Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) released the following statement today on two Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) reports confirming allegations of wait time manipulation and mismanagement at the Southern VA Health Care System:

“The results of these VA OIG reports are deeply disturbing, and confirm that the problems plaguing our VA health care system nationwide extend to Southern Arizona. According to investigators, VA staff were improperly trained and directed to zero-out patient wait times in violation of VA policy – at one point leaving more than 75 appointments zeroed-out between December 2013 and August 2014. A separate investigation found employees failed to properly schedule approximately 400 Orthopedic appointment requests, as well as an additional 600 Urology appointment requests. Moreover, the OIG confirmed widespread scheduling misconduct, including in some cases canceling appointments if wait times exceeded 30 days.

“The gross mismanagement by employees at the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System and at our VA hospitals in Arizona and across the country are unacceptable. We urge the new administration and Congress to take this issue very seriously, and finally deliver accountability and real reform at the VA that our veterans deserve.”

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