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Problem at VA is leadership, lawmakers agree
Agency statistics were inflated, IG finds
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Sep 13, 2007 18:26:39 EDT
Two key lawmakers who don't see eye to eye on much when discussing veterans'
programs have reached similar conclusions about the scheduling of medical
appointments by the Veterans Affairs Department.
Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind., former chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs
Committee and now its ranking Republican, and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., a
Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee member and a member of the Senate
Democratic leadership, both blame poor leadership at VA for inflated claims
about how quickly veterans are being seen for appointments.
A VA inspector general report released Monday found only 75 percent of
veterans are receiving appointments within 30 days, not the more than 90
percent claimed by VA.
In some areas, the waiting times were even longer. In Columbia, S.C., and
Chillicothe, Ohio, only 64 percent of veterans were seen in the 30-day
window set by VA as its goal, the report said.
In one case, the IG said a disabled veteran waited 259 days for an
appointment. "When a severely disabled veteran waits nine months for an
appointment because he 'fell through the cracks,' that is grossly
unacceptable," Buyer said.
According to the report, VA made it seem as if the average waiting time was
shorter by excluding many people from their calculations and by not keeping
accurate records.
VA did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.
Murray said manipulating waiting-list statistics to make it seem that VA is
performing better than it is prevents Congress from providing help.
"If the VA had been frank about waiting times and backlogs from the
beginning, we would have been able to invest in busy facilities and allocate
resources properly," she said.
She accused the Bush administration of manipulating the waiting lists as
part of an attempt to hide the full cost of the war in Iraq.
"Over and over again - in their sales job - this administration has either
failed to make the cost of caring for our wounded warriors a priority or, as
we found this week, blatantly misled Congress and the American people about
the cost," she said. "How can we be expected to trust this administration
about the continuation of a 'surge' when they continue to cover up the true
costs of this war?"
Murray said she asked VA in February about the impact of treating combat
veterans and was told it would be "minimal."
"Not only does this statement fly in the face of reason, it boggles the
mind," Murray said. "I have serious doubts about the level of frankness we
can expect" from VA.
Buyer said VA had been using the 90 percent success figure as "evidence of
sound management," but the IG report shows "the health care administration's
performance is far below that."
He believes the "root of the problem" is "largely one of management," and
said he expects VA to quickly made improvements.
"For over a decade, Congress has authorized VA billions of dollars more than
it requested, largely to improve access, as well as to ensure quality and
expand certain services, such as mental health care," Buyer said. "I have
long held that good management is the key to VA's
Agency statistics were inflated, IG finds
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Sep 13, 2007 18:26:39 EDT
Two key lawmakers who don't see eye to eye on much when discussing veterans'
programs have reached similar conclusions about the scheduling of medical
appointments by the Veterans Affairs Department.
Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind., former chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs
Committee and now its ranking Republican, and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., a
Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee member and a member of the Senate
Democratic leadership, both blame poor leadership at VA for inflated claims
about how quickly veterans are being seen for appointments.
A VA inspector general report released Monday found only 75 percent of
veterans are receiving appointments within 30 days, not the more than 90
percent claimed by VA.
In some areas, the waiting times were even longer. In Columbia, S.C., and
Chillicothe, Ohio, only 64 percent of veterans were seen in the 30-day
window set by VA as its goal, the report said.
In one case, the IG said a disabled veteran waited 259 days for an
appointment. "When a severely disabled veteran waits nine months for an
appointment because he 'fell through the cracks,' that is grossly
unacceptable," Buyer said.
According to the report, VA made it seem as if the average waiting time was
shorter by excluding many people from their calculations and by not keeping
accurate records.
VA did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.
Murray said manipulating waiting-list statistics to make it seem that VA is
performing better than it is prevents Congress from providing help.
"If the VA had been frank about waiting times and backlogs from the
beginning, we would have been able to invest in busy facilities and allocate
resources properly," she said.
She accused the Bush administration of manipulating the waiting lists as
part of an attempt to hide the full cost of the war in Iraq.
"Over and over again - in their sales job - this administration has either
failed to make the cost of caring for our wounded warriors a priority or, as
we found this week, blatantly misled Congress and the American people about
the cost," she said. "How can we be expected to trust this administration
about the continuation of a 'surge' when they continue to cover up the true
costs of this war?"
Murray said she asked VA in February about the impact of treating combat
veterans and was told it would be "minimal."
"Not only does this statement fly in the face of reason, it boggles the
mind," Murray said. "I have serious doubts about the level of frankness we
can expect" from VA.
Buyer said VA had been using the 90 percent success figure as "evidence of
sound management," but the IG report shows "the health care administration's
performance is far below that."
He believes the "root of the problem" is "largely one of management," and
said he expects VA to quickly made improvements.
"For over a decade, Congress has authorized VA billions of dollars more than
it requested, largely to improve access, as well as to ensure quality and
expand certain services, such as mental health care," Buyer said. "I have
long held that good management is the key to VA's
