Tampa, Florida VA Medical Center
WASHINGTON — The number of veterans seeking health care but ending up on waiting lists of one month or more is 50 percent higher now than it was a year ago when a scandal over false records and long wait times wracked the Department of Veterans Affairs, The New York Times reported. (emphasis added)
The VA also faces a budget shortfall of nearly $3 billion, the Times reported in a story posted online ahead of its Sunday editions. The agency is considering furloughs, hiring freezes and other significant moves to reduce the gap, the newspaper reported.
In the last year, the VA has increased capacity by more than 7 million patient visits per year, double what officials originally thought they needed to fix shortcomings, the Times reported. However, the newspaper added, department officials did not anticipate just how much physician workloads and demand from veterans would continue to soar. At some major veterans hospitals, demand was up by one-fifth, the paper […]
Actually, any veteran who has the problem getting an appointment can now get a special medical card which he can take to any doctor and the VA will pay for the visit. It is not as bad as this article says, at all. I am a veteran and I know there are “hot” spots like Phili. Pa. where there’s just too many vets and not enough doctors.