WASHINGTON — The Veterans Affairs department’s inspector general on Wednesday confirmed allegations that staff at VA medical facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, used scheduling methods that covered up months-long wait times for health care appointments for veterans.
Releasing an interim report on allegations that have become a source of embarrassment for President Barack Obama’s administration, the VA internal watchdog said it identified 1,700 veterans who were waiting for a primary care appointment but were not listed on the agency’s electronic waiting list.
“Most importantly, these veterans were and continue to be at risk of being forgotten or lost in Phoenix HCS’s convoluted scheduling process,” the report said.
The inspector general said that a sample of 226 veterans waited on average 115 days for their first primary care appointment at Phoenix-area clinics, far higher than the 26-day average reported by the Phoenix VA and the department’s 14-day goal.
Obama was briefed on the report by his chief of staff, Denis McDonough, and the White House said that the VA must take immediate steps to contact veterans waiting for care.
“The president found the findings extremely troubling,” White House spokeswoman Jessica Santillo said.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki called the findings “reprehensible” and directed the Phoenix facility to “immediately triage” the veterans to get them care.
Shinseki is conducting his own review, and was expected to deliver preliminary results from that effort to Obama this week.
Last week Obama made it clear that Shinseki’s job could be on the line depending on the results of the investigations.
The inspector general’s office said it needed more information before it could evaluate whether the delays resulted in a delay in diagnosis or treatment, or deaths. VA doctors in Phoenix have said that some 40 veterans had died while waiting for care.
The report spurred new calls from Capitol Hill for Shinseki, a retired four-star general, to step down, including from Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican, reversing his previous wait-and-see approach to the VA chief.
“I think it’s time for Gen. Shinseki to move on,” McCain, a former Vietnam War prisoner of war, told CNN. “I think it’s reached that point … this keeps piling up.”
Democratic Sen. Mark Udall of Colorado, who is on the Armed Services Committee and faces a tough race in November midterm elections, also called for Shinseki to quit.
Republican Rep. Buck McKeon of California, the House Armed Services Committee chairman, said the VA needs aggressive reform.
“Gen. Shinseki has given his life to serving this country and for that, we are in his debt. However, the problems at the Department of Veterans Affairs have grown beyond what this nation can bear,” he said. “I believe America’s veterans would be best served with a fresh set of eyes on the VA system.”
The chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, Republican Rep. Jeff Miller of Florida, said Shinseki should step down, and also said Attorney General Eric Holder should launch a criminal investigation into the matter.