The Patriot Post® · VA IG Report Isn't Good

The Veterans Affairs Inspector General (IG) released a report Wednesday confirming 1,700 veterans were not on the official waiting list for appointments at the Phoenix VA. Instead, they were on the secret, off-the-books waiting list, where they waited an average of 115 days. Until veterans are placed on the official list, their “wait time” isn’t counted, which enabled Phoenix officials to claim the average wait was only 24 days. The report adds, “Most importantly, these veterans were and continue to be at risk of being forgotten or lost in Phoenix [Health Care System’s] convoluted scheduling process.” The IG is looking at 42 VA facilities in all, none of which received advance notice of the investigation because of “the risk of destruction of evidence, manipulation of data, and coaching staff on how to respond to our interview questions.” Perhaps that’s one reason why 18 previous reports about scheduling problems have been ignored. Even Democrats are now calling for the resignation of VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, but this is systemic rot and it indicates serious trouble ahead for ObamaCare. More…