VA trims veteran claims backlog to less than 100,000
Department of Veterans Affairs officials said Tuesday they have reached a milestone in reducing the backlog of veterans’ claims for disability benefits.
The backlog count is now less than 100,000 nationwide — an 84 percent reduction since the peak in March 2013.
The Veterans Benefits Administration’s regional office in Reno has reduced its backlog to 479 from the peak of 8,536 in February 2013, according to a VA news release. That comes with a reduction in the wait time for rating decisions from 357 days at the peak of the backlog down to 95 days currently.
U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, has sought reform in the VA and its leadership at the Reno regional office. He called for a series of reviews in May of the VA claims process and introduced a bill with eight other senators that would require the Government Accountability Office to conduct an independent audit of all 56 regional benefits offices.
“It is pressure from lawmakers, the public, and veterans that has helped cut this backlog in half,” his spokesman, Neal Patel, wrote in an email Tuesday.
He added that as long as Heller is fielding complaints from veterans “there’s still work to be done.”
In July, the VA selected Army veteran Shelia A. Jackson, former assistant director in the Los Angeles region, to head the Reno regional benefits office. She replaced Ed Russell, who was transferred in April to a special assistant position in the Veterans Benefits Administration.
“Trust must be repaired between the Reno office and Nevada’s veterans,” Patel said.
Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., a member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said through her spokesman that the VA needs to reduce the “looming backlog of appeals.”
“If left unaddressed, the VA will soon be facing an appeals tsunami,” Titus said.
Contact Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308. Find him on Twitter: @KeithRogers2
