Workers at VA medical facilities were ordered to manipulate wait times for patients in at least seven states, according to the results of an investigation.
USA Today cites information in a report compiled by the Department of Veterans Affairs' inspector general that examined a wait time scandal that resulted in the deaths of several veterans who were waiting to see a doctor.
The report also concluded that VA workers in 40 facilities across 19 states and Puerto Rico fiddled with wait times to make them appear shorter. VA hospitals have been busy in recent years treating veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The wait times scandal first broke in 2014 when a facility in Phoenix was accused of wrongdoing. Things spiraled put of control from there, with more than 100 facilities being investigated by the inspector general.
The VA's undersecretary for health David Shulkin told USA Today the problem goes back several years, but the hospital system has already made several improvements.
"We've expanded appointments, we have added evening hours and weekend hours, we've added 3 million square feet of space, we've hired 14,000 new providers," Shulkin said.
A recent report, meanwhile, claimed more than 100,000 veterans are being denied services like healthcare because they were given a discharge other than an honorable one.
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