WASHINGTON -- Unreasonable workloads and poor leadership at the Veterans Affairs facility in Philadelphia have led to mismanagement and delays in handling veterans' disability and pensions claims, according to a government audit released Wednesday.
In a 79-page report, the VA's inspector general cites a litany of problems, all part of a rush to reduce persistent backlogs that go beyond the widely reported wait times for medical care at department facilities.
"There is an immediate need to improve the operation and management," says the report signed by VA assistant inspector general Linda Halliday in urging greater oversight.
Among the issues cited: mishandled or neglected mail, untimely responses to more than 31,000 veterans' inquiries, manipulation of dates to make old claims look new, and millions of dollars in duplicate benefit payments.
The report said it took an average 312 days for VA employees to respond to inquiries -- the VA has a five-day standard for response.
At least one VA supervisor altered 52 of 86 quality reviews with the knowledge of office managers over three months, making accuracy rate reports "unreliable," the report said. That employee is no longer doing that job.
The report calls on the agency to determine who should be held responsible for the failings and implement departmentwide measures to deter further manipulation of data and waste. Last month, the VA said it had initiated such a review. Results are expected by late June.
The VA said it concurred with the majority of the recommendations; a new director was installed in July and there has been increased training. It said its internal review will help determine whether employees deliberately manipulated data or simply misunderstood policies.
The VA's official in charge of benefits, Allison Hickey, said the VA has moved aggressively to fix problems in Philadelphia since whistleblower complaints surfaced last summer. She cited the agency's budget requests to hire additional claims processors and other staff.
"This is not a new thing, this is a last-year thing," Hickey said.
In rebuttal, the report says fresh whistleblower allegations of wrongdoing in Philadelphia are continuing to come in, including a "scheme" to credit staff for training they did not complete.
"We hope that she has not put this in her rearview mirror," said spokesman Catherine Gromek, noting that many of the VA's response actions are several months away from completion.
The House Veterans Affairs Committee scheduled a hearing next week on the VA's handling of claims, focusing on Philadelphia and Oakland, Calif.
Rep. Ryan Costello, R-Pa., a member of the committee, said a culture change was needed at the VA, "starting with firing those responsible for the dysfunctional daily operations."
Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., who leads the panel, said "VA leaders have a choice" -- fire those responsible or continue to have problems.
The inspector general's office said the problems it found in Philadelphia were emblematic of the various complaints it had reviewed at other VA offices. Those trouble spots include Oakland, Calif.; Los Angeles; Little Rock; Baltimore; Houston; and Honolulu, according to the inspector general.
Members of the Veterans Affairs Committee also criticized the VA on Wednesday for firing a whistleblower who warned of cost overruns at the Denver VA hospital but taking no action against higher-ranking executives.
Lawmakers also expressed skepticism about the VA's proposal to complete the Denver hospital by diverting $830 million that Congress had allocated to improve veterans care nationwide.
The hospital under construction in suburban Aurora is now expected to cost $1.73 billion and be complete in 2017. Last year, the VA said it would cost $630 million and be done in 2015.
Miller cited a Denver Post report that VA contract specialist Adelino Gorospe warned department executives in 2011 that the hospital would cost more than official estimates. Gorospe told the newspaper he was fired in 2012 for disobeying a supervisor.
Miller and others on the committee contrasted that with the departure of Glenn Haggstrom, the VA's top construction executive, who retired last month with full benefits during an internal investigation into the Denver project.
"The VA seems to be punishing the whistleblowers, intimidating, and then highlighting and giving bonuses to the guys who are screwing up," said Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kansas. "Now where is the accountability in that?"
Information for this article was contributed by Dan Elliott of The Associated Press.
A Section on 04/16/2015