Benefits Delivery Network
VA processes more than 12 million benefit transactions every month and distributes billions of dollars in Veteran entitlements every year. The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA)’s primary database and payment system, Benefit Delivery Network (BDN), is more than 50 years old and poses significant risks to VA’s ability to provide the benefits Veterans need in a secure and timely manner.
In 2017, OIT partnered with VBA to develop a decommissioning roadmap to migrate functions to more modern and advanced systems, while allowing the currentsystem to continue to function and process benefits. The plan decouples each BDN component from the existing network so that individual components can receive maintenance or upgrades without shutting down the entire system. Once decoupled, components will be transferred to a modernized system. For example, compensation and burials will be transferred to the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS), and pensions will be transferred to the Financial and Accounting System (FAS). At the end of FY18, all non-education capabilities will have transitioned from BDN to a more efficient and cost- effective managed services function.
Modernizing the BDN will ensure that VBA-wide financial payment and processing remains feasible and Veterans continue to receive the benefits they have earned.
Caseflow
OIT partnered with VBA to develop a new suite of tools, Caseflow, to modernize the Veterans’ benefits appeals process.
Caseflow replaces the 1980s-era Veterans Appeals Control and Locator System (VACOLS), which VA designed to handle paper-based appeals. VA designed Caseflow with an eye toward meeting the requirements of the 2017 Appeals Modernization Act, which provides new options for Veterans seeking review of an original claim determination.
In the coming months, Caseflow will replace VACOLS in stages. As OIT installs new Caseflow functions, we will turn off corresponding functions in VACOLS. Once this process is complete, Caseflow will handle all aspects of the appeals process.
The Caseflow system includes multiple applications, each of which helps VA employees manage different aspects of an appeal. Caseflow Intake, for example, integrates with the VBMS to receive and track all review requests under the Appeals Modernization Act. Caseflow Reader retrieves documents from VBMS in an interface designed to meet the needs of board attorneys and judges. Caseflow’s eFolder Express enables a one-click download of a Veteran’s eFolder, which will help facilitate and accelerate appeals processing.
