Washington Post Fact Checks Veterans "dying' in line

Overblown claims of deaths and waiting times at the VA
The Washington Post
By Glenn Kessler
September 2, 2014

While The Fact Checker was on vacation, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) at the Department of Veterans Affairs issued a report on claims that about 40 veterans had died while on a waiting list at the VA facility in Phoenix. Here’s a sampling of some of the headlines:

“Probe: No Proof VA Delays Caused Phoenix Veterans To Die”

“VA Hospital Delays Didn’t Cause Deaths, Investigators Say”

“No proof deaths caused by delay in VA care, IG says”

“IG: Shoddy care by VA didn’t cause Phoenix deaths”

The report was highly critical of the VA, noting that “as a result of using inappropriate scheduling practices, reported wait times were unreliable, and OIG could not obtain reasonable assurance that all veterans seeking care received the care they needed.” But the most explosive allegation about the VA — that veterans had died because they could not get an appointment — was not proven.

So we wondered: Do any of these lawmakers have regrets about jumping to conclusions not warranted by the facts?

The Facts

The “40” figure appears to have its roots in a statement made by Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, in April: “It appears as though there could be as many as 40 veterans whose deaths could be related to delays in care.”

That, in turn, was based on a letter to the OIG by a retired VA doctor, Sam Foote, that said that investigators knew of 22 veterans who died while on an electronic waiting list for appointments and that 18 more died while on waiting lists for consultations with specialists. CNN reported allegations by another whistleblower that records were changed to hide the fact that veterans died while waiting for care.

But there is a difference between allegations and facts. Certainly, when claims of this nature are made, it is worthy of congressional investigation and questioning. Many mainstream news organizations (such as The Washington Post) reported the figure as an allegation. As far as we can tell, Miller and many members of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs were careful to keep the caveats in place.
read more here