Veteran With Cancer and VA Claim Died at 46

Barry Coates dead; veteran was at heart of VA scandal
CNN
By Scott Bronstein, Nelli Black, Drew Griffin and Curt Devine
CNN Investigations
January 27, 2016

Washington (CNN) Barry Coates, the U.S. veteran who became the human face of the Veterans Affairs scandal over delays in care in 2014, died on Saturday of the cancer that wracked his body after waits for medical care at a VA facility. He was 46.

Coates became a national figure representing delays in medical care at VA hospitals after he was featured prominently in a CNN investigation in January 2014.

The CNN investigation that included Coates was the first national story about delays in care across the country that year. It led to a national controversy resulting in the resignation of VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, and ultimately a law that provided $16 billion to overhaul the Department of Veterans Affairs, passed by Congress and signed by President Obama.
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