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Obama Signs New VA Health Care Plan Into Law

President Barack Obama has signed into law The Veterans’ Access to Care through Choice, Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014, which is designed to provide more timely access to health care for American military veterans who’ve faced long wait times and substandard care at VA hospitals.

The Act also gives the VA secretary greater authority to fire poorly performing agency executives and affords legal protections to whistleblowers who make public the system’s shortcomings.

The law is a response to the scandals that have rocked the Department of Veterans Affairs, the agency that provides health care to around 9 million U.S. military veterans at nearly 1,000 government-run hospitals and health-care facilities.

‘Inexcusable Misconduct at Some VA Health Care Facilities’

A recent report from the VA Office of Inspector General found that many veterans waited an average of 115 days for initial appointments, and VA staff falsified data in order to hide delays. At a VA facility in Phoenix, where the scandal broke, at least 35 veterans died while awaiting care, the report says.

During a bill-signing ceremony at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, on August 7 the president vowed to change the “way the VA does business,” according to the New York Times.

“Over the last few months, we’ve discovered some inexcusable misconduct at some VA health-care facilities —stories of our veterans denied the care they needed, long wait times being covered up, cooking the books,” said Mr. Obama.

The most immediate effect of the $16.3 billion plan is a provision that will allow veterans who can’t get a VA appointment within a month or who live 40 or more miles from a VA hospital to seek private health care, the Washington Post reports. Obama noted that other aspects of the law, including hiring more doctors, nurses, and counselors as well as opening 27 new VA clinics nationwide, will take longer to implement.

In a rare instance of bipartisan cooperation Congress overwhelmingly passed the bill before taking summer recess.

Not a Full Solution to VA Problems

But as the Washington Post notes, comments by Obama and veterans’ advocates indicate that the new law is by no means a complete fix.

Obama said, “This will not and cannot be the end of our effort” to reform the beleaguered VA, while Paul Reickhoff of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America described the new law as a “Band-Aid” solution that does not address issues such as veteran suicides, homelessness and backlogged disability claims. Daniel Dellinger of the American Legion said the law is “only a beginning.”

Lawmakers were under pressure to address a scandal that forced the resignation of former VA Secretary Eric Shinseki and led to the appointment of new secretary Robert McDonald, a West Point graduate and the former CEO of Procter & Gamble.

The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to initiate an independent audit of its practices by the Joint Commission, USA Today reports. At a visit to the Phoenix hospital that became the epicenter of VA mismanagement, McDonald vowed to “look at everything we do from the lens of the veterans.”

At Morrow Kidman Tinker Macey-Cushman, PLLC, we have recovered compensation for military veterans and their families in cases concerning delayed and mismanaged care by VA providers. We are experienced in navigating the system for bringing medical malpractice claims against the VA, and will work to bring justice for our clients. If you are concerned about delays or errors in your VA care, do not hesitate to call us or contact us using our online form.