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United States Senator Patty-Murray-News Releases

VETERANS: Chairman Murray Urges VA to Take ImmediateSteps in Addressing Disability Claims Backlog

Nov 162011

(Washington, D.C.) - Today, Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Patty Murray sent aletter to Department of Veterans Affairs ryA) Secretary Eric Shinseki about the critical need to

improve the efficiency of the claims processing system by eliminating unnecessary tests andprocedures that are contributing to the claims backlog at the Department.

"I have heard time and time again from veterans who are frustrated with having to waitmonths, years and even decades for resolution of their claims and appeals, " said Chairman

Murray. " I am writing to bring to your attention a practice that may not be medically supported

and may be unnecessarily delaying the processing of some claims."

Chairman Murray was alerted to this issue after a number of "errors" were identified at the Seattle

Regional Office during an Inspector General review. She shares veterans' frustrations with the

disability claims system and continues to take targeted action to address the backlog and toimprove the timeliness and accuracy of claims decisions.

The full text of Chairman Murray's letter is below:

The Honorable Eric K. Shinseki

Secretary of Veterans Affairs

810 Vermont Avenue, NWWashington, DC 20420

Dear Secretary Shinseki:

The disability claims system is under enormous pressure as the number and complexity of claims

continue to increase. I have heard time and time again from veterans who are frustrated with

having to wait months, years and even decades for resolution of their claims and appeals. I amwriting to bring to your attention a practice that may not be medically supported and may beunnecessarily delaying the processing of some claims. I request that you put an end to this

practice, if there is no strong medical basis for it.

This issue was brought to my attention by a number of "errors" identified at the Seattle Regional

Office during a recent Inspector General review. In some disability cases, veterans exhibit

"overlapping symptoms" meaning they have symptoms that may be attributable to more than one

claimed disability. Currently, medical providers are being asked whether they can differentiate what

portion of the symptom is caused by each diagnosis and to provide an opinion as to whichoverlapping symptom is attributable to each disability. In cases where a medical provider fails toaddress this question, regional offices are required to return examinations to the provider delaying afinal decision on the claim. The "errors" identified in Seattle were the result of a failure to returnexamination reports that did not address this question.

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Based on staff discussions with VA physicians, it appears that a medical provider cannot

scientifically. with a high degree of certainty, attribute an overlapping symptom to one disability or

another. If a provider cannot say with a level of certainty greater than fifty percent that a particular

symptom is due to only one of the overlapping symptoms, it calls into question the practice of

asking a medical professional to answer this question.

I hope you would agree that if procedures are being used that are not necessary for the proper

resolution of the claim they should be eliminated. Returning an examination for failure to address aquestion that is not supported by medical science delays the final resolution of a claim and

unnecessarily contributes to the claims backlog.

I am therefore requesting that you ask the Veterans Health Administration and VA's GeneralCounsel to answer the two questions attached to this letter. Thank you for your service to our

nation's veterans and your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

Patty MurrayChairman

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