The VA office recently came out with the option for a Decision Ready Claim which you can find our other blog post about here. Now, the VA is expanding the DRC to include more types of claims.
UPDATE – February 13, 2019
The VA has decided that the DRC program is NOT the best option for serving Veterans. They are reverting back to Fully Developed Claims because this is the system that works.
Brian Reese includes, “I’m not at all surprised of this news. We’ve been teaching veterans for a long time to use the Fully Developed Claims program, to file their own claims online for free, or to use a free representative, such as a VSO.”
Directly from the VA,
“The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) wants to inform you about updates to the Decision Ready Claims (DRC) program. In collaboration with Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs), VA has determined that Veterans are best served by focusing on the continued success of the Fully Developed Claims (FDC) program. Additionally, VA will continue to focus on the success of the Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) program, which provides benefits to Service members following their separation from service. Therefore, VA will no longer request examinations under the DRC program beginning February 15, 2019. VA will continue to process claims in DRC until the inventory has been completed. Further, Veterans can continue to expect a decision within 30 days from the date VA receives their claim as VA completes the remaining DRCs in its inventory.”
Original post
The VA office is working on expanding this program in order to provide faster service to their Veterans. As well as attempting to make service digital.
With the new expansion, now surviving spouses can file for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation. Transitioning out of service members are able available to file a pre-discharge claim within 90 days of leaving the military.
The promise with a DRC is that Veterans will receive a decision within 30 days of the VA having the claim. The other qualification with this claim is that Veterans must go through a Veteran Service Organization. By doing this, claims can be immediately processed.
While there are more options now for a DRC claim, that may not be the best option.
According to Brian Reese, founder of VA Claims Insider, he believes the Decision Ready Claims (DRC) process is nothing more than another failed attempt by the VA to “appear” faster. But faster doesn’t always mean better–especially not for a veteran’s VA disability claim. Brian Reese states, “VA disability claims get denied for two reasons:
(1) Not enough medical evidence and/or
(2) No clear “Nexus” to prove service-connection. The DRC process shifts the burden of proof (medical evidence) completely on the veteran, and that isn’t always a good thing, which could result in a faster claim decision, but a lower rating or more denials for veterans.”
He believes that submitting a Fully Developed Claim (FDC) is still the best option for most Veterans to get the claim they deserve.
By filling an FDC, you are able to work in a strategy session with one of our Veteran Coaches. To receive this benefit, follow this link to join the VA Claims Insider Elite group!
