A probe by the VA inspector general determined that the online process – known as the Beneficiary Travel Self-Service System – failed in four key areas. Image: Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffReacting to veterans’ complaints that ultimately resonated on Capitol Hill, the Department of Veterans Affairs has brought back travel reimbursement kiosks at more than 750 clinics and hospitals across the nation. Additionally, VA now plans to add more such kiosks at other facilities.
VA had eliminated the popular kiosks as part of a plan to switch to an online self-service system for travel reimbursement. Veterans complained that the new system did not work as planned, and they were being shorted in amounts of reimbursement they were due.
When word reached Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Montana, chair of the House Veterans’ Affairs technology and modernization subcommittee, the lawmaker outlined their plight in a letter to VA Secretary Denis McDonough.
A subsequent probe by the VA inspector general determined that the online process – known as the Beneficiary Travel Self-Service System – failed in four key areas: automated claims adjudication, reduced manual overrides, greater new system usage, and more self-service use.
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