Let’s take a look at the VA’s April 2023 veterans disability benefits statistics report. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) issues a monthly report on how many vets applied for benefits during the past 30 days. This report includes all disability, pension, and survivor’s claims that need VA ratings or approval for payment. If you’re a veteran, read on to learn how the VA’s latest claim numbers may impact you.
April 2023 Veterans Disability Benefits Statistics: Claims Inventory Status
The April 2023 veterans disability benefits report lists all changes to VA claims data since their March report came out. On April 8th, we noted just a little less than 803,000 total claims waiting on the VA’s review:
- As of April 8, 2023: 802,966
- As of March 4, 2023: 766,549
- Difference: +36,417
- Daily churn: +1,457 claims
Today, veterans who file claims wait, on average, between 123 to 131 days to hear back from the VA. Unfortunately, the claims inventory could beat the VA’s previous record of 883,930 pending applications as soon as this June. Keep in mind also that vets who file appeals don’t show up in these monthly VA report numbers. Instead, the VA uses a separate system to track appealed claims.
Claims in the April 2023 veterans disability benefits report’s inventory break down in the following ways:
- 48% are supplemental claims for new or worse medical conditions that started during military service (mostly PACT Act claims)
- 23% are AMA supplemental claims seeking a decision review request
- 13% are initial VA disability claims with no more than 7 total health problems linked to military service
- 8% are first time VA disability claims that list at least 8 total service-connected health issues that need ratings
- 4% are either seeking higher VA disability ratings or Agent Orange-related claims
- 2% are initial survivor’s benefit applications from parents, spouses, or children of deceased vets
- 2% are VA pension claims from newly retired vets
April 2023 Veterans Disability Benefits Statistics: Claims Backlog Status
If the VA hasn’t processed a claim after 125 days, then it falls under the backlog category. The April 2023 veterans disability benefits report’s backlog grew slightly compared to last month. It appears the VA’s prioritizing older claims over newer ones at this time, as you can see below:
- As of April 8, 2023: 210,207
- As of March 4, 2023: 199,898
- Difference: +10,309
- Daily churn: +412 claims added to the backlog
The slowest states to process VA disability claims based on this month’s report are:
- Wyoming (148 days)
- Minnesota (143 days)
- New Mexico (141 days)
- Vermont (140 days)
- Nevada (134 days)
- Alaska (133 days)
- West Virginia (132 days)
- Arkansas (131 days)
Fastest states to handle claims in the April 2023 veterans disability benefits report are:
- Hawaii (107 days)
- North Carolina (107 days)
- Washington, D.C. (111 days)
- Connecticut (113 days)
- Washington (114 days)
- South Carolina (115 days)
- North Dakota (115 days)
Get VA-Accredited Claim Help by Phone
The VA admits it got things wrong when reviewing 12% of claims from vets during the past year. That means that about 1 in 8 vets today either receives the wrong monthly payment or nothing by mistake. However, we can have a VA-accredited attorney near you provide free, private claim help by phone.
We’re committed to helping vets like you get all the money you deserve for serving our country.
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Lori Polemenakos is Director of Consumer Content and SEO strategist for LeadingResponse, a legal marketing company. An award-winning journalist, writer and editor based in Dallas, Texas, she's produced articles for major brands such as Match.com, Yahoo!, MSN, AOL, Xfinity, Mail.com, and edited several published books. Since 2016, she's published hundreds of articles about Social Security disability, workers' compensation, veterans' benefits, personal injury, mass tort, auto accident claims, bankruptcy, employment law and other related legal issues.