Operation Continuity: A Resolution for the Veteran Affairs Backlog

A Resolution For The VA Backlog
Alicia Seabrooks
Kaplan University
July 16th 2013

How can the problems with the Veteran Affairs compensation claim backlog be resolved and our Veterans be better taken care of? Continuity! Providing some type of transitional continuity of records, especially healthcare records could be the stepping-stone to an overall improvement and solution. This could possibly make it easier for the Department of Defense to have cross platform communication and share data with the VA about those Veterans transitioning out of service. The current backlog is somewhere upward of 600,000 unfulfilled claims, most of which have been waiting in excess of 365 days and counting. By implementing a standard continuity of care for service members transitioning from active or reserve duty status to Veteran status, we can possible save and better protect one of the Nation’s most valuable assets, our former heroes, the American Veteran.
The stories of veterans seeking assistance that has been rightfully promised to them are sometimes uplifting and others just heart wrenching and sorrow filled. After doing the legwork and conducting a few interviews, doing some independent research and reading up on proposed solutions I have come across a magnitude of stories filled with so much emotion. These emotions range from despair and hopelessness to joy, appreciation and gratitude to not be forgotten about by the Nation that they so willingly served. “A congressional study estimated that 204,000 U.S. soldiers had been “wounded not mortally, ” while an uncounted number suffered from tuberculosis and neuropsychiatric conditions. A PHS report estimated that perhaps 300,000 or more veterans would need further hospital care. (Mettler & Ortiz, 2012) After reading a very detailed article about the struggle disabled veterans face with the claim system and the current standard of care they are subjected to in addition to the current backlog was disheartening. The number of claims waiting to be processed are somewhere in the high 800,000, with at least two thirds of those claims pending for over 6 months (Resnikoff, 2013). Receiving benefits very late or in some cases not at all is a major issue that has been rising since the onset of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many service members who have been wounded physically or mentally in these conflicts are still in a holding pattern awaiting compensation and without good reason or explanation.
There have been multiple solutions presented that could possibly provide resolution if they would only be used by both Veteran and Veteran Affairs in a concerted effort. All the research is conclusion that some type of transitional continuity of records, especially healthcare records could be the stepping stone to an overall improvement and solution. By implementing a standard continuity of care for service members transitioning from active or reserve duty status to Veteran status we can possible save and better protect one of the Nation’s most valuable assets, our former military presents. Currently the VA claim backlog consist of over 600,000 service members seeking compensation for the tangible an intangible wounds they have sustained while serving and protecting this Nation. While the VA Administration state that the are doing all they can within their powers to resolve these claims, unfortunately for the affected Vets and their families the numbers still remain extremely high. In fact, as of May 20, the VA had 838,821 claims waiting to be processed. Two-thirds of those claims—559,186 of them—have been pending for over 125 days and have been classified as “backlogged.” An additional 249,604 claim appeals are pending, from veterans who believe the VA ruled incorrectly on their initial claims. (Resnikoff, 2013). A large part of the backlog stems from The President of the United States and Veteran Affairs Sec. Eric Shinseki fielding back claims for things not previously claimed by older Veterans. “As if the paper weren’t problem enough, Shinseki and his staff soon learned that thousands of Vietnam War veterans—many with whom he likely served—had been barred from claiming disability benefits for conditions related to their exposure to the toxic defoliant Agent Orange.
He also learned that when a veteran claimed post-traumatic stress related to time in combat, the veteran was obligated to prove that a specific stressor—an event at a certain time and place—had caused the condition. But because many returning veterans weren’t able to prove a specific instance had caused their sleepless nights, irritability, and hyper-vigilance, they were being denied disability benefits” (Friedman, 2013). These findings influenced Sec Shinseki to expand the eligibility for those affected by both combat PTSD and Agent Orange
Eric Shinseki has made it top priority to reduce backlog and add several claims from the Vietnam Era and other earlier conflicts the foreseeable future does appear to promising to the veterans who are currently waiting and resubmitting appeals and claims. However as many as 20,000 veterans have died while waiting on the claim process, could it be that the powers that be do not realize that some veterans are depending upon those claims to cover medical care and related expenses. Although attention is now being called to this backlog situation, currently some veterans have been waiting and have died after waiting ten or more years for a claim decision from the VA. One contingency that has currently been put in place is the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS), an electronic records and processing system to gain continuity and maintain the collected data about a veteran and their claim. Even with what appears to be a cloud of gloom looming over the heads of Veteran Affair officials and Veteran who are waiting, much progress is being made in the background. Congress has passed a bill to increase the funding to support the processing of the current backlog. The new budget will allow $155 million dollars into a paperless claim process and $136 million into digital scanning of health records to increase the easy of access for storage and processing of medical record data. An additional $344 million will be used in developing and launching some form of health care record system to make the transit of records between DOD and the VA easier. Under the budget bill, VA would receive $63.1 billion. That is about $2 billion more than last year, and about double of the $31.1 billion VA budget back in 2004 for discretionary programs (Wallace). The actual fix appears to be very evident but it is obviously not an easy one, the longest and most time consuming part of the claim process is waiting for all the documentation to come from all the sources if it is not all collected and stored together. With an EHR or EMR in place to collect and store all concurrent medical information. After doing an interview with a young woman who served in the army for 10 years and experienced faulty leadership and an ethical and moral divide with her former unit she decided it was time to separate. After 5 deployments, obtaining the rank of Sergeant First Class in 9 years, and losing soldiers and friends on the battlefield and still continued to deploy and lead troops, in my opinion she is highly experienced combat vet. We briefly discussed her expectations for her transition to a civilian and what she expected and would demand the VA to provide. When asked what expedited her VA claim she cited the fact that she had maintained all her records and was about to submit all information in reference to support her claim. She admitted a big part of that was the fact that her fiancé was a medic and had access to her medical information so what she did not have he was able to get. (Mckeithen, 2013). This interview provided a sort of confirmation as to what the general consensus was as to the delay of claims and care lack of information. As with all ideas there will be glitches, hang-ups, and naysayers. One of the largest for seen issues with converse to a mass electronic system will be the potential for compromised personal health information (PHI) or HIPPA violations. However these things can and have happened in the current paper system, the key would be to implement effective data security measures as well as having in place the proper protective measure in the event that there was a breach. The government currently spends trillions to make sure the data being transmitted between platforms is encrypted and safe from hackers and potential breaches, with such measures already in place a mild continuity for the secure transmission of data is set in place.
Too often society and the powers that be tend to forget about those who gave most or all of themselves in service. Large populations of these people are our military veterans. All to often they become lost and forgotten after the conflict has concluded and they leave duty status. The greatest concern is the medical care or lack thereof and the backlog of the claims process. So many are asking how do we fix it but few are actually imposing or implementing any ideas. With all the incentives being offered to support transition to EHRs and EMRs the military and VA can certainly show meaningful use to get approved. Even doing something as simple as ensuring current military as they leave the service are fitted with at a minimum a hard copy of all their treatment and care to hand over to the VA to suppose the claims and create a baseline for current care could advance the solution. The break down comes in when recorded data gets lost or is not transcribed correctly or in a timely manner. I feel that some type of transitional continuity of records, especially healthcare records, could be the stepping-stone to an overall improvement and solution. With so many available solutions arising and being perfected every so frequently why is it an uphill battle to find a decent fit to help out our nations heroes. By implementing a standard continuity of care for service members transitioning from active or reserve duty status to Veteran status we can possible save and better protect one of the Nation’s most valuable assets, our former military heroes. Here we have a population of people who sacrificed and gave of themselves ever so selflessly, what is the VA and Department of Defense doing for them? Shouldn’t we being doing all we can and repaying them for all they have given?

To the VA Sec Mr. Eric Shinseki,
Sir,
Too often society and the powers that be tend to forget about those who gave most or all of themselves in service. Large populations of these people are our military veterans; often lost and forgotten once they leave duty status. The greatest concern is the medical care or lack thereof and the backlog of the claims process. So many are asking how do we fix it but little are actually imposing or implementing any ideas. With all the incentives being offered to support transition to EHRs and EMRs the military and VA can certainly show meaningful use to get approved. Even doing something as simple as ensuring current military as they leave the service are fitted with at a minimum a hard copy of all their treatment and care to hand over to the VA to suppose the claims and create a baseline for current care could advance the solution. The break down comes in when recorded data gets lost or is not transcribed correctly or in a timely manner. By implementing a standard continuity of care for service members transitioning from active or reserve duty status to Veteran status we can possible save and better protect one of the Nation’s most valuable assets, our former military presents. Why are we not properly compensating them for their sacrifice?

V/R
L. A. Seabrooks

Reference:
Friedman, B. (2013, june 3). The rise (and fall) of the va backlog read more: http://nation.time.com/2013/06/03/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-va-backlog/
Freking, K. (20, JUNE 2013). Veterans affairs department shows progress on disability claims backlog. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/20/veterans-affairs-disability-claims_n_3474734.html
Mckeithen, M. (2013, JUNE 09). Interview by A. Seabrooks []. My va claim experience.
Mettler, S., & Ortiz, S. R. (2012). Veterans' Policies, Veterans' Politics : New Perspectives on Veterans in the Modern United States. Gainesville: University Press of Florida.
Michaud, M. (26, MAY 2013). How the us department of veterans affairs can address its claims backlog. Retrieved from http://bangordailynews.com/2013/05/26/opinion/how-the-u-s-department-of-veterans-affairs-can-address-its-claims-backlog/
Miller, J. (2013, May 22). Memorial Day mission: Break the backlog at Veterans Affairs. Hill. p. S-12.
Resnikoff, N. (2013, May 26). NBCnews.com . Retrieved from MSNBC: http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/05/26/disabled-veterans-struggle-with-broken-claims-system/ United States Congress Senate Committee. (2010). Battling the backlog: Challenges facing the va claims adjudication and appeal process. BiblioGov.
Wallace, J. (5, JUNE 2013). Congress proposes funding boost to fix va backlog. . Retrieved from http://politics.heraldtribune.com/2013/06/05/congress-proposes-funding-boost-to-fix-va-backlog/
Reflective Thought
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This project took me on a interesting journey as I discovered things I had no idea I truly had in myself. Most times I try and get the work done to meet the “mission” requirements but this class and this project as a whole challenged me to become a part of what I was creating. I learned so much from researching and building this final project piece by piece. I learned that the writing process is an art and does not have to be rushed. Also with proper planning and following some type of outline success is possible and achievable. I have enhanced my free writing and researching skills. Both of which are imperative to writing a readable work that publishes an idea or thought to be followed. During the seminars and discussion boards the feedback allowed for vantage points of my peers that I myself missed. It also opened me up to be more receptive to the errors I had made or could see in others because I had made them. The feedback was instrumental in correcting my drafts and outline. When writing I rarely go back and objectively correct any deficiencies, having the instructor and the class review and read my work allowed me to see and correct mistakes that otherwise may have slipped through the cracks.