Sullivan County veterans group warns of proposed VA staffing cuts, says AI-driven claim processing is creating errors

Sullivan County — County veterans service leaders told the Sullivan County Veterans Committee that proposed Department of Veterans Affairs staffing cuts and recent automation of claims processing are creating service delays and a sharp increase in appeals.

Steve, director of the Veterans Service Agency for Sullivan County, said the VA has discussed plans to cut about 80,000 positions nationwide and that the agency remains tens of thousands of medical staff short. “The VA would like to cut 80,000 more positions and return VA staffing numbers to 2019 levels,” Steve said. He added that earlier data showed roughly 90,000 vacancies two years ago and that the most current figures point toward about 60,000 medical vacancies in VA medical positions.

The committee was told those staffing and hiring issues have contributed to appointment delays and that the VA has increasingly relied on community care to meet demand. Steve said the VA secretary has signaled veterans to “get used to it,” a message Steve said amounts to preparing for “growing pains” as the agency shifts more care into the community.

Why it matters: Committee members said the staffing changes and adoption of automated decision-making are already affecting veterans in Sullivan County through longer waits for mental-health and specialty appointments and by producing what local advocates describe as flawed benefits decisions.

At the meeting, Steve described widespread errors after the VA implemented AI tools for claims processing. “Since the implementation of AI processing, there have been widespread issues causing an unusually high error rate with decisions,” he said, adding that the AI frequently mislabels or miscategorizies medical records, which can cause human adjudicators to miss evidence and approve incorrect rulings. The county office staff said they have intervened on individual files but cannot manually catch every error among thousands of claims.

Local advocates said they have raised the problems with national veterans groups and with members of Congress. Steve said he and other county leaders have contacted federal lawmakers and national commanders; he said House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chair Mark Takano and Sen. Richard Blumenthal were working on bills to limit the proposed workforce reductions.

The committee discussed two near-term local responses. First, county staff have worked to strengthen the county’s ability to refer veterans to community care providers when the VA cannot provide timely appointments. Steve described a straightforward process for a VA clinician to sign a consult for community care; he said Monticello-area veterans who use the Monticello clinic can be referred to local providers as needed. Second, the county continues training and legal support links: staff completed American Legion Department Service Officer training and said their office now has a direct line to the American Legion National Claims Office and to the appeals firm Bergmann & Moore.

Committee members highlighted local efforts to help veterans navigate errors, including the administrative work of April Barshau, the county administrative assistant, who the committee credited with helping correct AI-related submission problems and expedite individual claims.

Local data presented at the meeting included county transportation counts for VA medical appointments and cemetery statistics that illustrate demand: in January the county provided two transports to Albany, 45 to Castlepointe and 34 local medical transports; in February those counts were three to Albany, 43 to Castlepointe and 23 local transports. The county reported 1,992 total burials in its veterans cemetery to date, including 1,173 veterans buried alone and 145 dependents.

The Veterans Committee did not take formal action on the federal staffing proposals; members said they will continue outreach to federal and state lawmakers and to national veterans groups.

The committee plans follow-up work with county and state representatives to streamline communication and referrals for veterans with complex needs.