The backlog of compensation and pension exam requests has only been worsened by the pandemic, leaving hundreds of thousands of veterans waiting.
According to an article published by Stars and Stripes, “The exams are a crucial part of the process to determine whether veterans are eligible for the Department of Veterans Affairs benefits. The department suspended the exams in April 2020, as coronavirus cases spread across the United States, and during that time about 200,000 requests accumulated, said David McLenachen, executive director of the VA’s medical disability examination office…The VA is scrambling to eradicate the backlog of appointments by the end of the fiscal year Sept. 30, but lawmakers and veterans’ advocates remain skeptical of the agency’s ability to achieve that goal.”