Internal Audit of VA: More than 57,000 New Patients Had Waited at Least 90 Days for Their First Appointment

PATHETIC, Welcome to government run healthcare …

An internal audit of 731 Veteran Administration medical centers revealed that the VA scheduling scandal was as bad if not worse than we first thought. The VA said more than 57,000 new patients have waited at least 90 days for their first appointments. As reported at USA Today, some 100,000 veterans across the country are waiting long periods to see doctors.  Also, 13% of VA schedulers stated they were told to falsify appointment requests. The report also showed that employees at 24 sites said they felt “threatened or coerced” to enter incorrect information. Just curious, does the VA have a compliance department? Did anyone of these employees not feel the responsibility to come forward to a compliance officer and divulge the lack of ethics that was taking place? Where the hell is Attorney General Eric Holder and criminal charges against those responsible? This was not abuse, it was FRAUD!!!

The Department of Veterans Affairs on Monday shed light on the depth of the VA scheduling scandal and substantiated claims that rank-and-file employees were directed to manipulate records.

The agency said more than 57,000 new patients have waited at least 90 days for their first appointments and that about 13 percent of VA schedulers indicated they were told to falsify appointment-request dates to give the impression that wait times were shorter than they really were.

The information comes from the agency’s internal audit of 731 VA medical centers, which the VA released Monday.

The report said that complicated scheduling practices created confusion among clerks and supervisors, contributing to the problems. It also said the VA’s goal of providing an initial appointment within 14 days of a request was unattainable because of the growing demand for care among veterans.

The inspector general’s report last month said VA data showed an average wait time of 24 days when the actual rate was 115 days on average, illustrating the effect of manipulating the records.

Tennessee: Wait times at Midstate VA hospitals longest in nation.

Veterans hoping to see a doctor for the first time in the VA’s Nashville and Murfreesboro hospitals wait an average of 65 days to see a physician, well beyond the 14-day target window put in place by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs officials, according to data released to USA Today.

Pennsylvania VA clinic fifth worst for mental health care appointments in the nation.

The Philadelphia VA had 1,141 new enrollees wait more than 60 days for an appointment, while Pittsburgh had 443. But Pittsburgh had the longest wait time for new enrollees, at almost 60 days. The figure for Philadelphia was about 43 days, while Erie was 21.

The VA released the nationwide audit today, the first look at its network in the uproar that began with reports of patients dying while awaiting appointments at the Phoenix VA center. The audit found long wait times across the country for patients seeking first appointments.

Several other states fared far worse than the Pennsylvania clinics. The VA in Honolulu, Hawaii, had the longest wait at 145 days, followed by Harlingen, Texas, at 85 days and Fayetteville, North Carolina, at 83 days.

Barack Obama has the audacity to show up in Normandy on the 70th anniversary of D-Day and pretend like he cares as veterans are treated like this? America, he knew there was a problem.

Judge Jeanine Pirro Blasts Barack Obama for the Bowe Bergdahl Fiasco and Demands for Obama’s Impeachment … “Mr. President, You are Destroying This Country”

WOW, JUDGE JEANINE PIRRO SAYS WHAT MANY AMERICANS FEEL, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH … MUST WATCH VIDEO!

Over the weekend in her opening monologue Judge Jeanine Pirro blasted President Barack Obama for the release of the GITMO 5, the five high ranking Taliban terrorists, in exchange for deserter Bowe Bergdahl. But this may have just been the final straw of many scandals and reprehensible acts against the military that question whether Obama is a real Commander in Chief.

Pirro went on to shred Obama in saying the following: “And make like you respect the military.  You call yourself a Commander in Chief, but what Commander in Chief does not support a surge but sends in 40,000 troops anyways? What Commander in Chief reduced benefits to those in the military, closed the Veteran War Memorial, reduced the army to pre-WWII levels, knowingly allows veterans to die in our hospitals. While replenishing the enemy in a time of war. Mr. President, you are destroying this country.”

Jeanine Pirro concluded with, “You are not a true Commander in Chief. We impeached a President for lying about sex with an intern. Your actions are far more egregious. demand impeachment.”

Mr. President, you did not just release them [GITMO 5] … you unleashed them!!!

CNN Poll: 58% Disapprove of Barack Obama’s Handling of the VA Scandal, As Some How 37% Approve

58% DISAPPROVE OF OBAMA’S HANDLING OF VA SCANDAL …

According to a recent CNN poll, Barack Obama get’s extremely poor scores on his handling of the Veterans Administration scandal.  The poll shows that a whopping 58% disapprove of Obama’s handing of the VA scandal, while only 37% approve. It is just the latest scandal during the Obama presidency as they are adding up more than the number of Americans gaining jobs. However, the VA scandal is just one of many important issues where Obama is failing Americans. Obama fails on the economy, 61% disapprove – 38% approve. Obama fails on healthcare 63% disapprove – 36% approve. Obama fails on foreign affairs 57% disapprove – 40% approve. Obama fails on the federal budget deficit 67% disapproval – 31% approval.

Nearly six in ten Americans give President Barack Obama a thumbs-down on how he is handling the Veterans Affairs controversy, according to a new national poll.

But a CNN/ORC International survey released Tuesday indicates that the scandal at VA hospitals doesn’t seem to be affecting the President’s overall approval rating, which remains at 43%, identical to the last CNN poll conducted a month ago. The survey also indicates that Obama scores some of his highest numbers on the environment and terrorism, two other issues in the spotlight this week.

According to the poll, 58% say they disapprove of how the President’s handling the VA scandal, with 37% saying they approve of Obama’s actions.

The Veterans Affairs controversy has mushroomed since CNN first reported last November on allegations of alarming shortcomings within the VA medical care system that potentially have had deadly consequences in dozens of cases.

Real Clear Politics: Poll: Majority Unhappy With Obama’s Handling of VA Woes.

Obama accepted VA Secretary Eric Shinseki’s resignation “with considerable regret” last week after a report by the VA inspector general found a longstanding pattern or wrongdoing by agency personnel.

Just 22 percent of those surveyed believe Shinseki should have remained in office, while 68 percent say he should have resigned.

Wait until America voices their opinion with Barack Obama on the release of alleged deserter Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for 5 Taliban detainees in GITMO.

VA Sec. Shinseki Resigns, But is This Just a Band-Aid on a Broken VA Hospital System … Who Will Be Fired or Prosecuted for Fraud & Murder ?

It was probably the most expected Friday resignation in history. Of course being done prior to Memorial Day weekend may have been a bit more symbolic …

Friday morning, following comments from VA Secretary Eric Shinseki regarding the current VA scandal, Shinseki met with Barack Obama where he gave his resignation. Barack Obama accepted it and in comments to the press stated that  Shinseki did not want to be a distraction because his priority is to fix the problem and make sure our vets are getting the care that they need. Obama said that was Ric’s judgment on behalf of his fellow veterans and he I agreed, we don’t have time for distractions. We need to fix the problem. REALLY? Obama said Sloan D. Gibson, the deputy secretary of veterans affairs, will take over the VA until a new secretary is named. Great, some one from within the same system.

Having one individual resign and throwing more money at the problem is not the answer. The VA problems are systemic and the people at the top claimed they had no idea what was going on and that they were lied to. IT’S TIME TO PURGE!!! Some people need to be fired and others who took an active role in the fraud perpetrated on our military veterans and ‘We the People” that caused the deaths of many of America’s heroes need to be prosecuted and jailed.

So Ric’s commitment to our veterans is unquestioned. His service to our country is exemplary. I am grateful for his service, as are many veterans across the country. He has worked hard to investigate and identify the problems with access to care.

But as he told me this morning, the V.A. needs new leadership to address them. He does not want to be a distraction because his priority is to fix the problem and make sure our vets are getting the care that they need. That was Ric’s judgment on behalf of his fellow veterans.

And I agree. We don’t have time for distractions. We need to fix the problem.

For now, the leader that will help move us forward is Sloan Gibson, who will take on the reins as acting secretary.

click on pic to watch VIDEO … pic: screen gran from CNN video

CNN:

The boss resigned under pressure and other Veterans Affairs managers are likely on the way out. Now the challenge is to solve the problem by providing timely health care for hundreds — perhaps thousands — of waiting veterans around the country.

Even Eric Shinseki knew he had to go, President Barack Obama said Friday in announcing the resignation of his only Veterans Affairs secretary over a growing scandal involving sometimes deadly waits for care at VA hospitals.

Obama went before reporters months after CNN broke the story about the latest problems at the VA and minutes after meeting Shinseki at the White House.

Sorry America … take a good look at what you can expect with Obamacare and what Barack Obama and Democrats most want, a single payer healthcare system.

WH Mouthpiece Jay Carney Cannot Answer a Simple Yes-or-No Question as to Whether Barack Obama Has Confidence in VA Sec. Shinseki in Wake of VA Scandal

VA-GATE: REALLY JAY … YES OR NO, IT IS AS SIMPLE AS THAT!!!

White House press secretary Jay Carney was asked several times today by multiple reporters if President Barack Obama had confidence in embattled Veterans Affairs Secretary Gen. Eric Shinseki. It was a simple yes or no question that Carney could not and did not answer. In the video below, ABC News reporter John Karl asked Carney a very simple yes-or-no question: “Does the president have confidence in General Shinseki?” The response from Carney turned into a reading of ‘War and Peace’. Carney went on to SAY, “The president believes and is confident that Secretary Shinseki has served this nation admirably, heroically as a soldier, as a general and that he has accomplished some very important things as secretary of Veterans Affairs, and I listed them, but they include extending education benefits, reducing veterans homelessness, and reducing the size of the backlog for disability claims while expanding vastly the number of veterans who can make a claim.” Um, Carney has the audacity, even after the release of the Department of Veterans Affairs inspector general’s office report that substantiated recent claims of inappropriate scheduling practices and secret waiting lists. REALLY?

How can the VA problem be a top priority of Obama and his mouthpiece cannot answer a yes or no question about confidence in the head of Veteran Affairs? It is all about politics with Obama. Note to this WH because America is and has grown weary of its games … if you can’t say you support someone … ask them to resign.

The Blaze:

“A very simple yes-or-no question: Does the president have confidence in General Shinseki?” ABC News reporter John Karl asked Carney.

Carney said Obama is confident that Shinseki has served the country well.

“The president believes and is confident that Secretary Shinseki has served this nation admirably, heroically as a soldier, as a general and that he has accomplished some very important things as secretary of Veterans Affairs, and I listed them, but they include extending education benefits, reducing veterans homelessness, and reducing the size of the backlog for disability claims while expanding vastly the number of veterans who can make a claim,” Carney said.

Karl followed: “Does the president right now have confidence in Secretary Shinseki, yes or no? Very simple yes-or-no question. He told us last week he did have confidence — does he have confidence now?

Carney said, “What I would point you to is what the president said on Secretary Shinseki. I’m not going to improve upon his words on this regard. He talked about accountability. I understand the wordplay, but I think what is more important.”

Karl shot back, “It’s not wordplay. It’s a very simple question. Does he have confidence in Secretary Shinseki?”

Carney stressed that fixing the VA’s problem was the top priority.

“On the issue you’re referring to when it comes to the revelations that have come to light about Phoenix and other veterans health centers, the president was deeply troubled by what we saw in the interim report from the inspector general and he awaits the preliminary report from Secretary Shinseki on the internal audit that the secretary is conducting with the assistance of roughly 200 individuals,” Carney said.