U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton in Washington, D.C., has ruled that the court does not have the authority to require the Department of Veterans Affairs to accelerate efforts to process disability claims, the AP/Washington Post reports. The Vietnam Veterans of America and the Veterans of Modern Warfare, which represent about 60,000 veterans, last month filed a lawsuit that sought to require VA to process disability claims within 90 days and resolve appeals within 180 days. At a hearing on Wednesday, Walton said that only Congress and the VA secretary have the authority to require the department to process disability claims within 90 days.

According to the AP/Post, thousands of veterans must wait six months for disability benefits, and appeals can take years to resolve (AP/Washington Post, 12/18).

Reprinted with kind permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

© 2008 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.