finally though it's clear that inefficiency alone can't account for a backlog of 400k. that tells me we need to do two things in addition to streamlining - we need to change the threshold and way in which disability benefits are granted and we need to fund more claims examiners.
do you have any suggestions on how to fix the problem?
The problem is how the VA operates.
As an example, when I was discharged in 1993, I was rated at 10% disability. A month later I met with a VA administrator who reduced this to 0%.
And I submitted claim after claim to get it restored to 10%. And for the next 14 years my rating would bounce between 10% and 0%.
When I was a full-time student I put in an application for 100% during the time I was in school (this is fully allowed). And it was denied. I put this in 3 times in 9 months, only to have them finally accept me, in a letter telling me I was eligible for 100%, but since I had graduated I was no longer eligible.
The VA is a bloated, uncaring bureaucratic nightmare. If you are retired or rated at 80% or more, they are great because they have to take care of you. For anybody else, it is a nightmare most times.
you figure out how to fix malaise in a bureaucracy and you'll win a nobel prize.
i think perhaps one solution would be to require all disability claims start and end with a va doctor. base all disability claims on their assessment and recommendation. this might help to cut down fraud and would certainly lessen wait times, however it would require more doctors.