A new report from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) inspector general has found that nearly 900,000 military veterans have pending applications to access health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The report recommended a total overhaul of their record-keeping system that could take years. The report says one-third of those veterans are thought to be dead, but problems with the data make it tough to know how many former troops are still struggling to get care. VA has said it has no way to purge the list of dead applicants. The report is available on the VA Office of Inspector General website at www.va.gov/oig/publications/report-summary.asp?id=3586. For more information, visit the Military.com website at www.military.com/daily-news/2015/09/04/ig-report-300000-veterans-died-while-waiting-health-care-va.html.
For more on veteran benefits, visit the Military.com Benefits Center.