VBA Overpaid Veterans Due to Delays in Reducing Compensation Benefits

The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) oversees the disability compensation program, providing veterans with monthly payments because of disabilities that occurred during or were aggravated by their military service. VBA’s Office of Field Operations is responsible for ensuring these benefits are provided effectively and efficiently. Sometimes evidence is received that requires decreasing or discontinuing the benefits, called proposals to reduce benefits. Veterans are given time to challenge any proposed action while their benefits continue unchanged. Lengthy delays can waste taxpayer dollars in excessive payments that cannot be recouped. The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) examined whether the Office of Field Operations managed proposals to reduce benefits by minimizing processing delays and excessive payments. The OIG estimated about 88 percent of claims completed during the review period involved processing delays. The delays occurred because the Office of Field Operations workload distribution strategy prioritized claims involving the granting of benefits. The OIG acknowledges VBA’s goal to ensure these claims are given priority over those that reduce or remove benefits. However, the proposed reductions cannot be allowed to increase in a way that results in excessive payments that could be directed to other eligible beneficiaries or allowable uses. If the Office of Field Operations does not develop an effective strategy to manage the workload, delays and excessive payments will continue, resulting in an estimated $232 million in excessive payments over the next two years. Further, delays may cause unnecessary stress for veterans waiting for final decisions. VBA concurred with OIG recommendations to implement a workload management strategy to distribute and process proposals to reduce benefits that minimizes delays and excessive payments, along with a formal procedure to routinely monitor that strategy. VBA requested closure of the recommendations given changes made since the review, but the OIG will monitor implementation to ensure successful completion.