Veterans Affairs Secretary Addresses Efforts To Reduce Disability Claims

Main Category: Veterans / Ex-Servicemen
Also Included In: Rehabilitation / Physical Therapy
Article Date: 21 Sep 2007 - 12:00 PST

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Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson, who will leave his post on Oct. 1, on Tuesday testified before the House Veterans' Affairs Committee that the VA is struggling to reduce a backlog of disability claims and working to process the claims in a timely manner, AP/USA Today reports. Although Nicholson said he is proud of VA achievements made during his two-and-a-half-year tenure, the department still faces challenges, in part because of the demands spurred by the prolonged Iraq war (AP/USA Today, 9/19).

He cited the need for better coordination between the health systems of the VA and the Department of Defense and urged Congress to act on recommendations by a presidential commission. Nicholson noted that the department has hired 1,100 new processors in an effort to reduce delays of up to 177 days in processing disability claims. He added that the department at best hopes to reduce wait times to below 150 days (CongressDaily, 9/19).

Nicholson predicted a rise in compensation and pension claims this year, citing additional applications being submitted during "the midst of war." He said, "The claims backlog is an issue that has bedeviled me and many that have come before me," adding, "In fact, VA can influence the output -- claims decided -- of its work product, but it cannot control the input -- claims filed."

Nicholson also partly blamed gaps in VA's mental health care services on "areas of the country where certain specialty health care providers simply can't be hired, no matter what you would pay them." He expressed sympathy for returning injured veterans who have faced unnecessary bureaucratic delays, saying, "We have learned that, in many instances, we were not as sensitive to those needs as we could have been -- and we have tried to adjust, while at the same time caring for veterans of different wars and different eras."

He added, "My heart has gone out to service members or veterans who seem to have slipped through the cracks." During his testimony, Nicholson also said he continues to believe the VA offers the best health care system in the world (AP/USA Today, 9/19).

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