Automation helped VA approve 1 million PACT Act claims, officials say
President Biden celebrates the 1-year anniversary of the passage of the PACT Act at George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, on August 10, 2023. The administration recently marked one million claims approved under the legislation. Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images
The agency is relying on automated decision support and other optimization efforts to help process claims for veterans exposed to burn pits and other chemicals.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has been using automation and optimized IT systems to quickly process veterans’ benefits claims — an effort that has helped 1 million retired servicemembers and their beneficiaries receive compensation for exposure to toxins, according to VA officials.
The PACT Act, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden in August 2022, expanded access to benefits and health services for veterans whose exposure to burn pits and other chemicals resulted in medical conditions that were not previously covered by VA. More than 888,000 veterans and their survivors have gained access to services as a result of the law.
Biden traveled to New Hampshire on Tuesday to announce that VA has granted 1 million granted PACT Act-related claims, with the department providing more than $5.7 billion in benefits to veterans.
During a press call on Monday, VA Secretary Denis McDonough said veterans and survivors submitted more than 2.4 million claims in 2023 and that the department is “processing those claims at the fastest rate in [our] history.”
The PACT Act included a section giving the VA secretary the “authority to use appropriations to enhance claims processing capacity and automation.” A senior administration official on the press call added that VA is continuing to invest in automation to streamline its claims processing efforts.
“The goal in our approach is to optimize computers so they can do what they do best while allowing humans to do what they do best,” the official added. “And so we have been rolling out what we call automated decision support and we are progressively bringing on new conditions so that we can continue to increase our efficiency in the way that we deliver benefits.”
VA has also worked to expand its workforce in recent years, including offering a special salary rate to attract and retain employees. The senior administration official credited the growth in staff as a key component of VA’s increased processing of claims.
“We're being very mindful with the automation to ensure that we build trust into the system, not only for the veterans that we are serving but for our employees who are using that technology,” they added. “So we're confident we're going to continue to mature that capability, and working with our IT partners [to] make sure that we're optimizing the way that we deliver it in an aggressive but responsible manner.”
The official declined to answer whether proposed cutbacks to VA’s IT systems in the fiscal year 2025 budget would have any impact on the department’s ability to process PACT Act claims. The Biden administration's funding request for VA’s Office of Information and Technology represents a more than 3% overall decrease from the FY24 budget and includes significant cuts, including a 41% reduction in funding for technology for the Veterans Benefits Administration.