02-24-2022, 10:41 PM
2,000 New Processors Being Hired to Help With Looming Spike
Veterans Affairs leaders are bringing on more than 2,000 claims processors to deal with an
expected spike in overdue cases that could push the department’s claims backlog to its highest
level in seven years. Department officials are also planning to use mandatory overtime for
thousands of already-working claims staff and emergency coronavirus pandemic funding to help
stem the problem. Even with that, Veterans Benefits Administration officials expect it to take two
and a half years to bring the backlog back down to pre-pandemic levels. But they also are insisting
veterans waiting on their claims to be processed should not panic.
“We don’t want people to worry when they see that number,” said Mike Frueh, VA’s Principal
Deputy Under Secretary for Benefits. “We want veterans to keep filing their claims.” As of the
end of September, the claims backlog — the number of cases that have been pending for more
than four months — was at 208,000. That’s almost triple the typical monthly backlog total from
before the start of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020. Officials said office closures caused
by the pandemic steadily drove up the backlog total for much of last year. The problem was further
exacerbated by several court decisions and new laws mandating additional benefits for troops
exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, which added to the total volume of cases being
added to the VA system.
That’s also why VA officials know another backlog spike is coming. About 70,000 claims
related to new benefits rules for Parkinsonism, bladder cancer and hypothyroidism linked to
poisoning from the chemical defoliant are due to hit the four-month mark at the end of October.
Frueh said officials estimate the backlog will reach more than 260,000 then. But Frueh said
officials are processing cases at a record rate, and do not expect the backlog to reach the same
challenges as in 2013, when an influx of new benefits swelled the total to more than 600,000.
Thousands of those cases lingered in the VA system for years without resolution.
Officials don’t expect the same difficulties this time, although Frueh acknowledged it will
likely take until early 2024 to fully return to pre-pandemic levels. “We are the front door to VA
benefits and services,” he said. “This is a natural consequence of people filing more claims.” The
department processed more than 1.5 million claims in fiscal 2021, the most ever. But they also
received about 1.7 million claims, and expect the number to rise even higher with the recent
benefits changes. The short-term hiring of 2,000 new claims workers — the largest such effort by
the department ever — will provide long-term relief to the claims processing problems. However,
it will take months before those staff are fully trained and able to handle standard workload
amounts.
Since May, the benefits administration required 20 hours of mandatory overtime a month to
deal with the backlog spikes. Those requirements will continue for the foreseeable future, Frueh
said. In a statement, VA Secretary Denis McDonough said the department remains “committed
to ensuring timely access to benefits and services for all veterans.” On the VA web site
https://www.benefits.va.gov/reports/deta...s_data.asp more information on the backlog
is available.
Veterans Affairs leaders are bringing on more than 2,000 claims processors to deal with an
expected spike in overdue cases that could push the department’s claims backlog to its highest
level in seven years. Department officials are also planning to use mandatory overtime for
thousands of already-working claims staff and emergency coronavirus pandemic funding to help
stem the problem. Even with that, Veterans Benefits Administration officials expect it to take two
and a half years to bring the backlog back down to pre-pandemic levels. But they also are insisting
veterans waiting on their claims to be processed should not panic.
“We don’t want people to worry when they see that number,” said Mike Frueh, VA’s Principal
Deputy Under Secretary for Benefits. “We want veterans to keep filing their claims.” As of the
end of September, the claims backlog — the number of cases that have been pending for more
than four months — was at 208,000. That’s almost triple the typical monthly backlog total from
before the start of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020. Officials said office closures caused
by the pandemic steadily drove up the backlog total for much of last year. The problem was further
exacerbated by several court decisions and new laws mandating additional benefits for troops
exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, which added to the total volume of cases being
added to the VA system.
That’s also why VA officials know another backlog spike is coming. About 70,000 claims
related to new benefits rules for Parkinsonism, bladder cancer and hypothyroidism linked to
poisoning from the chemical defoliant are due to hit the four-month mark at the end of October.
Frueh said officials estimate the backlog will reach more than 260,000 then. But Frueh said
officials are processing cases at a record rate, and do not expect the backlog to reach the same
challenges as in 2013, when an influx of new benefits swelled the total to more than 600,000.
Thousands of those cases lingered in the VA system for years without resolution.
Officials don’t expect the same difficulties this time, although Frueh acknowledged it will
likely take until early 2024 to fully return to pre-pandemic levels. “We are the front door to VA
benefits and services,” he said. “This is a natural consequence of people filing more claims.” The
department processed more than 1.5 million claims in fiscal 2021, the most ever. But they also
received about 1.7 million claims, and expect the number to rise even higher with the recent
benefits changes. The short-term hiring of 2,000 new claims workers — the largest such effort by
the department ever — will provide long-term relief to the claims processing problems. However,
it will take months before those staff are fully trained and able to handle standard workload
amounts.
Since May, the benefits administration required 20 hours of mandatory overtime a month to
deal with the backlog spikes. Those requirements will continue for the foreseeable future, Frueh
said. In a statement, VA Secretary Denis McDonough said the department remains “committed
to ensuring timely access to benefits and services for all veterans.” On the VA web site
https://www.benefits.va.gov/reports/deta...s_data.asp more information on the backlog
is available.