In addition to revamping the appeals process, VBA continues to seek Veterans’ input about the services they receive through the launch of a new survey program. Since VA implemented AMA, VBA reduced its inventory of pending appeals by 87%. In Fiscal Year 2021, Higher-Level Reviews are being completed in an average of 124 days, and Supplemental Claims are being completed in an average of 94 days. (Interested? Here’s how to opt-in from the legacy process. Instead, VBA is meeting its average timeliness goals in both the Higher-Level Review and Supplemental Claim lanes. Veterans who chose one of these two new processes no longer wait years for a decision. When AMA was fully implemented two years ago, VBA set a goal to complete decisions in an average of 125 days. Implementing these new decision review processes significantly decreased the number of Veterans waiting for decisions on their disagreements, as well as the time they waited. One of the most popular features of the new law is that Veterans can now decide which of the three options to pursue, based on their situation. These are in addition to a traditional appeal to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA). To get there, VBA worked closely with internal and external partners, including Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs), Veteran advocates, other VA administrations, and Congressional staffers to draft and pass the Veteran Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017 (AMA).ĪMA created two new decision review processes: the Higher-Level Review and the Supplemental Claim. Its replacement required legislative change. Today, the legacy appeals process is closed to new appellants. In that process – now known as “the legacy appeals process” – Veterans could wait three to seven years for a single decision – and even longer if they disagreed with that decision! For years, Veterans have been asking for VA “ to fix the broken appeals process.” Appeals are the result of a Veteran formally disagreeing with the decision that VA made on her compensation claim. One example is the transformation of the appeals process. How has Veteran feedback improved VBA processes? Appeals Modernization Act of 2017 “Most importantly, VBA made these changes based on direct feedback from Veterans.” “Since implementing this framework, VBA has made improvements for Veterans that are powerful and measurable,” said Brianne Ogilvie, executive director of VBA’s Office of Administrative Review, which oversees the process of requesting a decision review on Veterans’ claims decisions. The customer service model then empowers both Veterans and employees to make changes. To meet this goal, VBA built a customer service framework focused on listening to Veterans’ input and improving its processes based on that input. To work toward fulfilling the goal of delivering benefits faster and more effectively, VBA has implemented improvements to the benefits processes – with more improvements planned. VA’s Benefits Administration’s (VBA) goal is to deliver VA benefits and services to Veterans and their families in a responsive, timely and compassionate manner, in recognition of their service to the Nation. Due to improvements in the system and processes, Veterans are now getting more options. Veterans filing disability claims have said they want choices and faster decisions.
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