Every year, about 400,000 veterans or others receiving VA benefits die and their awards are canceled, according to department statistics. In March, the enrollment system updated more than 130,000 dates of death in conjunction with Social Security’s official rolls to cut back on pending applications. The VA changed its procedures to address the issue, but it isn’t yet clear whether the new system is effective. The Department of Veterans Affairs has mistakenly declared thousands of veterans to be deceased and canceled their benefits over the past five years, a new snafu to emerge at the embattled department. Over the past decade, the VA has used what is called the death match program to prevent people from cashing benefits checks sent to deceased veterans.

Source: Fox News May 25, 2016 18:41 UTC