HOUSTON -- Houston has the biggest backlog and longest waiting times in processing veterans' claims for disability benefits in the nation, according to the most recent data released by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Nearly 18,000 veterans are waiting for the Houston VA Regional Office to process their applications for disability benefits, the Houston Chronicle reported Saturday.
Also, 26 percent of those claims in Houston have been pending for more than half a year, compared to the national average of 21 percent.
Total claims in Houston, including nondisability compensations and pensions, add up to almost 24,000, with 24 percent pending over six months. That percentage is also higher than the national average.
The number of claims on appeal from Houston -- 11,389 -- is the highest in the country.
"The situation at VA's Houston office is among the worst in America," said Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, a national advocacy group. "Our veterans and their families deserve better."
Nationwide, the total number of VA claims has increased from 638,648 this time last year to 723,152, as of June 20. The number of appeals went from 173,682 to 195,194.
The number of claims received by the Houston VA Regional Office has increased by 26 percent since last year, more than twice the national average of 12 percent, said spokeswoman Valerie Martinez.
"While the total workload pending has grown in light of this, improvements have been made with regard to processing timeliness," she said in a statement.
The Houston office has outsourced some of its claims processing to VA facilities elsewhere in Texas and other states and it's been authorized to hire 105 employees to improve efficiency, Martinez said.
At a congressional hearing in Washington last week, VA Deputy Undersecretary for Benefits Michael Walcoff said it is incorrect to designate all claims around the country as a backlog because the total number "includes all claims received, whether pending for just a few hours or as long as six months."
Veterans advocates partially attribute the increase in claims to troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with severe injuries and mental health problems, as well as legislation that made it easier for Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange to qualify for disability payments.
Richard Jimenez, a 27-year-old Marine veteran from the Houston suburb of Tomball, has been told he might have to wait two to five years for the appeal of his disability claim rating for injuries he suffered during two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan to be processed.
Jimenez first applied for disability benefits three years ago after being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, constant ringing in his ears, arthritis in both knees, hearing loss, traumatic brain injury and pain caused by a bone fragment in his back.
"It perplexes me that people could get welfare in a much smaller time frame," he said.
