FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) – The chronic delays plaguing the Veterans Affairs health system are concentrated in a fraction of its hospitals and clinics – many of them in the South – that have done far worse than others in delivering prompt care, according to government data reviewed by The Associated Press.
A year after Americans recoiled at revelations that sick veterans were getting sicker while languishing on waiting lists, VA statistics show that the number of patients facing long waits has not declined, even after Congress gave the department an extra $16.3 billion last summer to shorten waits for care.