In a report released today, the VA admits over 300,000 people in the Department of Veterans Affairs enrollment system died before their applications for care were processed.
From Department of Veterans Affairs:
Did 47,000 veterans die while their health care applications were in a pending status?
We substantiated that pending ES records included entries for individuals reported to be deceased. As of September 30, 2014, over 307,000 pending ES records were for individuals reported as deceased by the Social Security Administration (SSA). However, due to the data weaknesses identified in Allegation 1, we cannot determine specifically how many pending ES records represent veterans who applied for health care benefits or when they may have applied.
To address this allegation, we reviewed a data extract of about 867,000 records with a pending status in ES as of September 30, 2014. We performed a data match against the SSA Death Master File to identify any pending record associated with an individual reported as deceased. In addition, we conducted automated testing procedures using the VHA Patient Treatment File, the VHA National Patient Care Database, and the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Corporate Database. Finally, we interviewed and obtained testimonial and documentary evidence from VA officials and complainants.
Records for deceased individuals have remained in a pending status without detection for many years. Our review of September 2014 health care enrollment data found that about 307,000 (35 percent) of the 867,000 pending ES records were for individuals reported as deceased by SSA.
Records for individuals who have died should be categorized as deceased in ES. Table 2 identifies the number of deceased individuals associated with pending records.
Read the full report here: VA.org
