Watchdog: VA underestimates backlog for benefit claims

By Maria Biery

Published September 11, 2018 7:07pm ET

Watchdog: VA underestimates backlog for benefit claims — David and Marianne Trujillo exit the Vetaran Affairs facility in El Paso, Texas, Monday, June 9, 2014. Some Veterans Affairs facilities in Texas have among the longest wait-times in the nation for those trying to see a doctor for the first time, according to federal data released Monday. (AP Photo/Juan Carlos Llorca) | Juan Carlos Llorca

The Department of Veterans Affairs has been understating its benefit claim backlog, according to a watchdog report released this week.

The backlog — defined as claims awaiting decisions for more than 125 days — has sat between 70,000 and 100,000 cases each week for the past three years, with 70,537 by the end of May.

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