The Veterans Benefits Administration gave out more money in disability payments than it should have over a span of 18 years, costing the government about $1 billion.

 

According to the inspector general for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the mistakes involved about 27,500 cases in which veterans were granted full disability payments, pending medical reevaluations after surgeries or physical therapy. But a lack of oversight and failure to conduct medical follow-ups permitted former soldiers to continue to receive 100% disability ratings long after their medical conditions had improved.

 

The average overpayment for veterans receiving extra benefits for less than a year was approximately $10,500. But for those who were overpaid from one to five years in duration, the mistakes averaged about $66,000 per veteran.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Report: VA May Have Overpaid Disabled Vets by $1 Billion (by Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes)

Audit of 100 Percent Disability Evaluations (Veterans Benefits Administration) (pdf)