Veterans Administration Backlog: Veterans Have to Wait Too Long for Healthcare
The new budget passed this week does give the Veterans Administration more funding. Military Times reports “the $163 billion appropriated for VA operations in fiscal 2016 includes $71.4 billion in discretionary funding, an almost 10 percent jump in that account from fiscal 2015 levels.”
The new funding is sorely needed in the Veterans Administration system. The Huffington Post revealed that “more than 238,000 of the 847,000 veterans with pending applications for health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs have already died, according to an internal VA document.”
KOAT Albuquerque reports that a veteran had to lie on the floor for almost four hours to receive medical attention at a Veterans Administration emergency room. The Iraq and Afghanistan veteran, Adam Greigo’s photos went viral recently. “It has taken two years to get the mental health care he needs for severe post-traumatic stress disorder. He also suffered injuries to his hips and spine. Despite seven visits to the emergency room, he says the VA would not refer him to a specialist for the pain.”
Backlogs Plague the VA’s Disability Benefits System
The Los Angeles Times reports that the Veterans Administration processed a record 1.3 million claims last year. At one point the Veterans Administration had over 600,000 initial decisions pending over 125 days. Now there are fewer than 80,000 initial decisions longer than 125 days. Here’s the catch: in 2005 there were only 167, 412 undecided appeals. Today, there are over 425,000 appeals waiting on decisions.
The Sun Herald found that the Veterans Administration only held a little over 12,000 hearings last year. Currently, there are more than 65,000 veterans that have pending requests for hearings. That means it would take five years to see everyone requesting a hearing.
VA Disability Benefits Help
If you have questions about your eligibility for VA Disability Benefits, please fill out the online contact form or call toll-free (812) 426-7200. Woods & Woods VA Disability lawyers never charge for claim evaluations. We will help you decide what legal avenues are available to you, at no cost.
