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Inspection of VA Regional Office Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Report Information

Issue Date
Report Number
14-04878-205
VISN
State
District
VA Office
Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA)
Report Author
Office of Audits and Evaluations
Report Type
Review
Recommendations
3
Questioned Costs
$0
Better Use of Funds
$0
Congressionally Mandated
No

Summary

Summary
Overall, VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) benefits inspectors found Pittsburgh VA Regional Office (VARO) staff incorrectly processed 10 of the 84 (12 percent) disability claims we reviewed. The claims processing errors resulted in approximately $496,000 in improper benefits payments from February 2008 until September 2014. The OIG benefits inspectors sampled claims considered at increased risk of processing errors. These results do not represent the accuracy of all disability claims processing at this VARO however accountability for public resources is not reasonably assured without timely and accurate actions. During this benefits inspection, OIG staff found VARO staff incorrectly processed 8 of 30 claims related to temporary 100 percent disability evaluations but found all 30 traumatic brain injury claims were processed correctly. We noted significant improvement in these two areas since its last review in 2011. Pittsburgh VARO staff generally processed Special Monthly Compensation and ancillary benefits claims accurately, with OIG noting 2 of the 24 cases sampled contained processing errors. OIG inspectors’ also determined VARO staff generally followed policy and accurately established claims in VBA’s electronic system of records using correct dates of claims for 28 of the 30 claims sampled. However, VARO staff delayed processing actions in 5 of the 16 benefits reduction cases resulting in approximately $42,000 in improper benefit payments from January 2013 until July 2014. The Director of the Pittsburgh VARO concurred with OIG’s recommendations for improvement.

Open Recommendation Image, SquareOpenClosed and Implemented Recommendation Image, CheckmarkClosed-ImplementedNot Implemented Recommendation Image, X character'Closed-Not Implemented
No. 1
Closed and Implemented Recommendation Image, Checkmark
to Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA)
We recommended the Pittsburgh VA Regional Office Director develop and implement a plan to ensure staff take timely action on reminder notifications for medical reexaminations.
No. 2
Closed and Implemented Recommendation Image, Checkmark
to Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA)
We recommended the Pittsburgh VA Regional Office Director conduct a review of the 352 temporary 100 percent disability evaluations remaining from our inspection universe and take appropriate actions.
No. 3
Closed and Implemented Recommendation Image, Checkmark
to Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA)
We recommended the Pittsburgh VA Regional Office Director implement a plan to ensure staff timely process claims related to benefits reductions to minimize improper payments to veterans.