From Military.com:
“New Online VA Travel Reimbursement Program Is Failing
Veterans, Inspector General Finds”
(An online travel reimbursement system implemented by the
Veterans Health Administration in 2020 has caused headaches for veterans used
to filing claims through kiosks at VA medical facilities. The VA Inspector
General's Office says the new system is not meeting any of its expectations.)
A new system designed to ensure that the Department of
Veterans Affairs reimburses veterans for appointment-related travel quickly and
properly is not living up to expectations, frustrating veterans and causing
headaches for travel staff. The Veterans Health Administration rolled out its
Beneficiary Travel Self Service System, a web-based travel reimbursement
program, in November 2020 to replace a long-standing system accessible through
stand-alone kiosks at VA medical facilities or by submitting paper claims.
Goals for the new program, known as BTSSS, were to make it
easier for veterans to file travel claims and decrease the amount the VA
improperly paid out for claims. Incorrect payments increased from $70 million
in fiscal 2013 to $123 million in fiscal 2021. The Veterans Health
Administration spent more than $1.3 billion on patient travel in fiscal 2021,
an increase from roughly $1 billion in fiscal 2019 and $890 million in fiscal
2020.
Shortly after the system was introduced and the VA began
removing travel kiosks from hospitals and clinics, veterans began notifying
Military.com of their concerns with the new system, which is primarily accessed
via smartphone or computer. "The easy-to-use, fast kiosks were implemented
systemwide, then, after a few short years, were jerked out with [very] few days
warning to veterans," wrote a former service member who did not want to be
identified. "Doesn't sound like a big deal for every veteran to cope with?
It is!!"
The VA reimburses veterans and, in some cases, their
caregivers for travel expenses to and from many medical appointments, including
mileage, tolls and parking. It even covers airfare in certain cases. The VA
Office of Inspector General began receiving complaints that BTSSS actually
slowed down processing and decreased production, prompting the office to
investigate whether the new system met expectations. The system, developed by
Liberty IT Solutions, now part of Booz Allen Hamilton, was designed to solve
claims automatically, without human involvement, at least 90% of the time and
was to be used by veterans without them requiring assistance at least 80% of
the time. But a VA OIG review published last month found that just 17% of
claims filed from February 2021 through July 2022 were automatically
adjudicated, "well short of ... the goal of 90 percent." It also
calculated that veterans used the web-based portal for only about 49% of total
claims. The OIG found that travel staff implemented work-arounds to deal with
the new program and frequently relied on the old system to fill claims.
It also determined that the VA failed to effectively
communicate with veterans and veterans service organizations before changing
over to the new system and, instead, solicited feedback only from veterans who
worked at the VA program office responsible for implementation, not patients or
VSOs. "Further, the program office did not provide training to veterans on
how to enter claims in BTSSS until almost five months after system launch.
Consequently, during system rollout, the review team found that some veterans
experienced difficulties creating user accounts and lacked needed training on
how to use the new system to enter travel claims," according to the
report, "Goals Not Met for Implementation of the Beneficiary Travel
Self-Service System." VA officials say they have implemented a new patient
check-in process designed to simplify the steps taken before a veteran is seen
for an appointment, and that is why the kiosks were removed. A decision has
been made, however, to integrate BTSSS with the new patient check-in process,
"expected for completion later this summer," according to John
Saulmon, chief of staff for member services at the VHA. The VA also is
developing a program that will allow it to more efficiently handle paper claims
in the system. Travel claims will then be submittable online, via email, by fax
or in person during patient check-in.
The VA estimates that 90% of veterans have access to a
smartphone or other mobile device, and it encourages them to use the system. VA
medical centers were urged to conduct outreach when the program was first
introduced, and how-to videos are available online, according to Saulmon. In
the VA's response to the report, officials said they concurred with the OIGs
recommendations to improve the system and would work harder to effectively
communicate with patients on how to access the system through their computer or
smartphone. "We will utilize the customer feedback [of the baseline BTSSS
veteran survey] to perform targeted user testing by veterans to develop and
prioritize future changes to [the system]," VA officials wrote in their
response.
Sen. Jon Tester, the Montana Democrat who chairs the Senate
Veterans Affairs Committee, has pressed the VA to address issues with the
system and make it more user-friendly. Last week, Tester called it unacceptable
that veterans weren't consulted before the BTSSS was introduced, and he
implored the department to make immediate changes. "The bottom line is
that VA needs to fix this system without further delay, and I look forward to
seeing renewed efforts to repair the trust lost from veterans in this process,"
Tester said in a press release.
^ Another failure of the VA that needs to be fixed and fixed
now. ^
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