Probe: VA Not Doing Enough for Iraq Vets

Rep. John Hall, D-N.Y., chairs a House Veterans Affairs Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs subcommittee markup hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington Tuesday, March 13, 2007. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook) (Dennis Cook - AP)

WASHINGTON -- The Veterans Affairs' system for handling disability claims is strained to its limit, and the Bush administration's current efforts to relieve backlogs won't be enough to serve veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, investigators said Tuesday.

In testimony to a House panel, the Government Accountability Office and Harvard professor Linda Bilmes detailed their study into the VA's claims system in light of growing demands created by wars. They found a system on the verge of crisis due to backlogs, cumbersome paperwork and ballooning costs.

The House hearing is the latest to review the quality of care for wounded troops returning from Iraq _ from emergency medical care at military hospitals, to long-term rehabilitation at VA clinics and eventual transition to civilian life with VA disability payments.

According to their findings, the VA:

_Took between 127 to 177 days to process an initial claim and an average of 657 days to process an appeal, resulting in significant hardship to veterans. In contrast, the private sector industry takes about 89.5 days to process a claim.

_Had a claims backlog of roughly 600,000.

_Will see 638,000 new first-time claims in the next five years due to the Iraq war _ 400,000 by the end of 2009 alone _ creating added costs of between $70 billion and $150 billion.

_Maintained a system for determining a veteran's disability that was complex and applied inconsistently across regional centers. Results varied; for example, Salt Lake City took 99 days to process a claim, while Honolulu spent 237 days.

_Had antiquated technology for processing claims, such as unreliable old fax machines.

The findings drew fire from House members. Rep. John Hall, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs subcommittee on disability assistance, floated the possibility that the Veterans Affairs Department should be merged into the Defense Department.

"When our soldiers and military personnel return home and need help, they should get the assistance they have earned without delay," said Hall, D-N.Y.

Colorado Rep. Doug Lamborn, the panel's top Republican, said the overstressed claims system was courting a "financial and potentially emotional disaster."