Veterans Applications For Health Benefits Mismanaged By Health Care Eligibility Center

On September 2, 2015, the Inspector General (IG) for the federal Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) said the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Health Care Eligibility Center (HEC) had mismanaged veterans’ applications for health benefits. The IG had investigated whistleblower allegations of HEC mismanagement, which contributed to a backlog of about 889,000 pending applications as of September 2014, and an allegation that the HEC had purged or deleted more than 10,000 applications. The IG’s investigation substantiated the allegations and concluded that the HEC failed to adequately manage its workload and lacked controls to ensure entry of the workload . . .