Legion questions Philadelphia VA's new incentives

The Department of Veterans Affairs regional office (VARO) in Philadelphia has introduced an incentive plan that rewards its benefits claims adjudicators with free food and extra cash.

The VARO, already under investigation for data manipulation by the department's Office of Inspector General (OIG), will now hand out free meals and snacks to adjudicator teams that process the most disability claims in a two-week period. According to the office's incentive fact sheet obtained by The Washington Times, each team that meets its assigned quota of processed claims by Feb. 28 will collectively receive a $15,000 cash award.

"These incentives being offered in Philly are another example of VA leadership gone astray," said Louis Celli, director of The American Legion's Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation Division. "Claims processors already have a bonus system that emphasizes quantity. Those types of incentives don’t help veterans who lose benefits because someone rushed through their claims just to get them done.”

Celli said The American Legion’s main concern about claims processing is the quality of workmanship. “We want VA to focus on higher rates of accuracy and not volume. What rewards are being given to the most accurate claims teams in Philadelphia?”

In a statement, VARO said the incentive program “has been implemented to recognize team efforts that allow us to achieve exceptional performance while still maintaining quality standards.”

As of Jan. 12, the Philadelphia VARO’s backlog of disability claims stood at 7,630 – 48.1 percent of its 15,861 pending entitlement claims. Nearly 70 percent of its 9,506 award-adjustment claims are also backlogged, pending more than 125 days.

The OIG’s report, expected last fall, has been delayed until late February due to “a continuing stream of allegations from employees,” according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.