Chairman Hall, Ranking Member Lamborn, members of the Subcommittee, Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) would like to thank you for the opportunity to present our views on this important issue.  PVA appreciates the efforts of this Subcommittee to address the rapidly growing claims backlog.

The interest to develop or adapt the necessary programs to help with claims processing is greater now, than ever before.  In recent hearings Congress has informed the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that they must accelerate their efforts toward achieving the long overdue policy of “seamless transition.”   In testimony last year the information technology (IT) specialists reported that it will be at least 2012 before the DOD and VA medical records will be interoperable.  Moreover, this projection of five years into the future does not take into account unanticipated problems.  As both agencies work toward this monumental goal, we believe the VA should also continue the development of electronic processing of claims.

PVA believes that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the processing of claims could help reduce the backlog of claims and increase the accuracy of the process.  AI has been used in health care-benefits delivery systems of the federal government and private industry for years. 

One serious problem recognized by the veterans’ service organizations and other organizations that have examined the claims process is that many claims are not developed properly. A fully developed claim presented to the VA can generally be quickly decided.  Using AI to process claims will not necessarily, overcome the problem of an unprepared claim, nor will it properly process an incomplete claim.  We must acknowledge that the backlog problem starts in the beginning with proper development completing a claim.   This is tedious and detailed work that must be completed by the veteran filing the claim for himself or herself, or working with a trained veterans’ service officer.  VA employees reported to the Veterans’ Disability Benefits Commission that veterans who were assisted in filing a claim or appeal by either a VA benefits counselor or a veterans’ service representative filed a better, well-documented claim. 

 PVA Service Officers receive 18 months of training using electronic programs, text books, on-the-job observance and final testing. After completing this program the service officer is usually placed under the direction of a senior service officer. And yet, this only provides the basic knowledge necessary to properly prepare a claim.  Still, there is little comparison between a PVA prepared claim and a claim prepared totally by the average veteran.  We believe the VA must direct more effort toward proper preparation of a claim before it is submitted to the Rating Veterans Service Representative, (RVSR) for review.    

Many examples of the large disparity in compensation awards have been discussed in hearings during the 110th Congress.  It has been reported that a significant percentage difference exists when comparing the same disability rating from two different VA Regional Offices (VARO) in separate states.  The use of AI could standardize the final decision on compensation. 

The process of using AI could be integrated into the system in two to four years as software is developed.  However, it should be carefully tested and audited as the final product of the system is meant to be an accurately decided claim.  Until that time, the VA will still need resources and staff.   The Independent Budget for FY 2009 estimates the Comp and Pen service will need 12,184 total full time employees to address new claims and the claims backlog.    

We also recommend that the VA consider expanding the process of bringing back retired VA claims personnel.  This has proven success in expediting the processing of claims.   

PVA would favor testing the electronic processing of claims in certain regions perhaps as a pilot program.  We would hope that VSOs, the veterans’ community, and the interested parties would be involved in evaluating the finished product.  If a program using artificial intelligence proves beneficial in accurately processing some types of claims, we believe this could be a significant step forward for the VA.

 PVA would like to thank you for the opportunity to submit this written statement.  We appreciate the efforts of the Subcommittee to address the important issue of veterans’ claims backlog.  We look forward to working with the Subcommittee on this issue during the second half of this Congress. We would be happy to answer any questions that you might have.