More than 200 doctors booted from the Department of Veterans Affairs over poor-quality care may be treating veterans through the VA's networks of private MDs, Military.com reported.
The watchdog Government Accountability Office review found up to 227 doctors fired from the VA nevertheless remained eligible to care for vets in community care programs, the military news site reported.
The department began tracking the medical providers in May 2019 to make sure they were eligible to care for veterans under the VA’s Mission Act, which in part aims to give vets better access to care.
But the monitoring didn’t address providers removed from the VA before the Mission Act went into effect, leaving a loophole that would let up to 227 providers fired by the department still be eligible to take care of veterans in community care programs, according to the GAO report released Monday, Military.com reported.
The VA contracts with two companies to manage its community care provider networks under the Mission Act. The companies' contracts don't require them to verify providers' license histories, Military.com reported.
"There is a continued risk that former VA providers associated with quality of care concerns are participating in the [community care program]," the report states, Military.com reported.
VA officials said they would implement recommendations by the watchdog group by April.
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