Posted on Aug 24, 2015
Do you believe VA when they claim that they have reduced the backlog?
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MESSAGE FROM THE VA CHIEF OF STAFF
On behalf of the Secretary and the Deputy Secretary, I would like to congratulate the Veterans Benefits Administration for bringing the claims backlog below 100,000! As the Under Secretary for Benefits notes in her email below, this is an 84-percent reduction from its 611,000 peak a little over 2 years ago in March 2013.
As the Secretary has stated, “It is worth celebrating one of the most remarkable transformations in the history of government. We will use this as an impetus and inspiration to continue the transformation of VA into the most customer friendly department of government.”
Again, thank you and congratulations to all of those who contributed so much to this worthy task.
Robert L. Nabors II
PLEASE PRODUCE LOCALLY FOR ALL THOSE WHO DO NOT ROUTINELY ACCESS EMAIL DUE TO THEIR SPECIALTIES.
MESSAGE FROM THE UNDER SECRETARY FOR BENEFITS
TO ALL VBA EMPLOYEES
Today, our claims backlog is 98,535! This is an 84% reduction from its 611,000 peak a little over two years ago in March 2013. VA and Veterans have never seen a backlog this low before in our history – this is a historic milestone!
Your progress and dedication is staggering.
As we’ve aggressively tackled the backlog, we’ve also brought down the inventory 59% from its peak of 884,000 in July 2012 to 362,799 today – its lowest level since 2008!
You have made such a difference to so many. Today, the average days a Veteran is waiting for a compensation decision is 105 days. This means Veterans are waiting 177 days less than at the peak of 282 days in March 2013, which for some can mean this is less time they have to worry about keeping their lights on, food on the table and a roof over their heads.
That in itself is powerful – but it’s only part of the story. As you’ve processed a record number of claims, you have not sacrificed quality. At the disability level, quality has improved from 83% in 2011 to 91% today. At the issue level, quality is holding at 96%. What’s more, on the eight separate quality categories measured within a claim – you are making the correct decision much more than 98% of the time – in fact, nearly 100% of the time in many cases! Veterans, their families and Survivors measure confidence in VA by the quality of our work and you continue to prove that excellence and integrity are high priorities.
These milestones simply could not have been achieved without your dedication – or without the help of our Veterans Health Administration and IT colleagues, our Veterans Service Organization partners, and our Labor partners.
I’m so proud of each of you for the incredible work you’ve done. You have poured your hearts and souls into consistently improving the service you provide to our Nation’s Veterans and I am humbled and awed by your commitment.
We know that some claims will continue to take longer than 125 days to process due to our legal duty to assist – an obligation I know you all take seriously. If a Veteran adds late contentions, can’t make it to an exam or if you identify additional entitlements in the process of deciding the claim, it is the right thing to do to take the time needed to ensure we provide each Veteran the fullest entitlement to benefits. Remember the three things I’ve said to you in recent email missives…1) INTEGRITY, 2) QUALITY, 3) GRANT IF YOU CAN – DENY ONLY IF YOU MUST!
Keep up the excellent work and thank you for your unwavering dedication to our Veterans, their families and Survivors.
Your Under Secretary,
Allison
On behalf of the Secretary and the Deputy Secretary, I would like to congratulate the Veterans Benefits Administration for bringing the claims backlog below 100,000! As the Under Secretary for Benefits notes in her email below, this is an 84-percent reduction from its 611,000 peak a little over 2 years ago in March 2013.
As the Secretary has stated, “It is worth celebrating one of the most remarkable transformations in the history of government. We will use this as an impetus and inspiration to continue the transformation of VA into the most customer friendly department of government.”
Again, thank you and congratulations to all of those who contributed so much to this worthy task.
Robert L. Nabors II
PLEASE PRODUCE LOCALLY FOR ALL THOSE WHO DO NOT ROUTINELY ACCESS EMAIL DUE TO THEIR SPECIALTIES.
MESSAGE FROM THE UNDER SECRETARY FOR BENEFITS
TO ALL VBA EMPLOYEES
Today, our claims backlog is 98,535! This is an 84% reduction from its 611,000 peak a little over two years ago in March 2013. VA and Veterans have never seen a backlog this low before in our history – this is a historic milestone!
Your progress and dedication is staggering.
As we’ve aggressively tackled the backlog, we’ve also brought down the inventory 59% from its peak of 884,000 in July 2012 to 362,799 today – its lowest level since 2008!
You have made such a difference to so many. Today, the average days a Veteran is waiting for a compensation decision is 105 days. This means Veterans are waiting 177 days less than at the peak of 282 days in March 2013, which for some can mean this is less time they have to worry about keeping their lights on, food on the table and a roof over their heads.
That in itself is powerful – but it’s only part of the story. As you’ve processed a record number of claims, you have not sacrificed quality. At the disability level, quality has improved from 83% in 2011 to 91% today. At the issue level, quality is holding at 96%. What’s more, on the eight separate quality categories measured within a claim – you are making the correct decision much more than 98% of the time – in fact, nearly 100% of the time in many cases! Veterans, their families and Survivors measure confidence in VA by the quality of our work and you continue to prove that excellence and integrity are high priorities.
These milestones simply could not have been achieved without your dedication – or without the help of our Veterans Health Administration and IT colleagues, our Veterans Service Organization partners, and our Labor partners.
I’m so proud of each of you for the incredible work you’ve done. You have poured your hearts and souls into consistently improving the service you provide to our Nation’s Veterans and I am humbled and awed by your commitment.
We know that some claims will continue to take longer than 125 days to process due to our legal duty to assist – an obligation I know you all take seriously. If a Veteran adds late contentions, can’t make it to an exam or if you identify additional entitlements in the process of deciding the claim, it is the right thing to do to take the time needed to ensure we provide each Veteran the fullest entitlement to benefits. Remember the three things I’ve said to you in recent email missives…1) INTEGRITY, 2) QUALITY, 3) GRANT IF YOU CAN – DENY ONLY IF YOU MUST!
Keep up the excellent work and thank you for your unwavering dedication to our Veterans, their families and Survivors.
Your Under Secretary,
Allison
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 2
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Sgt Spencer Sikder
A friend has told me it's not hard to achieve this reduction, they just deny everything..... :-)
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