The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) doesn’t accurately process and follow up on temporary 100 percent disability ratings, according to a recent Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General (IG) report.
Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) called the practice “alarming” and said it ignored overall service to veterans.
“We’ve been raising the alarm for a while that the VA has been allowing work that isn’t included in VA’s narrow ‘backlog’ statistic to pile up, including appeals and award adjustments that can impact a veteran’s bottom line and overall care,” Burr said. “But, these reports suggest that the scope of work the VA has been ignoring may be even greater, including training, quality assurance measures and steps to ensure program integrity. So, is the drop in the VA’s backlog all just smoke and mirrors?”
The VBA assigns temporary 100 percent disability ratings to veterans who are recovering from surgery or are undergoing care for a service-related injury. The VA is supposed to follow up at a later time to determine the appropriate rating for any residual disabilities.
The VA IG found that VBA leadership assigned staff to work on specific claims but did not provide guidance on reexaminations for veterans with 100 percent temporary designations. In April, the VBA struck down the requirement that regional offices must immediately reduce disability ratings once due process requirements are met.
The report found that failure to review veteran disabilities could lead to paying $371 million more for disabilities than is warranted over the next five years. The VA IG also found that special monthly compensation and ancillary benefits for veterans with severe disabilities were not appropriately awarded due to a lack of training.