{"id":13239,"date":"2021-03-23T16:13:42","date_gmt":"2021-03-23T16:13:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/03\/23\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:41:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:41:45","slug":"skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2021\/03\/23\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\/","title":{"rendered":"Skepticism surrounds VA promise to draw down backlog of compensation and pension exams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Veterans Affairs officials are confident they will be able to reduce the backlog of hundreds of thousands of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/07\/02\/veterans-compensation-and-pension-exams-ramp-up-even-as-coronavirus-cases-rise\/\" target=_blank>compensation and pension exams<\/a> by this fall, but watchdog groups are expressing more skepticism that such a goal is realistic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYes, they have increased examiners across the nation, but the new alternate methods tend not to be as impactful as Veterans Benefits Administration officials had hoped,\u201d Brent Arronte, deputy assistant at the VA Office of the Inspector General, told lawmakers during a House hearing on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy fear right now in watching these numbers every month is that we might be getting into a situation where they\u2019re just treading water.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Compensation and pension exams are a key part of the process for veterans to receive disability benefits. In most cases before payouts begin, VA requires some type of review by a medical expert to confirm a veteran\u2019s injuries and the severity of its impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/03\/19\/all-veterans-their-spouses-and-caregivers-eligible-to-get-covid-vaccine-through-va-under-newly-passed-bill\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21054771109087.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">All veterans, their spouses and caregivers eligible to get COVID vaccine through VA under newly-passed bill<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The new bill would make more than 20 million individuals eligible to get doses through VA.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All compensation and pension exams were suspended for two months in spring 2020 in response to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/03\/18\/coronavirus-rates-at-va-medical-centers-fall-to-five-month-low\/\" target=_blank>the coronavirus pandemic<\/a>. Veterans Affairs officials said that pause alone added about 200,000 exams to the backlog of unmet requests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the start of March, about 357,000 exam requests were pending, nearly three times the 130,000 pending at the end of February 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Veterans Affairs officials have repeatedly promised that veterans awaiting exams will not be punished for the delays, and will receive appropriate back benefits once their cases are approved. But outside advocates have noted that still means months of waiting for veterans to have their cases finalized before those payouts begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">David McLenachen, executive director of the Veterans Benefit Administration\u2019s Medical Disability Examination Office, said officials hope to bring down the backlog to pre-pandemic levels by the end of this fiscal year, Sept. 30.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said exam operations are returning to normal, and outside contractors have dramatically ramped up their workload in recent months. However, the department still needs to process about 8,000 more exams a week than they are today in order to reach the fall goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Tuesday, Arronte said that online health meetings and other alternatives to in-person exams have helped efforts to address the backlog. But they still make up only a small fraction of total exams, meaning their impact thus far has been limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And officials from the Government Accountability Office this week released a new analysis of the backlog and chastised VA leaders for not developing a clear, long-term plan to address the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McLenachen dismissed that criticism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI would love to do ordinary business planning and forecast out when certain events would happen and when we can achieve the goal,\u201d he told lawmakers. \u201cBut simply stating that we need to plan for when exactly certain events will happen between now and the goal that we\u2019ve established is a very difficult thing to do during the pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, members of the House committee said they have concerns about that approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere should be a written plan,\u201d said Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., chairwoman of the House Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee\u2019s panel on disability assistance. \u201cYou can always use it as a planning tool and deviate from it as needed. But I think a written plan would help all of the stakeholders and the veterans understand the timeline for reducing this backlog.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/03\/19\/lawmaker-wants-to-strip-benefits-from-veterans-involved-in-januarys-attack-on-congress\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"226\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20210106_161442.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Lawmaker wants to strip benefits from veterans involved in January\u2019s attack on Congress<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Rep. Ruben Gallego says that individuals who attacked the government should not be able to receive military benefits from it.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Veterans groups said the challenge facing VA isn\u2019t just the immediate backlog total, but the potential of what it can become.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The department already has about 30,000 new cases enter the system each month. But with new changes mandated by Congress in recent years to presumptive conditions for tens of thousands of Vietnam veterans, those numbers could increase. Future approval of other toxic exposure benefits issues like burn pit exposure could lead to even higher levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe moment VA suspended all exams an unavoidable backlog began building,\u201d said Ryan Gallucci, director of the National Veterans Service at the Veterans of Foreign Wars. \u201cRebuilding from this pandemic will present challenges to everyone involved in the VA claims process, and we must all work to ensure veterans do not slip through the cracks.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Department officials have nearly 360,000 unfinished medical exams right now, about three times the pre-pandemic total.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":31379,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,23,93,12,25,67,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3226],"class_list":["post-13239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"D5PLZX7KB5F3LCT4U5MDESHWWA","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2021\/03\/23\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Skepticism surrounds VA promise to draw down backlog of compensation and pension exams - Marine Corps Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Department officials have nearly 360,000 unfinished medical exams right now, about three times the pre-pandemic total.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Skepticism surrounds VA promise to draw down backlog of compensation and pension exams\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Department officials have nearly 360,000 unfinished medical exams right now, about three times the pre-pandemic total.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2021\/03\/23\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Marine Corps Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-23T16:13:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T05:41:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Leo Shane III\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Leo Shane III\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/23\\\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/23\\\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Skepticism surrounds VA promise to draw down backlog of compensation and pension exams\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2021-03-23T16:13:42+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T05:41:45+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/23\\\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 687,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/23\\\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/25498317002_57fcb0a36c_o.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Home\",\n\t                \"Middle Column\",\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Pentagon &amp; Congress\",\n\t                \"Veterans\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/23\\\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/23\\\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/23\\\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Skepticism surrounds VA promise to draw down backlog of compensation and pension exams - Marine Corps Times\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/23\\\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/23\\\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/25498317002_57fcb0a36c_o.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2021-03-23T16:13:42+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T05:41:45+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Department officials have nearly 360,000 unfinished medical exams right now, about three times the pre-pandemic total.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/23\\\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/23\\\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/23\\\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/25498317002_57fcb0a36c_o.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/25498317002_57fcb0a36c_o.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/23\\\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Veterans\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"veterans\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Skepticism surrounds VA promise to draw down backlog of compensation and pension exams\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Marine Corps Times\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Marine Corps - Independent News For Marines | Marine Corps Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Marine Corps Times\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/marine-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/marine-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Marine Corps Times\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Skepticism surrounds VA promise to draw down backlog of compensation and pension exams - Marine Corps Times","description":"Department officials have nearly 360,000 unfinished medical exams right now, about three times the pre-pandemic total.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Skepticism surrounds VA promise to draw down backlog of compensation and pension exams","og_description":"Department officials have nearly 360,000 unfinished medical exams right now, about three times the pre-pandemic total.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2021\/03\/23\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\/","og_site_name":"Marine Corps Times","article_published_time":"2021-03-23T16:13:42+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T05:41:45+00:00","author":"Leo Shane III","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Leo Shane III","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2021\/03\/23\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2021\/03\/23\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Skepticism surrounds VA promise to draw down backlog of compensation and pension exams","datePublished":"2021-03-23T16:13:42+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T05:41:45+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2021\/03\/23\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\/"},"wordCount":687,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2021\/03\/23\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/25498317002_57fcb0a36c_o.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Home","Middle Column","News","Newsletters","Pentagon &amp; Congress","Veterans"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2021\/03\/23\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2021\/03\/23\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2021\/03\/23\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\/","name":"Skepticism surrounds VA promise to draw down backlog of compensation and pension exams - Marine Corps Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2021\/03\/23\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2021\/03\/23\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/25498317002_57fcb0a36c_o.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2021-03-23T16:13:42+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T05:41:45+00:00","description":"Department officials have nearly 360,000 unfinished medical exams right now, about three times the pre-pandemic total.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2021\/03\/23\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2021\/03\/23\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2021\/03\/23\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/25498317002_57fcb0a36c_o.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/25498317002_57fcb0a36c_o.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2021\/03\/23\/skepticism-surrounds-va-promise-to-draw-down-backlog-of-compensation-and-pension-exams\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Veterans","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/","ad_zone":"veterans"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Skepticism surrounds VA promise to draw down backlog of compensation and pension exams"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/","name":"Marine Corps Times","description":"Marine Corps - Independent News For Marines | Marine Corps Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#organization","name":"Marine Corps Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/marine-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/marine-logo-white.png","caption":"Marine Corps Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Marine Corps Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/25498317002_57fcb0a36c_o.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13239"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84806,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13239\/revisions\/84806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13239"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=13239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}