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Boston, Massachusetts, VA Regional Office Supervisor Incorrectly Processed Work Items

Report Information

Issue Date
Report Number
19-07350-192
VISN
State
Massachusetts
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
The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted this review to determine whether a supervisor at the VA regional office in Boston, Massachusetts, incorrectly processed system generated messages known as “work items” that may have affected recipients’ benefits. Work items are a type of internal control that the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) uses to track cases that may require follow-up action for benefit payments to continue. If work items are not processed correctly, benefit payments may be made in error. The OIG reviewed 110 cases the supervisor processed from October 1, 2017, to February 6, 2019, and found he incorrectly cancelled 33 of 55 work items, and improperly cleared another nine work items from the electronic record. Because of these incorrectly processed cases, VA made about $117,300 in improper payments to veterans or other beneficiaries, along with about $8,600 in delayed payments. The supervisor said he did not intentionally process the work items incorrectly, and the errors were the result of working too quickly and misunderstanding procedures. VBA oversight processes did not detect the errors because work items and claims processed by supervisors were not subject to quality reviews. The supervisor’s performance standards focused on management duties and not claims processing. The OIG recommended the Boston regional office director immediately review and correct all cases the supervisor erroneously processed that are likely to result in adjustments to recipients’ benefits. The OIG further recommended the director plan to assess the quality of supervisors’ work on processed claims. VA has already acted on the OIG recommendation to determine any appropriate administrative action regarding the supervisor, effectively closing that recommendation.

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)
The director of the Boston VA Regional Office reviews and corrects all work items that were cancelled or cleared by the supervisor that are likely to result in adjustments to recipients’ benefit payments.
No. 2
Closed and Implemented Recommendation Image, Checkmark
to Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA)
The director of the Boston VA Regional Office confers with regional counsel to determine the appropriate administrative action to take, if any, against the supervisor.
No. 3
Closed and Implemented Recommendation Image, Checkmark
to Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA)
The director of the Boston VA Regional Office implements a plan to ensure internal controls for assessing the quality of claims processed by supervisors.
Total Monetary Impact of All Recommendations
Open: $ 0.00
Closed: $ 84,400.00