Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
In Effort To Fix Wait Times, VA Has Created Opportunity For Fraud, Critics Say
The Department of Veterans Affairs, fiercely criticized in recent years for slow and shoddy work, has reacted by expanding coverage and speeding up claims processing. Now critics say the reduced evidence requirements and briefer investigations can mean claims get padded, wasting funds and time better directed to more-qualified veterans, according to interviews with more than 40 current and former VA staffers, doctors, veterans and government agents. (Huang, 7/14)
Thousands of veterans, many of whom served in Afghanistan and Iraq, were diagnosed with traumatic brain injury (TBI) by medical personnel at Veterans Affairs hospitals who were unqualified to make such judgments, according to Military Times. And an investigation by a Minnesota TV station discovered that more than 300 vets at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, some of whom were denied benefits, were examined for TBI by doctors who did not have the proper credentials. (Scotti, 7/14)
