Military & Veterans InTransition News

Launching New Community Initiative

Veterans will soon be able to log in to just one website to manage their benefits, apply for doctors’ appointments, and determine their eligibility for programs.

Tom Allin, the first chief veterans experience officer at the Veterans Affairs Department, said in an interview with Federal Times the website will go live around May 20, but will first be open to around 50 veterans to help beta test the navigation, fonts and organization of the new portal.

By the end of the year, all veterans will be able to use Veterans.gov to manage more than 350 benefit programs without having to switch websites, call multiple numbers or file large amounts of redundant paperwork.

Unified digital experience

The goal? A single unified digital experience that makes it easier for veterans to get the benefits they deserve, according to Allin.

The Veterans Affairs Department, still reeling from a scandal that showed some employees were manipulating patient wait lists in order to improve performance measures, has been pushing to improve customer service under the current VA secretary Bob McDonald. Allin is spearheading many of the customer service issues that veterans deal with every day.

“The two biggest initiatives that I am focused on right now is to try to make everything we do more consistent and number two, make it easier,” Allin said.

Once veterans register, the website will automatically know their eligibility levels for different programs and will tailor their experience using that information, according to Allin.