Tester defends VA, calls to hold abusers responsible

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said Wednesday that while he wants to investigate and prosecute alleged abuse of the system by Veterans Administration health care officials, the system needs more resources, not attacks.

Tester in a telephone press conference from Washington said Montana veterans tend to tell him that while there are problems, there are some “great people” providing health care to veterans in the program.

“That’s from the folks using the services,” he said.

Tester said surveys of Montana veterans show 9 out of 10 like the service they receive, but also show a need for increased access to that service.

But the accusations that officials were misreporting wait times for veterans to get services — including allegations that people died during the wait — in order to pad their bonuses need to be investigated and prosecuted, Tester said.

“There are a lot of allegations,” he said. “We need to find out what the facts are.”

He said his bill includes strengthening the Office of the Medical Inspector to increase transparency and funding for the Inspector General to help find out those facts.

Tester said he wants the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate, and if people are convicted, that they pay back the U.S. Treasury and “pay the legal price, and I think the Department of Justice is best-equipped to make that fight.”

He said that he is holding listening sessions — with VA officials welcome to attend — to hear from Montana veterans including about the VA health care services.

The first session will be in Anaconda, with other sessions to follow around the state — Tester assured reporters from the Flathead Valley and Butte that he will hold sessions in Kalispell and the Mining City, as well as other communities around the state.

A bill he has sponsored on the office includes increasing the transparency of the VA, he said. Reports need to be public and people need to know what is happening to hold the VA accountable, he said.

He said he also is working on legislation to bring in more mental health counselors and developing more partnerships with marriage and family counselors.

“Our mental health workforce needs a little bump,” Tester said.

A program called Project Arch, which brings health care closer to home, he said, has worked well in Anaconda and Billings, but it runs out of money Oct. 1. Tester said he wants to re-fund and expand that program, as well as work on initiatives like loan forgiveness to bring more health care professionals into the VA health care system.