VBA Did Not Identify All Vietnam Veterans Who Could Qualify for Retroactive Benefits

The OIG conducted this review to determine to what extent VBA identified veterans potentially eligible for prior disability claim readjudication and retroactive benefits under the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and identified two missed populations. Of the approximately 86,894 veterans in the first dataset with NDAA diseases in their VHA medical records, about 36,125 were entitled to approximately $836.8 million in unpaid benefits. A VA senior management advisor stated VHA records were not involved in readjudication determinations because VBA did not have ready access to VHA diagnosis data. For the second dataset identified through Camp Lejeune service records, the OIG reviewed claims for 226 veterans and estimated 102 were entitled to about $7.5 million in benefits. VA concurred with two of the OIG’s three recommendations to improve methodologies for identifying eligible veterans and to send outreach letters, improve claims processors’ identification of claims possibly warranting readjudication, and update procedures to include veterans’ medical records. Nehmer v. US Department of Veterans Affairs was a 1986 class-action lawsuit in which Vietnam veterans and their survivors alleged VA had improperly denied their compensation claims for service-connected disabilities caused by herbicide exposure during military service. In 1991, VA was required to readjudicate claims filed by Vietnam veterans. When regulations add new presumptive diseases of service connection, VA must search its records to find eligible claimants and award benefits, without requiring action by the claimant. The 2021 NDAA added three diseases (bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, and parkinsonism) that carry presumptive service connection due to herbicide exposure during the Vietnam War. In 2021, VBA stated VA would review claims for Nehmer eligibility from approximately 70,000 veterans and survivors in its implementation of the NDAA, and additional veterans might be identified through other document reviews. This review highlights deficiencies in fully identifying affected veterans.