Processing the record-setting number of claims the Department of Veterans Affairs is receiving and staffing issues are at the forefront of Joshua Jacobs’ mind.
Jacobs, the VA’s new Under Secretary for Benefits, told reporters during VA Secretary Denis McDonough’s April 27 press conference that the agency’s employees are increasing productivity and delivering more benefits per person than ever before.
“And they’re doing that, while the total amount of claims is increasing,” he said.
More than 500,000 toxic-exposure-related claims have been filed by veterans since the PACT Act was signed into law in August 2022. The sweeping legislation expands VA health care and benefits to veterans of all eras who were exposed to burn pits and other toxins during their military service.
The Veterans Benefits Administration, which Jacobs oversees, has processed more than 200,000 of those claims thus far and has awarded over $1 billion in benefits. VBA has seen a 31% increase in the volume of new claims so far in Fiscal Year 2023 when compared to the same period last year.
“That means more veterans and their families will receive an extra bit of financial stability. Many will receive it when they may need it most,” Jacobs said.
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A 13-question survey is also being sent to veterans who file disability claims to see how they felt about their experience.
“The goal here is to take that information and identify both the pain points, and the moments that matter, so that we can use that information to drive actionable improvements to build trust because we know that VBA in the claims process is often the first point that a veteran engages with the department,” Jacobs said.
Aggressive hiring coupled with automating some aspects of claims processing has helped VBA to increase efficiency, he added. With a workforce of 28,000, VBA’s staff has grown by 15% over the past 18 months.
The agency is also working on a public dashboard that will track its hiring performance, McDonough said.
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“The same way we’re putting out that PACT Act performance dashboard, we’ll be looking at some kind of similar set of regular measurements that we’ll make public,” he said.
Ensuring employees don’t burn out is another priority for VBA, Jacobs said.
“I am concerned about ensuring we take care of our employees, because when we take care of them, they can take care of veterans,” he said. “So we are actively looking at making sure we are providing the support our employees need.”
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.