May 16, 2014 5:40 pm Veterans scandal risks engulfing Obama By Geoff Dyer in Washington
Amid contrived outrage over Benghazi and the improving fortunes of its healthcare reform, the Obama administration could be facing a genuine scandal about its treatment of military veterans that has the potential to attract broad political condemnation of its competence.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is facing mounting evidence that some of the hospitals it runs have been keeping two sets of books to make it look as if they were reducing waiting times to see a doctor.
More damning, the department is investigating the claims of a whistleblower doctor in Arizona that dozens of patients at one hospital died while they were languishing on a hidden waiting list without ever being given an appointment.
Richard Griffin, the department’s acting inspector general, admitted on Thursday that its review could lead to criminal charges. In the first political casualty of the scandal, Robert Petzel, the department’s undersecretary for heath, resigned on Friday.
If the evidence of mismanagement continues to accumulate, the Obama administration will find itself not in another partisan knife-fight, but under fire from both parties in a Congress where the uniformed military is venerated.
The veterans’ healthcare scandal is, in part, one of the unintended consequences of the wars in Afghanistan in Iraq, which have created “our 9/11 generation who have served with honour in more than a decade of war,” as President Barack Obama described them on Thursday.
More than 970,000 veterans from those wars have filed disability claims, taking the total enrolled in the VA system to 8.57m by the end of 2012.
At the same time, the healthcare system is dealing with the fact that many of the 6m veterans from the Vietnam era are now reaching the age when they start to require a lot of medical services. In 2010, the administration expanded coverage to exposure from Agent Orange, the chemical used during the war in Vietnam, prompting another surge of claimants.
The result has been a constant struggle to meet new demands, despite big spending increases. The budget for the VA has risen from $73.1bn in 2006 to $153.8bn this year. However, the number of outpatient visits at its facilities has increased from 46.5m in 2002 to 83.6m in 2012. “I am amazed this is still happening, given the big increase in resources that the department has received,” said Phillip Carter, a former army officer who researches veterans’ issues at the Center for a New American Security in Washington.
I am amazed this is still happening, given the big increase in resources that the department has received - Phillip Carter, Center for a New American Security
The VA, which runs 152 hospitals and 817 outpatient clinics, has long suffered from delays and a dysfunctional bureaucracy. In 2010, it introduced a new appointments system which promised a 14-day wait for an appointment with a primary care doctor or a specialist.
While there have been reports for several years that the new waiting line system was being abused, the subject really began to gather steam three weeks ago when CNN interviewed Sam Foote, who had recently retired as a doctor after working for 24 years for VA hospitals in Phoenix, Arizona.
He said that as many as 40 patients had died after being placed on a hidden waiting list that could last for up to a year, while officials at the hospital shredded documents and faked evidence to make it seem as if waiting times were under control.
Three officials in Phoenix have been put on leave, although Mr Griffin said there was no evidence yet that patients had died because of delayed appointments.
Since then, whistleblowers have alleged similar practices at least seven other VA hospitals around the country and claimed that officials at the hospitals were sometimes paid bonuses for reducing declared waiting times.
The political impact of the scandal has been somewhat muted so far, in part because of the respect still enjoyed by the veterans affairs secretary, retired four-star general Eric Shinseki who was himself wounded twice in Vietnam. Appearing before a Senate hearing on Thursday, Mr Shinseki received pointed questioning, but in a tone more respectful than almost any other cabinet member would have encountered. “I am mad as hell,” he told the committee.
However, if Congress concludes that efforts to manipulate waiting lists have become systemic – or if the allegations that patients died while waiting for phantom appointments are proved – Mr Shinseki will face huge pressure from both parties to resign.
Richard Blumenthal, a Democratic senator for Connecticut, said there was “solid evidence of wrongdoing within the VA system”, while his colleague from Washington Patty Murray told Mr Shinseki: “The standard practice at the VA seems to be to hide the truth.”
In a sign of how serious the White House believes the political fallout could become, the president’s deputy chief of staff Rob Nabors has been dispatched to the VA to help manage the fallout.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2014. You may share using our article tools.
The fact is we have 40 dead vets. Was it because the VA is cooking the books, trying to make themselves look good or was it because of a systemic breakdown of the single payer system? At this point in time, what difference does it make?
There are no 'death panels' in single payer and, as usual, nobody will be held accountable.
"Approval ratings go up and down for various reasons... An example is the high post 911 support for GWB even though he could be said to be responsible for the event." --- Box A Rox '9/11 Truther'
Melania is a bimbo... she is there to look at, not to listen to. --- Box A Rox and his 'War on Women'
The fact is we have 40 dead vets. Was it because the VA is cooking the books, trying to make themselves look good or was it because of a systemic breakdown of the single payer system? At this point in time, what difference does it make?
There are no 'death panels' in single payer and, as usual, nobody will be held accountable.
Large centralized government bureaucracies is the most efficient and cost saving way to provide health care. It's been proven time and again! So what if 40 people died, just think of the savings. As long as you focus on the "common good", a few individuals dying is small peanuts compared to the overall social welfare of the nation.
Large centralized government bureaucracies is the most efficient and cost saving way to provide health care. It's been proven time and again! So what if 40 people died, just think of the savings. As long as you focus on the "common good", a few individuals dying is small peanuts compared to the overall social welfare of the nation.
Until it's your relative.
I can't believe even YOU would make such an ignorant comment. You sir are indeed a jackass.
We are advised NOT to judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works.
Obama couldn't give a damn that our veterans are dying because of the incompetence and fraud in his administration. He and his wife hated America for years, Hillary loathed the military and, yet, jack asses voted them into office and want to keep voting self-absorbed traitors like that into office.
George Amedore & Christian Klueg for NYS Senate 2016 Pete Vroman for State Assembly 2016[/size][/color]
"For this is what America is all about. It is the uncrossed desert and the unclimbed ridge. It is the star that is not reached and the harvest that is sleeping in the unplowed ground." Lyndon Baines Johnson
Obama couldn't give a damn that our veterans are dying because of the incompetence and fraud in his administration. He and his wife hated America for years, Hillary loathed the military and, yet, jack asses voted them into office and want to keep voting self-absorbed traitors like that into office.
While I'll agree with you that the problem has gotten considerably worse under Obama. You can't lay all the blame on him. This has been going on for decades and is not unique.
I'd also like to give a big "F*ck You!" to Dr. Sam Foote, the whistleblower who blew this wide open.
Why? Because this greedy, selfish, dishonorable sh*tbag doctor kept his mouth shut for 24 years until he retired and collected his fat pension.
"Approval ratings go up and down for various reasons... An example is the high post 911 support for GWB even though he could be said to be responsible for the event." --- Box A Rox '9/11 Truther'
Melania is a bimbo... she is there to look at, not to listen to. --- Box A Rox and his 'War on Women'
2008 - Bush and a democrat congress spent $700 billion to bailout bankers. 2009 - Obama and a democrat congress spent $787 billion on a economic stimulus package for wealthy corporate cronies 2014 - The VA gets $153 billion in funding.
While I'll agree with you that the problem has gotten considerably worse under Obama. You can't lay all the blame on him. This has been going on for decades and is not unique.
I'd also like to give a big "F*ck You!" to Dr. Sam Foote, the whistleblower who blew this wide open.
Why? Because this greedy, selfish, dishonorable sh*tbag doctor kept his mouth shut for 24 years until he retired and collected his fat pension.
I never said that the problems started under Obama. I said that he he doesn't give a damn about the problems. Neither does about 95% of Congress unless it an election year and a bad report like this comes out. Also, I also agree that it is horrible the way a bureaucrat would keep his mouth shut for 24 years before saying anything about it.
George Amedore & Christian Klueg for NYS Senate 2016 Pete Vroman for State Assembly 2016[/size][/color]
"For this is what America is all about. It is the uncrossed desert and the unclimbed ridge. It is the star that is not reached and the harvest that is sleeping in the unplowed ground." Lyndon Baines Johnson
The VA.....the ORIGINAL' NATIONAL GOVERNMENT CARES FOR YOU, health insurance'....ONLY NOW....you're fu(king MANDATED OR THE IRS WILL DRIVE YOUR A$$ INTO YOUR GRAVE.....
how about a big giant
F-U
to those who said "we have to vote for it to know what is in it"........
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Well it looks like we are up to 26 facilities now and can conclude, without any doubt, that this is a system wide problem and 'death panels' are very real (duh...not like we told you so or anything).
I haven't looked, but I think I can safely assume that 40 deaths will be more like 4000 and many more facilities will be found to have two sets of books.
Still support national healthcare, Boxy? We can't even take care of a few million vets, but you think this system is fine for 300+M people?
Where's your Supreme Ruler and Savior of America, Boxy? Nine days now and not a peep from Obama. What's he waiting for? Memorial Day when he can make a speech and express his 'outrage'.
"Approval ratings go up and down for various reasons... An example is the high post 911 support for GWB even though he could be said to be responsible for the event." --- Box A Rox '9/11 Truther'
Melania is a bimbo... she is there to look at, not to listen to. --- Box A Rox and his 'War on Women'
We veterans need facts, not a firing. Before leaping to conclusions about Shinseki’s work as VA secretary over the past five years, some should take the time to consider these facts: 1. Veterans’ homelessness has been reduced by 24 percent. 2. The VA health-care system has enrolled 2 million additional veterans. These are veterans who choose to receive VA health care. 3. The latest American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), an independent customer service survey, ranks the VA’s customer satisfaction among veteran patients to be the very best in the nation and equal or better then private-sector hospitals. 4. In many areas, the VA outperforms the private sector, especially in the management of hypertension, diabetes and other conditions. 5. The VA has decreased its disability claims backlog by nearly 50 percent. 6. The VA is now providing post 9-11 GI Bill educational benefits to more than 1 million students. 7. The VA handles approximately 236,000 health-care appointments each day, totaling 85 million appointments each year. Even one appointment delay that harms a single veteran is one too many. No one would agree with that sentiment more then Shinseki. But, in the name of common sense, no VA secretary should be asked to resign because a few staff members may have broken some VA rules by hiding the wait times for veterans’ appointments. The mark of an effective leader is being able to first understand the nature of the problem and then bring together the right people to solve that very problem. That is exactly what Shinseki is doing. He has asked the VA inspector general to do a full review of all allegations regarding VA waiting lists. The IG’s report, which will be public when completed, is a critical step in allowing the secretary to accurately analyze the extent of the problems in Phoenix and to give him time to determine an effective solution. Meanwhile, to facilitate a complete and thorough review by the IG, Shinseki has ordered the director and associate director of the Phoenix VA to be put on administrative leave. As a disabled veteran myself, there is no one I would rather have heading up the VA now, in this turbulent time, than Eric Shinseki. In my experience, he is the best there is. As the investigation unfolds and the truth comes out, our country and our veterans will come to realize that. Max Cleland, a disabled Vietnam veteran, is a former U.S. senator and former administrator of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
None of this is isolated, Boxy. It's not limited to one facility in AZ. It's not 'just a few people hiding wait times'.
There are two sets of books, Boxy...Don't you get that man?. People are dying and everyone is in on it. To say that Obama is 'outraged' or the (GOP) Congress is 'outraged' is total bullshit.
They ALL know what's going on and they have known for years what's been going on. Getting someone fired isn't going to change the fundamental problem......
When a sector of society is placed under centralized government control, it ultimately fails because bureaucracy, in and of itself, is grossly inefficient and inherently corrupt. The bigger it gets, the worse it becomes.
Miami VA Whistleblower Exposes Drug Dealing, Theft, Abuse
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – When asked why he would risk his job and speak publicly, Detective Thomas Fiore considered the question carefully before answering.
“People are dying,” he finally said, “and there are so many things that are going on there that people need to know about.”
Fiore, a criminal investigator for the VA police department in South Florida, contacted CBS4 News hoping to shed light on what he considers a culture of cover-ups and bureaucratic neglect. Among his charges: Drug dealing on the hospital grounds is a daily occurrence.
“Anything from your standard prescription drugs like OxyContin, Vicodin, Percocet, and of course marijuana, cocaine, heroin, I’ve come across them all,” he explained.
40 vets die at your facility?.....Here's $8500 for a job well done! Oh wai....It was an 'administrative error' made by a 'low level employee' (Wait...Where have I heard that excuse before?)
Director of Phoenix VA Hospital Where Vets Died from Delays Received $8,500 Bonus in April (Update: Bonus Rescinded)
The director of the Phoenix VA hospital where 40 veterans died while waiting for care received an $8,500 bonus last month, according to Jeff Miller, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
Sharon Helman, the director of the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care System, "got an $8,500 bonus last month while there was an open [inspector general] investigation into Phoenix," Chairman Miller told CNN's Jake Tapper in an interview Wednesday.
It had been previously reported that Helman received more than $9,000 in bonus pay in 2013 on top of her annual salary of $169,900. The VA office of inspector general began investigating the Phoenix VA for wrongdoing in December 2013, months before Helman received the additional $8,500 bonus.
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, Secretary Eric Shinseki "is the final decision maker regarding performance ratings and awards." VA spokesmen did not immediately respond to an inquiry from THE WEEKLY STANDARD asking if Shinseki signed off on Helman's $8,500 bonus in April.
Chairman Jeff Miller said that VA officials told him that the Helman's new bonus was the result of "an administrative error" made by a "low-level person" in the department.
Update: The VA announced this afternoon: “Secretary Shinseki today exercised his authority to rescind Sharon Helman’s fiscal year 2013 performance award immediately. Previously, Ms. Helman received the performance award due to an administrative error.”
This is just the start.
"Approval ratings go up and down for various reasons... An example is the high post 911 support for GWB even though he could be said to be responsible for the event." --- Box A Rox '9/11 Truther'
Melania is a bimbo... she is there to look at, not to listen to. --- Box A Rox and his 'War on Women'
It has now come out that the White House was informed of problems at the V.A. 5 YEARS AGO. For 5 years, the Liar-In-Chief played basketball and golf .. and otherwise looked the other way. Shinsenky should resign -- and so should Obama and Biden. If not, impeach them and try them for treason.
George Amedore & Christian Klueg for NYS Senate 2016 Pete Vroman for State Assembly 2016[/size][/color]
"For this is what America is all about. It is the uncrossed desert and the unclimbed ridge. It is the star that is not reached and the harvest that is sleeping in the unplowed ground." Lyndon Baines Johnson
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