VA Disability Claims Soar

Requests for disability pay by veterans have ballooned during the past five years, overloading many doctors who evaluate the claims and increasing the possibility of fraud, according to current and former VA staff and government watchdogs.

From fiscal 2009 to 2013, the number of medical disability claims received by the Veterans Benefits Administration—a branch of the Department of Veterans Affairs—climbed 44%, while the number of doctors called upon to evaluate the claims rose only 22%, according to the VA.

Retired VA psychologist Francis Gilbert says the rising
caseload of disability claims by veterans degrades the
ability of doctors to evaluate them. Joe Kline for WSJ

(Retired VA psychologist Francis Gilbert says the rising caseload of disability claims by veterans degrades the ability of doctors to evaluate them. Joe Kline for WSJ)

“Claims are coming in a lot faster than what the VA is able to handle,” said Daniel Bertoni, a director at the U.S. Government Accountability Office, which investigates federal spending. A March 2013 GAO report found that claims jumped 29% from 2009 to 2011 but the agency processed only 6% more.

A VA spokeswoman said its processing of claims is “within standards” for both time and quality. She said the agency contracts with additional employees when needed and also can call upon other VA clinicians to help process claims “without delay.”

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Concerns over whether benefits are being properly vetted come as disability payments rose to more than $53 billion in 2013, up from about $35 billion in 2009, roughly a 53% increase. The VA expects to pay out over $60 billion in 2014, according to the agency.

Regulators have seen evidence that fraud is slipping through. The VA’s Office of the Inspector General says it investigates only a small percentage of complaints it receives about possible false claims, but that “stolen valor” arrests—cases that involve false claims of military service or disability—are on the rise, with 72 arrests so far in 2014, up 71% since 2009.

Earlier this year, a veteran rated by a VA doctor as having near-complete blindness was arrested and convicted of fraud after he was observed driving on a daily basis, according to a May report issued by the VA’s inspector general.

Another IG investigation, published in July, reported that a veteran receiving $7,500 a month in disability for loss of use of both legs had been seen “ambulating freely” and “rolling hay bales.” He was convicted, sentenced to two years in jail and ordered to pay partial restitution.

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