Veterans' Benefits: VA Can Prevent Millions in Compensation and Pension
Overpayments (Letter Report, 04/28/95, GAO/HEHS-95-88).

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of
Veterans Affairs' (VA) efforts to prevent, detect, and recover
compensation and pension overpayments.

GAO found that: (1) in 1994, VA detected about $372 million in
overpayments to its beneficiaries mainly due to changes in income,
particularly changes related to Social Security benefits; (2) although
VA recovers about 30 percent of its overpayments, its outstanding
overpayment balance was about $618 million in 1994; (3) many
beneficiaries do not have the resources to repay the overpayments; (4)
although VA has the capability to prevent many overpayments, it has not
done so because it fails to focus on prevention; (5) VA could better
coordinate its beneficiary information with that of the Social Security
Administration; and (6) VA does not systematically collect, analyze, and
use information on the specific causes of overpayments to target its
preventive efforts.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  HEHS-95-88
     TITLE:  Veterans' Benefits: VA Can Prevent Millions in Compensation 
             and Pension Overpayments
      DATE:  04/28/95
   SUBJECT:  Veterans benefits
             Social security benefits
             Overpayments
             Debt collection
             Veterans pensions
             Refunds to government
             Data collection operations
             Beneficiaries
             Management information systems
             Information analysis operations

             
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Cover
================================================================ COVER


Report to the Ranking Minority Member, Committee on Veterans'
Affairs, U.S.  Senate

April 1995

VETERANS' BENEFITS - VA CAN
PREVENT MILLIONS IN COMPENSATION
AND PENSION OVERPAYMENTS

GAO/HEHS-95-88

VA Overpayments


Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV

  DMC - Debt Management Center
  SSA - Social Security Administration
  VA - Department of Veterans Affairs
  VARO - VA regional office

Letter
=============================================================== LETTER


B-256747

April 28, 1995

The Honorable John D.  Rockefeller IV
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Veterans' Affairs
United States Senate

Dear Senator Rockefeller: 

Over the past decade, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
detected almost $3.1 billion in compensation and pension
overpayments.  Overpayments occur when recipients receive benefits to
which they are not entitled as a result of changes in their income,
dependency, or medical status.  These overpayments are debts owed the
U.S.  government and, if not collected, result in taxpayers financing
unwarranted program expenses. 

While VA detects overpayments after they occur and tries to collect
them, its collection rate has been about 30 percent.\1

Preventing overpayments would help reduce collection problems and
associated costs.  Therefore, you asked us to provide the status of
VA's compensation and pension overpayments and assess VA's efforts to
prevent them from occurring. 


--------------------
\1 Our report entitled Debt Management:  More Aggressive Actions
Needed to Reduce Billions in Overpayments (GAO/HRD-91-46, July 9,
1991) identified, among other things, problems with VA's collection
of overpayments. 


   RESULTS IN BRIEF
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :1

Despite its responsibility to ensure accurate benefits payments, VA
continues to overpay veterans and their survivors hundreds of
millions of dollars in compensation and pension benefits each year. 
For example, in 1994, VA detected about $372 million in overpayments
to its beneficiaries.  Based on our analysis of a survey of
overpayments in May 1994, changes in income accounted for a large
portion of overpayments, and receipt of Social Security benefits
accounted for a significant share of income-related overpayments. 

VA has the capability to prevent millions of dollars in overpayments,
but has not done so because it has not focused on prevention.  For
example, VA does not use available information, such as when
beneficiaries will become eligible for Social Security benefits, to
prevent the overpayments from occurring.  Furthermore, VA does not
systematically collect, analyze, and use information on the specific
causes of overpayments that will help it target preventive efforts. 


   BACKGROUND
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :2

In 1994, VA paid over $16 billion in compensation and pension
benefits to about 3.3 million people.  VA's compensation program pays
benefits to U.S.  military veterans who are disabled by injury or
disease incurred during active service in the line of duty.  Its
pension program pays benefits to wartime veterans with limited income
who become permanently and totally disabled after active service. 

In each program, benefit amounts can be affected by changes in the
status of the person receiving benefits.  A beneficiary's status can
be affected by various types of common events, such as changes in
marital status, physical condition, or income.  For example,
beneficiaries who receive VA pension benefits up to an allowed level
have their benefits reduced by $1 for each $1 received from Social
Security or other sources such as military retirement or wages. 
Beneficiaries receiving compensation benefits who divorce may have
their benefits reduced.  Furthermore, under certain circumstances,
benefit amounts are reduced if a beneficiary is hospitalized at a VA
medical center. 

VA relies heavily on beneficiaries to voluntarily report changes in
status accurately and promptly.  VA also uses other means to
determine changes in status, such as annual eligibility verification
reports, periodic status of dependents questionnaires, and computer
matches with other federal agencies.  These methods are generally
directed at detecting overpayments after they occur.  Before VA can
reduce benefits, it must give the beneficiary an opportunity to
respond to VA's notification that benefits are to be reduced. 

VA's Compensation and Pension Service within the Office of the Under
Secretary for Benefits is responsible for developing adequate
procedures for ensuring that payments made to beneficiaries are
accurate.  VA regional offices (VARO) use these procedures when
making adjustments to beneficiaries' compensation and pension
payments.  When overpayments occur, VA's Debt Management Center (DMC)
is responsible for collecting them. 


   SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :3

We did our work at VA's headquarters in Washington, D.C., at DMC in
St.  Paul, Minnesota, and at five VAROs.  As part of our work, we
sent questionnaires to 54 VAROs to get information about 600
stratified, randomly sampled overpayment cases out of a universe of
about 17,000 cases for the month of May 1994.  We also interviewed
agency officials responsible for managing compensation and pension
overpayments, reviewed selected overpayment case files, and observed
regional office overpayment activities.  We focused our work on
providing examples of potential solutions to preventing
income-related pension overpayments, which accounted for a large
portion of the overpayments.  We did our work between March 1994 and
February 1995 in accordance with generally accepted government
auditing standards. 

See appendix I for more information on our scope and sampling
methodology.  Appendix II contains the questionnaire used for the
survey, and appendix III contains a summary of the responses to our
questionnaire. 


   STATUS OF COMPENSATION AND
   PENSION OVERPAYMENTS
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :4

Each year, VA overpays hundreds of millions of dollars in
compensation and pension benefits.  In 1994, VA detected about $372
million that it had erroneously paid to compensation and pension
beneficiaries.  VA collects, on average, about 30 percent of its
outstanding overpayments.  As a result, VA's outstanding overpayment
balance increased from over $304 million in 1985 to about $618
million in 1994, as shown in figure 1.  According to the director of
the DMC, collecting these overpayments is difficult because many
beneficiaries have limited incomes and are not able to repay the
debt. 

   Figure 1:  VA's Outstanding
   Compensation and Pension
   Overpayments, Fiscal Years
   1985-94

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Source:  VA's DMC. 

Reasons for these overpayments include changes in beneficiaries'
income, dependency, or medical status.  Our survey results showed
that changes in beneficiaries' income accounted for a large portion
(about 35 percent) of overpayments in 1994, as shown in figure 2.  We
also found that beneficiaries whose pensions were not adjusted after
receiving Social Security benefits accounted for a significant share
(about 39 percent) of income-related overpayments, as shown in figure
3. 

   Figure 2:  Changes in Income
   Accounted for a Large Portion
   of Overpayments in May 1994

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Note:  Percentages do not add to 100 because of rounding. 

   Figure 3:  Social Security
   Accounted for a Significant
   Share of Income-Related
   Overpayments in May 1994

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Our survey results showed that, on average, VA learns about changes
in beneficiaries' status about 5 months after they occur.  We found
that in half the cases, VA learns about the changes within 1 month,
and in about 13 percent of the cases, VA does not learn about the
changes for a year or more after they occur.  For one case in our
sample, VA did not learn about a change in a beneficiary's marital
status for 9 years, resulting in a $5,103 overpayment.  In another
case, over 3 years passed before VA learned about a change in a
beneficiary's financial status, resulting in a $19,969 overpayment. 

Our survey results showed that VA takes an average of about 4 months
to terminate or reduce benefits after learning about changes in
beneficiaries' status.  In half the cases, VA takes about 1-1/2
months, and in about 10 percent of the cases, VA takes 8 months or
more, to terminate or reduce benefits after it learns about the
changes.  For example, in one case, VA took more than 15 months to
reduce a veteran's payments after learning that he had been
hospitalized at a VA Medical Center, resulting in a $17,477
overpayment.  In another case, VA took almost 2 years to process a
change in a beneficiary's marital status, resulting in a $2,605
overpayment. 

Officials at VA's Compensation and Pension Service and at the five
VAROs we visited agreed that months and even years pass before VA
learns about changes in beneficiaries' status.  They also agreed that
VA contributes to overpayments by not making appropriate adjustments
to beneficiaries' payments in a timely manner. 


   VA CAN PREVENT CERTAIN
   OVERPAYMENTS, BUT HAS NOT
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :5

Although VA has the capability to prevent millions of dollars in
overpayments, it has not done so because it has not focused on
prevention.  For example, VA does not use available information to
take action to avoid overpayments. 

Adjudication officials at the five VAROs we visited told us that
months may pass before VA learns that beneficiaries are also
receiving Social Security benefits.  Our survey results confirmed
that, on average, more than 4 months passed before VA learned about
VA pension recipients who had begun receiving Social Security
benefits.  In half the cases, slightly more than 1 month had passed,
and in about 16 percent of the cases, a year or more had passed.  For
example, in one pension case, VA did not learn that the beneficiary
was receiving Social Security benefits for over 15 months, resulting
in a $1,679 overpayment.  In another case, VA did not learn that the
beneficiary had been receiving Social Security for almost 20 months,
resulting in a $2,745 overpayment. 

None of the five VAROs we visited have procedures in place to alert
adjudicators when beneficiaries will become eligible for Social
Security benefits.  This knowledge would allow VA to make timely
adjustments to pension benefit payments and avoid overpayments.  VA
could use beneficiaries' age--information that VA has--to anticipate
when they will become eligible for Social Security benefits.  VA
could send beneficiaries a letter prior to their becoming eligible to
inform them of their responsibility to report their Social Security
benefits.  Given that most people know in advance both the date they
will begin receiving Social Security and the amount they will
receive, VA could request beneficiaries to return a copy of their
Social Security Administration (SSA) award letter to confirm this
information.  VA could then adjust pension benefits the month
beneficiaries begin receiving Social Security, thus preventing months
or even years of overpayments.  In cases in which beneficiaries do
not respond to VA's request, VA could contact SSA to verify whether
beneficiaries are receiving these benefits.  VA could then take the
appropriate action to prevent the overpayment. 

Officials at VA's Compensation and Pension Service and at the five
VAROs we visited agreed that VA could prevent these overpayments by
establishing procedures to alert adjudicators when beneficiaries will
become eligible for Social Security benefits.  The director of VA's
Debt Management Center said that May 1994, the month in which our
sample was taken, is typical in terms of the number and dollar value
of overpayment cases detected throughout the year.  Therefore, we
estimate that VA could have prevented as much as 14 percent--or about
$52 million--of overpayments in 1994 by establishing such procedures. 
These officials agreed that the potential savings that would occur by
preventing these overpayments would greatly exceed any costs
associated with implementing these procedures. 


   VA LACKS DETAILED INFORMATION
   TO TARGET ADDITIONAL PREVENTION
   EFFORTS
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :6

To effectively prevent compensation and pension overpayments, VA
needs to know their specific causes.  However, VA officials at the
five VAROs we visited did not know the specific causes of
overpayments, nor the extent to which they occur, which would enable
them to take preventive actions.  VARO officials did not know the
causes because they do not routinely gather and analyze this
information.  These officials added that VA's Compensation and
Pension Service has not issued any guidance requiring them to collect
and analyze such data.  Furthermore, none of the VAROs we visited had
conducted any studies to determine the specific causes of
overpayments. 

Although VA maintains general information on overpayments, some of
this information is not specific enough.  For example, while this
information shows that an overpayment is income related, it does not
identify whether the income is from interest and dividends, military
retirement, Social Security, wages from employment, or some other
source.  VA's existing system for coding changes in beneficiary
status could be modified by adding additional reason codes to capture
more specific information. 

Gathering and analyzing information on the specific causes of
overpayments is important so that VARO officials can use this
information to determine how best to prevent overpayments.  VARO
officials agreed that information on the specific causes of
overpayments would assist them in targeting their efforts to prevent
overpayments. 


   CONCLUSIONS
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :7

Compensation and pension overpayments continue to be a significant
problem.  VA continues to overpay hundreds of millions of dollars in
compensation and pension benefits each year and does not collect
about 70 percent of these overpayments.  By taking a proactive role
in preventing overpayments, VA could save millions of dollars.  VA
could use available information to prevent overpayments from
occurring, and it could prevent additional overpayments by
collecting, analyzing, and using information on the specific causes
of overpayments, which would enable VA to target preventive efforts. 


   RECOMMENDATIONS
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :8

To better prevent compensation and pension overpayments, we recommend
that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs direct the Under Secretary for
Benefits to

establish procedures that focus on preventing overpayments that
include identifying beneficiaries who will soon become eligible for
Social Security benefits and obtaining the necessary information to
timely adjust their benefit payments; and

collect, analyze, and use information on the specific causes or
contributing factors of overpayments to develop strategies for
targeting additional preventive efforts. 


   AGENCY COMMENTS
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :9

As requested, we did not obtain official agency comments.  However,
we discussed the report's contents with responsible VA officials, who
generally agreed with its findings and recommendations, and
incorporated their comments where

We are sending copies of this report to interested congressional
committees, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and other interested
parties. 

If you have any questions about this report, please contact me at
(202) 512-7101.  Major contributors to this report are listed in
appendix IV. 

Sincerely yours,

David P.  Baine
Director, Federal Health Care
 Delivery Issues


SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY
=========================================================== Appendix I

To learn about and understand the characteristics of compensation and
pension cases for which VA had paid veterans or their beneficiaries
more money than was appropriate, we analyzed a national random sample
of compensation and pension overpayment cases.  We asked VA's Debt
Management Center at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, to provide us with a
list of overpayment cases it discovered during May 1994.  VA provided
us a list that contained 16,995 compensation and pension overpayment
cases.  This list represented the universe of cases for our study. 

After a case is identified as being in overpayment status, VA
notifies the veteran or the beneficiary of the fact.  A case is
"closed" when either the veteran/beneficiary makes arrangements with
VA to reimburse VA or VA waives the overpayment.  In either event,
the length of time in which a case is in overpayment status varies. 
A case may be closed quickly, or it may take months to be resolved
and remain open for an extended period of time.  Over two-fifths (42
percent, or 7,056) of the cases in our 1-month universe were closed
by VA within the month.  We included in our sample both open and
closed cases.  We selected a stratified, random sample of 600 of
these cases from the following four groups:  open compensation,
closed compensation, open pension, and closed pension cases. 

For each case in our sample, we mailed a questionnaire to the VA
regional office (VARO) responsible for administering that case. 
VAROs were able to complete the questionnaires for practically every
overpayment case in our sample.  Fifteen questionnaires could not be
completed because the sampled cases were unavailable at the regional
office at the time of our request.  VAROs completed and returned to
us 98 percent of the questionnaires we mailed (585 of 600).  (A copy
of the questionnaire is included in app.  II; app.  III contains the
responses to our survey for the total sample and for each type of
benefit.)

The following table summarizes the number of overpayments of our
universe and sample, and the number of completed questionnaires
returned to us. 



                          Table I.1
           
                VA Overpayment Cases, May 1994

Type of benefit
----------------  ----  ----------------  ------------------
Open              3,63        200                193
 compensation        3
Closed            3,17        100                 94
 compensation        3
Open pension      6,30        200                199
                     6
Closed pension    3,88        100                 99
                     3
============================================================
Total             16,9        600                585
                    95
------------------------------------------------------------
The actual total dollar value of the 16,995 pension and compensation
overpayment cases for May 1994 was $21,925,302.  Table I.2 summarizes
the total, mean, and median dollar values for each stratum. 



                          Table I.2
           
           Dollar Value of VA Overpayment Cases by
                  Type of Benefit, May 1994

Type of
benefit        overpayments       value           value
-------------  -------------  -------------  ---------------
Compensation   $9,443,508        $1,388           $324
 (open and
 closed,
 combined)
Open           6,938,760          1,910            392
 compensation
Closed         2,504,749           789             284
 compensation
Pension (open  12,481,793         1,225            324
 and closed,
 combined)
Open pension   10,682,690         1,694            510
Closed         1,799,104           463             155
 pension
============================================================
Total          $21,925,301       $1,290           $324
------------------------------------------------------------
Because our samples are representative, the statistics we cite based
on the questionnaire are estimates relating to all 16,995
compensation and pension overpayments for May 1994.  We calculated
sampling errors for estimates from this survey at the 95-percent
confidence level.  This means that the chances are about 19 out of 20
that the actual percentage being estimated falls within the range
defined by our estimate, plus or minus the sampling error.  The
sampling errors for estimates used in this report follow in table I.3
and subsequent paragraphs.  Although our results pertain to the month
of May, VA officials told us that May was typical of any other month
of the year and it was reasonable to assume that it was
representative of VA overpayments throughout the year. 



                          Table I.3
           
             Sampling Errors for Figures 2 and 3

Figure    Category                  Sampling error
--------  ------------------------  ------------------------
2         Income                    35%, +/-10 percentage
                                    points

          Dependency                29%, +/-10 percentage
                                    points

          Medical                   18%, +/-10 percentage
                                    points

          Other                     19%, +/-8 percentage
                                    points

3         Social Security           39%, +/-14 percentage
                                    points

          Interest and dividends    26%, +/-16 percentage
                                    points

          Wages and employment      16%, +/-12 percentage
                                    points

          Other                     19%, +/-12 percentage
                                    points
------------------------------------------------------------
Our sampling errors for the time period between an event that changed
a veteran's status and when VA learned about the event are as
follows:  VA learned about changes in beneficiaries' status in 149
days, plus or minus 38 days, after they occurred.  In half the cases,
VA learned about the changes in 26 days, plus or minus 19 days.  VA
did not learn about the changes for a year or more in about 13
percent of the cases, plus or minus 3 percentage points.  (See p. 
6.)

Our sampling errors for the time period between when VA learned about
a change in a veteran's status and when VA terminated or reduced
benefits are as follows:  It took VA, on average, 113 days, plus or
minus 32 days, to terminate or reduce benefits after learning about a
change in status.  In half the cases, it took VA 50 days, plus or
minus 10 days, to terminate or reduce benefits.  In 10 percent of the
cases, plus or minus 3 percentage points, it took VA 240 days or more
to terminate or reduce benefits.  (See p.  6.)

For changes in pension benefits, our sampling errors were as follows: 
An average of 134 days, plus or minus 32 days, passed before VA
learned that pension recipients had begun receiving Social Security. 
In half the cases, 35 days, plus or minus 19 days, had passed.  In 16
percent of the cases, plus or minus 5 percentage points, a year or
more had passed.  (See p.  7.)

Our sampling errors for the percentage and dollar amount of
overpayments in 1994 VA could have prevented with procedures in place
to alert adjudicators that veterans were eligible for Social Security
are as follows:  14 percent, plus or minus 4 percentage points, or
about $52 million, plus or minus $15 million, in overpayments could
have been prevented.  (See p.  8.)




(See figure in printed edition.)Appendix II
GAO'S QUESTIONNAIRE ON
COMPENSATION AND PENSION
OVERPAYMENTS
=========================================================== Appendix I



(See figure in printed edition.)



(See figure in printed edition.)



(See figure in printed edition.)



(See figure in printed edition.)



(See figure in printed edition.)



(See figure in printed edition.)


SUMMARY OF RESPONSES TO GAO'S
SURVEY OF VA COMPENSATION AND
PENSION OVERPAYMENTS
========================================================= Appendix III



                        Table III.1
          
          Primary Causes of Overpayments (question
                             2)

                    (Numbers in percent)


                      Combined
Primary cause        responses  Compensation       Pension
----------------  ------------  ------------  ------------
Income-related              31             2            51
Dependency-                 53            84            32
 related
Medical-related              6             5             7
Other-related               10            10            10
==========================================================
Total                      100        100 \a           100
----------------------------------------------------------
\a The sum of the percentages exceeds 100 because of rounding. 



                        Table III.2
          
             Specific Causes of Income-Related
             Overpayments (question 2, part 1)

                    (Numbers in percent)


Specific income-      Combined
related cause        responses  Compensation       Pension
----------------  ------------  ------------  ------------
Veteran's social            10             0            17
 security
Spouse's or                  9             2            14
 dependent's
 social security
U.S. Civil                  \a             0             1
 Service
U.S. railroad                0             0             0
 retirement
Military                     0             0             0
 retirement
Military                     0             0             0
 survivor
 benefits
Black lung                   0             0             0
 benefits
Wages from                   3             0             5
 employment
Interest and                 5             0             8
 dividends
Dependency                  \a             0             1
 income
Excess net worth            \a             0            \a
Lottery/                    \a             0             1
 gambling
 winnings
Other income-                3             0             4
 related
==========================================================
Total                     31\b             2            51
----------------------------------------------------------
\a Response rate was less than 1 percent. 

\b The sum of the combined responses does not equal the total because
of rounding. 



                        Table III.3
          
           Specific Causes of Dependency-Related
             Overpayments (question 2, part 2)

                    (Numbers in percent)


Specific
dependency-           Combined
related cause        responses  Compensation       Pension
----------------  ------------  ------------  ------------
Death of veteran            29            45            18
Apportionment                2             3            \a
Dependency                   0             0             0
 income
Dependency                  \a             1             0
 status not
 established
Child became 18             \a             0             0
Child terminated             5            11             1
 school or
 reached 23
 years of age
Child over 18               \a            \a             0
 entered school
Dependent added             \a             0            \a
Dependent                   12            17             9
 terminated
Other                        5             6             4
 dependency-
 related
==========================================================
Total                       53          84\b            32
----------------------------------------------------------
\a Response rate was less than 1 percent. 

\b The sum of the numbers does not add to the total because of
rounding. 



                        Table III.4
          
             Specific Causes of Medical-Related
             Overpayments (question 2, part 3)

                    (Numbers in percent)


Specific
medical-related       Combined
causes               responses  Compensation       Pension
----------------  ------------  ------------  ------------
Veteran                      3             4             2
 hospitalized
Veteran's                   \a             1             0
 nursing home
 status
Prospective                  2            \a             4
 medical
 expenses
Other medical-               1            \a             2
 related
==========================================================
Total                        6             5           7\b
----------------------------------------------------------
\a Response rate was less than 1 percent. 

\b The sum of the percentages exceeds the total because of rounding. 



                        Table III.5
          
              Specific Causes of Other-Related
             Overpayments (question 2, part 4)

                    (Numbers in percent)


Specific other-       Combined
related causes       responses  Compensation       Pension
----------------  ------------  ------------  ------------
Incarceration               \a             1            \a
Concurrent                   0             0             0
 benefits
VA error                     3             3             3
Beneficiary's                3             1             5
 failure to
 return required
 document(s)
Other other-                 4             5             2
 related
==========================================================
Total                       10            10            10
----------------------------------------------------------
\a Response rate was less than 1 percent. 



                        Table III.6
          
               How VA Was First Made Aware of
                 Overpayments (question 4)

                    (Numbers in percent)


Way VA became
aware of              Combined
overpayment          responses  Compensation       Pension
----------------  ------------  ------------  ------------
Eligibility                 18             2            29
 Verification
 Report (EVR)
SSA/VA Income                1             0             2
 Verification
 Match (IVM)
SSA/VA computer              9             6            11
 match other
 than IVM
IRS/VA Income                2             0             4
 Verification
 Match (IVM)
Computer match               0             0             0
 with some
 agency other
 than SSA or IRS
Informed by a                6             6             6
 Veterans
 Benefit
 Counselor
Informed by a               19            27            14
 third party,
 other than
 Veterans
 Benefit
 Counselor
Informed by the             16            16            16
 veteran or the
 beneficiary
Status of                    2             5            \a
 Dependents
 Questionnaire
Automated                    2             3             2
 Medical
 Information
 Exchange (AMIE)
VA Medical                   3             5             2
 Center other
 than AMIE
VA Inspector                \a             0            \a
 General (IG)
 review/survey
Informed by a                0             0             0
 state welfare
 agency
Other                       20            30            13
==========================================================
Total                     98\b           100          99\b
----------------------------------------------------------
\a Response rate was less than 1 percent. 

\b Sum of the percentages does not add to 100 because of rounding. 



                        Table III.7
          
          Responses as to Whether Waiver Had Been
           Requested for Overpayment (question 9)

                    (Numbers in percent)


                      Combined
Requested?           responses  Compensation       Pension
----------------  ------------  ------------  ------------
Yes                          8             3            12
No                          92            97            88
==========================================================
Total                      100           100           100
----------------------------------------------------------


                        Table III.8
          
          Responses as to Whether Requested Waiver
            Had Been Granted for an Overpayment
                       (question 10)

                    (Numbers in percent)


                      Combined
Waiver status        responses  Compensation       Pension
----------------  ------------  ------------  ------------
Granted                     44             9            50
Denied                       8             9             8
Decision still              29            55            24
 pending
Other                       19            27            18
==========================================================
Total                      100           100           100
----------------------------------------------------------


                        Table III.9
          
           Days Elapsed Between Date Overpayment
             Occurred and Date VA Learned About
              Overpayment (questions 3 and 5)

                           (Days)


                      Combined
                     responses  Compensation       Pension
----------------  ------------  ------------  ------------
Mean                       149           166           136
Median                      26            17            35
----------------------------------------------------------


                        Table III.10
          
            Days Elapsed Between Date VA Learned
           About Overpayment and Date VA Informed
            the Veteran/Beneficiary That VA Had
          Acted to Reduce or Terminate His or Her
                Benefit (questions 5 and 7)

                           (Days)


                      Combined
                     responses  Compensation       Pension
----------------  ------------  ------------  ------------
Mean                       113           112           114
Median                      50            32            54
----------------------------------------------------------

MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS REPORT
========================================================== Appendix IV

Irene Chu, Assistant Director, (202) 512-7102
Charles Taylor, Evaluator-in-Charge
Steve Morris
Michael O'Dell
Jeffrey Pounds
Pamela Scott
Joan Vogel

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