Roanoke Veterans Affairs Regional Office staff left thousands of appeals to linger, IG report says
By Courtney Mabeus
Employees at a Roanoke Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office focused on more-recent benefits appeals, leaving thousands of older, more-complicated claims dating as far back as 2008 to linger, according to an inspector general's report released Tuesday.
The inspector general, working from an anonymous tip, found that appeals staff focused their work largely on "newer appeals with fewer issues," according to the report. As of June 4, 2015, the Roanoke office had 12,890 appeals pending at various stages. Of those, 3,350 dated from October 2008 through fiscal-year 2013.
Roanoke VARO employees failed to follow a workload management plan that required them to prioritize appeals with the longest delays, further exacerbating the wait, the report said. That came as a directive from a southern area director who implemented a plan to reduce the number of appeals by working new ones first. The director stated "that if all you work is the old appeals then all you have is old appeals," according to the report.
"The lack of priority placed on older appeals caused already significant delays to worsen for the thousands of veterans who had been waiting the longest for a decision on their appeal," the report said.
As of June 2015, the average age of the region's appeals was nearly three years.
The Roanoke director agrees with the report's recommendation to focus first on appeals pending the longest. The office also added 11 employees for that purpose, the report said.
Are you a veteran with an appeal waiting three years or more?
Know of a Hampton Roads-area veteran with a VA appeal that's been lingering for three years or longer? Please contact staff writer Courtney Mabeus at courtney.mabeus@pilotoline.com or at 757-446-2277.
Courtney Mabeus, 757-446-2277, courtney.mabeus@pilotonline.com​
Roanoke Va Regional Office
Vetean'S Benefits Administration
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