DAV Magazine — January/February 2018
Optimizing the claims process
National Work Queue revolutionizes benefits processing
The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) has learned a great deal from their experiences reducing the disability claims backlog, which peaked at more than 600,000 in early 2013. One of the most important lessons is to “share the wealth” from overburdened or understaffed offices in order to prevent backlogs in the first place.
“We had a lot of disparity from office to office,” said Ron Burke, VBA assistant deputy under secretary for the Office of Field Operations. “There were offices with a small amount of employees but lots of claims. There could be discrepancies depending on where the veteran filed the claim.”
The VA first announced it would test a paperless benefits system in 2010. Since then, the technology has further developed, grown nationwide and spurred a new system that is revolutionizing claims by removing geographic boundaries and providing real-time transparency.
“In one of our efforts to transform and modernize the VA, we didn’t want a veteran to get a different service just because of where they live,” said Burke, himself a Marine Corps veteran. “We took advantage of the technology and created this system.”
That system is the visual, cutting-edge National Work Queue (NWQ).
“The NWQ process enabled VA to more effectively balance the workloads nationally, relative to the productive capacity at each regional office,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. David J. Shulkin in a presentation before the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the House Committee on Appropriations. “This means that veterans who live in a location where submissions have increased do not wait longer for decisions solely because resources are not adjusted to match the changes in claims volume.”
Distributing cases to other offices with a lighter workload or expanded staffing lessens the burden on smaller or understaffed regional VA offices that have an overwhelming number of claims, explained Burke.
The NWQ also recognizes individual urgent circumstances for veterans who are homeless, over 75 years old or terminally ill. It ensures those claimants get assistance as quickly as possible and that the assistance isn’t limited based on how oversaturated their local VA may be at that point in time. The system sifts through the thousands of claims based on priority and alerts staff when the claims are ready for the next step of processing. These stages are represented in real time on screens scattered throughout the NWQ team office.
The NWQ has also improved timeliness throughout each stage of claims processing.
“When we unveiled the National Work Queue, veterans had to wait 30 days after evidence was collected,” said Burke. “Now, it takes two to three days to get a decision—we have literally cut off several weeks because of the ability to take advantage of capacity across the country.”
The NWQ has three phases. The first was rolled out in March 2016 and focused on electronic inventory of veterans’ claims for compensation and pension. In April 2017, non-rating claims, such as dependency additions, were added. The final phase will include appeals.
New performance standards, metrics and targets have been added benefits of the new system through its visualized staffing, services and timeliness.
“It gives us better insight into our ability to improve how we serve veterans,” said Burke. “It has enabled us to better use our resources and technology. Every advantage we can gain to best serve veterans is the goal.”
The NWQ was created with input from various veterans service organization (VSO) partners, and DAV was a member of the work group.
“It’s important to note that with the advancement we have seen with the claims process, while the National Work Queue was the vehicle, all the improvements should be attributed to hardworking employees in the field and our VSO partners,” said Burke. “This machine didn’t do anything; the field did the work. We just brought them the right work.”
Service officers still retain access to claims information for the veterans they represent, regardless of whether a different regional office works on it remotely. VA change management agents are located at regional offices throughout the country to serve as liaisons to facilitate any service officer needs.
“In a relatively short period of time, the National Work Queue has revolutionized the claims process,” said National Service Director Jim Marszalek. “We are elated that this system is tackling the backlog by maximizing the time and talent of VA employees nationwide. The National Work Queue is an effective, transparent way to best serve veterans, and DAV is proud to have played a role in developing this system.”
The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) has learned a great deal from their experiences reducing the disability claims backlog, which peaked at more than 600,000 in early 2013. One of the most important lessons is to “share the wealth” from overburdened or understaffed offices in order to prevent backlogs in the first place.
“We had a lot of disparity from office to office,” said Ron Burke, VBA assistant deputy under secretary for the Office of Field Operations. “There were offices with a small amount of employees but lots of claims. There could be discrepancies depending on where the veteran filed the claim.”
The VA first announced it would test a paperless benefits system in 2010. Since then, the technology has further developed, grown nationwide and spurred a new system that is revolutionizing claims by removing geographic boundaries and providing real-time transparency.
“In one of our efforts to transform and modernize the VA, we didn’t want a veteran to get a different service just because of where they live,” said Burke, himself a Marine Corps veteran. “We took advantage of the technology and created this system.”
That system is the visual, cutting-edge National Work Queue (NWQ).
“The NWQ process enabled VA to more effectively balance the workloads nationally, relative to the productive capacity at each regional office,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. David J. Shulkin in a presentation before the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the House Committee on Appropriations. “This means that veterans who live in a location where submissions have increased do not wait longer for decisions solely because resources are not adjusted to match the changes in claims volume.”
Distributing cases to other offices with a lighter workload or expanded staffing lessens the burden on smaller or understaffed regional VA offices that have an overwhelming number of claims, explained Burke.
The NWQ also recognizes individual urgent circumstances for veterans who are homeless, over 75 years old or terminally ill. It ensures those claimants get assistance as quickly as possible and that the assistance isn’t limited based on how oversaturated their local VA may be at that point in time. The system sifts through the thousands of claims based on priority and alerts staff when the claims are ready for the next step of processing. These stages are represented in real time on screens scattered throughout the NWQ team office.
The NWQ has also improved timeliness throughout each stage of claims processing.
“When we unveiled the National Work Queue, veterans had to wait 30 days after evidence was collected,” said Burke. “Now, it takes two to three days to get a decision—we have literally cut off several weeks because of the ability to take advantage of capacity across the country.”
The NWQ has three phases. The first was rolled out in March 2016 and focused on electronic inventory of veterans’ claims for compensation and pension. In April 2017, non-rating claims, such as dependency additions, were added. The final phase will include appeals.
New performance standards, metrics and targets have been added benefits of the new system through its visualized staffing, services and timeliness.
“It gives us better insight into our ability to improve how we serve veterans,” said Burke. “It has enabled us to better use our resources and technology. Every advantage we can gain to best serve veterans is the goal.”
The NWQ was created with input from various veterans service organization (VSO) partners, and DAV was a member of the work group.
“It’s important to note that with the advancement we have seen with the claims process, while the National Work Queue was the vehicle, all the improvements should be attributed to hardworking employees in the field and our VSO partners,” said Burke. “This machine didn’t do anything; the field did the work. We just brought them the right work.”
Service officers still retain access to claims information for the veterans they represent, regardless of whether a different regional office works on it remotely. VA change management agents are located at regional offices throughout the country to serve as liaisons to facilitate any service officer needs.
“In a relatively short period of time, the National Work Queue has revolutionized the claims process,” said National Service Director Jim Marszalek. “We are elated that this system is tackling the backlog by maximizing the time and talent of VA employees nationwide. The National Work Queue is an effective, transparent way to best serve veterans, and DAV is proud to have played a role in developing this system.”
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