The Department of Veterans Affairs announced Sept. 19 the awarding of 12 contracts between five firms totaling $6.8 billion to improve the Medical Disability Examination process (Compensation and Pension or Comp and Pen Examinations) for veterans.
The awards are intended to reduce Veterans’ wait times for examinations for service-connected benefits, thereby providing faster claims decisions in a more efficient and streamlined way.
“This is good news for Veterans who are waiting for VA to determine whether a condition can be considered service-connected,” said VA Secretary Robert A. McDonald. “For these veterans, we want the process to be smoother — from beginning to end. When we announced the MyVA initiative in 2014 to improve veterans’ experience with VA, that meant looking at every process and every product. These awards represent a way for us to improve a significant process for veterans.”
Contracts were awarded to the following firms:
* VetFed Resources, Inc., Alexandria, Va.
* Logistics Health, Inc., La Crosse, Wisc.
* Medical Support Los Angeles, A Medical Corporation, Pasadena, Calif.
* QTC Medical Services, Inc., Diamond Bar, Calif., and
* Veterans Evaluation Services, Inc., Houston, Texas.
The contracts are being awarded for a period of 12 months with (4) 12-month options, with an aggregate ceiling of $6.8 billion. The contracts will be managed by VA’s Strategic Acquisition Center based in Frederick, Md.