Positive reports surfaced last year on the significant reduction of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) backlog in benefits claims – VA workers slashed the backlog by over half to 245,000. VA officials were optimistic on cutting that number to zero by the end of 2015…but now that appears out of reach.

Army Times reports that VA will likely not reach a backlog of zero by the end of 2015, as was their goal. VA workers did set a record of completing over 1.3 million claims last year, but with new claims only continuing to increase it appears zeroing-out the entire backlog in the next eleven months or so is unlikely.

“I think they can get close, but I don’t think they can get to zero,” Jackie Maffucci, the research director for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, told Army Times last week. “Just looking at the numbers, it’s doubtful.”

To Congress’s credit, they did lend a helping hand to the tune of an additional $40 million in the budget to slash the backlog with digital scanning, more claims processors, and other efforts.

However, Army Times also reported that a new backlog is just around the corner. Appeals have risen steadily from about 245,000 in March 2013 to about 287,000 today. Congress gave VA $11 million to address the increasing appeals as well.

The backlog is based on the number of claims pending for more than 125 days. Last year, VA Undersecretary Allison Hickey indicated that the funding from Congress, which provided for new paperless systems, better training of claims processors, and improved communication systems, did contribute to the decrease from 2013-2014.

In 2014, the backlog reduction was welcome news. It represented a ray of hope that one promise from government – to eliminate the backlog before 2016 – was on track to be fulfilled. Despite this news, that promise still matters.

In comparison to years past, veterans are getting better and faster service (which was a low benchmark to improve upon). If the backlog can’t be cut to zero by the end of the year, let’s hope VA comes close – 125-plus days is a long time to wait for critical health care. And let’s not forget that the service our veterans deserve for sacrificing so much is still not where it needs to be.

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact a veterans attorney, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800

The cornerstone of the act is the requirement that VA facilities provide authorization for veterans to seek private medical treatment if a wait time is longer than 30 days or if they live more than 40 miles from a VA facility.

According to Army Times, this provision is especially important because even as recently as July 2014, more than 30,000 veterans nationwide still faced wait times of more than three months.

Nonetheless, experts say that this change will not happen overnight. Ian de Planque, deputy director for the American Legion, told Army Times that he expects full implementation to take up to a year.

In the meantime, VA schedulers are contacting some waitlisted veterans directly to arrange for private medical care. The VA reports that it has contacted more than 260,000 waitlisted veterans nationwide to arrange timely private care.

The act includes a broad array of other requirements. Some relate directly to care — for example, the requirement that treatment for military sexual trauma be improved. The act also extends the existence of a comprehensive treatment program for veterans with mild to severe traumatic brain injury.

In addition, the act provides for a stronger school loan repayment program for medical professionals joining the VA. VA officials have pointed to a lack of medical staff as a leading reason for the wait times and ensuing scandal at the VA.

The act also provides the Secretary of Veterans Affairs much broader authority to fire executives who perform poorly.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald has set an initial 90-day benchmark to evaluate progress on the implementation of the act.

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your Post Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800

A new study released Thursday has started to unveil the brutal legacy that has been left on members of the U.S military and its veterans after more than a decade of war.

The study found that over the past year, on average, each service member visited the doctor more than once a month. This marks the highest rate ever for out-patient treatment of U.S. military members.

Doctors have encountered out-patient visits at a shocking pace of 14 out-patient visits per service member in the past year of 2013. This is a whopping 60% increase from average out-patients visits by U.S. military members in 2004.

Among the most frequently treated problems, more than 20 million out-patient visits by troops were primarily for joint and back problems and mental disorders.  Rates for both of these ailments have increased by 30% since 2009.

The study also found that women in the service visited doctors more frequently than their male counterparts, even after discounting issues related to pregnancy. The most common behavioral health problems men were treated for were alcoholism, anxiety, and adjustment issues.  For women, the most common issues were anxiety, adjustment disorders, and depression.

 The negative effects of war on the health of those serving in the military are becoming ever more apparent. Veterans who have served are struggling through a growing list of medical problems, making the need for veteran aid more apparent.

With this new study, and reports of poor veteran treatment like the “secret waiting list” at the Phoenix VA*, this country needs to renew its dedication to properly caring for those who have protected our freedoms in times of war.

*Read LHFV’s past post on the “secret waiting list” issue here: http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/2014/04/an-absolute-disgrace-veterans-dying-on-va-hospitals-secret-list/

You can read more in the Army Times article here: http://www.armytimes.com/article/20140508/BENEFITS06/305080052/Troops-go-doctors-more-than-ever-new-survey-shows

To read the full report, check out the April edition of the Pentagon’s Medical Surveillance Monthly Report. It can be found here: http://phc.amedd.army.mil/PHC%20Resource%20Library/MSMRv21_n04.pdf

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your PTSD, TBI, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, TDIU, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800

For the first time since February 2011, the number of backlogged disability claims dropped below the 350,000 mark. That’s a decrease of more than 250,000 cases in the past year, a pace that officials believe they can maintain to bring the backlog to zero by 2015.

Still, 350,000 veterans remain in what has been a rather long waiting line for the past several years. The backlog number is based on the number of claims pending for more than 125 days.

VA Undersecretary of Benefits Allison Hickey said that new technology, the new paperless claims system, better training of claims workers, and improved communication systems have all contributed to the decrease. In addition, the Undersecretary acknowledged that mandatory overtime for claims processors over the last two years has been a critical tool for shrinking the backlog, but constant overtime is not a sustainable business model.

Although there is much work to be done, this is certainly welcome news. The backlog number is also at its lowest mark since before claims tied to new presumptive illnesses from Agent Orange exposure overwhelmed the benefits system.

The move to make those presumptive illnesses eligible for VA benefits in 2010 was popular among veteran advocacy groups, but it also led to a dramatic slowdown in the completion of disability claims as tens of thousands of new cases poured into the claims processing system.

The VA’s ability to deal with claims quickly and reliably came into question, and the Department received stricter scrutiny from Capitol Hill. Now, almost four years later, it seems as though the VA has achieved some progress toward shrinking the backlog for veterans.

To read more on this issue, read the Army Times recent report:
http://www.armytimes.com/interactive/article/20140331/BENEFITS04/303310043

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your Post Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800