1.2: Disability Compensation
Provide timely and accurate decisions on disability compensation claims to improve the economic status and quality of life
of service-connected veterans.
Other Information:
Purpose and Outcomes: The Nation has a long and extensive history of providing benefits to war veterans — “caring for him
who shall have borne the battle.” The compensation program provides monthly payments to veterans who have disabilities resulting
from their military service. The outcomes for this program are to: • Recognize the impact of disability on a veterans’ quality
of life and support pursuit of maximum individual potential; • Improve the security of veterans with disabilities by making
payments that offset the average loss of earning capacity resulting from service-connected disability or disease; • Ensure
servicemembers and veterans understand and have easy access to all benefits for which they are eligible based on service-connected
disability or disease; and • Ensure servicemembers and veterans are confident that VA will properly compensate them for service-related
disabilities. In addition, as part of the restoration goal and to improve the quality of life for severely disabled veterans,
VA provides grants through the Specially Adaptive Housing Program. Veterans may obtain and use these grants to buy, build,
or modify homes specifically adapted for their use, including distinctive housing needs such as wide doorways, ramps, and
other special needs. VA also provides additional benefits through the Automobile Allowance and Adaptive Equipment Programs.
These programs provide assistance to certain service-connected veterans who have disabilities that warrant special assistance
with their transportation needs. Most beneficiaries are compensated for disabilities rated at 30 percent or less, but most
of the actual dollar value of the benefits is paid to veterans with more severe disabilities. The number of veterans receiving
compensation is expected to increase slightly over the next 5 years. At the end of FY 2002, over 2,414,000 veterans were receiving
benefits. This number is expected to increase to 2,583,000 by FY 2008. Claims processing has been affected by several factors
that have increased the complexity of adjudicating claims. Factors contributing to this increase include: (1) disabilities
worsen as veterans age (the average degree of disability has increased in the recent past from 32.44 percent in FY 1999 to
34.87 percent in FY 2002); (2) multiissue claims are increasing (in FY 2002 there was an average of three issues per claim);
(3) issues tend to be granted at higher levels of disability than in the past; and (4) recent legislation has increased benefits.
Strategies and Processes: VA will demonstrate its leadership in addressing the following important issues facing the compensation
program and implementing VA’s strategies and processes to achieve this objective. • During FY 2001, VA increased its veterans
service representative workforce by 1,298 employees. In addition, a centralized training program was successfully implemented
to train these new hires. VA now has more journey-level employees to perform claims work and improve claims processing timeliness.
• During the next 5 years, a significant portion of VA’s workforce will be eligible to retire. We project that over 1,000
veterans service representatives will actually retire. These are our most experienced employees who make decisions on the
most complex claims. Training replacements for these individuals takes up to 3 years. To avoid a 2-3 year skill gap that will
exacerbate service delivery challenges, VA has developed a comprehensive succession planning strategy to address the loss
of experienced decision-makers. Key strategies that will be implemented to achieve our intended outcomes in conjunction are
as follows: • Enhanced telephone systems and information centers are providing easier access to information and services.
Veterans can use the telephone system to access general information and certain payment information 24 hours a day, 7 days
a week. For more detailed information on claims, veterans need to contact the regional office during regular hours of operation.
VA has also established two virtual information centers (VICs). VICs consist of groups of regional offices whose telephone
systems are coordinated so that incoming calls can be routed to alternate sites during heavy call periods, resulting in faster,
efficient telephone service. This coordination continues to assist VA in reducing blocked and abandoned call rates. VA will
establish a third call center in FY 2003 and the final center in FY 2006. • Veterans are able to submit applications for certain
benefits by using the Internet. Veterans Online Application (VONAPP) has been available to the public since August 2000 at
http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov. There are currently three VBA forms and one VHA form available through this system. VA expects
to add 10 additional VBA forms to the system in FY 2003. VA and DoD will collaborate on the development of an online benefits
application process that will allow servicemembers to submit applications directly to the appropriate federal agency. • VA
implemented the Claims Processing Improvement (CPI) model in all 57 regional offices in FY 2002. This initiative called for
the regional offices to reorganize their Veterans Service Centers (VSC) into teams that concentrate on specific portions of
the claims process. The effect of reorganization has been and will continue to be increased productivity, quality, and timeliness
of claims processing. This reorganization of the VSC will reduce cycle-times and consequently enhance service to veterans.
• Through the cooperation of regional offices and VA medical centers, and partnership with DoD, VA is conducting discharge
medical exams for compensation claims. This initiative continues to improve our efforts to be more accessible to servicemembers
separating from service and streamline the eligibility process for compensation, health care, and vocational rehabilitation
benefits. In addition, VA will work with DoD to develop a physical examination protocol that will be considered valid and
acceptable for all military service separation requirements and acceptable for VA’s disability compensation requirements.
• VA has initiated the Compensation and Pension Examination Project (CPEP) to assess and improve the quality and timeliness
of Compensation and Pension (C&P) examination reports. The program was established in 2001 to develop baseline goals and expectations
for examinations, develop national standards for exam report quality, and develop training systems to convey performance standards.
CPEP has completed a baseline study of national C&P report quality of the 10 most frequently requested exams and is now collecting
quality data for analysis. Through this program, VA expects to consistently provide complete, high-quality, responsive, and
timely C&P exam reports. • VA centralized the processing of pension maintenance work starting January 2002. Previously performed
at all 57 regional offices, these functions were consolidated at three sites (Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and St. Paul). Centralized
processing of the pension program allows VA to focus more regional office resources on the compensation workload. Processing
of the workload in the paperless Virtual VA environment began in Philadelphia in August 2002. • Stakeholder involvement is
critical in the determination and development of outcomes for all VA benefit programs. To date, VA has developed interim outcomes
for the compensation program and will finalize these program outcomes and develop performance measures and targets based on
further analysis and consultations with our stakeholders. • At this time, VA plans to use several measures to assess the outcome
of the compensation program. We will measure the percentage of veterans in receipt of compensation benefits whose total income
meets that of like-circumstanced veterans (veterans who entered the military with similar socioeconomic backgrounds, but did
not sustain service connected disabilities or illnesses) and the percent of veterans in receipt of compensation benefits whose
total income meets that of like-circumstanced non-veterans (individual in the general public with similar socioeconomic backgrounds
who have similar disabilities or illnesses). We will also assess the percentage of recipients who perceive that VA compensation
redresses the effect of service-connected disabilities. Finally, recognizing the importance of our partnership with DoD, we
will measure the percent of recently inducted servicemembers who report that the existence of VA’s compensation program was
a factor in their decision to enter the military. External Factors: • Workforce - Competition with the private sector in periods
of low unemployment may impact VA’s recruitment activities. • Partnerships - Our ability to effectively partner with DoD and
others will affect achievement of program outcomes and service delivery.
Indicator(s):
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