Heller calls for audit of VA claims-handling
WASHINGTON – Sen. Dean Heller and other senators who monitor the Department of Veterans Affairs called Wednesday for a series of reviews as the VA claims improvement in handling benefit applications but also is being buffeted by new allegations of mismanagement.
A bill introduced by the Nevada Republican and eight others would require the Government Accountability Office to conduct an independent audit of all 56 regional benefits offices within the sprawling department to determine whether claims are being handled consistently and to assess how each office is being managed.
The broad bill also calls on the VA to establish training programs for service center managers and to assess how regional offices interact with veterans groups and congressional constituent caseworkers. It also would require the VA inspector general to assess how regional offices set timelines and deadlines for disability claims.
The legislation comes in the wake of mismanagement allegations at VA offices in Philadelphia and in Oakland, Calif., among others. The Reno regional office has been without a full director for almost a year, although the VA has cited improvement in claims-handling at that site.
A year ago, a VA audit counted 100,000 veterans who faced long waits for health care as clerks in VA hospitals and clinics reported being told to falsify appointment schedules to mask long waits. The scandal led to the resignation of VA Secretary Eric Shinseki.
Heller said the independent audit of VA regional offices being sought in the Senate “isn’t a witch hunt. We want to see (the VA) succeed. We are hoping this is a step in the right direction to actually assisting the VA themselves.”
The audit “is just an opportunity for us to open their books and take a look if there are ways for improvement.”
“Believe it or not, some of them are doing a good job,” said Sen. Robert Casey, D-Pa.
The legislation is the latest product of a VA claims working group Heller and Casey formed in 2013. “We have literally cut the backlog, the time and claims themselves, in half, and the goal is to cut it in half again,” Heller said.
Heller credited the VA for improvements but said more needs to be done.
The Reno office, which handles claims from veterans in Nevada and part of California, took 257.9 days on average to process a claim, making it the third slowest, according to the most recent figures. Previously, it ranked as the slowest, at 425 days.
Review-Journal staff writer Keith Rogers contributed to this story.
Contact Steve Tetreault at stetreault@reviewjournal.com or 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @STetreaultDC
