Veterans Affairs Audit Reports 100,000 Veterans Face Long Waits for Medical Services

Amid the controversy surrounding the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), an internal audit was released documenting that >100,000 veterans are experiencing waits of >90 days for appointments at medical centers run by the organization.

Staff at 76% of VA facilities surveyed reported that they were instructed to misrepresent appointment data at least once, according to the audit. In mid-May, 57,436 veterans were waiting for appointments that could not be scheduled within 90 days, and 43,000 had appointments that were >90 days in the future. Over a 10-year period, 63,869 new enrollees in the VA healthcare system had requested appointments that were never scheduled. The agency said it is working to contact all of these people in order to expedite care.

Lawmakers from both political parties have expressed outrage over the cover-up. Republican House Speaker John Boehner called the findings “a national disgrace” and said the House of Representatives would pass a measure this week to let veterans seek private care at the VA's expense if they had to wait >30 days for an appointment.

Richard Griffin, the VA’s acting inspector general, said he is discussing evidence of possible criminal activity in the scandal with the Justice Department. Investigators are examining 69 VA facilities for potential manipulation of data on the part of VA employees.

The agency also said it would take emergency steps to rush medical care to veterans, including hiring temporary staff, keeping clinics open later, sending more patients to private care providers, and bringing in mobile medical units to some locations. The VA will freeze hiring at headquarters offices. Last week, VA acting Secretary Sloan Gibson said that at least 18 Arizona veterans had died while waiting for appointments.

The VA system has >1700 clinics, hospitals, and other medical facilities, serving 8.9 million veterans. This is the largest US healthcare system.—Kerri Fitzgerald

Source: Thomson Reuters. 2014; Audit shows 100,000 US veterans face long waits for healthcare.