Ten Years After Phoenix VA Scandal, Veterans Still Face Barriers Accessing Health Care

In 2014, at least 40 veterans died waiting for care in Phoenix; today, the VA continues to fail veterans

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Dear Officials:

Our veterans deserve access to timely and quality health care. Despite mandated reforms since the 2014 Phoenix VA Scandal, the Department of Veterans Affairs continues to defy the will of Congress by manipulating appointment wait times, and failing to enforce the 2017 VA Accountability Act, despite several ongoing personnel scandals. What's more, the VA still regularly fails to offer veterans the ability to use their health benefits at community care providers outside of the VA as required by the VA MISSION Act.
Please support the Veterans Health Care Freedom Act (S.1545), a bill that would allow ALL of our nation's heroes that rely on the VA for care to seek community care options without complicated preapprovals. The best way to keep our country's promise to our veterans is by putting them at the center of their health care - that means offering veterans more options to get the care they've earned when they need it.
Our veterans deserve access to timely and quality health care. Despite mandated reforms since the 2014 Phoenix VA Scandal, the Department of Veterans Affairs continues to defy the will of Congress by manipulating appointment wait times, and failing to enforce the 2017 VA Accountability Act, despite several ongoing personnel scandals. What's more, the VA still regularly fails to offer veterans the ability to use their health benefits at community care providers outside of the VA as required by the VA MISSION Act.

Sincerely,

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Ten years ago, the Arizona Republic broke a tragic story that would come be known as the "Phoenix VA Scandal." Schedulers at the Phoenix VA hospital were keeping secret wait lists for veterans' appointments that allowed them to manipulate wait times for our nation's heroes. At least 40 veterans died waiting for essential care. As the story broke, it became clear that the VA facilities around the nation were doing the same thing. Eventually, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs resigned under pressure, and the Office of the Inspector General opened multiple investigations into the VA. The scandal led to the creation of options allowing veterans to get community care from non-VA doctors to avoid being left waiting.

Concerned Veterans for American spearheaded more reforms alongside other veterans' organizations. We drove the passage of the 2017 VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act and the 2018 VA MISSION Act. These improvements initially changed the VA incentives and unlocked more choice for veterans trapped in a one-size-doesn't-fit-all system. But there's more work to do.

The current VA Secretary recently admitted to Congress that the VA isn't enforcing the 2017 accountability law. Freedom of Information requests from the last few years reveal that the VA still manipulates veteran wait times and works overtime to push patients away from the Veterans Community Care Program, which the MISSION Act created to allow veterans the opportunity to use their health benefits outside of VA facilities.

It's past time for the VA to put veterans first so another Phoenix VA scandal doesn't happen again. Sign this letter to demand your lawmakers hold the VA accountable for preventing the failures that led to Phoenix and ensuring that veterans are empowered to choose which health care providers best meet their needs.

﻿﻿Ten Years After Phoenix VA Scandal, Veterans Still Face Barriers Accessing Health Care

Ten Years After Phoenix VA Scandal, Veterans Still Face Barriers Accessing Health Care