TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Disabled and low-income veterans in the Tampa area are among 54,000 snarled in a backlog that ballooned in a program that is supposed to cover their costs to travel to medical appointments.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs [VA] reimburses veterans who meet at least one of six criteria including a VA disability rating of 30% or higher, an inability to pay for the cost and travel for treatment for a service-connected condition.
An email from James A. Haley VA to a veteran obtained by 8 On Your Side pegged the backlog at 47,000 at the time the message was sent. The VA has yet to respond to questions about what the current total is.
According to a VA spokesman out of Washington, D.C., the backlog has grown to 54,000 since that email was sent about a month ago.
The email stated those claims were under manual review, which means clerks must approve each claim. According to the email, a “temporary team” is helping unclog the backlog.
The veterans who contacted 8 On Your Side are treated in the James A. Haley VA network. Haley’s public affairs officer said she is looking into questions about the backlog.
VA Public Affairs Officer Gary Kunich called the problem “unacceptable” and said the VA defines a delay as any claim that is not processed within 10 business days.
“We at VA are laser focused on resolving this issue and making sure that Veterans are reimbursed for their travel benefits as quickly as possible,” Kunich said. “Reasons for these delays include increased demand, staffing challenges, duplicate claims and claims submitted that contain errors.”
One of the local veterans who claims he has not received reimbursement since June said Haley has provided “great” medical services but he called this issue “frustrating.”
He served in Vietnam but did not want to disclose his name, saying he was worried his comments would “get him in trouble with the VA.”
He said the problem started when the process to file a reimbursement claim was computerized.
“Prior to the new system, all I had to do was sign a form and two weeks later the money was in my account,” he said. “When they went to a so-called better system, it wasn’t better. They messed it up.”
He and another veteran who also did not want to be identified agreed that part of the problem might involve veterans who have limitations working with computerized programs.
But the Vietnam veteran added that while he considers himself technologically savvy, there were still issues.
“The instructions keep running you around in circles,” he said. “It’s ridiculous. I have no doubt this makes some people just give up.”
He admitted he lost out on reimbursements that were filed too late due to issues with the new system.
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