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Office of Budget

Fiscal Year 2005 Performance and Accountability Report
Published November 15, 2005

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Strategic Goal One: Restoration and Improved Quality of Life for Disabled Veterans

Strategic Objective 1.2: Decisions on Disability Compensation Claims

Provide timely and accurate decisions on disability compensation claims to improve the economic status and quality of life of service-disabled veterans.

Performance Trends and Impact of FY 2005 Results

Performance Trend FY 2005 Impact
Key Measure: Average Days to Process Compensation and Pension Rating-Related Actions
2001 181
2002 223
2003 182
2004 166
2005 Result 167
2005 Plan 145
2006 Plan 145
Strategic Target 125
On average, the veteran had to wait an additional day for a rating decision when compared to last year (167 vs. 166 days). While negligible, this processing time is too long, does not meet the needs of the veteran, and is significantly higher than the 145-day target. The continuing increase in the number of claims received did appreciably affect VA's ability to meet its 2005 target.
Key Measure: Average Days Pending for Rating-Related Compensation Actions
2001 186
2002 179
2003 114
2004 120
2005 Result 122
2005 Plan 119
2006 Plan 119
Strategic Target 78
Slightly above the 2005 target, this timeliness measure has remained fairly constant over the last several years. This has a direct positive impact on veterans because decisions were made faster this year compared to a few years ago.
Key Measure: National Accuracy Rate for Compensation Core Rating Work
* Actual data through June 2005. Final data will be available in January 2006.
2001 80%
2002 80%
2003 86%
2004 87%
2005 Result 84%*
2005 Plan 88%
2006 Plan 90%
Strategic Target 98%
The veteran is entitled to an accurate decision on his or her compensation claim. While only 4 percentage points below the 2005 target, VA continues to strive to improve in this important area by providing enhanced training to help employees deal with increasingly complex compensation-related decisions.

Related Information

Major Management Challenges

The following major management challenges have been identified for this strategic objective:

OIG
GAO

Program Evaluations

The Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission, established under Public Law 108-136, is conducting a comprehensive evaluation and assessment of benefits provided under current federal laws to compensate veterans and their survivors for disability or death attributable to military service. The Commission will make recommendations concerning the appropriateness of such benefits under existing laws, the appropriateness of the level of such benefits, and the appropriate standards for determining whether a veteran's disability or death should be compensated. The Commission began the study in May 2005 and expects to issue its report within 15 months.

Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) Evaluation

In relation to this strategic objective, the Administration conducted a PART evaluation of VA's Compensation program during 2002, which resulted in a rating of "Results Not Demonstrated." Please see Summary Table 3 for more information.

New Policies and Procedures

The Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000 has significantly increased both the length and complexity of claims development. VA's notification and development duties increased, adding more steps to the claims process and lengthening the time it takes to develop and decide a claim.

VA expects increased workload due to pending requirements to expand outreach efforts. These requirements would involve additional efforts to identify and inform veterans who are not enrolled or registered with VA about their potential eligibility for benefits or services, including eligibility for medical and nursing care.

Two new benefits, Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC) and Concurrent Retired and Disability Pay (CRDP), are expected to contribute to increased workload. CRSC is a benefit available from DoD for certain military retirees with qualifying combat or combat-like disabilities. It became effective July 1, 2003, and was expanded effective January 1, 2004. CRDP is another DoD program that permits partial to total restoration of retired pay previously waived to receive VA compensation.

Other Important Results

Despite the increased workload, the overall customer satisfaction rate for compensation has increased each year, from 52 percent in 2001 to 59 percent in 2004. In addition, the national accuracy rate for compensation authorization work, which increased from 69 percent in 2001 to 90 percent in 2004, remains steady at 91 percent through June 2005.

The Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA) introduced a number of employee incentives and training programs to increase productivity while maintaining high decisional quality. BVA trains Veterans Law Judges and staff counsel to write clear, correct, and concise decisions and employs a quality review process that translates "lessons learned" into directed training through quarterly "Grand Rounds" training sessions. BVA has a full-time training coordinator who oversees training sessions on specific legal issues, writing skills, and other matters. Grand Rounds and other training keep the legal staff current with continuing changes in the law. The ultimate benefit to our Nation's veterans is improved decisional quality, reduced remands, and quicker resolution of appeals as manifested by a cycle time of 104 days -- 46 days faster than the target of 150 days.