Heller, Casey Welcome New VA Initiative to Speed up Disability Claims Process Veterans who file original Fully Developed Claim eligible for retroactive benefits (Washington, D.C.) – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has announced that veterans filing an original Fully Developed Claim for service-connected disability compensation may be eligible to receive an additional year of disability benefits retroactively. The announcement is part of an effort to clear the backlog of veterans' disability claims by giving veterans an incentive to provide the necessary paperwork when a claim is filed.
"As a Co-chair of the working group to end the backlog, I see this action by the VA to reward veterans who file a Fully Developed Claim as a positive step towards reducing the backlog in claims and pension benefits. Looking for ways to incentivize veterans to produce the documents necessary to prove the relationship between their service to our country and their disability will decrease the development phase of the claims processing process, and help lead to accurate and timely decisions for our veterans. While more work needs to be done as we continue our work on the VA claims backlog, this is certainly a helpful step forward," said Senator Dean Heller.
"Today's decision by the VA is a step in the right direction that I'm hopeful will help reduce some of the claims backlog. While this is a good development there's more that needs to be done to ensure that our veterans are getting the timely responses they deserve from the VA. Pennsylvania has some of the country's longest backlogs and it's critical that the VA persist in taking the necessary steps to get these numbers down. I'll continue to work with Senator Heller to develop a proposal that can address the backlog and ensure veterans receive word on their claims in a reasonable timeframe," said Senator Bob Casey.
U.S. Senators Dean Heller (R-NV) and Bob Casey (D-PA) recently joined forces to launch the bipartisan VA Backlog Working Group, a united effort by lawmakers, veterans, Veterans Service Organizations and veterans' advocates to put an end to VA disability claim backlog.
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