VA whistleblowers to tell all to House

These whistleblowers say they were often placed on administrative leave for bringing up their concerns. Also, wait times at Connecticut VA clinics explode, even after the recent scandal came to light.

Politico: VA Whistleblowers To Detail Retribution
House lawmakers will hear testimony on Tuesday from whistleblowers who accuse the Department of Veterans Affairs of retaliating against them for exposing shoddy medical care. he VA would often force whistleblowers into administrative leave after they raised concerns about lagging health care quality stemming from overworked nurses or under-staffed medical centers, according to testimony from four witnesses set to testify before the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs (French, 7/8).

The CT Mirror: Number Of Long Waits For VA Healthcare In CT Much Larger Than First Reported
Since the scandal this spring over long wait times and cover ups of poor performance at veterans' health facilities, there's been a sharp upturn in the numbers of Connecticut veterans who have waited more than 30 days to receive medical help. According to new information released by the Department of Veterans' Affairs, in mid-May, 998 Connecticut veterans had waited more than 30 days to receive care. That number grew to 2,727 on June 3. The trend of doubling or tripling of veterans with long wait times is nationwide (Radelat, 7/7).

And the VA's ability to quickly process disability claims is questioned --

The Wall Street Journal: Jump In Appeals Dog The VA's Progress On Disability Claims
The next secretary of Veterans Affairs will face well-known problems of mismanagement at VA hospitals and long waits for doctor appointments, but also will be confronted by an issue former Secretary Eric Shinseki hailed as a success: faster processing of disability claims. Under Mr. Shinseki, the VA slashed the backlog for things such as compensation claims for injuries sustained while in the service. But that progress masked a 60 percent jump in outstanding appeals of denied claims and a slowdown in processing claims for things like adding dependents to veterans' files, VA data show (Kesling, 7/7).