A newly released study hammered the Department of Veterans Affairs for spending a fraction of its budget on new doctors while devoting millions to lawyers and public affairs officials – as thousands of veterans were waiting for care.
(FOX)- The study from OpentheBooks.com shows that between 2012 and 2015, just one in 11 new hires were “medical officers.” The findings are fueling criticism that the VA’s problems amount to more than just resources.
“What’s clear is that money is not the issue – the culture is,” said John Cooper, press secretary for Concerned Veterans for America.
OpentheBooks.com, a government watchdog group that publishes spending records from government agencies, found the VA added more than 39,000 positions (a 12.5 percent increase) between 2012 and 2015, while spending on annual salaries increased by 18.7 percent. The 3,591 medical officers hired amounted to less than 10 percent of the new positions.
Much of the money that could have been directed to hiring new doctors – including $99.1 billion in salaries and bonuses – flowed to VA employees largely outside of the medical field.
The report noted the VA hired 175 lawyers between 2012 and 2015, bringing the total number of lawyers to 1,060 at the cost of $454 million in salaries and bonuses. The VA also directed $99 million to salaries and bonuses for public relations officials, according to the report author.