Question:
What are your thoughts on VA disability claims processing during this COVID 19 PANDEMIC ?
Jim's Reply:
I've been asked that question maybe a dozen times today. I still don't have a happy answer although I've tried.
The VBA is one of the poorest functioning business entities within a federal government that is under stress...a lot of stress. When times are good and the country seems to be running smoothly the VA often fails at its mission. There are any number of reasons for this and while I won't try to analyze why the VA doesn't do the task at hand very well, we can agree that it isn't always stellar at completing the job.
VA does not have the infrastructure for employees to work from home, the VA computer network is very fragile on good days. Imagine a VA worker with government issued laptop trying to connect from a home network that doesn't have a fiber connection. Beyond the security challenges, it just doesn't seem possible.
Knowing all that we can safely predict that there will be delays, manpower shortages and all the other sorts of problems that VA encounters every day but multiplied by the pandemic and the delays built in wit that.
My prediction is that veterans will suffer significant delays in claims processing and appeals resolution. I think that's a given and the only question left is how bad will delays be? Of course that will depend on what happens in the next many days to come. If the pandemic is over quickly, we may not notice increases in processing times at all. If this goes on a month or two, all bets are off and every veteran should be making alternative plans.
- PS from StatesideLegal: We are reporting updates on VA claims handling, C & P exams and other Covid 19 information here.