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Veterans Benefits AdministrationVeterans Benefits Administration

Portland Regional Office UpdateMay 2016

The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) delivers several benefit types:

22,000employees– 55%Veterans

Estimated $99.6billioninbenefitswillbedistributedin2016

Estimated $2.7billioningeneraloperatingexpensesin2016

*ThePortlandRegionalOfficeconsistsofaVeteransServiceCenter,whichadministersdisabilitycompensationbenefits,anda

VocationalRehabilitationandEmploymentdivision.

− Compensation*− Education− Pension&Fiduciary− LifeInsurance

− HomeLoanGuaranty− VocationalRehabilitation&

Employment*− Transition&Employment− BenefitsAssistance

Portland Regional Benefits Office

Ø 221publicservantsemployedatRO;63percentareVeteransthemselvesØ Over66,000OregonVeteransandbeneficiariespaidcompensationandpensionbenefits

Ø Over$85millioninbenefitspaideachmonth

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FY17 budget includes 300 FTE / $29.1M to “right-size” the Compensation and Pension workforce to meet timeliness expectations for non-rating claims work

VBA’s workload has risen dramatically since 2009

FY17 budget includes 300 FTE / $29.1M to “right-size” the Compensation and Pension workforce to meet timeliness expectations for non-rating claims work

VBA Transformation: Backlog Reduction

FY17 budget includes 300 FTE / $29.1M to “right-size” the Compensation and Pension workforce to meet timeliness expectations for non-rating claims work 6

Past Present

Previouslytouched5,000tonsofpapereachyear

Nowprocess99.8%ofdisabilitycompensationclaimselectronically

Nearly5.7MregisteredeBenefitsusersand3.8K+VSOsregisteredinSEP

From Paper to Digital in 5 Years

VBA Transformation: Improving Benefits Delivery

Ø TheaveragedaysOregonVeteransarewaitingforaclaimdecisionis83days,andittakes136days,onaverage,tocompleteaclaim.

Ø SomeclaimswillstilltakelongertoprocessbecauseofVA’sopen-endeddutytoassistVeteransandSurvivorsindevelopingtheirclaim.

Ø VAwillalways consideradditionalevidenceornewmedicalconditionsadded.

Ø Portland’sissue-basedaccuracyis94%andclaims-basedaccuracyis90%.

Ø VAmakesthecorrectdecision98%ofthetimeineachoftheeightseparatecategoriesmeasuredwithinaVeteran’sdisabilityclaim.

Way Forward: VBA’s National Work Queue

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Ø Nationwidedeploymentunderway– nowimplemented inallRegionalOfficesasofMay2016

Ø AllowsVBAtoprioritizeanddistribute theclaimsinventoryaccordingtoROcapacitytoaddresseachVeteran’sclaimasquicklyaspossible

Ø TheROinthestatewheretheVeteranresideswillcontinue tobethe firstfilterfortheVeteran’sclaimaslongasthatROhasthecapacity

Ø HelpsensureVeterans,theirfamiliesandsurvivors receivetimelybenefits,regardlessofwheretheyreside

Ø VSOs ateachROwillretainaccesstoclaimsinformationfortheVeteranstheysupport throughVBMSandSEP– thecurrentrelationshipbetweenVSOsandROmanagerswillnotchangeasaresultoftheNationalWorkQueue

Ø CongressionalstaffwillhaveaccesstoVBAROstaffastheydotodaytocheckonthestatusofaconstituent’sclaim

Portland RO in the National Work Queue

AsofMay20,2016—Ø thePortlandRO’sworkqueuehas1,616 disabilitycompensationclaims.

73%

5%4%

4%3% 3% 2% 2% 2% 2%

Top10StateswithMostClaimsinPortland'sInventoryOregon:1,007Texas:65California:58Georgia:48NorthCarolina:46Florida:41Alabama:30NewYork:30Pennsylvania:27Virginia:25

Veteranfacing VAinternalfacingImproveVeteranExperience

IncreaseAccesstoHealthCare(samedayprimarycare,seamlesscare,suicideprevention)

DeliveraUnifiedVeteransExperience

ImprovetheCompensation&PensionExam

ImproveCommunityCare

ModernizeourContactCenters

DevelopaSimplifiedAppealsProcess

ContinuetoReduceVeteranHomelessness

ImproveEmployeeExperience(toinclude leadershipdevelopment)

StaffCritical Positions

TransformSupplyChain

TransformOIT

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MyVA 12 Breakthrough Priorities: VBA Touch Points

VBACurrentFocusAreas

Regional Office Outreach and Community Engagement

SinceNovember2015,PortlandROhasconductedorparticipatedin:Ø 3townhallsandclaimsclinicsin

Vancouver,Portland,andBendØ 10outreacheventsØ 2job fairsØ 9homeless standdownsallover

thestateofOregonØ weeklyvisitstotheCommunity

ResourceandReferralCenterØ weeklyvisitstotheVAmedical

center’sTransitionandCareManagementProgram

Ø monthlyvisitstothePortlandVetCenterandSalemVetCenter