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First Posted: 11/10/2014 WILKES-BARRE &#8212; U.S. Sen. Bob Casey said veterans have had to wait far too long to have their health care claims processed and he has introduced legislation to address the problem.
&#8220;This problem has unfortunately been confronting veterans for a long time,&#8221; Casey said during a teleconference from his Washington D.C. office Monday. &#8220;We have a sacred obligation to not simply commend and salute our veterans, but to assure programs deliver on the promise.&#8221;
Casey said as of Sept. 30, there were an estimated 939,069 veterans in Pennsylvania. The backlog is especially high in areas in Pennsylvania &#8212; 231 days in Pittsburgh and 266 days in Philadelphia, as of Nov. 3.
&#8220;We need this problem to get fixed,&#8221; Casey said. &#8220;The backlog has been a persistent and inexcusable problem. Our nation&#8217;s heroes shouldn&#8217;t have to wait for months or more for their claims to be addressed.&#8221;
Casey said he has received bipartisan support for the legislation &#8212; the 21st Century Veterans Benefits Delivery Act &#8212; with 20 senators of both parties signing on. He said he hopes to get the bill passed in 2015.
Casey said the Working Group Report tracks the history of the backlog as well as the reasons the VA had spikes in pending claims. It also provides an analysis of the VA claims process.
The report lays out in chronological order the process veterans go through from before they file a claim through the appeals process. Finally, the report explains why the process needs to be updated as well as the initiatives Casey&#8217;s office has come up with to reduce this backlog.
Casey listed three initiative sections of the report on the policy changes he believes are necessary, as well as the justification behind the changes:
&#8226; Claims submission process: Offers ideas on how to improve the initial claims submission as well as the appeals submission process.
&#8226; Reforming the VA and Veterans Affairs Regional Offices practices: The number of claims pending at each of the 56 locations. It asks for an audit of the management structure of the 56 offices to determine whether consistent decisions are being made and to look at the staffing and production procedures at the offices. The focus will be on efficiency and transparency within the VA system. Recommendations on improving, simplifying and streamlining VA practices as well as ways in which the VA can improve reporting of their claims backlog will be offered.
&#8226; Ensuring the government makes processing claims a priority: Many claims are delayed because the practices of actually finding the evidence and information needed to develop and rate the claim is largely outdated.

Casey addresses vets’ healthcare claims