WASHINGTON — After hearing testimony about the continued long waits faced by veterans seeking mental health care, a Senate committee Wednesday called for an investigation of the problem and an audit of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ $5.7 billion mental health care budget.
“Especially at a time when we are seeing record suicides among our veterans — we need to meet the veteran’s desire for care with the immediate assurance that it will be provided — and provided quickly,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., chairwoman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.
The action came after Michelle Washington, director of post-traumatic stress disorder services at a VA center in Delaware, testified that managers are spending time “gaming” the system to meet goal numbers rather than providing mental health care for veterans.
