Titus in new push against VA medical claims backlog
WASHINGTON — A “pay as you rate” bill to speed payments to former service members was introduced Wednesday in Congress, part of a new push for the Department of Veterans Affairs to reduce a swollen backlog of claims.
Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., sponsored the bill that she had previewed this spring. It would require the VA to pay for treatment of medical conditions as soon as they are approved within a claim, rather than wait until all elements of the claim are adjudicated.
For Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, “each of their claims contains about an average of eight and a half component parts,” Titus said. Paying them off as they are resolved in part “puts some money into veterans’ pockets from the beginning when they really need it.”
The bill was part of a package of 10 measures promoted by House Democrats as their efforts to address the backlog of nearly 600,000 claims that have been pending for more than 125 days. The VA has set a goal to limit the backlog by 2015.
The average time for the VA to complete claims from Las Vegas veterans has been 513 days, according to Titus, who sits on the House Committee on Veterans Affairs.
Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760. Follow him on Twitter @STetreaultDC.
