Here are five things to know:
1. From Oct. 1, 2013 through March 31, 2015, VA medical center administrators overestimated the funds they would need to pay for outside care for veterans by $543 million, thus leaving that money unavailable for patient care.
2. The VA said VA administrators failed to give medical directors the necessary tools to estimate costs.
3. The agency also claims medical center staff was not mandated to adjust estimated costs routinely to reflect the actual costs.
4. Last year, VA Secretary Robert McDonald asked Congress to allow the VA to move money for the Veterans Choice program to other VA programs, claiming administrators need more flexibility in spending money on VA and private and community healthcare. Congress allowed VA to use $3.3 billion in Choice program funds for other accounts.
5. Rep. Jeff Miller, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said, “If VA’s job was mismanaging money, it would have a near-perfect record of achievement. Yet despite this and other high-profile budgetary failures, all too often the department’s knee-jerk response to challenges is to ask taxpayers for more money.”
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