Chief among the many initial concerns about the roll-out of the new Rapid Appeals Modernization Program (“RAMP”), a program through which a veteran with a pending appeal can withdraw her or his appeal from the “legacy” system and transfer it into a trial version of the new appeals system established by the Veterans’ Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act, was the fear that the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (“VA”) simply wouldn’t have the capacity to handle the new system. The recent behavior of the Denver Regional Office (“RO”) shows that those concerns were spot on.
Since the Denver RO Received RAMP Training, All Other Claims Seem to Have Stalled
Based on our experience and the experience of our Denver-area clients, it appears that, since the Denver RO received RAMP training in March, the office has stopped processing all non-RAMP claims. For the most part, we have only been able to make progress on RAMP claims.
We Can Make RAMP Work for You
While we are disappointed with the VA’s failure to successfully run both the legacy and RAMP systems, we are thrilled to have found a way to make RAMP work for most of our clients. If you are waiting for a decision in the Notice of Disagreement, Form 9, “certified to the Board but not yet activated for a Board decision, or “remand from the Board to VBA” stages and you are interested in trying RAMP as a means to expedite your claim, we urge you to contact us to discuss the most effective way to move forward. While most veterans can benefit from RAMP, many claims require individualized case development before they can be successful. Therefore, before you opt in, send us a note or give us a call at (877) 629-1712.