Posted on 10/07/2012 9:04:37 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar
The backlog of veterans’ disability claims has jumped by 179 percent during President Barack Obama’s first term in office, reaching 883,949 outstanding claims, according to Veterans Administration (VA) statistics. (Click Oct. 1, 2012 link.)
The backlog of claims is at near-record highs, with 65.8 percent of claims being backlogged for 125 days or more.
The total claims include disability claims by veterans as well as from surviving spouses, children, or parents. As the VA explains, these claims are "based upon the effects of disabilities, diseases, or injuries incurred or aggravated during military service." And the claims by spouses, children, or parents are based "upon the Veteran's death due to service-related causes." (Click Oct. 1, 2012 link.)
When Obama took office, there were approximately 390,000 outstanding claims, of which only 22 percent had been pending for more than 180 days.
That number had been falling during the second George W. Bush administration, despite the military being heavily engaged in two wars. At the beginning of Bush’s second term, the VA had about 480,000 outstanding claims, with only 21 percent backlogged for more than 180 days.
That number fell by almost 100,000 claims by the time Obama took office
In a speech to the American Legion in August, General Eric Shinseki, secretary of Veterans Affairs, said that the VA was working hard to try to process all the claims, noting that “no one is standing at parade rest.”
“The backlog is real, but no one is standing at parade rest,” he said. “This is a dynamic process, and as we pushed 2.9 million claims out the door, 3.5 million claims came in.”
Shinseki promised that his agency would end the backlog by 2015.
Shinseki said the VA had been carrying a backlog “for decades” and added that recent decisions to grant claims related to Gulf War Syndrome and Agent Orange exposure had increased the backlog.
“Three-and-a-half years ago, we were also still grappling with some unresolved issues from past wars -- the Gulf War, over 20 years ago, and the Vietnam War, nearly 50 years ago now,” he said. “We didn't take care of business when we should have decades ago, and some Veterans were dying without benefits.”
However, the backlog problem has more than doubled in the past two years alone. In January 2012, pending claims stood at about 880,000, with 64 percent backlogged for more than 125 days. That number was up approximately 116,000 over the previous year.
The claims are for veterans with some kind of service-related disability such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or some kind of physical disability caused by injury. Once processed and rated by the VA, veterans receive compensation to help offset the cost of their disability. However, so long as their claims are backlogged, they have no access to compensation.
The VA did not respond to CNSNews.com’s reque
I put in for an upgrade (I’m currently at 40%) in early 2011 and am expected to hear something late next year. That seems more than 120 days to me.
That arrogant pos hates the veterans
....but they will expedite processing citizenship for illegals
I was told the average claim was taking 280 days. I am quickly approaching 2 years and was told mine was still in evaluation a year and a half after I had an examination.
At least you’ve had an examination! Still waiting...
Veterans have been suffering the tyranny of the VA government run health system since the ‘70s. This, and worse, is just a microcosm of what lays ahead for the rest of the country if obamacare is not repealed soon.
Regards
Good luck. An Administrative judge ordered the VA to expedite his claim in 2008. He’s still waiting.
Oops....I mean the judge ordered the VA to expedite my BROTHER’S claim.
I believe the Obama administration clearly does not appreciate service members and veterans.
All the ObamaCare lovers need to experience the VA health system to see how wonderfully competent government run healthcare is. I know I’m going off topic here a bit, but when it comes to the VA and the treatment of vets combined with the socialist agenda being pushed by Obewama my dander gets up.
Yes, there are times when a VA provider helps someone or seems to care, but that’s the exception rather than the rule.
Our outpatient clinics have been instructed to see us at 8 month intervals instead of the usual 6. You don’t just call for an appointment when you’re sick; you wait for them to tell you when to call for an appointment. Then, you must continue to call, sometimes for days, until you reach a live person to even make the appointment.
The VA has always and forever said it’s working “as fast as it can” in clearing disability claim backlogs. It’s BS now just as it’s always been. The paperwork to even file a claim is even designed to discourage vets from applying.
Obama isn’t helping in this area any more than he’s helped in any other. He and his cabal are antagonistic towards veterans.
Of course
It took about six month in NW Washington (Seattle VA office) to get scheduled for physicals, but that was back in Fall 2010 to Spring 2011.
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