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A PUBLICATION FOR MEMBERS OF THE DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS DEPARTMENT OF NEW YORK
Volume 10, Number 6, June 2001, PAGE 2 of 4
| CLAIMS PROCESSING TASK FORCE CREATED |
A commitment to make the processing of applications for veterans benefits faster, easier and more accurate took a major step forward today, April 16, 2001, when Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi signed the charter to establish a special Claims Processing Task Force for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
"The president promised a top-to-bottom review of our claims processing, and I have made it one of my top priorities," said Principi. "The benefits that veterans seek from VA were earned by their sacrifice and, sometimes, their suffering. When we handle their claims, we should use the best processes available."
The 10-person task force, headed by retired Vice Admiral Daniel L. Cooper, will examine a wide range of issues affecting the speedy processing of claims, from medical examinations and information technology, to efforts to shrink the backlog and increase the accuracy of decisions. The panel's final report to the Secretary is due in approximately 120 days.
The average time to process a claim for disability compensation or a VA pension is expected to increase from 202 days this year to 273 days next year. Among the factors lengthening the delay are new legislation strengthening VA's "duty to assist" veterans when they file for benefits and a decision earlier this year to make it easier for Vietnam veterans with adult-onset diabetes to receive disability compensation for the illness.
It all sounds so familiar. Bottom line - - another committee, another study, another report.
Like Major Bowes of the original amateur hour used to say, "around and around it goes and where it stops nobody knows.
Maybe we are too pessimistic. We have just learned that beginning Monday April 16, 2001, DAV's National Service Director Ken Wolfe began serving on the Claims Processing Advisory Committee. With our man Ken Wolfe on the job, things are looking up. Now, we can see a little light at the end of the tunnel.
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