Press Release
Statement from the Acting VA Inspector General
Suggestions from the media and some Members of Congress that the OIG kept secret inappropriate scheduling practices at the Phoenix VA Health Care System are belied by nearly a decade of reporting by the Office of Inspector General. Read the Acting Inspector General’s statement; a chronology of OIG reporting, Keeping Congress and VA Secretary Informed: VA Office of Inspector General’s Reporting on Patient Wait Times from 2005-2014; and the 2008 memorandum of administrative investigation on altered wait times at the Phoenix VA Health Care System.
Oversight Report
Review of Alleged Patient Deaths, Patient Wait Times, and Scheduling Practices at the Phoenix VA Health Care System
- Read this Report
- Questions and Answers on the most significant aspects of the OIG’s report.
- Acting Inspector General's Oral Statement and Written Statement delivered before the House Committee On Veterans’ Affairs, September 17, 2014.
- Acting Inspector General's response to media coverage of baseless allegations on independence and integrity of the report.
Press Release
Tampa Man Pleads Guilty During Jury Selection In Stolen Identity Refund Case
Significant Prison Time Faces Florida Man Who Admits To Stealing Veterans’ Identities from James Haley VA Hospital
Oversight Report
Audit of VHA's National Call Center for Homeless Veterans
Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) National Call Center for Homeless Veterans (the Call Center) is VA’s primary vehicle for communicating the availability of VA homeless programs and services to veterans and community providers. OIG has assessed the effectiveness of the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans in helping veterans obtain needed homeless services. We determined that Homeless and at-risk veterans (Homeless Veterans) who contacted the Call Center often experienced problems either accessing a counselor and/or receiving a referral after completing the Call Center’s intake process. Of the estimated 79,500 Homeless Veterans who contacted the Call Center in fiscal year (FY) 2013: Just under 21,200 (27 percent) could only leave messages on an answering machine—counselors were unavailable to take calls; almost 13,000 (16 percent) could not be referred to VA medical facilities—their messages were inaudible or lacked contact information; and approximately 3,300 (4 percent) were not referred to VA medical facilities, despite having provided all the necessary information. Referred Homeless Veterans did not always receive the services needed because the Call Center did not follow up on referrals to medical facilities. Of the approximately 51,500 referrals made in FY 2013, the Call Center provided no feedback or improvements to ensure the quality of the homeless services. We noted that 85 percent of the 60 veterans’ records we reviewed lacked documentation to prove the veterans had received needed support services. Finally, the Call Center closed just under 24,200 (47 percent) referrals even though the VA medical facilities had not provided the Homeless Veterans any support services. In total, we identified 40,500 missed opportunities where the Call Center either did not refer the Homeless Veterans’ calls to medical facilities or it closed referrals without ensuring Homeless Veterans had received needed services from VA medical facilities. We recommended the Interim Under Secretary for Health stop the use of the answering machine, implement effective Call Center performance metrics to ensure Homeless Veterans receive needed services, and establish controls to ensure the proper use of Call Center special purpose funds. The Interim Under Secretary for Health concurred with our recommendations and provided responsive action plans. We will follow up on these actions.
Congressional
Congressional Testimony
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to discuss the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) work regarding VA’s Office of Information and Technology’s (OIT) management of its information security programs. Our statement today focuses on VA’s effectiveness in implementing the configuration management controls, access controls, security management, and contingency planning necessary to protect its mission-critical systems from unauthorized access, alteration, or destruction. We base our conclusions on the OIG’s past and ongoing audits of VA’s information security program. We will also focus on the challenges VA faces overcoming several information security concerns not highlighted in previous years.
Oversight Report
Review of Alleged Mismanagement of VA's Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs Outreach Contracts
We evaluated the merits of Hotline complaints that VA’s Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs (OPIA) awarded an outreach contract to Woodpile Studios, Inc., alleging that it yielded no apparent increase in the use of VA healthcare, benefits, or services by veterans and then planned to solicit new outreach contracts without evaluating the effectiveness of the prior contract. We substantiated the allegations regarding OPIA mismanagement of its outreach contracts. We confirmed that in July 2010, OPIA awarded a contract to Woodpile Studios, Inc. to provide support for outreach campaigns at an initial cost of $5.2 million. However, OPIA could not demonstrate that contract activities resulted in increased awareness of and access to VA healthcare, benefits, and services for veterans. We also confirmed that OPIA solicited significant new outreach service contracts without evaluating the effectiveness of the previous contract. OPIA management stated that leadership turnover contributed to ineffective oversight of the outreach contract management and solicitations. Consequently, Woodpile contractors performed functions that were inherently Governmental. Questionable use of a labor-hour order instead of a performance-based contract contributed to invoices for activities that did not clearly link to accomplishment of VA outreach goals. By awarding new contracts without first evaluating the performance of the prior Woodpile contract, OPIA continued to expend funds on questionable outreach activities. OPIA also lacked performance metrics to fully assess improvements in access to VA benefits and services for veterans. We recommended that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs ensure effective oversight of outreach contract management and prevent contractors from performing inherently Governmental tasks. The Assistant Secretary should also implement metrics to ensure the outreach campaigns improve veteran awareness and access to VA services. The Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs concurred with our report recommendations and summarized corrective actions for our consideration. We will monitor implementation of the corrective action plans.
Semiannual Report
Office of Inspector General Department of Veterans Affairs Semiannual Report to Congress (SAR) April 1, 2014 - September 30, 2014
The Semiannual Report to Congress summarizes the results of OIG oversight, provides statistical information, and lists all reports issued April 1 – September 30, 2014. During this reporting period, OIG audits, investigations, inspections, evaluations, and other reviews identified nearly $1.59 billion in monetary benefits for a return of $31 for every dollar invested in OIG oversight. OIG issued 195 reports and 22 memoranda on VA programs and operations. OIG investigations led to 288 arrests, and OIG investigative work and Hotline activity oversight resulted in 587 administrative sanctions and corrective actions.





