VA officials tell House panel steps are reducing 'overdevelopment' that delays disability claims

At a House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee hearing, VA witnesses said the department is taking steps to curb “overdevelopment” — unnecessary requests for medical exams or records that can delay decisions on veterans' disability claims and add cost to taxpayers.

The issue matters because overdevelopment can lengthen wait times for veterans, result in incorrect claim outcomes through avoidable deferrals, and drive government spending on contracted exams. The committee cited a VA Office of Inspector General finding that from April through September 2023 VA paid about $1.4 million for unnecessary exams and noted legislation in Congress, H.R. 2137, the Review Every Veterans Claims Act, aimed at addressing the problem.

Kenneth Smith, Assistant Deputy Under Secretary for Field Operations and Acting Executive Director for Education Services at the Veterans Benefits Administration, told the subcommittee the VA has pursued three broad changes to reduce overdevelopment: improving decision-support tools, reshaping training, and upgrading the claims-distribution and casework systems.

Smith said the department refreshed a scheduling aid, called the Exam Scheduling Assistant, originally launched in 2023 and updated through the Overdevelopment Reduction Task Force. “Recent enhancements increase the tool's use by 48 and contributes to a reduction in monthly errors…