United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2005-05-05 monographic deposited born digital 18 p. GA 1.13:GAO-05-655T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-655T P0b002ee18038be6a f:d05655t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-05-04 GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-655T machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-655T GAO-05-655T Decision making Internal controls Quality assurance Quality control Quality improvement Veterans Veterans benefits Veterans disability compensation Risk management Appeals process Testimony A23497

The House Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs asked GAO to update a 2002 study to determine what VA has done to (1) correct reported weaknesses in methods used by the Board to select decisions for quality review and calculate the accuracy rates reported by the Board and (2) address the potential for inconsistency in decision-making at all levels of adjudication in VA, including VA's 57 regional offices and the Board. GAO said in 2002 that VA had not studied consistency even though adjudicator judgment is inherently required in the decision-making process, and state-to-state variations in the average disability compensation payment per veteran raised questions about consistency. In January 2003, in part because of concerns about consistency, GAO designated VA's disability program as high-risk. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-655T/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-655T.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-655T/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-655T.pdf GAO-05-655T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-655T Testimony GAO-05-655T; VA Disability Benefits: Board of Veterans' Appeals Has Made Improvements in Quality Assurance, but Challenges Remain for VA in Assuring Consistency; Decision making Internal controls Quality assurance Quality control Quality improvement Veterans Veterans benefits Veterans disability compensation Risk management Appeals process Title 38 Section 5108 38 U.S.C. 5108 Public Law 106-475