Veterans' Benefits

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recognizes slow claims processing and poor customer service as critical concerns. Claims processing time is increasing as are claims backlogs. In 1993, more than 500,000 claims were pending in VA regional offices nationwide. One of the most highly publicized initiatives to reduce claims processing time and improve service to veterans and their families is the restructuring of the claims processing system in VA's New York Regional Office. In May 1993, the regional office began processing a quarter of its claims in a prototype unit. This new unit differs substantially from the traditional "assembly line" organization used by the rest of the New York office and most other VA regional offices. This briefing report determines (1) how the operation of the prototype unit differs from the traditional operation in New York, (2) how VA is assessing the effectiveness of the prototype and how the prototype's performance compares to the rest of the New York office's, and (3) what plans New York has for expanding the use of the prototype.

GAO found that: (1) the prototype unit differs from the traditional claims processing unit in its staff roles and responsibilities and direct interactions between veterans and claims processors; (2) under the prototype, fewer people are involved in processing a single claim and files are located with the work team rather than in a central location; (3) VA headquarters and the regional office do not have a written assessment plan for the prototype, but they are using traditional monitoring techniques to assess its effectiveness; (4) communications with veterans have improved and claims backlogs have decreased, but the unit's effect on the timeliness of claims processing has not yet been demonstrated; (5) the prototype's cost per claim is 20 percent less than the traditional unit's; and (6) the regional office plans to use the work-team approach to process all claims by the end of fiscal year 1994, but it first has to implement related initiatives, such as new job descriptions, an employee rating system, and an officewide performance assessment system.