Audit finds flaws in how VA handles Nevada claims

WASHINGTON — Work by the Reno office that processes disability claims from Nevada veterans was riddled with errors on the most challenging cases, according to an audit released Tuesday that also said it found management flaws at the center.

The regional office of the Department of Veterans Affairs already has been found in a Senate study to be the slowest in the nation at processing claims, at an average 425.9 days. The audit completed by the VA’s Office of Inspector General concluded it could likely be inaccurate as well on complex claims.

Clerks in Reno incorrectly processed 51 percent of 71 claims reviewed by auditors, who said they focused on those with a higher risk of error, including traumatic brain injuries, temporary 100 percent disability evaluations and special monthly compensation claims. The errors resulted in 244 improper payments to a dozen veterans, totaling $65,419.

Inspectors found little improvement from an audit conducted in June 2011, when 18 of 30 claims for 100 percent temporary disability were found to be incorrectly processed.

Further, auditors in the latest inspection found flaws in how Reno clerks handled cases where benefits to veterans were required to be reduced. It also found delays on nine of 11 required systems management reports, and that seven of the delayed ones also were incomplete.

The report prompted Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., to call for the resignation or firing of the Reno office director, Edward Russell.

“Enough is enough,” said Heller, who sits on the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. “Ed Russell should either resign or the Department of Veterans Affairs should take immediate steps to ensure his removal.

“The Reno VARO has consistently topped the charts as one of the worst-performing regional offices in the nation, and, just today, a report from the VA Inspector General asserts that these problems have persisted due to poor management,” Heller said. “Nevada veterans should not be forced to wait for their disability benefits due to management’s bad decisions.”

Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., who sits on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said the report was “yet another indication that leadership changes are necessary in Reno. There are too many examples of mismanagement to allow the current leadership to continue serving our vets.”

The damning audit would be the latest critical assessment of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Nevada, coming on the heels of audit results Monday that flagged the veterans health care system in Southern Nevada for further review after a worker told investigators of being directed by a supervisor to alter appointment records.

The audit also showed patients at VA medical centers in Nevada did not escape long wait times for appointments with primary care doctors and specialists. According to the audit, 2,234 patients in Las Vegas have gone 90 days or longer to get an appointment at a VA facility, as well as more than 200 patients in Reno.

A separate inspector general report last month said the emergency room at the North Las Vegas Veterans Medical Center had failed to meet standards for wait times, and that workers failed to check periodically on the condition of blind 78-year old veteran Sandi Niccum while she waited with stomach pains four hours and 45 minutes to see a doctor in October.

The VA has acknowledged the emergency department at the $1 billion hospital was built too small, and has embarked on a $16 million expansion.

Additionally, volunteers and staffers at the hospital have gone public with complaints about the official in charge of volunteer services. Two staffers filed internal complaints alleging verbal abuse and, in one case, a threat that implied physical harm.

Release of the Monday audit prompted strong reaction from Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who previously had advised patience in evaluating the medical center that opened in August 2012.

“I fought hard so that Las Vegas could have a brand-new veterans hospital, and it is a disgrace this hospital has been mismanaged,” Reid said.

On Tuesday, Heller echoed that view.

“This has gone beyond growing pains,” he said. “We need to hold their feet to the fire and make sure there are not management issues there.”

Heller said he spoke Monday with Isabel Duff, director of the Southern Nevada Healthcare System. He said Duff disputed some of the findings on appointment wait times. He said she also told him the supervisor who reportedly told a clerk to alter appointment records had left the VA in December and the next person in the job had reverted to the correct policy for recording appointments.

“She thought it was an isolated incident,” Heller said. “I will take her word for it but this will be ongoing.”

Heller said Duff agreed to provide a monthly report on actions being taken to improve appointment wait times. He also noted the VA would be doing a follow-up review of the facility.

VA spokesman Richard Beam said Tuesday that Duff was withholding comment on the audit until further discussions with Heller and other Nevada members of Congress.

Heller has pressed the VA for improvements in Reno but has expressed frustration with what he said was a perceived lack of response from Reno officials. He had urged former VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to change leadership in Reno without success.

There have been suggestions the clash has become personal. On CNN last month, Heller pointedly said the Reno director was not returning his calls or those from other Nevada lawmakers. A call from Russell was arranged the next morning, with Heller describing it afterward as a combative conversation.

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @STetreaultDC.