VA secretary 'confident' medical wait times are improving

Veterans Affairs Secretary Bob McDonald downplayed new concerns this week about wait times at VA hospitals, asserting that access to appointments and veterans' satisfaction with medical care options have increased dramatically in recent years.

On Monday, the Government Accountability Office released a report stating that veterans face waits of several weeks for medical care, despite claims from VA officials that most patients see a doctor within a week.

At issue are differences in how the two agencies calculate wait times. VA measures from the day schedulers returns a veteran's call. GAO officials start counting the day a veteran contacts the department.

Critics say that record-keeping difference is crucial to measuring how well officials have responded to the department's 2014 wait time scandal, when evidence of lengthy appointment delays and administrative cover-ups eventually forced the resignation of VA leaders.

McDonald was confirmed to his Cabinet-level post in the months that followed, and has repeatedly promised to bring a more customer-friendly approach to department operations.

He said he has confidence in VA's wait time data, and believes it shows significant progress in getting veterans care quickly. But he also said those metrics are only part of the conversation.

"How does Cleveland Clinic measure wait times? Does it matter?" he said. "The important thing is to get the veteran in for care, and we're getting more and more veterans in for care."

That has included adding more resources to veterans health care since the 2014 crisis, including 7 million more medical appointments, 1,400 new doctors and 2,300 new nurses.

But critics say the continued wait time discrepancies undermine public faith in the department's claim and ability to adapt. House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller, R-Fla., said Tuesday that "a true picture of wait times ... can help us ensure an adequate allocation of the resources that we are asked to provide."

McDonald acknowledged that the department still has more to do to restore that trust, but also said he believes recent moves have helped VA officials move the process along.

"We're all about satisfaction," he said. "This wait time thing has kind of overtaken what should be the real measure for veterans."

The full interview with McDonald airs Sunday on C-SPAN.

Reporter Patricia Kime contributed to this story. 

Leo Shane III covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He can be reached at lshane@militarytimes.com.

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