Probe confirms VA delays cover-up

The Veterans Affairs department's inspector general on Wednesday substantiated allegations that staff at Phoenix VA medical facilities used inappropriate scheduling practices that covered up months-long wait times for health care appointments for veterans.

Releasing an interim report on the Phoenix Health Care System allegations, the VA inspector general 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 inspector general's office said in the report.

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.

The report did not reach any conclusion on whether the delays resulted in a delay in diagnosis, treatment or deaths. VA doctors in Phoenix have said that some 40 veterans had died while waiting for an appointment.

The inspector general said it still needs more clinical review and analysis.

President Barak 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 from across party lines.

In Iowa, officials from the Iowa City VA Health Care System said that during the month of March, veterans waited 24 days on average for primary care appointments, 39 days for mental health appointments and 21 days for specialty care appointments.

The Iowa City VA Health Care System oversees the operations of nine outpatient clinics and the Medical Center within a designated area spanning 50 counties - 33 in Eastern Iowa, 16 in western Illinois and one in northern Missouri.