Problem at VA is leadership, lawmakers agree

Problem at VA is leadership, lawmakers agree
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.


Rest of article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2007/09/military_vetswait_reaction_070913w/


uhc comment: I thought Nicholson wanted to spend more time with his family. WTF is he still doing there?