Legion survey reveals VA claims frustration

Results of an online survey conducted last winter by The American Legion reveal just how frustrated veterans are with backlog-choked VA Regional Offices across the country. Of the 2,145 who responded, 96 percent were veterans, 2 percent spouses and the remainder were dependents, caregivers or others.

The survey was conducted to establish a foundation of understanding before American Legion Regional Office Action Review (ROAR) teams began visiting the offices to see where the problems are and what might be done to correct them. VA has been mired in a backlog of unresolved benefits claims for several years. It is now believed to be nearly 1 million and growing.

According to a report documenting the results of the ROAR online survey, 85 percent of respondents described the overall performance of the regional offices as "inefficient and untimely." Only 6 percent said their claims were adjudicated in 120 days or less, a standard VA Secretary Eric Shinseki has set as a goal for the department. At the 92nd American Legion National Convention in 2010, he told Legionnaires, "We intend to break the back of the backlog."

Fifty-seven percent of survey respondents reported a processing time of one year or longer.

According to the ROAR report, "survey respondents expressed an understanding that there is a large volume of claims for VA to process, and it will take some time." However, respondents also expressed frustration about VA's failure to communicate clearly about the status of claims. While 50 percent indicated that professional courtesy at the regional office was at least adequate, 31 percent were dissatisfied about the way they were treated.

Another problem the survey illuminated: lost paperwork. "A large percentage of respondents indicated that paper evidence they submitted had been lost even after certified arrival at the regional office," the report states. "A small percentage complained that their entire claims file had been lost."

Convenient access to VA regional office support was addressed specifically in the survey. A common problem reported throughout the country is the practice of making veterans go out of their way for compensation and pension examinations, often "hundreds of miles away from their homes when there (is) an equipped facility within 25 miles."

Sixty-six percent of respondents reported difficulty accessing their regional offices at all.

Veterans also reported "extreme frustration" with VA's lack of flexibility, short notice of appointment openings and examiner politeness at C&P examinations, according to the report.

In terms of claims-processing quality, 65 percent said they were not treated fairly by adjudicators, and 54 percent said they intended to appeal VA's decisions. "Claimants didn't feel that all evidence in the file was reviewed before a decision was made on the claim," the report states.

Seventy percent said they would like to see VA hire more veterans to reduce the backlog and improve performance, and some participants suggested other strategies to improve regional offices, including:

• Institute a "call-back" system to reduce the amount of time veterans have to wait on the phone, on hold with VA's call center.• Convert the claims-adjudication process to an electronic system.• Allow veterans to review C&P examination results before adjudication to correct omissions.• Expedite all pension claims because pension claims are income-based, and "it should be assumed that all applicants are experiencing financial hardship."

The American Legion's Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation Division launched the ROAR program last spring to strengthen the organization's understanding of the claims backlog and help VA set priorities to begin reversing it. Through June, the Legion had conducted site visits at six regional offices to discuss issues reported in the online survey and to work out solutions.

The Legion's VA&R Division is sharing results of the survey with VA Central Office.