Claims

VA recently hosted and participated in a series of partnership events in Puerto Rico to advance the economic success of service members, Veterans and families living on the island.

A’s Board of Veterans’ Appeals has determined that the significant effects of Super Typhoon Yutu were sufficient cause for the Board to advance the appeals for the Northern Mariana Islands municipalities determined to be disaster areas by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Veterans impacted by recent hurricanes Florence and Michael will now have their pending appeals claims for benefits prioritized by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), department officials announced.

The Board will be better staffed to decide appeals in a more timely manner. In fiscal year 2018, the Board issued a historic 85,288 decisions.

As of May 27, the Board of Veterans Appeals has signed more than 53,650 decisions in fiscal year (FY) 2018, which is approximately 86 percent more than the 28,839 decisions signed through the same period last year.

Now, all Veterans with a pending disability compensation appeal can choose to participate in the new decision review process.

Two new opportunities will allow eligible Veterans to receive a review of a decision on a claim much faster than the current appeals process.

Upcoming Indian Country VA claims events in Navajo Nation will take place April 10 in Kayenta, Arizona,  May 8 in Tuba City, Arizona, and June 14 in Chinle, Arizona.

2017 has been a year of accomplishments for VA and this is a perfect time to reflect on, acknowledge, and thank all of those who have enabled our many accomplishments for Veterans during this past year.

The latest enhancements to the Decision Ready Claims program will expand the pool of Veterans, surviving spouses and service members eligible to participate in the program.

RAMP will provide expanded opportunities for Veterans to enter the new, more efficient claims review process outlined in the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017, which was signed into law by President Trump on August 23.

This new “paper-extraction” process ensures that when a claim is filed, the Veteran’s electronic record is already available in VA’s computer systems, reducing processing time for benefit claims from Veterans and their survivors.