“Department of Veterans Affairs patients seeking private sector health care saw a nearly two-month delay for medical appointments in 2018 and the problem could worsen under the new Mission Act, the VA Office of Inspector General reported Thursday.”
“The inspector general’s report based its conclusions on the region of VA hospitals that includes 1.6 million veterans across Florida, south Georgia, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean… “
“The inspector general said the number of patients seeking community care will increase from 684,000 to 3.7 million, now that the eligibility for veterans to seek private care has expanded under the Mission Act.”
“The VA inspector general found in its report that the problem in 2018 was driven by the lack sufficient administrative staffing at VA medical centers…” Read the full article here.
Source: VA inspector general warns long wait times could continue with Mission Act reforms – By Steve Beynon, January 17, 2020. Stars and Stripes.