VBA has  acknowledged the need to improve the timeliness and accuracy of claims  processing. VBA Has Used Limited Field Restructuring and Staff Redeployment to Improve Compensation and Pension Performance

Since 2001, VBA has made a number of changes to its field structure and  staff deployment in an effort to provide veterans with faster decisions and  reduce its rating-related claims inventory. In October 2001, VBA  established a Tiger Team, including experienced rating specialists, to  complete very old claims and claims from elderly veterans. Also, to  supplement regional offices’ claims processing capacity, VBA established  nine resource centers, where teams of rating specialists decided claims  developed at the regional offices of jurisdiction. Further, VBA has  consolidated specific types of work, including pension maintenance work  (such as annual means testing for VA pension beneficiaries) at three  regional offices, in an effort to free up staff at other offices to concentrate  on rating-related claims. VBA also consolidated in-service dependency and  indemnity compensation claims at its Philadelphia regional office; created  an Appeals Management Center in Washington, D.C., to process appeals  remanded from VA’s Board of Veterans Appeals; and is consolidating the  rating of Benefits Delivery at Discharge claims at the Salt Lake City and  Winston-Salem, North Carolina, regional offices. VBA expects this consolidation to help improve  decision efficiency and consistency. VBA Continues to Face Challenges as It Realigns Its Compensation and Pension Field Structure

While VBA has done limited field restructuring and claims processing staff  reallocation, it has not changed the basic field structure for processing  claims for disability compensation and pension benefits and still faces  challenges in improving performance. VBA continues to process claims at  57 regional offices, which experience large performance variations and  questions about the consistency of their decisions. Several studies by VA and outside groups have  suggested that VBA could improve claims processing efficiency and  consistency by consolidating claims processing into fewer offices as well  as other strategic changes. Average completion times ranged from 99 days at the Salt Lake City  regional office to 237 days at the Honolulu, Hawaii, regional office. In  November 2004, we reported that to achieve its claims processing  performance goals in the face of increasing workloads and decreased  staffing levels, VBA would have to rely on productivity improvements. Conclusions

VBA has taken limited actions to realign its field structure and redeploy  staff resources as part of its effort to improve overall claims processing  performance.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Chairman, former Chairman, and Ranking Minority Member, Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs asked GAO to review the Veterans Benefits Administration's (VBA) efforts to realign its compensation and pension claims processing field structure to improve performance. This report (1) identifies the actions VBA has taken to realign its compensation and pension claims processing field structure to improve performance, and (2) examines whether further changes to its field structure could improve performance.

What GAO Found

Since 2001, VBA has made a number of changes to its field structure and staff deployment in an effort to improve compensation and pension claims processing performance, in particular, to improve the timeliness of claims decisions and reduce inventories. VBA created a Tiger Team to complete very old claims, and claims from elderly veterans; created nine resource centers to decide claims developed at the regional offices of jurisdiction; consolidated pension maintenance work at three regional offices to free up staff at other offices to concentrate on other work; consolidated in-service dependency and indemnity compensation claims at one office; consolidated processing of appeals remanded from VA's Board of Veterans Appeals at one office; and is consolidating decision making on Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) claims at two regional offices. While VBA has taken these steps to improve its claims processing performance through targeted realignments of its field structure and workload, VBA has not changed the basic field structure for processing claims for disability compensation and pension benefits, and it still faces performance challenges. VBA continues to process these claims at 57 regional offices, where large performance variations and questions about decision consistency persist. For example, in fiscal year 2004 the average time to decide a rating-related claim ranged from 99 days at one office to 237 days at another, and accuracy varied across regional offices. Furthermore, productivity improvements are necessary to maintain performance in the face of greater workloads and relatively constant staffing resources. VBA and others who have studied claims processing have suggested that consolidating claims processing into fewer regional offices could help improve claims processing efficiency, save overhead costs, and improve decision accuracy and consistency.