Report: No proof veterans died because of delays
The Veterans Affairs Department says investigators have found no proof that delays in care caused any deaths at a VA hospital in Phoenix, deflating an explosive allegation that helped expose a troubled health care system in which veterans waited months for appointments while employees falsified records to cover up the delays.
Obama to sign veterans’ health care overhaul
Veterans are expected to have an easier time getting government-paid health care from local doctors under a bill that President Barack Obama is set to sign into law Thursday.
VA cites progress on backlog; Congress disagrees
The Department of Veterans Affairs says it has made “tremendous progress” in reducing a disability claims backlog that reached above 600,000 early last year. Members of Congress and the department’s assistant inspector general don’t believe it.
New VA secretary nominee not a health care expert
A onetime Army Ranger and former CEO of a Fortune 500 consumer products company, Robert McDonald may face his toughest challenge yet in fixing the huge, scandal-plagued Veterans Affairs Department.
Review: Veterans Affairs a struggling agency beset with ills
Citing “significant and chronic system failures” in the nation’s health system for veterans, a review ordered by President Barack Obama portrays the Department of Veterans Affairs as a struggling agency battling a corrosive culture of distrust, lacking in resources and ill-prepared to deal with an influx of new and older veterans with a range of medical and mental health care needs.
Lawmakers push to approve unified veterans’ bill
After two overwhelming votes in two days, members of Congress say they are confident they can agree on a bill to improve veterans’ health care and send it to the president’s desk by the end of the month.
Congress moving to ensure speedier vet care
United in response to a national uproar, Congress is suddenly moving quickly to address military veterans’ long waits for care at VA hospitals.
VA official concedes ‘integrity issue,’ apologizes
A top Veterans Affairs Department official is acknowledging “an integrity issue here among some of our leaders” as the embattled agency reels from mounting evidence that workers fabricated data on veterans’ waits for medical appointments in an effort to mask frequent, long delays.
VA: 45-day average wait for first-time visits in Miss.
Patients seeking care through the G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Veterans Administration Medical center in Jackson are waiting an average of 45 days for their first appointment with a primary care doctor, according to a wide-ranging audit released Monday.
VA acting chief: Retaliation will not be tolerated
Investigators said they are examining allegations that supervisors in the veterans’ health system retaliated against 37 employees who complained about practices such as falsified records used to cover up months-long delays in scheduling appointments. The acting VA chief said such reprisals would not be tolerated.
Veterans Administration head says 18 vets left off waiting list have died
In a new revelation in the growing VA scandal, the organization’s acting head says that an additional 18 veterans whose names were kept off an official electronic Veterans Affairs appointment list have died.
Shinseki exit breaks Obama’s crisis mold
This was not in the Barack Obama playbook.
How VA clinics falsified appointment records
Fake appointments, unofficial logs kept on the sly and appointments made without telling the patient are among tricks used to disguise delays in seeing and treating veterans at Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics.
House bill would speed VA firings as outcry grows
Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki would be granted more authority to fire or demote senior executives under a bill headed to the House floor. The measure comes as pressure builds on Capitol Hill to overhaul the beleaguered agency in response to allegations of treatment delays and preventable deaths.
Obama and Congress move to address VA firestorm
The Obama administration and Congress are moving quickly to respond to a growing political firestorm over allegations of treatment delays and falsified records at veterans’ hospitals nationwide.
Congress growing impatient on inquiry in VA deaths
Patience is wearing thin in Congress as lawmakers confront allegations of treatment delays and falsified patient-appointment reports at health centers run by the Veterans Affairs Department.
VA under fire for proposed filing rule
For veterans seeking disability compensation, the application process is supposed to be so easy that a handwritten note on a napkin will initiate a claim or an appeal.
Man charged with taking gun to Jackson VA
JACKSON — A man has been ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation after being arrested while acting erratically and walking into a U.S. Department of
VA opens clinic for female veterans in Jackson
JACKSON — The face of the country’s military has changed over the years with more diversity than ever before. On Monday, the G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery
VA hospital director says troubles are in the past
The new director of the veterans’ hospital in Jackson is struggling to change perceptions of the institution as members of Congress and a government oversight office pursue investigations into misconduct.