WASHINGTON (AP) – The Department of Veterans Affairs needs “fundamental, dramatic change” to improve the health care it provides to more than 9 million veterans a year, a congressional commission says in a report.
Two years after a scandal over long wait times for veterans seeking care, the report issued Wednesday recommended significantly expanding a program intended to make it easier for veterans to get government-paid private care.
Congress created the 15-member commission in 2014 after approving a landmark law overhauling the VA in the wake of the scandal, which also revealed that VA employees were covering up chronic delays with false paperwork and secret waiting lists. As many as 40 veterans died while awaiting care at the Phoenix VA hospital, according to an investigation by the VA’s inspector general.
The commission recommendation raises questions about the balance between government services and private care with taxpayers footing the bill.
Those affected include nearly 1 million veterans who suffer from some form of post-traumatic stress disorder, the panel said in its 292-page report.