Angel Gutierrez

The Department of Veterans

Affairs

Report on the Department of Veterans Affairs 1

Introduction
The Veterans Administration has faced many scandals recently. Over the past few
years, thousands of US service members have been experiencing prolonged wait times
and many veterans have died in the waiting process. In Phoenix alone, more than forty
US service members died in 2015 while waiting beyond their 14 day window to see a
physician. The VA is also facing other deficiencies which include insufficient staffing,
inefficient use of staff labor, outdated computer systems, and poor financial
management. In fact, the Obama administration allocated more than a billion dollars to
the VA in the past two years to help correct any deficiencies, but a commission
organized by congress to investigate the VA claims that this money has been
ineffective. This report will cover many of these problems, and try to understand what
the VA is doing to cause them.

Report on the Department of Veterans Affairs 2

Methodology
In constructing this report, I used a
question that served as the foundation
for the entire research. That question
is: what are some problems that have
plagued the Department of Veterans
Affairs within the past four years, and
why have these problems been
occurring? The report begins by
defining what the VA is and what
section of the VA we will be focusing
on. The remainder of the report will:
discuss the allegations of problems at
the VA, seek to find an answer why
these problems are happening, and
the report will conclude with a
summary.

What is the Department

of Veteran Affairs?
The US Department of Veterans
Affairs, or VA for short, has three
responsibilities to Veterans: provide
medical care, provide benefits, and
provide memorial services. For the
purposes of this research, we will
focus on the VAs performance in
providing medical care, and providing
benefits, both of which have seen
many allegation of mismanagement
within the past four years. (Office, VA)

The Department of Veterans

Affairs (VA) is responsible for
providing vital services to
Americas veterans. VA provides
health care services, benefits
programs and access to national
cemeteries to former military
personnel and their dependants.
The department carries out its
duties through three main
administrative divisions: Veterans
Benefits Administration; Veterans
Health Administration; and
National Cemetery
Administration. All three divisions
have run into trouble while
carrying out their missions,
including controversies involving
VA hospitals and longstanding
delays in providing services.
-AllGov.com

Report on the Department of Veterans Affairs 3

Problems at the VA
In 2014, problems at the VA became
headline news. In response, the US
government initiated several
commission reports and extensive
investigations. In almost all of the
reports on the VA, it is observed that
the main problems at the VA are,
problems with access, service, and
poorly functioning operational
systems. (Commission on care) One
of the first investigations into the VA
was conducted by the VAs inspector
general, he found that some VA

employees falsified medical records,

which covered up actual wait times for
veterans waiting to see a physician.
The report claims that about 2,000
veterans were waiting for up to 115
days for an initial meeting with their
health care provider. Many veterans
have died while waiting for health care,
although it cannot be proven that the
wait times was the reason for death.
(General, VA) Falsifying records is not
an isolated case at the VA, in fact,
several VA hospitals across the
country were caught falsifying records.
(See figure above)

Report on the Department of Veterans Affairs 4

Below are several recorded incidents

from various sources:

In 2014, the VAs Office of the Medical

Inspector discovered that employees
at the Fort Collins location were taught
how to falsify records. The employees
were taught to manipulate the records
in such a way that it appears that
physicians were seeing 14 patients
daily.

In 2013, the VAs inspector general

report found that at least seven
veterans died after an outbreak of
Legionnaires disease at the Pittsburgh
location. Human error was the cause
of the outbreak, and hospital officials
waited for more than a year to inform
senior officials and patients.
(Washington Post)

In may of 2014, it was reported to

WFOR local news that the VA in Miami
embodied a culture of coverups, and
that prescription drugs were illegally
dealt there. (CBS Miami, 2016)

Why is it happening?
After VA scandals became headline
news, the US government took action.
In 2014, the White House launched an
investigation to identify why these
situations have occurred. President
Obama appointed his then Deputy
Chief of Staff, Rob Nabors, to lead the
investigation. In the final report,
Nabors attributes the VAs poor
performance to an unsatisfactory
organizational structure and culture.
The report states: A corrosive culture
has led to personnel problems across
the Department that are seriously
impacting morale, and by extension
the timeliness of health care The
problems inherent within an agency
with an extensive field structure are
exacerbated by poor management and
communications structures, a
corrosive culture of distrust between
VA employees and a history of
retaliation toward employees and a
lack of accountability US policy
makers have taken action, but their
efforts have been futile. A solution is
needed to repair the VA.

Report on the Department of Veterans Affairs 5

Summary
This paper summarizes the scandals that have plagued the veterans administration. In
the past five years, thousands of US service members have been experiencing
prolonged wait times, and many veterans have died in the waiting process. In Phoenix
alone, more than forty US service members died in 2015 while waiting for their 14 day
window to see a physician. The VA is also facing other deficiencies which include
insufficient staffing, inefficient use of staff labor, outdated computer systems, and poor
financial management. A solution is needed to help the VA achieve its mission
statement efficiently.

Report on the Department of Veterans Affairs 6

Works Cited
"'Troubling' Report Sparks New Wave of Calls for VA Chief's Resignation." The
Washington Post. WP Company. Web. 29 Dec. 2016.
"6 Problems at the VA That Shinseki's Successor Faces | The Center for Investigative
Reporting." 6 Problems at the VA That Shinseki's Successor Faces | The Center
for Investigative Reporting. Web. 29 Dec. 2016.
"About Us | COMMISSION ON CARE." COMMISSION ON CARE RSS. Web. 29 Dec.
2016.
Brownfield, Allan. "The Inherent Inefficiency of Government Bureaucracy." FEE
Freeman Article. Foundation for Economic Education, 01 June 1977. Web. 11
Jan. 2017.
"Challenges Facing the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Part 5: VA's Culture."
Stewart Liff. Web. 02 Jan. 2017.
"Commission on Care." COMMISSION ON CARE RSS. Web. 02 Jan. 2017.
"Everything You Need to Know about the VA and the Scandals Engulfing It." The
Washington Post. WP Company. Web. 29 Dec. 2016.
"Fear and Retaliation at the VA." Project On Government Oversight. Web. 29 Dec.
2016.
General, VA Office of Inspector. "Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector
General." VA Office of Inspector General. Web. 02 Jan. 2017.
Office, VA Web Solutions. "About VA." About VA. Web. 02 Jan. 2017.

Report on the Department of Veterans Affairs 7

"The Pros and Cons of Privatizing Government Functions." Governing Magazine: State
and Local Government News for America's Leaders. Web. 10 Jan. 2017.
Http://facebook.com/cbsmiami. "Miami VA Whistleblower Exposes Drug Dealing, Theft,
Abuse." CBS Miami. Web. 29 Dec. 2016.