Is the VA fast-tracking the eradication of the backlog to silence the vets?

VA giving disability claims a lick and a promise treatment, only to throw them back in the lap of the veteran claimant while declaring MISSION ACCOMPLISHED, may be where the Veterans Administration (VA) is in its attempts to reduce the outstanding and backlogged disability claims. 

The current VA doesn’t share information easily, so it’s hard to answer that initial question above. Anecdotally, it appears that there may now be an increase in "provisional"  decisions [see note at bottom of article] with respect to disability claims submitted to the VA in an attempt to increase the number of completed claims. But once a veteran gets a "provisional" decision, the matter has been thrown back in the veteran's lap to submit additional supporting information while the VA does a  "Lavabo", "I wash my hands", routine. This is not new.

Consider this from 2013:

"Many with outstanding claims have been flocking to Vet help sites this week in astonishing numbers asking all manner of questions about the new VA proposal to expedite claims over one year old and adjudicate them “provisionally”. Many seem to think this will be a blanket grant—period. Others have moved past that to wondering if it will be a blanket 10% rating until the claim can be adduced properly." (Source: VA's New Provisional Ratings Process)

NOTE again that the quote above is from a private "veteran assistance site" in the year 2013 when the VA was under fire for backlogs.  Barack Obama was president and retired Gen. Eric Shinseki was the head of the VA. The problems in the VA were many, the worst of which was the wait times times for medical appointments. There was also the problem of backlogged claims, for which "provisional" decisions were being used to reduce the numbers. "VA expedited the process for claims at least a year old using new provisional approval authority to start benefits based on evidence submitted to date." That just removed the claim from the backlog and placed the onus to continue on the veteran.

An old maxim of undeterminable origin reads that "history does not repeat itself, but it rhymes".  We may be seeing today another verse being written by the VA that rhymes with the VA history of 2013. A search today of the VA site provides information on "provisional" decisions but all are dated 2013. Why is there nothing up to date?

Now the claims carousel turns 360 degrees in 2025:

An article on the pace of claim processing from the VFW magazine of September/October 2025 can be found on the left. Click on the image to read the piece. Evidently millions of claims have been "processed".  Presently, the VA itself reports 634,240 pending claims overall with a total backlong (defined as not decided within 125 days) of 134,048.  But these statistics mix disability and pension claims so it is hard to discern, if you are waiting for a decision on, say your PACT Act disability claim, exactly where you might stand.

Consequently, the smell test failure occurs with the claim that the VA burned through millions of claims.  Just how much time is spent on each claim and by whom? A clerk? A doctor? A temp employee from a local employment office? That makes me think that the surprising rapidity with which the VA is adjudicating claims can only be achieved by slapdash review, denials or "provisional" decisions. The VA can then declare that the backlog is clear and that the claims are being adjudicated promptly. 

I repeat. The only problem is that "provisional" claims, as mentioned above are just dumped back on the veteran to resubmit, update, rejustify and then await another decision sometime in the future. This favors the VA in that it can count on many recipients of "provisional" decisions just to drop out of the claims process in utter frustration (or to just DIE) which will save the VA big bucks while depriving the veteran of a serious, thorough and thoughtful consideration of his/her disability claim. 

If the VA is “settling” claims inauthentically, the veterans’ backlash could dwarf their current generalized anger at the VA and more specifically at the delays, leading to consequences as yet unknown.

If you know a veteran or a family member of a veteran, pass to them a copy of or a link to this article.  

Note:  "Provisional" decisions may also now be referred to as "deferred", that is a final decision has not yet been made.  Veterans who receive these provisional/deferred decisions should contact a certified Veterans Service Officer (VSO) immediately. Find a VSO in your area by clicking on this link: https://www.va.gov/get-help-from-accredited-representative/find-rep/