[WTF] Over 1,700 Veterans Stranded in Phoenix Health Care System

As reported on May. 28, 2014 2:19pm By Pete Kasperowicz

A report released Wednesday says the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General has discovered 1,700 veterans in the VA’s Phoenix Health Care System (HCS) who are seeking medical treatment, but have yet to be put on a wait list by the VA.

That finding is a sign that the VA is continuing to manipulate wait-time data to give the appearance that veterans are not waiting very long to receive health treatment. The VA healthcare scandal started with reports out of Phoenix that said veterans were not being put on the electronic wait list until it was known that an appointment could be scheduled relatively quickly.

The Department of Veterans Affairs Inspector General released a report saying hundreds of veterans are still not on healthcare wait lists, a finding that will likely put more pressure on embattled VA Secretary Eric Shinseki. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Specifically, the report said the Inspector General has discovered 1,400 veterans on the electronic wait list that still don’t have a primary care appointment. But it also found 1,700 others who are also waiting, and yet are not on the electronic wait list.

“Most importantly, these veterans were and continue to be at risk of being forgotten or lost in Phoenix HCS’s convoluted scheduling process,” it said. It added that “inappropriate scheduling practices are systemic throughout VHA.”

FULL STORY:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/05/28/va-watchdog-finds-1700-stranded-veterans-in-phoenix-waiting-for-health-care/