As part of its ongoing transformation from paper-based to electronic claims processing, the Department of Veterans Affairs has continued to improve the automated payment of benefits for Veterans participating in the Post-9/11 GI Bill education program.  As a result, VA is now providing benefit payments to currently enrolled students in an average of six days – cutting by more than half the processing time experienced during the spring enrollment period last year.

This enhancement to VA’s automated processing system, called the Long Term Solution (LTS), uses approximately 80 business rules to support end-to-end automation of Post-9/11 GI Bill claims, ensuring accurate payments without the need for manual handling.

During the month of February, 46 percent of incoming documents (over 115,000) for enrolled students were fully automated, and an additional 33 percent were partially automated.  For enrolled students starting a new semester of classes, processing is taking an average of six days to complete.  For new students using the benefit for the first time, the average time to establish their eligibility under the Post-9/11 GI Bill is around 24 days.

“We are happy to report that our newest technology has substantially reduced the amount of time it takes to process Veterans’ education claims,” said Under Secretary for Benefits Allison A. Hickey. “It’s a good example of VBA’s transformation that is delivering better service to the fast-growing number of Post 9/11 GI Bill participants.”

The rules-based processing approach LTS uses is also being built into VA’s technology for VA’s paperless disability claims processing—the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS).

Over the past three and 1/2 years, VA has provided $27 billion in Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to approximately 938,000 Veterans, Servicemembers, and their families, and to the universities, colleges, and trade schools they attend.  For more information on VA education benefits go to http://www.gibill.va.gov.