Noteboom The Law Firm

Waco VA Scores Poorly on OIG Inspection

April 22, 2010 - As with any business with multiple branches, some branches perform very well, and others not as much. The same holds true for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and their satellite services offices. Most recently it was the Waco Service Office that was examined, weighed, and left wanting. The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) gave the Waco Service Office a very poor rating.

The examination, or audit, looked at everything the Waco Service Office provides down to the smallest detail. The OIG inspected and reviewed temporary benefit evaluations all the way to entering the dates of medical exams. The OIG's report detailed just how poor the Waco Service Office had been performing. Out of 12 activities the OIG inspected, the Waco Office "failed to meet reasonable assurance of compliance" in 9 of them.

Their single worst rating was in processing "Temporary 100% Disability Evaluations." Out of the 30 evaluations audited, 28 were handled incorrectly; this is roughly 93% of the claims looked at being wrong. The end result of a failure of this magnitude meant:

• An overpayment of over $61,000; and
• An underpayment of almost $8,000.

 The OIG reviewed a total of 120 claims. Out of those, 43 were wrongly processed which equals a 36% error rate. The OIG detailed their criticisms of the Waco Service Office but supplied 9 recommendations at the same time. Their first recommendation was as simple as entering the correct date for medical examinations. The OIG officials seemed to think this simple mistake caused more than a few of the errors they found in the Waco Office's inability to correctly process veterans' benefits claims. Other recommendations include:

• Better training of Veterans' Service Representatives;
• Improved oversight in filing Notices of Disagreement; and
• Better safeguarding of veterans' personal information.

 The Waco Service Office has concurred with all the OIG's recommendations and plans on making the corrections as soon as possible. For the sake of the veterans, they owe a duty to be up to speed and efficient.