VA failed to spend $1.9 billion designated for health care, report finds

An audit of the Veterans Health Administration’s private health care program books finds the department failed to spend $1.9 billion – or 40 percent – of the $4.8 billion designated for non-VA care in fiscal 2013.

Also, from Oct. 1, 2013, through March 31, 2015, medical center administrators overestimated the funds they needed to pay for outside care for veterans by $543 million, leaving that amount unavailable for patient care, according to a new Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General report.

The finding follows numerous reports that VA has mishandled disciplinary actions against administrators involved in scandals, a slow rollout of its $10 billion to provide care in the private sector through the Veterans Choice program and a nationwide problem involving long waits for medical care.