VETERANS BENEFITS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: Ongoing Development and Implementation Can Be Improved; Goals Are Needed to Promote Increased User Satisfaction
Abstract
VBA pays disability benefits for disabling conditions incurred or aggravated while in military service, while pension benefits are for low income veterans who are either elderly or have disabilities unrelated to military service. In fiscal year 2014, the department paid about $58 billion in disability compensation and about $5 billion in pension claims. The disability claims process has been the subject of attention by Congress and others, due in part, to long waits for processing claims and a large backlog of claims. To process disability and pension claims more efficiently, VA began implementation of an electronic, paperless system in 2009. GAO was asked to study VBMS. Specifically, GAO (1) assessed VA's progress toward completing the development and implementation of VBMS and (2) determined to what extent users report satisfaction with the system. To do so, GAO reviewed relevant program documentation, administered a survey to a stratified random sample of about 3,500 users, and interviewed appropriate VA officials. GAO recommends that VA develop a plan for completing VBMS, establish goals for system response time, minimize the incidence of high and medium priority system defects for future VBMS releases, assess user satisfaction, and establish satisfaction goals to promote improvement. VA concurred with the recommendations and described actions it is planning to take in response, except for the first recommendation. GAO continues to believe development of a plan for completing the system is important.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2015
- Accession Number
- AD1169787
Entities
People
- Chris Businsky
- Eric Trout
- Heather A. Collins
- Jamelyn Payan
- Kavita Daitnarayan
- Kelly Dodson
- Kevin Walsh
- Mark T. Bird
- Martin L Skorczynski
- Michael Little
- Nancy Glover
- Roger M. Smith
- Scott Pettis
- Sonya Vartivarian
- Stuart Kaufman
- Valerie C. Melvin
- Virginia Chanley
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office