Long waits under VA’s private health program

WASHINGTON — A key program being expanded by the Trump administration to give veterans greater access to private doctors has failed to provide care within 30 days as promised due to faulty data and poor record-keeping that could take years to remedy, according to a government investigation released Monday.

The Government Accountability Office, Congress’ auditing arm, found veterans often had to wait between 51 and 64 days for appointments with private doctors under the Veterans Choice program. It cited a lengthy scheduling process that took as long as 70 days.

The report blamed in part bureaucratic inefficiency and understaffing at the Department of Veterans Affairs, which often took weeks to make a referral to a private doctor. In more than 1 out of 10 cases it reviewed, the GAO also found that the VA had entered incorrect starting dates used to measure the amount of time veterans must wait for medical care; investigators said it was unclear whether the data entries were a mistake or an inappropriate attempt to mask delays in providing care.

The cases of delayed treatment included a veteran who had to wait almost three months for prenatal care after the VA determined she was six-weeks pregnant and said it would refer her to an outside doctor under the Choice program; she ultimately had to schedule the appointment herself. Another veteran waited almost six months for medical results and to discuss treatment options after delays in receiving an MRI of his neck and lower back from an outside doctor, due to poor communication and the VA’s limited ability to exchange medical records with outside physicians.