At the beginning of each month, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs releases a statistical report on all currently approved and pending benefits applications. We’ll compare June and July to see how the program’s backlog and inventory numbers changed during the last 30 days. Next, read our summary of changes in the July 2016 veterans disability benefits statistics.
July 2016 Veterans Disability Benefits Statistics: Claims Inventory Status
The Veterans Benefits Administration generates a monthly report on claim inventory status. Claims that fall under this category are pension and compensation claims that are still waiting on a decision to be made by the VA. As of July 2, 2016, there were 371,153 claims that fell under this category. This number has increased by over 10,500 claims since this time in June. Claims have steadily increased by similar numbers during the past three months, meaning that these July 2016 veterans disability benefits statistics may indicate a trend.
- As of July 2, 2016: 371,153
- As of June 6, 2016: 360,502
- Difference: 10,651
- Daily churn: +532.5 claims
July 2016 Veterans Disability Benefits Statistics: Claims Backlog Status
Claims that are classified as backlog have been in the system for over 125 days. As of July 2nd, there were 74,374 claims in backlog. This is 1,827 fewer claims than were backlogged in June. That’s a decent drop in the number of veterans waiting for an answer on their claim status since last month.
- As of July 2, 2016: 74,374
- As of June 6, 2016: 76,201
- Difference: -1,827
- Daily churn: -91.35 claims subtracted from backlog
While the difference in claims backlog from June to July is much higher than the previous month’s reduction, it still isn’t quite as strong as the promising backlog clearance numbers from May. Shifts like this are standard within governmental assistance programs. They should encourage both current and future applicants to know their claims will be resolved as efficiently as possible.
Can An Attorney Help?
If you’re thinking about applying for veterans disability benefits, hiring a VA-accredited attorney can make the process smoother and easier than doing it on your own. VA benefits attorneys know how to help both veterans and their families secure the most benefits they deserve.
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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.