Jeff Flake - U.S. Senator ~ Arizona

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Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) today released the following statement today on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) report showing ongoing mismanagement at the Phoenix VA Health Care System:

“The VA OIG’s report confirming that VA employees improperly closed-out medical consultations at the Phoenix VA to make their statistics look better is simply unacceptable. We should all be alarmed that more than two years after the scandal in care first erupted at the Phoenix VA, such reprehensible behavior continues to take place, putting the health of our veterans at risk. While we can never bring back the veterans whose lives were lost waiting for care, we continue to offer our deepest condolences to their families and our enduring commitment to do all we can to reform the system.

“The manipulation of patient scheduling data was at the very heart of the nationwide scandal where dozens of veterans in Phoenix and hundreds more across the country died waiting for care on non-existent or manipulated wait lists. Despite nationwide outrage following the scandal, today’s report confirms that cultural change at the Phoenix VA is still desperately needed. There is no place at the VA for managers and employees to engage in such misconduct.

“This report underscores why it is so critical for the next director of the Phoenix VA to have the leadership, experience, resources and authority to bring about change and accountability to ensure our veterans receive the best quality care. It’s also vital that the VA OIG examine all of the hospitals where data manipulation occurred and notify Congress of potential wrongdoing more quickly so it can conduct meaningful oversight and hold culpable managers and employees accountable.

“Finally, these findings underscore the need to give our veterans a choice in where and when they receive care. We continue to believe that every veteran—no matter where they live or how long they are waiting for care—should have access to the Veteran Choice Card to visit a health care provider in their community. Unless and until we provide veterans the flexibility in care they need, reform the culture at the VA, and enforce real accountability, the status quo will continue to fail the veterans we are indebted to serve.”

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