Military Education, military education, service programs, G.I. Bill - Military Times

VA: Contractor needed to roll out new GI Bill on time

A plan by the Veterans Affairs Department to depend on a private contractor — not VA employees — to process claims for the new GI Bill education benefits program has raised questions about whether the agency will be ready by Aug. 1 to provide the full-tuition benefits promised by the program.

The Post-9/11 GI Bill, which covers tuition for those attending a four-year public school, plus pays a living stipend tied to local rental housing prices and a book allowance, became law June 30. But the effective date was delayed because VA officials said they needed time to prepare.

Testifying Sept. 11 before the House Veterans’ Affairs economic opportunity subcommittee, VA’s Keith Pedigo said contractor help is needed to make sure the Aug. 1 deadline is met.

The contractor, expected to be chosen by Oct. 1, will be responsible for processing initial benefits claims, Pedigo said, with a requirement that new claims be completed within 10 days with 98 percent accuracy. Claims that are rejected would be automatically reviewed by trained VA claims processors, Pedigo said.

VA officials said the decision to use a contractor to process claims is part of a long-sought goal of trying to electronically process claims to speed decisions. The original goal to have such a system was 2013, but officials now hope to have a contractor develop a system to handle data entry and general administrative tasks. The system must be able to handle claims submitted electronically and on paper, and provide a way for people to track their claims, officials said.

But some lawmakers are concerned that VA is trying something so new and untested to implement the biggest veterans’ benefits program since the World War II GI Bill of Rights.

Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., subcommittee chairwoman, said she is not sure the electronic claims system will be ready on time and wants more details from VA about its backup plan if the new claims process is not ready.

“I am not confident at this point that the VA will be ready by Aug. 1, but I am confident that they know my concerns and that this subcommittee will watch them and give them guidance every step of the way,” she said.

Pedigo said after the hearing that he is confident the VA will be prepared.

“We are going to be ready to go, come Aug. 1,” he said.

Derek Blumke, president of Student Veterans of America, said he has many concerns about contracting out the work.

Veterans “now face the possibility that this program has the chance of being so poorly implemented that the ‘win’ of the GI Bill might become bittersweet,” he said.

Blumke said part of his concern is based on problems that arose two years ago when a VA education benefits call center was turned over to a private contractor.

“I and veterans across the country would call and either be placed on hold, at times exceeding an hour, or would simply be hung up on with an automated message of, ‘We are experiencing too high of a call volume. Thank you.’ The only victims of this misadventure will be the service members and veterans arriving to campus attempting to access the benefits they earned through their service to our great nation.”

Acknowledging that the new GI Bill will probably lead a lot more people to file claims, Blumke said the VA has enough time to hire new employees rather than to turn to a private contractor. Privatizing this program, he said, “would then be placing a program, which should be run by the VA, even further away from the eyes of Congress and further away from the oversight and integrity-driven leadership that this new GI Bill and the members of our armed forces deserve.”

Pressed at the hearing for details about who is competing for the contract, Pedigo would not name names, other than to say the field had been narrowed to four companies.

Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., said the secrecy about the contract is troubling and raises even bigger concerns about whether VA knows what it’s doing. Filner said he wants to see details about the contract and the specific bids before a finalist is named.