Dennis Wagner in The Republic (here) tells the story of Dr. Sam Foote—whistleblower of the Veteran Affairs debacle.
Read how Dr. Sam Foote started suspecting that Arizona VA was shortchanging veterans on medical care.
Arizona Republic investigative reporter Dennis Wagner began looking into mismanagement in the Phoenix VA Health Care System in early 2013 when sources complained about financial misconduct, sexual harassment, racial discrimination and whistle-blower retaliation.
After an initial story, longtime VA physician Sam Foote came to Wagner late last year with explosive allegations: Administrators were under-reporting the amount of time veterans had to wait for doctor appointments. Foote, whose documentation included complaints to the Office of Inspector General, said bonuses were being paid based on the phony data, and that up to 40 patients had died while awaiting care.
Dr. Foote on reforming the VA Health Care System? “If you’ve got cancer, you have to cut it all out or it will come back to haunt you.”
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