Notice2023-17582
System Error Message and High Call Volume Impacting Submissions of Claims
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 16, 2023
Issuing agencies
Veterans Affairs Department
Abstract
In response to notification that some Veterans and survivors received error messages in recent days when submitting their claim for disability compensation or dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC), or intent to file such claim, through www.va.gov, the Veteran Benefits Administration (VBA) is instituting temporary provisions to consider any compensation or DIC claim or intent to file filed before 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday August 14, 2023, as received by VA on August 8, 2023. This preserves, for claims subject to the PACT Act (further discussed below), the potential of retroactive compensation benefits back to the date of PACT Act enactment, August 10, 2022. Claims, or intents to file, for compensation or dependency and indemnity compensation, received on August 9, 2023 through 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday August 14, 2023 will be deemed to have been received on August 8, 2023, the date of the initial problem on www.va.gov.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 157 (Wednesday, August 16, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 16, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55823-55824]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17582]
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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
System Error Message and High Call Volume Impacting Submissions
of Claims
AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.
ACTION: Notice of exception to date of receipt rule.
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SUMMARY: In response to notification that some Veterans and survivors
received error messages in recent days when submitting their claim for
disability compensation or dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC),
or intent to file such claim, through <a href="http://www.va.gov">www.va.gov</a>, the Veteran Benefits
Administration (VBA) is instituting temporary provisions to consider
any compensation or DIC claim or intent to file filed before 11:59 p.m.
ET on Monday August 14, 2023, as received by VA on August 8, 2023. This
preserves, for claims subject to the PACT Act (further discussed
below), the potential of retroactive compensation benefits back to the
date of PACT Act enactment, August 10, 2022. Claims, or intents to
file, for compensation or dependency and indemnity compensation,
received on August 9, 2023 through 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday August 14,
2023 will be deemed to have been received on August 8, 2023, the date
of the initial problem on <a href="http://www.va.gov">www.va.gov</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jessica Pierce, Assistant Director,
Policy Staff, Compensation Service, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810
Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420, (202) 461-9700. (This is not a
toll-free telephone number.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 10, 2022, the President signed
Public Law 117-168, Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our
Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022, or the PACT Act,
into law, establishing substantial legislative changes for the
Department of Veterans Affairs. This historic, multifaceted law
includes provisions such as specific examination requirements when
there is toxic exposure risk activity, expanding conceded locations
associated with radiation exposure, expanding presumptive conditions
associated with herbicide exposure, amending the statute involving
Persian Gulf War Veterans, and establishing presumptive conditions
associated with toxic exposures.
On August 8, 2023, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) became
aware that some Veterans and survivors who utilized the <a href="http://www.va.gov">www.va.gov</a>
website to submit compensation or DIC claims or an intent to file (ITF)
such a claim received an error message. Despite these messages, every
such Veteran or survivor who received an error message can consider
their intent to file complete. VA is working to contact these
individuals to confirm directly to them that their intent to file will
be honored and their effective date protected. As of the evening of
August 9, 2023, VA had resolved nearly all technical issues with the
website.
While VA took steps to resolve this issue, an emergency banner on
the VA website reassured Veterans and survivors that their ITFs will be
honored. Also, VA has changed the intent to file error message to
confirm that, despite the error message, the ITF has been saved.
Additionally, in recent days, VA has experienced an extremely high
call volume on 1-800-MyVA411. Wait times for these calls, which are
normally 10-30 seconds, reached 10-15 minutes at times throughout the
day. VA took immediate steps to minimize these wait times for Veterans,
their families, caregivers, and survivors. Some claimants may have been
unable to submit their ITF through the call center due to the call
volume and wait times.
38 CFR 3.114 provides that if a claim is reviewed at the request of
a claimant received within one year of a change in law, benefits may be
authorized from the effective date of the law. If the claimant's
request is more than one year after the effective date of the law,
benefits may be authorized for a period of one year prior to the date
of receipt of such request. As such, claims or ITFs for PACT Act-
related claims must have been submitted on or before August 10, 2023,
to preserve the earliest potential effective date of August 10, 2022,
the date the PACT Act was enacted. However, even for claims received
more than a year following August 10, 2022, benefits may be authorized
up to one year prior to the date of the filing if warranted by the
facts found.
38 CFR 3.155(b) allows claimants to submit an ITF for a VA claim;
if VA receives a complete application form within one year of receipt
of the ITF for a claim, VA will consider the complete claim filed as of
the date the ITF for the claim was received. An ITF can be submitted in
one of three ways: (1) saved electronic application, (2) written intent
on prescribed ITF form, or (3) oral intent communicated to designated
VA personnel and recorded in writing (this includes contacting a VA
call center agent). A VA regulation, 38 CFR 3.1(r), allows the Under
Secretary for Benefits to establish by notice published in the Federal
Register exceptions to VA's rule on the date of receipt of claims,
information, or evidence. Ordinarily, ``date of receipt'' means the
date on which a claim, information, or evidence was received in a VA
office. This regulation states that exceptions may be established when
a natural or man-made interference with the normal channels through
which VBA ordinarily receives correspondence has resulted in one or
more VBA regional offices experiencing extended delays in the receipt
of claims, information, or evidence to an extent that, if not
addressed, the delay would adversely affect such claimants, through no
fault of their own.
Although the system issue on VA's website and long call wait times
primarily have stemmed from the number of claimants attempting to file
claims or ITFs for PACT Act-related issues to preserve consideration of
an effective date back to August 10, 2022, all claim and ITF
submissions may have been affected. As such, VA has established the
following exception to the standard rule on date of receipt.
Exceptions to Date of Receipt Rule for Claimants Affected by System
Errors and High Call Volume
VA hereby gives notice that, claims, or intents to file, for
compensation or DIC, received on August 9, 2023 through 11:59PM ET on
Monday August 14, 2023 will be deemed to have been received on August
8, 2023, the date of the initial problem on <a href="http://www.va.gov">www.va.gov</a>. This preserves
consideration of the earliest possible effective date for PACT Act-
related benefits for these claims, dating back to August 10, 2022, the
date the PACT Act was enacted. However, this exception to the date of
receipt requirement applies to all claims and ITFs submitted for
compensation or DIC during this period. The Under Secretary for
Benefits has approved this exception under 38 CFR 3.1(r).
Starting on August 9, 2023, VA initiated an outreach campaign to
notify Veterans and survivors about this filing extension, including
notifying Veterans Service Organizations, Congress, and the media, as
well as updating <a href="http://va.gov">va.gov</a> and VA social media.
Signing Authority
Denis McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, approved and signed
this document on August 11, 2023, and
[[Page 55824]]
authorized the undersigned to sign and submit the document to the
Office of the Federal Register for publication electronically as an
official document of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Michael P. Shores,
Director, Office of Regulation Policy & Management, Office of General
Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2023-17582 Filed 8-15-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on August 16, 2023.
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