A bipartisan group of members of Congress is calling on the Department of Veterans Affairs to streamline the process for scheduling medical appointments following reports of failures when veterans seek mental health services at the Department of Veterans Affairs. There is.
Thirteen members of Congress, led by Rep. Marilyn Strickland, D-Wash., and Rep. Mike Walz, R-Florida, expressed concerns about an Oct. 17 investigation by Military.com and the continuation of behavioral health care for veterans. Cited feedback from voters that gave rise to.
Representatives said Military.com’s reporting was “deeply disturbing.” Sent a letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary Dennis McDonough. on friday.
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“Veterans who take steps to make behavioral health appointments often do so because they are in dire need of help, but too many face long wait times, or reported a lack of available appointments,” the researchers wrote.
Military.com interviewed more than a dozen veterans and VA employees who say scheduling and staffing issues at VA hospitals and clinics are leading to canceled appointments and long wait times for treatment by facilities. spoke.
They described situations in which they wanted to receive mental health treatment, waited months for an appointment, only to have it canceled at the last minute with no explanation and felt abandoned.
One veteran in the Strickland area had seven of 16 behavioral health appointments canceled.
“More needs to be done to provide timely and effective care to veterans and military personnel,” Strickland said in a statement to Military.com on Friday.
From 2020 to 2023, facilities averaged a 10.6% cancellation rate for mental health appointments, with a high of 12.1% in 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and 2023, according to data provided by the Veterans Administration. In 2017, it was 9.2%.
In a speech at the National Press Club on Oct. 29, McDonough said the Veterans Administration provides health care to more veterans than any other time in history, and that the Department of Veterans Affairs is providing employment opportunities to help veterans get the care they need. He said he is working on it.
“By nearly every metric, VA is breaking records set last year. That means more care, more benefits for more veterans, and more. It’s not just enhanced care, it’s better, world-class care,” McDonough said.
But lawmakers and advocates have warned of challenges Veterans Affairs medical centers face when it comes to scheduling appointments without a centralized system. At a hearing in September, Reps. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) and Sheila Cherfils McCormick (R-Fla.) called the current system broken and called for new solutions. .
“An outdated and broken system can lead to long wait times for veterans and discourage them from receiving care from VA at all,” Rosendale said.
In an interview with Military.com about the challenges facing the next Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Dr. David Shulkin, who served as Secretary of Veterans Affairs during President Donald Trump’s first term, said that 750,000 new patients under the PACT Act With the influx of patients, care becomes a top priority.
“I think we are witnessing the beginning of a new ‘wait time’ crisis… [appointment] Wait times are increasing, the current administration is suppressing access to community care, and veterans are left waiting all the time,” Shulkin said on Nov. 6.
In a letter to McDonough, the lawmakers urged the Veterans Administration to take steps to develop a “robust” recruitment and retention program for mental health providers. Streamline your reservation management system. Take steps to ensure patients receive consistent care.
“The Department of Veterans Affairs must take swift and comprehensive action to address these systemic issues and provide veterans with the reliable, consistent and effective mental health care they need and deserve. “The time has come to address this issue,” they wrote.
In addition to Mr. Walz and Mr. Strickland, the letter was signed by Congressman Gabe Vazquez (D.M.). Andrea Salinas, Oregon. Donald Davis, DN.C. Jack Bergman, Republican, Michigan. Andre Carson, Democrat of Indiana; Seth Moulton, Massachusetts, and Brad Finstad, Republican of Minnesota. Jennifer McClellan, Virginia. Mark Alford, Republican, Missouri. and California Democrat John Garamendi. Representative James Moylan, Republican of Guam.
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