Quantity v. Quality in Disability Claims Decisions

The Veterans Affairs Department has a 125 day or more backlog of veterans disability claims, so it might seem logical to speed up the process, right?

Not according to Jeffrey Hall, assistant national legislative director of Disabled American Veterans, who told a hearing of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee Wednesday that VA claims processors are evaluated as though they work on a speeded up assembly line.

"While accuracy has been and remains one of the performance standards that must be met by all employees, new performance standards adopted over the past two years appear to have done little to create sufficient incentives to elevate quality above production," Hall said.

This in turn frustrates a process designed to provide an accurate decision on claims, he said.