VA OIG FINDS MISDATED 2022 PACT ACT DISABILITY CLAIMS, COSTING VETS MILLIONS
When you’re dishing out money to thousands of people, it can be hard to keep everything in order. However, when it’s using taxpayer dollars to help Veterans, it’s also something you can’t afford to get wrong. The PACT Act is helping many receive the care they deserve, but in 2022, it seems some benefits were overpaid, while others were underpaid.
Report: The PACT Act Payments in 2022 Were Off
Imagine providing improper payments to 25% of the Veterans using the PACT Act. Well, an new report has said that this is exactly what happened in 2022.
What this means is that many Veterans received $6.8 million they weren’t supposed to, while around 2,300 other Vets didn’t get enough benefits.
This is what a report from the Department of Veterans Affairs Officer of Inspector General (VA OIG) is showing to have happened. This led to the effective dates of around 26,000 claims being submitted wrong.
This mix-up is exactly how the government overpaid so many benefits during the first year of the PACT Act.
However, since around 2,300 had the wrong dates, this also negatively impacted Veterans who were waiting for benefits that were to be provided retroactively before the PACT Act became law.
Timing Is Everything
The timeline of the PACT Act is important here, because even though it was signed into law on August 10, 2022, claims in the first year or intent to file allowed those who qualified the ability to backdate to this time.
Veterans, or their survivors, with illnesses linked to hazardous exposures, can file a claim at any time.
However, for one year after the PACT Act passed, they could submit a claim or an intent to file and receive backdated benefits starting from August 10, 2022.
Furthermore, some Vets with covered conditions diagnosed before the law passed were eligible for even earlier retroactive payments.
However, after August 10, 2023, benefits begin either on the claim date or the intent-to-file date.
Why the VA OIG Opened an Investigation on 2022 PACT Act Claims
Due to confusion over start dates, the VA OIG reviewed 100 claims filed in the PACT Act’s first year.
It is estimated that about 26,100 of 131,000 claims had incorrect effective dates, and another 2,300 may have been underpaid due to missed opportunities for earlier start dates.
According to the VA's assistant inspector general for audits and evaluations, Larry Reinkemeyer, “Errors that had the potential to affect Veterans' compensation benefits payments occurred when claims processors decided claims before taking all the necessary steps, such as gathering additional evidence, to determine whether a more advantageous effective date applied.”
This is what led to Veterans experiencing the wrong payments, but a big reason for these errors is due to the lack of staff available.
Even as the VBA was made aware of the problems and improved training and review processes were put into place, issues remained, ultimately prompting this investigation.
Recommendations From the VA OIG to Fix PACT Act Issues
There have been efforts to curtail these mistakes, but the VA still has a long way to go in righting the ship.
That’s why the VA OIG is suggesting the department create a better tool to help processors not only find the right date but also remove ineffective date builders from the system.
Additionally, there have been calls for system updates, more staff training, and a clearly laid out path for rectifying the errors found by the VA OIG.
All of these suggestions come at a time when many within the government are criticizing the PACT Act and cutting the VA’s workforce.
If you did file a claim during 2022 with the PACT Act, it’s important to note that the amount of benefits you received may be altered in the future, as the government is still sorting through these issues.
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