More Skeletons Tumble From VA Closet

INJOThe U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has been under the microscope for several years now, dating back to a 2014 scandal that involved secret waiting lists, which eventually cost VA Secretary (Ret.) Gen. Eric Shinseki his job.

And while the furor died down some after the initial shock over the way America's heroes were treated after they returned home, the promised changes to the system were slow in coming.

After three years of stagnation — and disturbingly few people fired — President Donald Trump finally signed into law the Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act.

The New York Times reported:

David Shulkin, a hospital management expert and the secretary of veteran affairs, has said the law will make it easier for him to purge problematic workers and restore public trust at an agency still plagued by a 2014 scandal over manipulating patient wait times.

“We must fulfill our duty to the nation's veterans,” Mr. Trump said at an East Room bill-signing ceremony, flanked by Sgt. Michael Verardo, who before retiring from the Army lost his left arm and left leg to an improvised explosive device in 2010 in Afghanistan. He faced three and a half years of waiting for the department to properly equip his home.

But on the heels of that good news came more bad...

While much of the initial VA scandal was focused on one clinic in Phoenix, it was clear that at least some of the problems were systemic. A recent report indicated just how systemic some of the worst problems were.

CBS reported:

The problem was even worse at the Los Angeles VA hospital, CBS News correspondent Melissa Villarreal reports.

A new report by the VA inspector general shows 43 percent of the 225 patients who died between October 2014 and August 2015 at the Los Angeles VA were waiting for appointments or needed tests they never got. However, the report does not conclude these patients “died as a result of delayed consults.”

Read the full story on IJR.com

Photo: Getty Images


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