony before the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, veterans groups called the
size of the backlog worrisome for the veterans community. “While we are pleased to see the
administration’s proposed amount for [improvements at] the Veterans Benefits Administration, we are
greatly concerned about the current claims backlog,” said Shane Liermann, deputy national legislative
director at Disabled American Veterans.
Smith said officials are pleased with the progress in recent weeks but aware of the work still to be done.
“More work is being done,” he said. “But removing issues with the [NPRC] records will allow us to remove
one external obstacle from that, and allow us to expedite the decisions.”