VBA Modernization Efforts Enable Claims Processing Record

The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) is modernizing its claims processing systems, integrating human-centered design and building cultural competency to process claims at record numbers. The agency has processed more than 11,000 claims in a day for the ninth time in fiscal year 2025, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough said last week in the agency’s final press conference of 2024.

The PACT Act attributed to much of the increase, “which expanded benefits for toxic exposed veterans and their loved ones, and through enhanced outreach efforts to ensure that veterans know about and can access the benefits that they’ve earned and deserve,” Undersecretary for Benefits Josh Jacobs told reporters during the press conference. “Building on that momentum, we’ve continued enhancing many of the programs and services veterans and their families rely on.”

The VA has a number of veteran-centered outreach programs and surveys designed to bring veterans into the agency following their service and then monitor their satisfaction as they receive care from the VA.

Other initiatives like the new VA life insurance program, introduced last year, and planned discounts for veterans and military spouses covered under programs like Service Members Group Life Insurance (SGLI) also contributed to the claims increase.

Part of the VBA’s ability to process such a large number of claims has also come from its efforts to reform its process for military sexual trauma (MST) survivors.

According to Kenesha Britton, assistant deputy undersecretary for field operations at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the agency has enhanced its quality assessment process, expanded its sample sizes and instituted more frequent granular reviews in order to improve accuracy and outcomes.

VA received more than 57,400 MST related claims, an 18% increase compared to FY 23, Britton explained. The VA has hosted more than 3,500 events over 14 months to reach out to MST survivors.

“Recent enhancements to our quality assessment process, including expanding the sample sizes and more regular granular reviews, have been implemented to improve accuracy and outcome,” Britton said. “At the same time, we’re building cultural competency amongst claims processors and prioritizing their well-being to ensure they are equipped to handle these sensitive and complex cases.”

The agency has incorporated human-centered design into the MST claims process, appointed a single senior executive responsible for MST claims and consolidated MST claims processing into a single operations center to improve benefits delivery, Jacobs said.

“The Secretary gave us a very clear goal of working to move VA and meet veterans in their lives, rather than making them adjust to VA and our needs, and that is in part what we have been doing through the extensive outreach that is specifically targeted at MST,” Jacobs said. “We also have seen as a byproduct of the general outreach that we’ve done, more veterans coming in to apply for benefits, and that I think has to do with building trust, because we are actively trying to reach veterans, telling them we want you to connect with your benefits.”