Thursday, October 27, 2011

Veterans Health Care -The James A. Haley VA Medical Center: Tampa VA hospital apologizes to veterans for 'miscommunication'


Veterans interviewed by the Times for the Oct. 16 story complained appointments with non-VA doctors have been canceled because of Haley's budget problems. Some noted instances in which Haley refused to pay for outside medical care.

"We have contacted those veterans who contacted you and apologized for any miscommunication that our veterans received," Haley spokeswoman Carolyn Clark said.

But interviews with most of the veterans or their families indicate the VA has not offered to remedy any of the problems they discussed in the story.
Haley officials have steadfastly denied any cuts in its fee basis program. But hospital officials refuse to discuss two internal memos obtained by the Times showing Haley officials in July 2011 were restricting the program to emergencies.
The new policy, he said, limited followup visits to outside doctors from a year to six months after surgery.
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