Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS)

See the following -

AFGE Rep: VA Paperless Claims System Shuts Down On A Weekly Basis

Bob Brewin | Nextgov | February 6, 2014

The Veterans Affairs Department’s $492 million paperless Veterans Benefits Management System routinely shuts down on roughly a weekly basis, according to reports from members of the American Federation of Government Employees who use the system. Read More »

Another Day, Another Shutdown For The VA Claims System

Bob Brewin | Nextgov | February 10, 2014

I have received reports from Veterans Benefits Administration offices that the paperless Veterans Benefits Management System once again experienced a nationwide shutdown, an occurrence so routine it soon will not fit the definition of news. Read More »

Army, Air Force Tap Goodwill Industries To Scan And Send Records To VA

Bob Brewin | Nextgov | February 4, 2014

The Army and Air Force have contracted with a division of Goodwill Industries to scan and then transmit to the Veterans Affairs Department millions of pages of service treatment records of Army and Air Force personnel discharged this year. Read More »

Executive Spotlight: Don Mestas, Harris VP On Healthcare Offerings, M&A Activity And Ongoing VA Work

David J. Barton | ExecutiveBiz | March 20, 2013

Don Mestas serves as vice president of government healthcare solutions at Harris Corp., where he manages the company’s business with the departments of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Health and Human Services and other government customers. Read More »

If Shutdown Persists, VA Will Cut Off Claims Payments To Vets On Nov. 1

Bob Brewin | Nextgov | October 9, 2013

If the government shutdown persists until late October, the Veterans Affairs Department will cut off disability, pension, compensation and education claims to 5.18 million veterans, surviving spouses and children on Nov. 1, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki told a hearing of the House VA Committee Wednesday. Read More »

Navy To VA: We Printed Out Health Records And Mailed Them

Bob Brewin | Nextgov | December 19, 2013

Decades after the Pentagon and Veterans Affairs Department developed separate electronic health records for military personnel and veterans, here’s how the Navy transfers potentially millions of pages of sailors’ and Marines’ medical files to VA: It prints them out on paper and mails them via the U.S. Postal Service, Nextgov has learned. Read More »

NY And LA Vets: Take A Long Hike As Your Disability Claims Ripen

Bob Brewin | Nextgov | March 13, 2013

The Veterans Affairs Department reports it has a backlog of 898,861 disability claims, with 632,358, or 70.5 percent stuck in the system for over 125 days. Read More »

Senate Committee Questions Shinseki's VA Budget Request

Erin McCann | Government Health IT | April 16, 2013

Before a congressional hearing Monday, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki requested a $152.7 billion department budget for fiscal year 2014, including $3.683 billion for information technology systems. Read More »

Shinseki Wants A Budget For The VA

Anthony Brino | Government Health IT | October 9, 2013

Veterans will still receive medical and hospital care no matter how long the federal government is shut down, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki told lawmakers, but funding for benefits and other programs may run out in November, threatening veterans’ financial health. Read More »

Shinseki: Utah VA ‘Superb’ In Pilot Of New System For Disability Claims

Kristen Moulton | Salt Lake Tribune | June 25, 2013

Veterans can now file their disability claims online, a move that will help the Department of Veterans Affairs erase its backlog of claims in 2015, V.A. Secretary Eric Shinseki said Tuesday in Salt Lake City. Read More »

Sixty-Seven Senators Urge Obama To Resolve VA Claims Backlog

Bob Brewin | Nextgov | April 29, 2013

More than two-thirds of the U.S. Senate sent a letter to President Obama Monday urging his “direct and public involvement” to end the Veterans Affairs Department’s disability claims backlog. Read More »

Technology Helps VA Disability Claim Decisions, Official Says

Press Release | Department of Defense (DoD) | February 6, 2014

A new initiative between the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments has produced technology to help VA expedite disability claim decisions, a Defense Health Agency senior official told a House panel yesterday. Read More »

Thanks, Roger

Bob Brewin | Nextgov | February 28, 2013

Veterans Affairs Chief Information Officer Roger Baker held his last monthly media call today, a free flowing back-and-forth unprecedented in the 28 years I have covered the federal government. Read More »

The Tragedy Of Roger Baker

David Perera | FierceGovernmentIT | February 19, 2013

Roger Baker's decision to leave the Veterans Affairs Department is, on reflection, a tragedy. Read More »

The VA’s Generational Problem

Juliette Kayyem | The Boston Globe | May 27, 2013

This week, we honor those who have died in America’s wars. And those who survive. [...] Nonetheless, support for veterans has taken a decidedly political turn lately as calls mount for the secretary of veterans affairs, Eric Shinseki, to resign. Read More »