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Inspection of VA Regional Office Indianapolis, Indiana

Report Information

Issue Date
Report Number
14-04876-204
VISN
State
District
VA Office
Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA)
Report Author
Office of Audits and Evaluations
Report Type
Review
Recommendations
4
Questioned Costs
$0
Better Use of Funds
$0
Congressionally Mandated
No

Summary

Summary
Overall, VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) benefits inspectors found that the Indianapolis VA Regional Office (VARO) staff incorrectly processed 18 of the 87 (21 percent) disability claims processed. The claims processing errors resulted in approximately $188,000 in improper benefits payments from October 2009 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. During this benefits inspection, OIG staff found VARO staff incorrectly processed 13 of 30 claims related to temporary 100 percent disability evaluations. In 10 of these cases, VARO staff delayed scheduling the required VA medical reexaminations despite receiving reminder notifications to do so. VARO staff accurately processed 26 of the 27 traumatic brain injury claims we sampled—demonstrating improvement from our inspection in 2011 where 4 of the 20 sample cases contained errors. Thus, we determined the VARO’s actions in response to our previous inspection recommendations have been effective. However, 4 of the 30 sample cases reviewed relating to Special Monthly Compensation and ancillary benefits contained processing errors. OIG inspectors’ also determined VARO staff followed policy and accurately established claims in VBA’s electronic system of records using correct dates of claims for the 30 claims sampled. However, VARO staff delayed processing actions in 9 of the 30 benefits reduction cases resulting in over $57,000 in improper benefit payments from October 2013 until September 2014 because management considered other work to be a higher priority. The Director of the Indianapolis 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 Indianapolis VA Regional Office Director develop and implement a plan to ensure staff take timely action on reminder notifications to request medical reexaminations.
No. 2
Closed and Implemented Recommendation Image, Checkmark
to Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA)
We recommended the Indianapolis VA Regional Office Director conduct a review of the 353 temporary 100 percent disability evaluations remaining from their inspection universe as of September 2, 2014, and take appropriate action.
No. 3
Closed and Implemented Recommendation Image, Checkmark
to Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA)
We recommended the Indianapolis VA Regional Office Director implement plans to ensure the effectiveness of training conducted on processing claims for Special Monthly Compensation and ancillary benefits.
No. 4
Closed and Implemented Recommendation Image, Checkmark
to Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA)
We recommended the Indianapolis VA Regional Office Director implement a plan to ensure claims processing staff prioritize actions related to benefits reductions to minimize improper payments to veterans.